[cowboyup21]

I am getting a 96' 1500 reg cab 2WD with a 318. How hard is it to turn a 2WD to a 4WD? Will the front axle swap in with little to no trouble? Will I have to get a tranny and transfer case from a 4WD truck to swap in, or can I just bolt in a transfer case? I would buy a 4wd but the price of this truck, free, I couldnt pass it up. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Bajabomber87]

Is it an auto or manual?

It its an auto you can just swap in a 4wd overdrive off of ebay for cheap and bolt on a t-case. Idk if the crossmembers are different though.

Front axle would need mounts and crap, you'd be better off doing leafs if your doing this on the cheap.

 

[Elwenil]

It's a complete pain in the ass. Unless you have another wrecked 4WD sitting nearby to get all the parts off of it, or just have nothing better to do with your time, sell it and buy a 4WD. It's just not worth all the effort.

 

[cowboyup21]

Well, my plan was to pick up a wrecked 96 4WD from the junk yard, they want $500 for it, I had a buddy of mine go with me to look at it that owns a collision center, he looked it over and said the frame was straight, and everything else looked god, so I think I might just get it and swap body's....might be the easier route

 

[PAToyota]

Considering the price of truck and price of the wrecked one, I can see the advantages but it is still going to be a pain for you. What is wrecked on the 4WD? I'd just take the good parts off of the free one to repair whatever is smashed on the wrecked one if the frame and drivetrain is in good shape rather than trying to transfer parts from the 4WD to the free one.

 

[Elwenil]

Agreed, if it is possible to repair the 4WD with the 2WD's parts, that would be the easier route. Still, swapping the entire body would be easier than fabbing up a custom front suspension. I'm pretty sure there are some significant differences between the 2WD and 4WD frames, so it wouldn't be as simple as just cutting the brackets off one and welding them on the other.

 

[PAToyota]

Would definitely help to know what is "wrecked" on the junkyard one. Swapping sheetmetal, interior, etc. from the 2WD to the 4WD is going to be easier than swapping the front axle, t-case, etc. from the 4WD to the 2WD.

 

[cowboyup21]

The body on the wrecked one is trashed. The cab is bent, the bed is smashed....it got layed over on its side, none of the glass is there (it is covered though) So the easier way would just be swapping the body's? The 2wd is actually in REALLY good shape and only has 85,000 miles on it. I was hoping this would be easier than it is sounding, guess the only real way on knowing is tearing into it and finding out.

 

[PAToyota]

With that much body damage then swap the bodies. If the frame, engine, drivetrain are in good condition swapping the bodies is basically bolt-on plug-n-play stuff.

Still hard to say without seeing both of them sitting there in front of you...

Could be a case of tearing all the trashed stuff off of the wrecked truck, taking a look at what you have left, and going from there. If it looks like it would be easier to swap the front axle and such over to your truck from the wrecked one, go for it.

 

[DodgeGirlForever2007]

i had a fiance and he had a 2003 dodge ram 3500 2wd and i was going to make it into a 4wd for him but he said that it was a bad idea. his best friend said that eventually the 4wd would wear out somehow since the truck was factory made that way. he said that if i wanted to get him 4wd to just go by another truck...
i don't know that much about trucks. i own a 1971 dodge dart and now i own a 2001 dodge ram 2500 4wd diesel...
sorry about your probably. the truck sounds nice like it is, but then again having a 4-wheel drive truck is awesome...

let me know if you want to talk somemore, i am not that good w/ trucks yet...

 

[cowboyup21]

Well, I am going to pick up he wrecked truck monday morning and start to tear into it. I will put up a build thread when I get the other truck in the shop. Gotta replace the turbo on my F350 7.3 first lol that truck LOVES to eat the factory turbos

 

[eclancy]

i had a fiance and he had a 2003 dodge ram 3500 2wd and i was going to make it into a 4wd for him but he said that it was a bad idea. his best friend said that eventually the 4wd would wear out somehow since the truck was factory made that way. he said that if i wanted to get him 4wd to just go by another truck...
i don't know that much about trucks. i own a 1971 dodge dart and now i own a 2001 dodge ram 2500 4wd diesel...
sorry about your probably. the truck sounds nice like it is, but then again having a 4-wheel drive truck is awesome...

let me know if you want to talk somemore, i am not that good w/ trucks yet...

enlightening post

your ex-fiance's best friend is a tool

dont you have dinner to go cook