2WD to 4WD

[straycat]

:O your truck is MINT dude. im still on the fence about this whole thing. if i were to take off the core support and middle body mount bolts on one side, along with the tranny crossmember and the radius arm crossmember, would the frame rails move enough to get the engine crossmember out comfortably?

oh and straycat, you really aren't convincing anyone with your argument. if you look at it strictly from a financial standpoint, FINE, go buy a damn 4x4 cause its technically "not worth it". too bad theres people out there like myself who dont mind getting our hands dirty when ALL THE PARTS are already there in front of you.

i still gotta take a look at what kinda welds are there from the factory. if there isnt a ton of weld cutting that needs to be done for this, there's still a chance ill go ttb 4wd

Hey, Bro..I am not chastising you for wanting to to it. I am just saying the true facts from every TV show and every magazine and every 4x4 shop I have seen or known that has said it was not worth the time or money to do the swap. Now, as I said... if you have all the experience and tools (welder, plasma cutter, lift, etc.) to do this and you don't mind spending hours doing the work...thats more power to you. As long as the job is done correctly so you won't wind up with a junker that is dangerous or not road worthy. I was just trying to explain that you can buy a really nice clean 4x4 for under $2,000 as I have have done so many times. It is ready to go out and have fun with and already has a lift and taller tires and has been re-geared.

 

[zukirider21]

This thread is a week old, are you done with the conversion yet? If not, what's the holdup?

im not getting the 91 4x4 till monday haha

 

[superds]

im not getting the 91 4x4 till monday haha

So you should be wheelin' by Tuesday!

 

[zukirider21]

hahahahah i wish!

 

[predator]

hey zukirider..have you ever had to grind,drill or torch frame rivets??

honest question, yes or no....


what is your mechanical background??

 

[gwaii]

meh....

i say do it.

your first mistake was asking about it on an open forum,you'll never get anything but a bunch of contradictions and bs.

look at what you have,take some measurements,and decide if it's in your skill level.and if not,are you willing to learn those skills.

<----- that was a 2wd when i started.i modified the crossmember to make a narrowed d44 ttb bolt in.

would i do it again....hell ya.i could swap crossmembers faster than finding a good early 4x4 and going out and buying it.and i'd be happy knowing i did it myself.

so stop asking stupid questions and get dirty.in the time this thread's been going you could have had it done....three times.

 

[Ruger]

Ignore the others, do what you want to do to your truck... it's your truck not theirs. If people have useful information to post please do for the sake of zukirider21 so he can get it right. Other wise why wast your time bitching?

 

[straycat]

Ignore the others, do what you want to do to your truck... it's your truck not theirs. If people have useful information to post please do for the sake of zukirider21 so he can get it right. Other wise why wast your time bitching?

Any advice is the best advice as a person really wanting to do anything will look at both sides to determine if they can take on a project. I have seen and heard way to may times of an inexperienced person winding up seriously injured or dead or killing a buddy when something goes wrong.

 

[04sd]

:O your truck is MINT dude. im still on the fence about this whole thing. if i were to take off the core support and middle body mount bolts on one side, along with the tranny crossmember and the radius arm crossmember, would the frame rails move enough to get the engine crossmember out comfortably?

I've never done the TTB crossmember swap, I did read a few write-ups of guys that did it and was all set to proceed until I found out my 2wd frame was bent. It seemed like the big obstacle for most guys with a nice/running 2wd was that they'd need to pull the engine to do the swap. Take a close look at your frame and you'll see it's not that big of a deal. The rivets aren't that hard to get out, the few welds can be cut with an abrasive wheel.

 

[zukirider21]

hey zukirider..have you ever had to grind,drill or torch frame rivets??

honest question, yes or no....


what is your mechanical background??

yeah ive already done a buncha frame rivets in the rear and on the tranny crossmember. this kind of work is nothing new to me (already did a 302 swap on the 89). but i always like just having a rough idea of what's ahead of me, no matter what the job may be.

 

[zukirider21]

I've never done the TTB crossmember swap, I did read a few write-ups of guys that did it and was all set to proceed until I found out my 2wd frame was bent. It seemed like the big obstacle for most guys with a nice/running 2wd was that they'd need to pull the engine to do the swap. Take a close look at your frame and you'll see it's not that big of a deal. The rivets aren't that hard to get out, the few welds can be cut with an abrasive wheel.

ah thats what i wanted to know! i just wanted to make sure there werent any really hard to get to welds like up in the underside of the crossmember or anything like that. and currently this truck has no engine so that's why i figure now is the time to do this...

 

[zukirider21]

meh....

i say do it.

your first mistake was asking about it on an open forum,you'll never get anything but a bunch of contradictions and bs.

look at what you have,take some measurements,and decide if it's in your skill level.and if not,are you willing to learn those skills.

<----- that was a 2wd when i started.i modified the crossmember to make a narrowed d44 ttb bolt in.

would i do it again....hell ya.i could swap crossmembers faster than finding a good early 4x4 and going out and buying it.and i'd be happy knowing i did it myself.

so stop asking stupid questions and get dirty.in the time this thread's been going you could have had it done....three times.

thanks for the input man. its finally nice out and i have some free time so i'll be taking a real good look at what lies ahead of me

 

[gwaii]

one other point,while it's much easier to do with the engine removed,it can be done with it in still.the steering box,and of course the front suspension will need to be removed,but with a little planning and some basic tools(a cutting torch comes in handy)you can do it in a day.

that's drive in-drive out done.

 

[zukirider21]

well im swapping engines between trucks so i wont have to worry about that. would you suggest cutting the crossmembers in half then welding them back together or do you think i should spread the frame rails to get them out? either seems pretty doable...

 

[gwaii]

spread the frame...it only needs a couple of inches.

you'll have to remove the bolt-on crossmember under the rad,and undo the bolts in the middle of the radius arm mount/crossmember.also unbolt the rad support,and the front cab mounts.then you can use a bottle jack or porta-power to spread the rails just enough to sneak the crossmember in.

bolt everything back up before welding the new crossmember in.that way you'll be sure everything's in the right position before you burn it in.