As stated, I'm looking to do a 2WD to 4x4 conversion. I'm looking to upgrade my 1995 Ford F-250 XL to a 4x4. I'll be able to provide better stats on my truck later, but some of my top priority questions are listed below:

Stats: 4.9L I6, 5-speed manual (unsure which one, will know by later today), 3.55 rear, semi float axle.

1. Transmission. I currently have a 5 speed, as listed above. Will I need a different transmission or can I keep mine?
2. Transfer case. I want a manual transfer case, not electronic. Which one should I be looking at?
3. Driveshaft. I have a regular cab long bed, what trucks can I pull a drive shaft off of?

I'm going to start looking into the front end later, but for right now I'm focusing on getting the main components in so the truck is drivable as a 2WD right now.

 

Its alot easier to buy a 4x4 truck. But u can change the output shaft on the 2wd tranny but buying a whole new 4x4 tranny is better. For the transfer case, a borg warner 1356 is decent, i have that in my f250 hd. They drive shafts will obviously need to be changed as long as finding a dana 50 or dana 60 SA in the front

 

I think I'd like to stick with the TTB suspension, so a Dana 50? Am i correct?

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ng-d-50-a.html

 

Yes you can do a ttb. On my 1990 i have a dana 50 ttb. Its a decent axle but if u havent already installed it, a straight axle is better. SA are stronger, easier to work on, and doent have as many moving parts to wear out as a ttb

 

FORDF250HDXLT: That's really helpful, but I'm trying to stick with coil overs if I can. I want to replace as little as possible.

 

Did some research and found that F-250's used either a DANA 44 or 50 TTB for the front on the 4WD models. What axle was used on 2WD models?

 

Theres technically no front axle on a 2wd. Just independant front suspension with twin i beams

 

There isn't any real designation on most 2WD axles. It's a Ford Twin I Beam (abbreviated TIB), but I'm pretty sure it's different from the F-150 TIB and other that F-150 vs F-250 there's no real difference in naming.

As far as TTB vs solid front axle, either is OK. If you're going to beat on it, or put big tires on it a solid Dana 60 is stronger. Most (but not all) people think a leaf sprung solid axle rides better than a leaf sprung TTB, but if you're going with either coils or with coil-overs that's not an issue. By the way, coil-overs are very different from coils in that they go over the shocks, so all of the vehicles weight is held up by the shock mounts. It's doable, but probably easier to use coils and keep the springs in their own mounts.

If you are going with coils it might be easier to use a Dana 44 TTB from an F-150, since that's a coil spring front end to start with. I think you ought to be able to use F-250 hubs from a Dana 44HD front end to match the 8 lug pattern on your rear axle. Not sure how the brakes would work out, but I'm sure they could be worked out (by the way, it's all the little stuff like this that makes it easier to buy a 4WD to start with).

If you want to use an F-250 front axle you've got the Dana 44HD or the Dana 50. There's not a huge difference, and since you have a light duty F-250 to start with (given the semi-float rear end), you probably don't need the Dana 50, so I'd go with whichever you could find first. But I don't know what it would take to switch it to coils.

As far as the trans goes, yes you can turn a 2WD trans into a 4WD trans. But you need to completely disassemble it and put it back together using a tailshaft and the "tailshaft housing" (more like a transfer case adapter) from the 4WD version of your trans. It's cheaper and easier to start with a 4WD trans, so don't mess around with converting your 2WD trans.