is a 4wd conversion that ridiculous?

[THenningsen]

Can't seem to find any help on a conversion. Yeah, yeah, I know I can go out and just buy one, but that's not an option. My truck has a lot of sentimental value to it. Can anyone help me out here? Biggest hurdle I see is mounting the coil springs. Everything else is just a few brackets and swappin' out parts (transmission, t-case, axle, etc).

 

[THenningsen]

anyone? I know somebody's got some direction to give me.

 

[tabell]

Yes, sell it and buy a 4x4. If you are set on doing it then you have three choices



1. best thing would be to buy a wrecked 4x4 and do a swap out

2. You could do a leaf spring front axle set up.

3. Talk to kelderman, it looks like they replace all the factory attachment points.



You could find a divorce 205 transfer case, this way you don't have to swap transfer cases. You will also need lift blocks or new springs for the rear. I would also get a axle that doesn't have the CAD (center Axle Disconnect) It would make it simpler and one less thing to worry about. I don't now what years they had them.

 

[WDixon27]

i am thinking about swapping over my truck but i have a solid front axle cab & chassis it's already got all of the bits needed in place to mount the axle, just about anything is possible with a decent welder and some knowledge/skill, one thing that would help would be a parts truck not just for the parts but mesurements too

 

[Scrappy]

like the other said it is going to be expensive. you are going to have to cut all the 2wd frontend brakets off, weld all the 4wd brackets on to the frame and I am not positivebut I think the frame crossmember under the engine is different between the two. The wiring should be the same. you will also need the overdrive housing and output shaft for the trans. the rear is just a matter of swapping in the 4wd blocks.

 

[6BT-Dakota]

Find a Dana 60 Ford front axle (Reverse Rotation High pinion) and install it with leaf springs. This means not track bar and best of all no death wobble. That is the setup my Dakota has and it is great so im sure it it more possible on a full size Ram.



Rob

 

[RyanB]

Good points from everyone! I just completed my 4x4 conversion on my GMC as well as about 50 other conversions at the same time(look at my sig)



One thing that I can tell you is that out of everything I did to the truck the 4x4 conversion was the hardest and longest to do but I am very happy with it. I went with something totally out of the ordinary and custom built the whole thing with a slew of different parts so that is the main reason for the time to build it!



I honestly don't know that much about what a 2wd Dodge frame looks like but after just looking at my brothers 97 4x4 I wonder if the frame rails are the same? reason being is there are a ton of extra holes there for no reason that look like actual bolt paterns for say 2wd control arm brackets and what not!!!! I could be wrong though.



I have heard that Dodge likes to use alot of the same stuff in all there trucks(99% of trucks are wired for every option possible and include the plugs) so this wouldn't really supprise me. On the other hand I know GM for a fact uses all different frames and parts from 2wd to 4x4 and each wiring harness is for the options that were on it... saves money I guess but alot more headaches!



I would say that for you using all dodge parts... it shouldn't be overly to hard if I am corect about the frames. You would have to find a wrecked truck and cut the buckets off (they are welded on) and then you would also have to get the other brackets cut and welded on also.



Personally I would go with the leaf spring/ford Dana60 on a dodge though... alot easier to do. Check out Off-Road Unlimited (yahoo search for website) they make a leaf spring conversion for GM's there and looking at the pictures you will figure out fast what the parts you need will have to look like if you go that route?



As far as my conversion goes... I am super glad I did it Oo. drives great (better than my brothers 97) and its a one of a kind truck. If yours means alot to you then by all means... go for it!!!



RyanB

 

[THenningsen]

Thanks for the input... . what are the advantages/disadvantages of going with leaf springs? And what is different about the ford dana 60? I've done a lot of studying of the two frames and best I can tell they are the same on a 2wd and a 4wd. Cross member is different and the spring buckets and control arm brackets would have to be welded on, but no one has suggested going with leaf springs yet.

 

[RyanB]

Thanks for the input... . what are the advantages/disadvantages of going with leaf springs? And what is different about the ford dana 60? I've done a lot of studying of the two frames and best I can tell they are the same on a 2wd and a 4wd. Cross member is different and the spring buckets and control arm brackets would have to be welded on, but no one has suggested going with leaf springs yet.

