with a little oilburner on the way, my wifee decided i should get a truck that will accomodate a carseat, so i've been shopping. i found a 96 f250 for a good price, but it has 350k on it and its a 2wd. how hard do yall think it would be to convert to 4x4? anyone done this on a similar year? haven't looked at the truck yet, just found it online, so i dont know 'bout the engine.. that may decide it for me! the conversion should just be a tranny and front axle, right?
converting a 96 to 4wd
- Thread starter cnomad172
- Start date
Double-S-Diesel
parts seller
basically, tranny, t case, driveshafts, front springs, hangers etc.
should have good luck finding a TTB 50
cost and time may not be worth it though, may be better off lookin for a 4x4 to start with.
should have good luck finding a TTB 50
cost and time may not be worth it though, may be better off lookin for a 4x4 to start with.
thanks double. the price is so good on this thing, i could afford to put a little into it. i also found a 96 4x4 for an extra 3k. the plus side to it(besides being 4x4) is it won need paint. i think it will just depend on how they look and run when i see them in person. also thought about gettin the 2wd for a tow vehicle/dock truck, and keepin my 95 for a toy. but then there's double insurance/maintenance/etc.
just by a 4WD.i was gonna do it to my 95.i had almost everything to do it with.you will need the tranny,transfer case,drive shafts,tranny crossmember,all front axle parts includeing the 4x4 pitman arm,the springs,shackles and hangers.you will need to box in the front of the frame for the spring shackles.need to drill some holes.too much work.can and has been done though.
BigRigTech
Diesel junky
I'm getting ready to do a 4x4 swap to my 91 F250, I'm buying a dana 60 front setup for $400 from an 89 F350 4x4 crewcab. I'm getting everything I need from the 89 including the t-case. As for boxing the frame, the front of the 89 4x4 frame is identical to my 91 2wd frame....The front shackle hangers have a bracket that goes on the inside that the mounting bolt goes through....I've heard about the frame needing to be boxed before but when I went to look at the 2wd and 4x4 they looked exactly the same? I also looked at my freebie 96 F350 2wd frame and it too looked the same as the 4x4 frame?
I'm not sure what's in the dana 60 for gearing, but my buddy who has the truck is pretty sure it's 3.55's and that's what I need to match the rear diff in my truck. I'm going to pull the 60 out, install new brakes, balljoints and etc...Look it over really good to make sure it will go as smooth as possible and I plan to do the swap before my MVI runs out at the end of Sept so I won't have to waste any money to the 2wd front end. I'll post some pics when I do it?
I'm not sure what's in the dana 60 for gearing, but my buddy who has the truck is pretty sure it's 3.55's and that's what I need to match the rear diff in my truck. I'm going to pull the 60 out, install new brakes, balljoints and etc...Look it over really good to make sure it will go as smooth as possible and I plan to do the swap before my MVI runs out at the end of Sept so I won't have to waste any money to the 2wd front end. I'll post some pics when I do it?
thanks bigrig! now the wifey wants me to get a stuper duty. she think a newer 3/4 or 1 ton rides better than an OBS.
found a really sweet 96 4door shortbed 4x4 for 15000. think i can get him down to about 12k. if not that one, i will probly get a stuper just to please the wife
also thinkin about a dodge quadcab.. i know, i know..
found a really sweet 96 4door shortbed 4x4 for 15000. think i can get him down to about 12k. if not that one, i will probly get a stuper just to please the wife also thinkin about a dodge quadcab.. i know, i know..
BigRigTech
Diesel junky
I wanted a newer rig too but the 91 was in too good of shape to pass on it....Straight trade for my 96 F150 4x4, not a penny spent on the deal. I'm happy with it as is other than the 4x4 swap being done...I'm going to survey the frames again and take some pics just to see if I missed something.
on the older trucks the frames are identicle except the 2WD dont have the piece inside of it for the front shackles.but i think even the bolt hole is there on the older trucks.on the newer 92-97 trucks the frames are different.they look the same but the 4wd frame has a dent in it where the bolt goes about 1/4" deep.there were a few other things that were different as well.i had a 2wd and 4wd sitting next to each other being stripped.it can and has been done before.but for me it was more work than i wanted to do.you may want to look into a reverse shackle kit for it.i looked into it and it wouldve made the job alot easier but was still more than i wanted to do as i had to have my tranny converted and was worried about the warranty on it.
MUDKICKR
Full Access Member
Just take the dana 44 out of a f150, find and use the hubs and spindles from a f250 Ld and put it all together and keep the frt coil springs. it should bolt right in and you have a coil spring frt end. But if you are going to convert it, the only way is a dana 60 solid axle. myself i like the dana 50 TTB but if i was going to the trouble of a conversion id have to go big.
JLDickmon
Bo Duke
it would be a buttload easier to change over the sheetmetal than the running gear...
Wanderer-rrorc
Full Access Member
solid axle is SO much easier than the twin tracton beam stuff that came in the 80-95's..
I would suggest as being a 4x4 guy...buy a 4x4...its ALOT of headache unless your familiar with the setups..and have the tools to do it...your looking at a MINIMUM of $2000 to do the conversion and thats junkyard parts!! (be honest..are ya just gonna throw that junkyard axle in without rebuildin it?? probably not a good idea!!)
Im getting ready to do my van..but I HAVE done several axle swaps..and I am very familiar with all the aspects of the conversion...it will still take me 2 weeks to get the swap done..and thats not even chasing gremlins..thats just the swap!!...so my van will be DOWN for 2 weeks...and then not really a reliable vehicle for a month afterwards to get it roadtested and working right..
BigRigTech
Diesel junky
I'm getting ready to do my 91 F250 as well. Dana 60 going in mine....Planning things as best I can, hope to have all my ducks in a row for a straight forward swap. One weekend to swap in the axle, another to put in the t-case, shifter and shaft. My home garage is fully geared and what ever it's missing I can bring home from work.
82fordtruck
Registered User
Maybe I'm out of line asking this, but I bought my 2006 GMC Crew Cab 4x4 for $34,000.00 brand new. Why would you look at a truck that is half (or more) used up at half the price? You could get a new one and finance a little longer, and plan on keeping it longer as well.
Either that or keep the truck and get a large sedan, like a town car. I have two kids, and another on the way. We use her car 75% of the time with them. It's really not that big a deal.
Either that or keep the truck and get a large sedan, like a town car. I have two kids, and another on the way. We use her car 75% of the time with them. It's really not that big a deal.
BigRigTech
Diesel junky
Some people don't mind a little work if they don't have to make payments when the work is done. I figure I might have $2000 into my 2wd to 4wd swap when I'm done and that paid for a D60 F350 front axle, all new brakes, u-joints, wheel studs, two ZF-5spd transmissions, NP205 divorced t-case, spring bushings, shackles, 4 KYB shocks, new u-bolts and etc.....I'll have a killer rig with no payments and that's the best part....Just my 2 cents, I can't blame some for wanting a newer rig and being willing to pony up the dough for it.
