lift kit question

rammanriley20 · Oct 23, 2014

so im thinking of doing a 2wd to 4wd conversion on my 99 dodge 1500 reg cab short bed. if i do the conversion will i be able to use the 4x4 lifts on a truck that was 2wd from the factory??? or will neither 2wd or 4wd lift kits fit?

heres my truck...

http://www.ramforum.com/members/rammanriley20-albums-my_ram.html

Merc225hp · Oct 23, 2014

How do you plan on doing the conversion to 4wd? It is not a bolt in job by any means.

dodge dude94 · Oct 23, 2014

^This.

rammanriley20 · Oct 23, 2014

Merc225hp said:
How do you plan on doing the conversion to 4wd? It is not a bolt in job by any means.

get a donor 4x4 truck, take all necessary perts (tranny, front and rear end, t-case, suspension, etc) and hopefully most will line up nicely if i find a reg cab short bed 4x4. maybe have to do a little bit of fab work to get it to fit but thats no problem im sure it will be a pretty big production. i just dont have the money for a 4x4 as nice as this truck and i would take such a huge loss selling this one that its not worth it to me. :superhack:

Andler2008 · Oct 24, 2014

well **** if you're going that far, you might as well buy a d44 and just throw a set of leafs on the front and mount it all. SAS SWAP. then just buy leaf spring with built in lift for front and back and that'll lift it like you want and be better than trying to swap to a coil buckets and what not.

orrrrrr........ you could just buy a 4x4 frame, and swap all your goodies and call it a day.

To me, it wouldn't be worth the work to a reg cab. Just sell it off and get one that's 4x4. they're plentiful. Just gotta look hard enough.

Merc225hp · Oct 24, 2014

See the post above, find a 4wd frame and do a body swap. I would not waste my time installing a Dana 44 if you go to all this work front Dana 60 and rear Dana 60-70, Np241 xcase, Nv4500 5 spd stick tranny. Have you looked into the laws regarding doing this work? After its all said and done will it pass a vehicle inspection if it has to? How to hang the front diff is going to be your big headache, coil spring buckets, control arm brackets all have to be cut off and welded where they need to go on the 2wd frame. You will have to strip the 2wd frame done to its rails all of it must go before anything can be welded on the 2wd frame.

rammanriley20 · Oct 24, 2014

well i have so much time, work, and money in this truck that i cant even think of selling it for a 10k+ loss....i think the frame swap would be the best route to go? it would be hard finding a clean frame but i guess i could patch new metal into one because this truck does not have one spec of rust on it. and as far as laws go i dont think it will be a problem, i live in iowa and there are not really any vehicle inspections to speak of, or emissions etc... and to Andler2008 what you got against regular cabs bro!? i much prefer the look over ext cabs!

Merc225hp · Oct 24, 2014

I could do the body swap in a day, to do a conversion would take a week give or take. I have seen this conversion done and it's no small job by any means. I would find a 2nd gen Ram 2500 complete as possible use everything shy of the body, then bob the rear frame rails and move the spring hangers forward. I think there is a thread here on RF called shortbedguy or something like that, he is into bobbing these trucks.

rammanriley20 · Oct 24, 2014

alright guys thanks, if you ever get any more info please let me know. as i said i live in iowa and really need 4x4 in the winter! i just couldnt pass on a 2wd as clean as this one, dont really care if its cost effective i just wanna keep this clean body! and id probably find a 2500 with a blown motor pretty cheap around here. with the 2500 frame it would be way stronger too which would be a plus. thanks guys for all your help!

Merc225hp · Oct 24, 2014

What else would you like to know? If your truck is in that nice of shape, park it for the winter and find a pos 4wd truck to trash on. Cheaper in the long run and it saves your nice rust free body/frame.

rammanriley20 · Oct 24, 2014

well for one i would like to lift this truck around 3-5 in and run maybe 35in tires, and i dont want to be known as the retard who has a lifted 2wd. although some tire chains will get me around allright during the winter i would really like to have 4wd. the least i will for sure do to this truck is put a locking diff in the rear end so i have posi for them burnouts, and so i have more than one tire spinning in the snow! and a beater to use during the winter would just need to be maintained/stored during the rest of the year and im not really looking to do that. i want this truck to be all it can be, im hoping i can maybe find a donor 4wd and put my 2wd parts back in and make a running 2wd possibly and sell it off? im not sure on this whole thing yet im just kicking around some ideas, i need a winter project! i will for sure put a locking diff in the rear though. maybe tire chains will fair alright?

rammanriley20 · Oct 24, 2014

also: can i convert my current rear end to have posi or do i need a new one?

Merc225hp · Oct 24, 2014

You can put in a lsd of some flavor or a Detroit locker, there are NO air lockers or elec lockers for the 9.25 used in our trucks. Get a good set of "winter rated" tires, they will go a long way in helping you this winter.

You can do the conversion, me I would go coil-over shocks and mounts and a set of long arms for the front. The back is just leaf-springs nothing hard there to lift it. You would have to make up a track bar mount on the frame end as well.

You need to be a proficient welder to do this work, no place for bird dropping welds thats for sure.

rammanriley20 · Oct 24, 2014

Merc225hp said:
You can put in a lsd of some flavor or a Detroit locker, there are NO air lockers or elec lockers for the 9.25 used in our trucks. Get a good set of "winter rated" tires, they will go a long way in helping you this winter.

You can do the conversion, me I would go coil-over shocks and mounts and a set of long arms for the front. The back is just leaf-springs nothing hard there to lift it. You would have to make up a track bar mount on the frame end as well.

You need to be a proficient welder to do this work, no place for bird dropping welds thats for sure.

thanks for all the help man!

Andler2008 · Oct 29, 2014

rammanriley20 said:
and to Andler2008 what you got against regular cabs bro!? i much prefer the look over ext cabs!

I have a son that's why! LOL

He's not yet old enough for the front seat and mama doesn't want the carseat in the front as she needs somewhere to sit as well.

But yes as merc said, You've got a big job ahead. Frame swap to 2500 is your best bet for sure. Gets you 8 lugs, and 4x4.

rammanriley20 · Oct 30, 2014

(update) i have shopped around and am gonna do some type of heavy duty rear end like a dana swap or something so i have posi, and im gonna go to some HD coils or something in the front. only gonna cost me like $1000 vs $3-5k for the whole swap. then id have to buy new rims and such which is another $1500

ADudeOnSkis · Nov 13, 2014

Good luck man! Take lots of pictures

lift kit question

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Merc225hp

Senior Member

dodge dude94

Millennial Boomer

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Andler2008

Member

Merc225hp

Senior Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Merc225hp

Senior Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Merc225hp

Senior Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Merc225hp

Senior Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

Andler2008

Member

rammanriley20

Senior Member

ADudeOnSkis

Senior Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page