Great video! I've had all the parts to do the swap for a year but haven't jumped in yet. Ill be saving this video and watching again the night before I start the job.
thanks for the video. My buddy is givimg me his 2002 v10 with the tool box bed. im going to sell that and get a standard 8' . 4x4 conversion and put the modern grill and headlights 🏁
Thanks for the video. Great concept! Personally I would've went one step further and upgraded to an '05-'07 front end with better brakes and a MUCH better riding, tighter steering coil spring system.
My only argument with the coil spring front end is that it requires a lot of fabrication as the leaf spring front end is a direct bolt on application, I wasn't looking to spend a ton and if I remember the coil springs are prone to get the death wobble
Thanks for sharing. I have a 2000 F250 I am wanting to do the same thing. Do you know which years will be an exact fit? If I recall the 1st generation was from 1999 - 2007, but I think there was major change in 2005.
Great video! Did this same process on a OBS F350 and the super duty seems like a better way to go since the frames are the same. Had to drill a ton of holes for my conversion.
Nice work on the video! I have seen several other videos where if you use 2005 and up (not sure how far up you can go probably 2008) front axle you can keep the coil spring suspension and I believe it's an even easier swap.
Well thought video dude. Im doing a '02 4WD F250 getting '01 2WD F550 frame and rear diff. I hear the front diff out of the 250 is the same Dana as what F550 (4WD) would've had. Thanks again bud.
Thank you sir, appreciate it, Yes the dana 60 will fit from a 250 to a 550, The only difference is the gear ratio. For example the f250s are a dana 60 3.73 gears. My 2001 F450 is a dana 60 4.88 gears, As long as you re gear your front axle to match your rear you'll have no issues
If you still have the radios arms I’ll pay you greatly I need them so bad right now my truck just got bent up and need headlights and a fender awesome videos and great information also the coil spring buckets need them so desperately there in great shape
Thanks for the great video and details. I’m about to start this on my 01 Excursion. I don’t think they have the hole for the manual TC so I need to be aware of the differences but it’s the same frame rails from what I have found. One thing to. Oye is that you have to be sure the gear ratios are the same. Minor details ;).
Thank you sir! The excursions have a heat shield covering the hole so it is not visible from underneath, But it definitely is in fact there 👍, You just have to cut the square out in the heatsheild
@@chauvinsgarage1515 thanks for the info. I also got under there to fix an air leak and was looking at the wire harness on the transmission. There is a pigtail plugged into the tailpiece rather than into a dummy holder on the harness itself. I unplugged it and saw that there were contacts in the plug on the tailpiece. Why do you suppose that is and do you think this is the TC connection?
@@CieloDelAstra for some reason there is No pig tail on the excursions, They share the same Harness as the E series Vans, All you have to do is swap out the Harness with a F250, Automatic trans and you'll be good to go, It plugs in up near the driver fender and there's a few connections on the transmission to unplug and the entire thing comes out
I'm in the process of doing the same conversion to my truck. I have done mine in the reverse process as you by starting with a total rebuild and conversion of my 2x4 transmission, installed a manual transfer case, modified my existing rear driveshaft, installed rear sway bar, installed stock 4x4 height blocks on rear axle, manual transfer case shifter installed as well. I still have to install the front axle. I am very curious to see how you wired your 4x4 lights in the cluster as well as the PCM and ABS system. Great video by the way
That's awesome 🤙 I'll be doing the same shortly with my 2x4 tranny. Just changing the shaft to a 4x4 and rebuilding it, The wiring and linkage is very easy, I have all that covered coming soon in pt. 2 👍
I really appreciate the video, everything seems pretty easy. How difficult was it to track downt the 4x4 front clip ( complete donor frame section )? How much did it cost? i'm trying to be patient while waiting for your part 2 video.
Appreciate the comment, Everything for the most part was very easy, 2 floor jacks certainly help and plenty of jack stands. The Conversion for the front end was very Inexpensive, I paid $550 for the entire front clip section, I replaced nearly everything, Ball joints, Axle seals, outer axle shafts with new hub bearing assemblies, All tie rods and steering components , locking hubs and u joints, leaf springs Totalling at $2800. It will be cheaper without buying the 2.5 lift i installed and will certainly be cheaper if you don't need entirely new seals and steering.. part 2 will be coming soon we are rebuilding the transmission since it has over 300k miles and will be changing tailshaft and main shaft as well as upgrading torque converter.. All the details for making your 2wd transmission into a 4x4 transmission, or simply swapping one in thats already set up for 4x4 and wiring dash lights etc will be in part 2 very easy, nothing different its all plug and play 👍
Will have it out soon, Decided to use my 2wd transmissions and rebuild it with the 4x4 shaft and tailshaft housing. Will be explained in detail in the next video 👍
If you had to take a guess in-total, about what did you pay, just for the stuff in this video not tranny or transfer case or any of that just the the whole swap and and sway bar shocks every with the front end.
