2wd to 4x4 conversion?

[JGrefenstette]

i am in the process of looking to buy a used dodge ctd, preferably a 1st gen, but as all of yall know, finding a good 4x4 and manual 1st gen for a reasonable price is rather hard to comeby. so i was wondering how dificult it would be to do a 4x4 conversion on a 2wd dodge. this would make my searching a lot easier, and a 2wd truck usually is less likely to be worked as hard as a 4x4. id apreciate any advice/comments. also, what would be the most probable conversion, dana 60? how involved would i have to get to do a swap. off the top of my head the things i can think of that would have to be done,



transfercase

shorter rear driveshaft

front axle

front driveshaft



is this all?

some one please educate me, i would be most gracious.

thanks for any help.

 

[IanF]

I just found out that my recently purchased '95 is actually a '96 club cab 2WD V10 converted to a CDT 5spd 4x4 using a '95 as a basis... friggin' Ebay... #@$%!



Anyway, I can tell how it appears they built my truck.



They took a '96 2WD, V10, 5 spd, club cab in nice condition, yanked the gasser drivetrain, and installed the complete drive train and dash board from a high-mileage '95 std cab CDT 5spd 4x4 that lived in OH/PA and was probably rotted to nothing. The only major visible difference appears to be a new center drive shaft was made. They kept the VIN registration from the '95 so as to get the truck past PA emmisions. However, the chassis VIN and registration VIN don't match.



This is from taking what I can see in the truck and from with what I've found out running the VINs through CarFax.



There are some other issuse that still need attention due to some differences in dash/cab trim level... the cruise doesn't work... A/C doesn't work (was probably never charged after reassembly) and the stereo doesn't work (std stereo in the dash, but the cab has the multi-speaker Infinity system).



I can't imagine why you couldn't do something similar with a 1st Gen if you have the time, tools and space. IMO, the most important issue would be to make sure the 2WD cab is already a manual. However, I'm not 100% sure what the differences between the 2WD and 4WD frames are on 1st gens given the front leaf springs. Since all 2nd Gens use front coils, it might be easier.



Good luck. Given the chocie, I would rather have a later 1st Gen.

 

["Mad Max"]

Other items you will need/do are: Remove 2wd engine crossmember, install 4wd engine crossmember, remove 2wd front suspension, install 4wd front suspension frame brackets and springs, dana 60 is mandatory, 4wd steering mounting, not sure if transmission mount is same from 2wd to 4wd.



You will need a 4wd transmission with the t-case mating surfaces on back, and a mated NP205 x-case from a 92-93 CTD (23-spline if auto, 29-spline of manual).



Best bet is grab everything from a 4wd truck and swap it all in. Be sure the 4wd parts you are using are from a diesel rig of the same year.



I have done the conversion on a gasser and it was a snap. So long as you have all the parts, and a donor truck is the best way to go, the work is not hard, just time-consuming.



I am also doing the similar conversion to my own 2wd '93 CTD truck. Here is the link to my thread - might glean some ideas:

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175246





- M2

 

[IanF]

Best bet is grab everything from a 4wd truck and swap it all in. Be sure the 4wd parts you are using are from a diesel rig of the same year. - M2

Yep. It appears that's what they did with mine: took the best parts of two trucks, combined them and then cast it out for some sucker (me) on Ebay...