what does it take to make a 4x2 5speed a 4x4

[MPlunk]

this might have been covered already but i might have found a donor rig for the crew. it is a dually with 5 speed. my question is what is needed to convert a 2 wheel drive 5 speed to a 4x4 5 speed?

also i might have some parts left over after i get what i need. i know that i will have a flat bed if anyone is interest just send me a pm.

 

[KOG]

It takes a trade.

You can do the conversion, but it's about like building two trucks from scratch.

 

[Don Tanklage]

is this the ford you are referring to?



don

 

[MPlunk]

no don, the ford is going to stay an auto. this is for the 83 crew cab that i have, that caught on fire. the donor rig i have located for the rebuild is a 5 speed.

 

[Simplysmn]

are you talking about converting the frame to 4x that is easy change cross member and pretty much everything else will bolt right back up I would not cut and weld the frame i would swap cross member first that to me is easiest and safest way . it was done on my old truck and never had a track problem .



Val

 

[MPlunk]

what i was woundering is what it takes to make a 2 wheel drive transmission work in a 4x4. do you just change out the rear houseing are do you have to change out the output shaft?

 

[Don Tanklage]

they were different in the older trucks but something tells me the nv 4500 only comes with one length shaft...



i could be wrong

 

[bgilbert]

Not sure about the nv4500, but with a getrag, there are two different mainshafts, a 2wd and 4wd version. Tailhousings are obviously different. Then a yoke vs. a splined coupler. The rest is the same, minus output seals.

 

["Mad Max"]

Couple of issues that I can think of; transfer case and front axle. If your donor rig is '93 or older, and a 5-speed (IOW a Cummins/Getrag/NP205/Dana 60 front/Dana 70 rear) then your conversion will be almost a bolt-in. If, however, your donor is a 2nd gen ('94 or up), you will have transfer case issues as the front yoke is clocked to the drivers side and not the 1st gen passenger side.

What year is your donor?

As far as the differences between a NV4500 4x4 and 2x4, not sure, but certainly the tail housings are different - not sure if they swap from one to the other. Quad 4x4 may have some good intel on the swap and differences between the transmission's.

- M2