The Price on this conversion is all gonna depend on the condition of the used parts and availability, The front axle/Frame section i bought for $550. Everything included. I replaced the hubs, U-joints, Seals, and did a 2.5 lift kit with all new tie rods and sway bar links, The total cost of the front end was right at $2,500 . If you can get a used front axle that don't need repairs it will be a lot cheaper, I wanted Everything to be new and in working order so I went ahead and replaced everything since it was easy to get to out of the truck
Great video! How much did this run you roughly? I have a 2000 f350 crew cab long bed and I’d like to convert mine as well. It’s too big of a truck to not have 4x4!
Thank you sir! Cost is all gonna depend on parts and availability, I bought mostly everything used at junk yards.. I Paid $550 for the entire front clip as you seen it, I replaced the hubs, all the seals, Bearings, U-joints, tie rods and ball joints, Brake Calipers, pads and rotors with a total cost of about $2,500. The transfercase cost me $250, The transmission was by far the most expensive part of the build, I found several used ones for 600-1200. But I decided to have my transmission rebuild and converted which costed me $4k . Bringing they entire conversion to roughly $8k
There are 2 different ones, It depends on if you have a dana 50 or dana 60 front axle. Dana 60 being more heavy duty. Either one bolts up exactly the same with the exception of a couple different brackets and hardware for the front bumper
Personally I like the back end of the truck to sit about an inch or 2 higher than the front so when im towing a heavy trailer it sits nice and level. With that said I went with 4 inch F350 springs in the rear and with the 2.5 leveling kit in the front im about 2 inches higher in the back
@@w.w.beason9183 I forgot to mention im Not running factory blocks in the rear, they're just 4 inch lift springs for a f350 they're sitting directly on the sattle
My dad has a 99 super duty with only 120k on it. I’ve been trying to talk him into doing this but he says it’s too much work. I wonder what someone would charge for said work 🤔
To do the whole thing properly it's closer to the 10k point , Transmission and all parts included. I did one not too long ago, I have all the parts in stock
Thanks for the video, looking into doing the same thing to my 01 with a 7.3. As I was searching for a cut front end assy, several sites asked me about gear ratio from 3.73 and up. Question was that an issue in your build? What ratio did you end up with? BTW got 530,000 on the big guy and it's definitely time to work and replace some front end parts.
Good afternoon! All the F250s had 3.73 Gear Ratio and F-350 Dual rear wheel have 4.10s, To verify this your rear differential will have an identification tag with some numbers indicating the gear ratio to be certain you get the right one 👍
Do appreciate the quick reply and the info. Another question, I know you had time spread out and we all know how much longer it takes doing something for the first time, but what’s your best guess on total amount of time it took you. Thanks
@@roblangston9698 absolutely, The more you can do on the bench or while the axle is out of the truck the better, it just makes it easy to work on, I replaced all the ball joints, Hubs and serviced the entire axle in the Garage before installing on the truck, When it was time to remove the 2wd Components and install the axle, I did it by myself in the driveway with 2 floor jacks, Had the 2wd out and New front end put on In 3 days, About 10 hours per day. I then took it in for a front end alignment, Drove it to the transmission shop and it took them 2 weeks to rebuild the transmission
Thanks for the reply. I know it’s a lot of work. Sometimes people don’t get how involved something is while watching a video. It takes a big time commitment. Thanks again
@@roblangston9698 Absolutely, And Thank You! Certainly payed off in the long run. The cost of a new 4x4 F250 is Absolutely ridiculous.. Still many years of service in my 2001. Good luck on your build and thank you for watching!
In not entirely sure if the Track bar brackets and coil spring buckets are a direct bolt on application like the leaf spring set up, It's possible though
Hey man, I was curious if you would get some lift just from putting the 4x4 axle in the front? I have the exact same truck as yours and it sits at the same height, but mine is a 2003 6.0 long bed. I want to do the conversion like you did, but I don’t necessarily want that much of a lift on it, I like it lower. I’d like to get a small amount of lift and I like it a little lower in the front like yours. Any suggestions?
