Solid Axle, 2WD to 4WD

[Str8sixfan]

Got the axle under the truck tonight. Went pretty smoothly. Once the weight of the truck got down on the springs, I realized how soft the Jeep springs were. Looks like I'll be adding some leaves to them. Otherwise, they'll work out great.

So if you had to do it all over again, what sort of leafs would you have purchased in lieu of what you did purchase (prior to adding leafs)?

 

[callahantay]

Thanks for all the helpful info!

 

[colinrmitchell]

Hello, everyone.

Sorry that it has been a while since I have updated this thread.

I've still been working on the truck here and there. I've been too cheap to spend my free money on it.

Anyways, there was a saga with the auto transmission. I first took it out to swap out the output shaft and tailhousing. In case you didn't know, in a 4R44E transmission, the ENTIRE transmission must be disassembled in order to change the output shaft.

Well, I figured that I would give it a go myself. Needless to say, my first time disassembling and reassembling an auto did not go well. It was stuck in third gear, which usually means that there is no hydraulic pressure.

I took it back out and sent it to a drag racing transmission specialist that I knew as a friend of a friend. $300 later, it was back in the truck. It worked well for about two weeks before reverse was gone, then it started noticeably slipping in first and second.

I had basically given up on it for a year. Just this last week, I found an M5OD 4x4 version for a '96 2.3L, complete with manual BW1354. I've actually been looking for one in the area for over four years! A great score for $150.

I got all the other parts together, and threw it in the truck last night. Tonight, I installed the new clutch and brake pedal assembly that I got from a pull-apart, and it works wonderfully!

It was dark by the time I got anything interesting done, so no pictures yet. Maybe this weekend I can get a dorky video together so that you all can believe that it actually moves by itself.

Next stop is a 3.73 and up carrier for the front Dana 30, and 4.56 gears. Then a driveshaft, and I will finally have my dream truck done.

Thanks again for all of your help and suggestions!

 

[colinrmitchell]

So if you had to do it all over again, what sort of leafs would you have purchased in lieu of what you did purchase (prior to adding leafs)?

I'm really not sure what leaves I would have ordered.

I got the Jeep springs because they were really short, and I could center the axle in the wheel wells without having to extend the front part of the frame or making some hokey-looking hanger/crossmember thing.

To be honest, I would order the Jeep springs and the F150 add-a-leafs again. They are plenty flexy, even under the 2.3L, and look like they were made for the truck.

 

[bobbywalter]

Hello, everyone.

Sorry that it has been a while since I have updated this thread.

I've still been working on the truck here and there. I've been too cheap to spend my free money on it.

Anyways, there was a saga with the auto transmission. I first took it out to swap out the output shaft and tailhousing. In case you didn't know, in a 4R44E transmission, the ENTIRE transmission must be disassembled in order to change the output shaft.

Well, I figured that I would give it a go myself. Needless to say, my first time disassembling and reassembling an auto did not go well. It was stuck in third gear, which usually means that there is no hydraulic pressure.

I took it back out and sent it to a drag racing transmission specialist that I knew as a friend of a friend. $300 later, it was back in the truck. It worked well for about two weeks before reverse was gone, then it started noticeably slipping in first and second.

I had basically given up on it for a year. Just this last week, I found an M5OD 4x4 version for a '96 2.3L, complete with manual BW1354. I've actually been looking for one in the area for over four years! A great score for $150.

I got all the other parts together, and threw it in the truck last night. Tonight, I installed the new clutch and brake pedal assembly that I got from a pull-apart, and it works wonderfully!

It was dark by the time I got anything interesting done, so no pictures yet. Maybe this weekend I can get a dorky video together so that you all can believe that it actually moves by itself.

Next stop is a 3.73 and up carrier for the front Dana 30, and 4.56 gears. Then a driveshaft, and I will finally have my dream truck done.
Thanks again for all of your help and suggestions!

your one patient dude. 2-3 weeks without riding in my pig makes me uneasy and prickly


but i stand by this quote still....i am one of the few that appreciate the dana 30 for its capacities of cost effective solutions for us rbv'ers

generally i make the setup all bolt on.

my next engine swap has this as a possible change in the front. i am preferring to do some frame work to facilitate cooling which will force a different approach to the front hangers. still have not made up my tiny little mind on that yet. i have a feeling once i do make up my tiny lil mind on that issue... it will be clattering shortly there after.

on edit,
personally i would run a hp d44 leaf housing over this attempt while its not going to be losing big money still. actually that is wrong...i would do a 60 if i was dumping ttb.... i would not do this incrementalism insanity....i would easily live with a ttb 35 with 33's being the main tire....if i were to start with a 2wd...i would run a 30/44...with stock ratios and keep the swap under 400 bux. if its gonna cost more then that then i have to be getting something good...and a 30 isnt it.

i definatly agree with 2wd or sla the 30 is good to 35's and mild wheelin. and the most cost effective choice imo. they are everywhere and already built versions can be had from the jeepers gone 44/60/rocky whatever. if you want to do good shit and get a lil crazy or have a higher hp powertrain...well shit never ends does it?

 

[colinrmitchell]

your one patient dude. 2-3 weeks without riding in my pig makes me uneasy and prickly


but i stand by this quote still....i am one of the few that appreciate the dana 30 for its capacities of cost effective solutions for us rbv'ers

Yup, I got that axle because it was $75, already pulled, at the local junkyard. Little did I know at the time that the steering kit would cost so much down the road. Maybe if I knew something about machining and fabrication, that I could have made something work for cheaper. Oh well, it's just money.

You're probably right, I will eventually regret putting the Dana 30 in the truck. I, at least not in the near future, have plans for tires bigger than the 33-inchers on it nor an engine larger than the 2.3L. I have hopes that the axle will hold up to that.

Maybe one day it will have a 632 with 5-ton Rockwells and R2 ag tires, but not until I get a good paycheck!

 

[bobbywalter]

a 4 whizzer with a 5 speed manual and d30 is one hell of a cost effective and fun machine.


cost effective all around operationally. 4 dollar gas makes it hard to enjoy a 400 hp small block that cooks you in the cab and breaks every moving part in the drivetrain...its fun if one can afford it...not necessary though.


4 years.....thats the hard part.

best to ya.