Mike Styer <m_styer@go.com> wrote:
: Howdy folks,
: I'm getting bored, and I am broke, so I entertain myself by imagining things that will keep me from being bored and keep me broke :) Besides, the DML has been kinda slow this last week.
: I've been thinking of what it would take to convert my 2wd ext cab dak to 4wd. Obviously I've thought of swapping in a wrecked dak 4x4 stuff, and also of a straight axle conversion. I'd be wanting to run 33 inch tires, and the vehicle would be primarily used as a daily driver with goofing off on the weekends, trail riding, hauling motorcycles even further into the woods(hey why waste riding time just getting to the playground:), firewood duty, etc. It would also have to be able to handle PA and NY win
ters.
It has been suggested in the past that its cheaper to just by a 4x4.
:-) But, that said, it might not be too bad, depending on your level
of fabrication skill and access to cheap junkyard parts. IMHO, if
you are thinking of converting a 2wd to 4wd, you might as well go for
the solid axle conversion. Getting all the IFS parts would be a bit
of a pain anyway, and the engineering involved with the solid axle
should be easier. I suspect there are enough differences between
the 4x2 and 4x4 to make bolting on the 4x4 suspension a bit of a
pain anyway. Just off the top of my head, at the very least you're
looking at finding a front diff, axle tubes, axle, wheel hubs,
and all that other jazz, a transfer case, and of course new
driveshafts all around. If you're really handy you can make your own
transfer case using beefy chains and sprockets. You might be able to
have your existing driveshaft shortened so you'll just need to make/buy a
front driveshaft. While you're at it you might as well throw a lift
on there too. :-) You can engineer it into the front suspension, and
maybe get some custom springs in the rear (or have yours re-arched) to
match.
I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that though. :-) Oh, and
plan on keeping the truck forever, cause the resale value will be
pretty much shot. :-(
Sounds like fun though, doesn't it? :-)
---Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -----. | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | '70 Barracuda, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly | `----------------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'
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