Yes sir, stock 4x4 f250s sit about 2 inches higher than a 2wd. When I did my conversion I added a 2.5" lift kit ultimately making it 4.5 inches higher overall.. So with stock 4x4 parts you should gain 2 inches on your 2wd
@@chauvinsgarage1515 Awesome, thank you man that’s exactly what I needed to know! Apparently on the 6.0 2wd the transfer case bolts right up to the transmission and you don’t have to change anything. I found a guy that converted his 2wd 2003 excursion 6.0 and he said he would sell me all the parts I need to do the swap for $1000. Think that sounds like a good deal?
Part 2 will be out Mid September, Been gathering the last few parts needed and doing tons of research, Its going in to have the transmission done beginning of September, I'll have all the details you need to successfully finish the conversion
how long would you say this took you? im getting ready to do the same thing but im going to do it at my job on a friday and work through the weekend, im also interested in the wheel speed sensors if the 4wd speed sensors are the same as the 2wd?
It's a fairly simple job to convert the front end if you have all the parts ready to go and the right tools to make it easier such as air tools, a grinder, floor Jack's etc. I had the front end swapped out in 2 10 hour days by myself in the driveway. As far as wheel speed sensors there is only 1 speed sensor on the rear diffrential, I think you are Referring to the Tone Ring sensors for the ABS that plug in behind the fender wells, They are exactly the same as the 2wd, Simply plug them in and the system works perfectly fine
Going through all the trouble, why not upgrade to the 05-07 axles. Way better ride, better turning radius, better axles. At least get you some solastic shackles. They drastically improve the ride.
Very good video. I like how you explain step by step. You are the best on how to teach a four wheel conversion. 😂
Great video! I've had all the parts to do the swap for a year but haven't jumped in yet. Ill be saving this video and watching again the night before I start the job.
The trust it takes to have a axle sitting on plastic sawhorses 😂
Thank you for this video. I just finished with my swap. Thanks to this video, you're awesome 👌
thanks for the video. My buddy is givimg me his 2002 v10 with the tool box bed. im going to sell that and get a standard 8' . 4x4 conversion and put the modern grill and headlights 🏁
Thanks for the video. Great concept! Personally I would've went one step further and upgraded to an '05-'07 front end with better brakes and a MUCH better riding, tighter steering coil spring system.
My only argument with the coil spring front end is that it requires a lot of fabrication as the leaf spring front end is a direct bolt on application, I wasn't looking to spend a ton and if I remember the coil springs are prone to get the death wobble
@@chauvinsgarage1515 Thanks for the info
Thanks for sharing. I have a 2000 F250 I am wanting to do the same thing. Do you know which years will be an exact fit? If I recall the 1st generation was from 1999 - 2007, but I think there was major change in 2005.
Doing this same swap on a 2001 f250 great video very helpful
Best video iv seen on this 💯💯💯😎 very detailed video and informative content by far
Great video! Did this same process on a OBS F350 and the super duty seems like a better way to go since the frames are the same. Had to drill a ton of holes for my conversion.
Nice work on the video! I have seen several other videos where if you use 2005 and up (not sure how far up you can go probably 2008) front axle you can keep the coil spring suspension and I believe it's an even easier swap.
Well thought video dude. Im doing a '02 4WD F250 getting '01 2WD F550 frame and rear diff. I hear the front diff out of the 250 is the same Dana as what F550 (4WD) would've had. Thanks again bud.
Thank you sir, appreciate it, Yes the dana 60 will fit from a 250 to a 550, The only difference is the gear ratio. For example the f250s are a dana 60 3.73 gears. My 2001 F450 is a dana 60 4.88 gears, As long as you re gear your front axle to match your rear you'll have no issues
Front Frame exchange is easier replace the rivits with bolt bill Hewitt does it on the ford excursion trucks.
It looks pretty good 👍
If you still have the radios arms I’ll pay you greatly I need them so bad right now my truck just got bent up and need headlights and a fender awesome videos and great information also the coil spring buckets need them so desperately there in great shape
Thanks for the great video and details. I’m about to start this on my 01 Excursion. I don’t think they have the hole for the manual TC so I need to be aware of the differences but it’s the same frame rails from what I have found. One thing to. Oye is that you have to be sure the gear ratios are the same. Minor details ;).
