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Ford F250. Converting 2wd to 4wd.

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Update on post #13.

For my next project I'm converting my 2wd F250 to 4wd. Reason for doing this is because where I moved to the terrain calls for 4wd as where in Ca mostly everything is compact. The truck is a 2002 F250. Parts were sourced from model year 99-04 trucks. Early 99 Fords have some different parts. The most easiest way to get everything is to find a truck with a complete front end.
You'll need an axle, track bar and bracket, leafs, pitman arm, brake lines and brackets, shock mounts, sway bar, speed nuts, and little things. Big items is the pitman arm and the speed nut for the track bar bracket. Depending on the model year, 99-01 trucks you'll need the front hanger assembly. 02-04 trucks come with them as the crash bar assembly. Everything is unbolt and bolt back on except the coil buckets. You have to cut the rivets.
I opted to have my axle rebuilt. My cousin found it for me and we hauled it John at Domestic Diesel in Chino and he rebuilt it on the bench. I got new U Bolts from Sunrise Ford parts. I got into Chino last night at 1:30 and went straight to work. The 2wd suspension takes time to remove. By 6am I have the truck sitting on the axle, using the old U Bolts. I went to Sunrise to get the parts came back and took a nap. Got back to it at 2pm and drove it over to Flos at 6pm. Got new u bolts installed and rear blocks. I still need to remove the old coil buckets and reinstall the bumper. I will need to extend the rear brake line from the frame to axle.
All in all it's a little bit of work. More than I thought. Years ago I swapped a Dana 60 into a 95 F250 with TTB and put the TTB suspension back in the F350, all in 3.5 hours.
This only covers the suspension. I still have a 2wd transmission. I can get a 4wd unit or have my 2wd unit rebuilt and install a different tail housing and output shaft. I will be having the 2wd tranny rebuilt and converted over using a manual transfer case. John Wood will be doing that. New drive shafts will be needed. I'll get some pictures uploaded here soon.
 
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Couple notes. Torque the pitman arm nut before installing the track bar bracket. Use power tools where you can. Track bar bolts get torqued to 400 ft.lbs. and the pitman arm nut is 230 ft.lbs.
Around 03 to 04 Ford changed the thread pitch on the lug nuts. The axle I got didn't match my truck. When it got rebuilt I had new unit bearing installed with the 02 thread pitch. The shit Ford does.
 
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tkrrox

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I want to convert my 01 to 05+ suspension. The new ones turn so much sharper and the coils are a lot smoother ride. Good job on your conversion.


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Back at it. Trying a carbide tipped hole cutter to get these rivets off.
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t&y

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Good luck. You might be better off grinding them off. What ever shop you are at sure makes things easier. I think you should take it home and do all of it in your driveway so the rest of don't feel so bad.
 

chonchisyque

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I have 6inch fab tech coils and dual front fox 2.0 shocks with reservoirs that where rebuilt by dc schocks in San dimes for sale they where on my 07 f250
 

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Ended up using a grinder for the rivets. The holes for the shock mount are already there.
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Good luck. You might be better off grinding them off. What ever shop you are at sure makes things easier. I think you should take it home and do all of it in your driveway so the rest of don't feel so bad.
So after about 1 second of drilling it was clear to grab the grinder. I'm doing all this at the family hangar in Chino. I'm making do on tools. Everything to make this job easy is in the service truck but its 380 miles away.
 

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So after about 1 second of drilling it was clear to grab the grinder. I'm doing all this at the family hangar in Chino. I'm making do on tools. Everything to make this job easy is in the service truck but its 380 miles away.
So you self handicapped by leaving all the cool tools elsewhere. Brilliant! lol
 