Leaf springs were used for years and even up untill the past few on the Ford 250/350's. They can give a little harsher ride but wheel travel can still be nice with the right set of springs. One thing mentioned above... someone said that you can lose the track bar... although the old chevy's didn't have them ford still used them on there leaf spring axles to keep everything located. The axle can still move side to side with leafs just not as much as a coil setup!



As far as the Ford D60 goes. The ideal axle would be a late 70's early 80's King pin reverse rotation axle but there hard to find. You can use any axle up to where they changed to the newer style body style. . thats when they changed the bolt patern.



Anymore questions... ask away!



RyanB

 

[6BT-Dakota]

Ford used the pivot bearing (Kingpin) design until early 90's I believe 91 but don’t quote me on that. Mine is an 88 and it has that setup. Keep in mind that a 78-79 style are different because the center section is closer to the middle of the truck. Meaning that the spring perch is welded to the tube vs. being cast as part of the center section. The best thing about a Ford is that you have a high pinion which means the pinion come out on top of the housing vs. the bottom like a Dodge does. This will allow you to rotate the housing if you decide to lift it. The downside to this is that I believe that Dana is that is the only place you could buy gears for this axle (this may be different now but that is the way it was when my truck was done). As far as the track bar is concerned when we cut the front end out of the Ford for my Dakota we took the track bar but never used it. In the beginning we thought it would be a problem but after going down the road at almost 95 with almost 15” of lift and 38” tires it tracks like it is on rails and I have never had anything that resembles death wobble. If you hava any questions feel ferr to shoot me a p. m.



Rob

 

[tabell]

Anybody got any hints on mounting a new axle and leaf springs. I'm doing this on my my M37?

 

[THenningsen]

ryan- you mentioned that the ford axle has a reverse rotation... why is that better? and why is a kingpin better than a balljoint?

 

[THenningsen]

ryan- I also saw on your reader's rigs pics, the gmc conversion. you used ford trailing arms, are they better than the dodge 4 link?

 

[RyanB]

ryan- I also saw on your reader's rigs pics, the gmc conversion. you used ford trailing arms, are they better than the dodge 4 link?

Personally I think that the King Pins are ALOT stronger than a ball joint and there life is double if not more! they are also fairly easy to replace or even to get apart if you have to rebuild another part on the axle. I only wish they were still using them. Dana is still making them for there industrial axles (I deal with Sky Jacks (sizzor lifts) and they have them... makes me think they are better than ball joints for that reason (More abuse).



The reverse rotation is nice because the pinnion gear is actually touching the ring gear in the right way like it is in a rear axle. The thing with most front axles is the axle is just turned around and the same gear sets are used but just because of the cut pattern on the gear its not ideal and is actually hard on the teeth... where reverse rotation is just meant for the front axles and the setup is the corect way... hard to explain without having a picture or showing you in person.



I used the Ford Trailing arms because I liked the setup alot better. When I first starting playing around with it I actually used the dodge trailing arms but for my conversion and the way the GM frame is the bracketry and the arms stuck down way to far and it actually looked retarded and I figured it would have drove like *****!!!



I was able to tuck the ford arms up into the frame better, it has a much cleaner look and for me it works good. I have no way of adjusting camber though seeing I didn't make provisions for adjustment but I set it up the way I wanted it and then welded it. Also, with the Ford arms seing they are a single the axle doesn't have its own axis like that of the Dodge setup (4-link setup) so if you are having large amounts of suspension travel you might not want to go with it. For me there is only a few inches of travel so I like this setup better. One other reason I also like it is because the Ford arms are really heavy and I think they can take more abuse and for me pulling and all the stress on that axle I think I need that!



Good luck... RyanB

 

[DWitcher]

#ad


Here is how I installed a 78 Ford HP60 using 63" Chevy rear springs up front.

 

[THenningsen]

DWitcher- do you have any other pictures?

 

[DWitcher]

DWitcher- do you have any other pictures?

Here ya go.

#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


Here is a small flex shot.

#ad