2wd to 4wd conversion, sourcing parts and buildup

[sschaefer3]

I still have to get a budbuilt crossmember, its going to be easier then fabbing up the fror mount.

No you don't. You don't have to do anything. Your 2WD tranny supports the drive train, the t-case just hangs back there. You don't have to do anything but bolt it in.

You will have to get a "real" driveshaft with a slip yoke though. See if that junk yard can trade you the t-case for a rear drive shaft. Ask Inchworm man if you can run a stock 96-02 4WD rear shaft on that case. I has a weird flange pattern.

Why in the world did you think you need a BudBuilt? Bud WAS going to make one, but never did. There isn't even one available. You don't need the FROR one because your factory installed 2WD cross member and mount will work just fine.

This is all BOLT ON BABY! Just the way you like it.

[sschaefer3]

You also get your speedometer signal from the ABS sensors. See if he has a slug/plug for the sender hole and you won't use it. It would be better to have the hole sealed than exposed terminals.

You can check for sure to see if you currently have a sender. Look on the passenger side of the tranny for the unit pictured in the lefty, that is a 2WD, not a 4WD sender. You should see that exact part on the side with a 3 wire plug. Casey had it but Casey did not have ABS, you do.

So your don't have a speedo sender to begin with. I would ask him about that, but he might not know that much about newer 4Runners.

[neliconcept]

Jim told me about budbuilt xmember for that case, he told when I take the tailhousing off that takes away the 2wd tranny mount there. I need to go look under it to understand exactly what im doing and whats going off and whats getting bolted on. He said I could use stock case but i would do another adapter stacking and then id have to get a little fabby with the mounts and xmember. the shaft with 4wd will work but has to be extended or mine shortened.

I guess everyone has a question why im doing this conversion, I guess to get some respect, Im tired of wheeling a 2wd, its 2wd everyone says, I know and i just want to be able to do expedition travel without the worry of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

Steve, Im sorry I have wasted your time, but you have been a big help and I really do appreciate that.

I gotta get that case out of my truck, its stinking it up to all hell.

[neliconcept]

im gonna start taking pics of the underside to help me out a little when I talk to various sources.

Let me go do that now while I have some freetime, but the tranny mount is hooked to the tailhousing and not the tranny itself.

[neliconcept]

here are the pictures of my driveshaft, since i have an 01 it may be different then previous runners, that i do not know


the rear to the diff.


thats the tail housing mount and driveshaft connected to tail housing


tail housing mount, sorry for the funky angle, was on my back taking this


picture of the mounting to the tail housing from above crossmember.


tail housing and driveshaft connecting.


full one peice shaft unlike the tacomas with the 2 peice shafts.

[sschaefer3]

You'll have to get the Front Range mount or one from Bud if he makes one. You'll also have to cut out the stock crap. Which on a 2WD as you can see from the pics is low duty. The up side is that you keep your transmission and you will have a 4Runner more capable with crawler gears than 95% of them on these boards. Once you put the front in.

The irony is the 2WD kid will go from show truck to real truck, real fast. That was the right move it will be worth in in Colorado.

[Cheese]

Some impressively good tech here.

Please call and order, vendors have to make money too. Sounds like you have been doing that.

FWIW, you will hate life with only a 4:1 case. With the auto, that is enough gearing most of the time, but it is too much some time. Coming from a 2wd, it will be too much a whole lot of the time.

With the auto, you really need a chance for a stock low.

[neliconcept]

Some impressively good tech here.

Please call and order, vendors have to make money too. Sounds like you have been doing that.

FWIW, you will hate life with only a 4:1 case. With the auto, that is enough gearing most of the time, but it is too much some time. Coming from a 2wd, it will be too much a whole lot of the time.

With the auto, you really need a chance for a stock low.

Jim did say he could make the lefty stock gears, since its a geared case and i can change the gearing in it to 4:1 or 4.7:1 what would it end up costing me later on for that?

Steve, im assuming the cross member that holds the tranny up needs to be cut out? Sounds good, my bro does some fab stuff so I do have somebody who can help. Im getting anxious that i will finally be 4wd in the upcoming months.

and yeah the reasoning is CO since im moving out there that I really do need this.
Im also sourcing some info from a guy who did this exact conversion with the adapter and lefty from TTORA, he is the first guy and it seems i will be the second guy. he got Bud to make him a custom crossmember, I may call up bud to see what the timeframe would be for such a project.

Steve and Adrian, The part that is the slipyoke, is it possible to just change that over to the 4wd end or am i looking at a waste of time and just to get a new 4x4 shaft and get it lenghtened 3 or 4" whatever Tim quoted me.

Thanks for all your help, Its getting to be a lot clearer now and I think im on the right track as far as the project goes.

Sorry if I have been an ass over the past couple weeks, my last college does that to ppl, its worthless.

-Blake

[neliconcept]

oh and if anybody wants any pictures of anything else let me know, im a picture happy whore

[Cheese]

Get a shaft, have it lengthened to fit. Not likely to be a stock anything.

You need to do a project like this in a buy once, cry once mindset. You could cut some corners now, not buy the gears and two cases, then redo the gears and cases down the road. This is a big jump do, get it done.