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When removing the buckets a grinder is the easiest method. Grind the heads off the (6) rivets. From the engine compartment grab something like a tire iron and wedge it between the frame and bucket. Whack it a few times and the bucket will fall off.
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I thought I had more post in this thread but have an update. Dana 60 has been in for about 5k miles now and all is good. Did have to tighten the tracbar mount where it bolts to the cross member. Still running a 2wd transmission as I'm still collecting parts for the 4wd setup. The thing that surprised me is my mileage increased 1.5 - 2 mpg. Yes, increased. Here are some close before and after pictures.
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So almost 3 years and 65K miles later the truck is a true 4wd. Just got it back yesterday from a transmission shop in Tempe that all the local 7.3 guys use. Long story short, John Wood was going to originally rebuild the trans but he has retired.
I brought all oem parts from various donor trucks for the 4wd swap to the shop which included drive shafts, 271 manual transfer case for a 4R100 (ZF6 trucks have different spline count on the output shaft), a core 4wd 4R100, 4wd cross member, and a 4wd wiring harness for a manual transfer case. I installed the 4wd lever myself which all I have to do was cut the carpet, pull the bolt on cover off the cab floor, and install.
Everything is working as it should as if the truck was factory 4wd except the 4wd and 4wd low lights don't light up on the dash even though I have the 4wd wiring harness installed. They are in the cluster and light up under TEST so I have them. This was the only thing I didn't research in depth but didn't really care if they worked or not until yesterday when I got the truck back. 4wd works normal but I was now worried if 4 low would work correctly since there is nothing telling the computer system it's in low and would the trans shift correctly? I tested it this morning and 4 low works normal. I'm not going to pursue it any further.
Some questions I get asked are why I didn't do an 05+ coil swap and why I didn't sell the truck and buy a 4wd. I would love to have a coil front end... I had an 05.
I had 1 day to swap the front end from 2wd to 4wd so it had to be simple. 4wd suspension of that era is 100% bolt on and no drilling or cutting required except for the rivets that hold the coil buckets on. People will say the 05+ suspension is bolt on. It is not. You have to drill holes for the coil buckets and radius arm mounts, shim the radius arm mounts, and figure out the trac bar. I didnt have the time for that.
Why I didn't sell and buy a 4wd? Reality is at the time 2wd trucks were selling for $7k and 4wd were selling for $15k and my truck is unmolested as were a lot of the 4wd's for sale were molested. $8k difference and you're buying a truck that has miles on the front end and trans. This swap cost me around $7200 and I had a fresh front end when I installed it and now a fresh transmission. So I saved $800, have fresh parts, and my same unmolested truck. I since gotten rid of the Lariat wheels because they are hard to keep clean and installed XLT wheels because they are easier to clean and they match my other truck. Plus I like the look better.
 
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Thanks for doing this write up! I am currently doing the same conversion to my 2002 7.3 2x4 F250 using a L99 6.8 F250 4x4 as my donor.

I have started my project in the reverse order than you. My truck is currently at Foothill Transmission in Pomona fully rebuilding my existing 4R100 and converting from 2wd to 4wd by changing the shaft and shaft housing and bolting the manual transfer case form the donor to it. I also decided to modify my existing rear driveshaft to accommodate the new 4x4 dimensions.

I will post pictures as I progress on this project.
 

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Thanks for doing this write up! I am currently doing the same conversion to my 2002 7.3 2x4 F250 using a L99 6.8 F250 4x4 as my donor.

I have started my project in the reverse order than you. My truck is currently at Foothill Transmission in Pomona fully rebuilding my existing 4R100 and converting from 2wd to 4wd by changing the shaft and shaft housing and bolting the manual transfer case form the donor to it. I also decided to modify my existing rear driveshaft to accommodate the new 4x4 dimensions.

I will post pictures as I progress on this project.
I think I have every detail covered in my prior post. Something I learned about the transmission is the diesel 4wd 4R100 has a steel rear shaft housing and the gas 4wd 4R100 transmission has an aluminum rear shaft housing. The spine count is different on a transfercase from an auto to a manual transmission. I think its like a 3 spline difference.
 
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I think I have every detail covered in my prior post. Something I learned about the transmission is the diesel 4wd 4R100 has a steel rear shaft housing and the gas 4wd 4R100 transmission has an aluminum rear shaft housing. The spine count is different on a transfercase from an auto to a manual transmission. I think its like a 3 spline difference.
you are correct about the rear shaft housing. I didn't use the one from the donor truck because it didn't have the hole for the speed sensor so my transmission shop ordered the correct one
 

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@ClarenceorDion
The mount you need for the manual 4wd shifter is the 3 hole style. There is a 2 hole style from a 5R110 but those won't work. When installed on the transmission the front hole isn't used and just "hovers". The middle bolt is what holds the lever and bolts into the transmission. The rear hole takes a regular hex bolt with torx in the head. I suspect you have yours installed using the front hole and the rear hole is not being used.
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@ClarenceorDion
The mount you need for the manual 4wd shifter is the 3 hole style. There is a 2 hole style from a 5R110 but those won't work. When installed on the transmission the front hole isn't used and just "hovers". The middle bolt is what holds the lever and bolts into the transmission. The rear hole takes a regular hex bolt with torx in the head. I suspect you have yours installed using the front hole and the rear hole is not being used.
View attachment 1094107
I actually figured it out and have ordered the parts. Shifter bracket (P/N F81Z-7210-A) and longer linkage P/N 4C3Z-7B051-JA

I really appreciate the help
 
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