A while back I had posted asking if it could be done, and gotten mixed answers from people. Now I want to disspell any myths around doing this. The background - I'm just too attached to my old truck to go buy a 4x4 so I bought a donor parts truck that was 4x4 but no title. So here is the step by step and tips along the way.

What you need:
-4x4 front axle
-matching gear set for rear axle (mine had already been changed to a 3.55 so I was good)
-Trans/Transfer case combo
-Trans crossmember for the 4x4 trans
-Front and rear driveshafts

The front axle was the logical first hurdle. Many people told me that you cant just put a 4x4 axle under a 2x4 truck. In 94, Ford switched the motor crossmember to have ALL trucks use the 4x4 crossmember to save on cost. This allows the axle to be plug-and-play.

Remove the 2WD components:
-Unbolt the top clip for the coil springs
-unbolt the shocks from the radius arms
-Remove the steering components from the knuckles
-unbolt from the engine crossmember where the 2WD mounts up
-unbolt the radius arms

The 2WD components now just pull out. You reverse the process to mount the 4WD axle up under the truck. Once this is done, you pull the 2WD transmission and put in the 4x4 transmission, and BE SURE TO USE THE 4x4 CROSSMEMBER FOR THE TRANSMISSION (this cost me about an hour and a half before I realized they were different!).

I was sure to change all fluids (transmission is AFT Mercon 3 and diffs are 2.4 qts of 80W90.

If anyone wants to tackle this for themselves, feel free to contact me and I"ll help you through! This was well worth my time to do the conversion since so much other things were customized on the truck.

 

Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear it worked out for you.

 

Thats very cool. Was yours a auto tranny to auto tranny swap?

 

is this for f-250 or f-350?...i have a 94 f-250 i want to convert

 

I'll hopefully be doing the same later this year. It's really a simple swap, the time consuming part is the tranny.

 

I have a 1995 Ford F-150 XLT with a 302 that broke a piston rod and it has a E4OD transmission. I have a 1979 Ford 351W with factory 4 barrel Holley that I just finished rebuilding and it is ready to be set in the 95 F-150. I am wanting to use the factory type distributor with the engine but I want to use the E4OD transmission that came in the truck.

Is there anything special that i have to do to use the E4OD transmission with the computer that the truck that already programmed for it where I am only replacing the Engine from the EFI engine to a carbonated Engine ?

Or would it be best to dump the E4OD transmission along with the EFI 302 that it came with and just put the 351W in the truck with a C6 Transmission ?

 

You need to go and start your own thread, not ask a question in ine that has nothing to do with your issue.

 

Thanks for the info! I just picked up a '94 F150 last night and was wondering this very same thing!

 

and I now see this thread is 3 years old!

 

Since this thread is here, what's the general opinion of converting to auto at the same time? I thought maybe throw a floor shifter on it so the hole is covered.

Reason I ask that is because I found a rustyBronco for $800 with a 351 and an auto. I'd just swap over the whole drivetrain and sell everything fire parts and break even.

 

I didn't catch that. Lol

 

If it has a hole over the area where the shifter is all you will have to do is go down to Ace hardware or another hardware store where they sell metal piece and buy a big enough piece of 12 gauge steel just enough to cover the hole in the floor with and take it home place it over the hole and take a hammer and shape it by hand and once it is shaped screw it down with some self drilling screws. You want want to go between 2 to 4 inches past the edge of the hole all the way around and put some form a gasket down before you screw the metal that you just shaped down to the floor pan.

After you do that then you can add your floor shifter for the automatic transmission the floor pan repair will give some support to the shifter and the shifter boot cover.

I know in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's Ford, Pontiac, Chevy and Dodge was using 12 gauge steel doubled folded for their floor pans as well as for fenders and other parts of the body steel before they started using aluminum on the body of the cars and trucks.

I have repaired a few floor pans in my life and it really isn't as hard as it sounds hammering out the 12 gauge steel to fit over holes where the shifters go.

 

How much did it cost do u have pics an how long foe the actual conversation

 

How much did this whole swap cost you? I would get junkyard parts for my build but I too don't want to give up on it. I'm in too deep to not make it 4wd. Thanks

 

You did notice that the OP only has the one post in this thread, and it's from 2011, right? That, along with the fact that he hasn't posted at all on FTE since 2012 leads me to suggest you not hold your breath waiting for an answer.