Yeah that sounds about right. I don't know why anybody would say this is too expensive and to just sell your truck. If you have the skills to do it yourself and keep a sharp eye out, the cost is neglidgable.

 

Would this be possible on a 2000 F250? I'm not sure what the differences are between 2000 and 2005, but the front suspension looks pretty much identical. Twin I-beam axle.

 

So the original coil buckets weren't the same?

 

Yes its possible only difference would be you would need the leaf sprung setup rather than the coils..

 

Wow, truly makes it less intimidating to buy a cheap good 2WD truck and make it 4WD. Also, how did the 4WD work for you?

 

From what I've been reading, an '05-'07 4x4 front end will bolt right on to an '00-'04 truck. The holes match up for the 4x4 coil buckets and radius arms. The only real issue is the steering box. You need to get an '05-'07 box to fit the pitman arm, and just need longer bolts to mount it.

 

this is all correct, but keep in mind that it also means bigger brakes and different wheel spacing so 05+ rims are needed.

 

So the 2wd coil buckets aren't the same as the 4wd buckets?

 

Hmm, I seem to remember somewhere that the brakes were the same. In which case, the best, least expensive route would probably be to find a donor truck with good axles and drivetrain. Did you do this conversion PSD? I know someone else on here has.

 

No they are different

 

Brakes are not the same hence the change from 16 to 17 inch wheels at the 2005+ model year.

Yes I did a conversion on my 06.

 

Since some guys are running the f450/550 springs, wouldn't that mean that 05+ springs would fit in the buckets anyway?

Basically what I'm getting at is would it be easier to convert an 03 2wd to a 4x4 99-04 or a 4x4 05+ axle?

In theory, since the coil buckets are there, wouldn't I be able to skip the coil bucket step?

 

No, they are not the same at all.

 

Great post, just what I've been looking for, I have a 03 2wd dually gear ratio 3;73 and a 05 4wd dually gear ratio 4;10 for a doner truck, do I need to do anything to the pcm, and do I have to go with the floor shift or can I use the switch out of the donor truck

 

If you want the "4x4" lights to show on the dash, you have to wire in the transfer case gear selector switch. I chose not to, as I didn't really care.

The easy way is the floor shifted transfer case. Trying to run the ESOF setup would require a fair amount of wiring. I am not saying it wouldn't be possible, but it adds alot of extra work to the mix. You can re-use your electronic shift transfer case and remove the shift actuator. A bit of clever engineering and you can attached the manual shift linkage to the electronic transfer case. In reality though, you can sell your electronic t case and basically offset the price of buying the manual case.