4X4 conversion

hey guys bought an 02 prerunner last july now its time to do some work. does ok in it dirt but i was thinking of a 4x4 conversion, read a little online bus still dont know quite where to start. any suggestions?

 

sell it and get a 4wd. Takes a lot of work and expertise.

 

it depends, how mechanically inclined are you? Anything is possible with enough money or time.

 

look for someone doing a SAS and you could probably get everything you need for a decent price. Although IMO its not worth doing unless you DIY because it will just get too expensive to pay someone to do all the welding. So if you know what your doing go for it.

Edit: if you really want a capable rig then you midswell just do a solid axle conversion instead of just a 4x4 conversion. In the end it might cost a little bit more but it will be well worth it if you put it to use.

 

Best advice from someone who converted his truck. READ A LOT and then decide if you can or should. You'll learn a lot more by figuring out the answers than getting them answered.

 

Thanks a lot fellas. i still have to save a little money up for the swap so it'll give me a little more time to think it over

 

Buy a 4x4! Major League Job if you aren't really knowledgeable on how to do that conversion. Welding,cutting,drinking,swearing,etc.haha

 

there is no welding involved... everything is pretty much swappable, read read read, there is a bunch of info out there. im currently gathering parts for mine!

 

Bolt on spring hangers ??.... I dunno man, seems like you're going to have to run a bead or 2 somewhere...

 

Yeah,I don't know anything about that conversion except I recently did a swap. Just on swap had to weld. What is pretty much swappable. More than anything trying to express to op the amount of work and knowledge it will take.

 

I did the swap on my old 99 Prerunner. Ran great for the next two years I owned it before trading up. Easy peasy if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. Seriously only hard part was the tranny swap and only because of how laborious it is. Not very mechanical. It remove and replace at its finest.

I got all the parts for about 400.00 from a donor. You may not be that lucky on price but somewhat close to it if you shop around.

I agree with has been said before. If you have a stock truck currently, just sell it and get a 4x4 IMHO. If you have time and money invested in your rig, then the swap is best for meeting your current needs.

Not sure anyone can bitch or complain on here. I've noticed a lot of people buying or building elaborate front plate and rear plate bumpers and getting BAMF skids plates that are self professed mall crawlers. Its your truck. Invest in it however you want. I've personally pissed more than 400.00 away buying shit at a yard sale before.

 

4x4 swap isn't hard at all

 

Rock solid toys.

 

I sold my front frame and all 4x4 parts when I did the sas for $600 minus the transmission. I think I could get that price all day long.

 

Don't you also need transfer,driveshafts,ecu,harness,boot assy,wiring to cluster. Or do you wire 4wd without ecu,harness?

 

You do not need any wiring harness or ecu

 

Yeah like I posted these are just questions. These are all things I had to do just to swap 5 spd into automatic. Of course I didn't mention other steps that I know are not relevant.

 

go big or go home! 6x4 conversion ftw!!!!11
scratch that, go half-track conversion

 

ahhh gotya, how was that swap? seems like it'd be a nightmare

 

It was a lot of work. Lost 95.5 to rust. It was my truck from june of 95. 2.7 reg cab 5sp man hubs. Found 96 2.7 reg cab auto trans man hubs. Donor engine leaky,blowing smoke,ticking. (2800.00). Drove 1 1/2 yr and started swap. Swapped 95 into 96. Engine,transfer,trans pulled in 1 pull. Swap involved swapping ecu,harness,drilling holes in firewall for mounting slave cyl, swapping brake assy's, installing clutch pedal,swapping evap,radiators,driveshafts,welding trans support,cutting in 5 sp boot assy,cluster,and prob some things I forgot. Love my 5 sp with the donor 456 gears!
Now I have the bed off hanging in a tree. Not gonna lose this one!! Got thread in 1st gen discussion.