Thank you sir! The excursions have a heat shield covering the hole so it is not visible from underneath, But it definitely is in fact there 👍, You just have to cut the square out in the heatsheild
@@chauvinsgarage1515 thanks for the info. I also got under there to fix an air leak and was looking at the wire harness on the transmission. There is a pigtail plugged into the tailpiece rather than into a dummy holder on the harness itself. I unplugged it and saw that there were contacts in the plug on the tailpiece. Why do you suppose that is and do you think this is the TC connection?
@@CieloDelAstra for some reason there is No pig tail on the excursions, They share the same Harness as the E series Vans, All you have to do is swap out the Harness with a F250, Automatic trans and you'll be good to go, It plugs in up near the driver fender and there's a few connections on the transmission to unplug and the entire thing comes out
Looking forward to part 2!
I'm in the process of doing the same conversion to my truck. I have done mine in the reverse process as you by starting with a total rebuild and conversion of my 2x4 transmission, installed a manual transfer case, modified my existing rear driveshaft, installed rear sway bar, installed stock 4x4 height blocks on rear axle, manual transfer case shifter installed as well. I still have to install the front axle.
I am very curious to see how you wired your 4x4 lights in the cluster as well as the PCM and ABS system.
Great video by the way
That's awesome 🤙 I'll be doing the same shortly with my 2x4 tranny. Just changing the shaft to a 4x4 and rebuilding it, The wiring and linkage is very easy, I have all that covered coming soon in pt. 2 👍
Awesome front license plate!!
I really appreciate the video, everything seems pretty easy. How difficult was it to track downt the 4x4 front clip ( complete donor frame section )? How much did it cost? i'm trying to be patient while waiting for your part 2 video.
Appreciate the comment, Everything for the most part was very easy, 2 floor jacks certainly help and plenty of jack stands. The Conversion for the front end was very Inexpensive, I paid $550 for the entire front clip section, I replaced nearly everything, Ball joints, Axle seals, outer axle shafts with new hub bearing assemblies, All tie rods and steering components , locking hubs and u joints, leaf springs Totalling at $2800. It will be cheaper without buying the 2.5 lift i installed and will certainly be cheaper if you don't need entirely new seals and steering.. part 2 will be coming soon we are rebuilding the transmission since it has over 300k miles and will be changing tailshaft and main shaft as well as upgrading torque converter.. All the details for making your 2wd transmission into a 4x4 transmission, or simply swapping one in thats already set up for 4x4 and wiring dash lights etc will be in part 2 very easy, nothing different its all plug and play 👍
Nice instructional! You've got a new subscriber!
Thank you sir!
They have a torque multiplier
Get closer to the microphone
Good video waiting on #2
Will have it out soon, Decided to use my 2wd transmissions and rebuild it with the 4x4 shaft and tailshaft housing. Will be explained in detail in the next video 👍
Excellent video
If you had to take a guess in-total, about what did you pay, just for the stuff in this video not tranny or transfer case or any of that just the the whole swap and and sway bar shocks every with the front end.
The Price on this conversion is all gonna depend on the condition of the used parts and availability, The front axle/Frame section i bought for $550. Everything included. I replaced the hubs, U-joints, Seals, and did a 2.5 lift kit with all new tie rods and sway bar links, The total cost of the front end was right at $2,500 . If you can get a used front axle that don't need repairs it will be a lot cheaper, I wanted Everything to be new and in working order so I went ahead and replaced everything since it was easy to get to out of the truck
@@chauvinsgarage1515 Thank you very much for this info
@@mav_4338 you bet
it would be a good show if we could hear what you say, the music is loud
Agreed, We got audio more dialed in during the 2nd video
Great video! How much did this run you roughly? I have a 2000 f350 crew cab long bed and I’d like to convert mine as well. It’s too big of a truck to not have 4x4!
Thank you sir! Cost is all gonna depend on parts and availability, I bought mostly everything used at junk yards.. I Paid $550 for the entire front clip as you seen it, I replaced the hubs, all the seals, Bearings, U-joints, tie rods and ball joints, Brake Calipers, pads and rotors with a total cost of about $2,500. The transfercase cost me $250, The transmission was by far the most expensive part of the build, I found several used ones for 600-1200. But I decided to have my transmission rebuild and converted which costed me $4k . Bringing they entire conversion to roughly $8k
I cant find part 2? I hope your project made it through part 2.
Part 2 will be released Mid September, Have most all the parts gathered, I'll cover all the details
This turned out amazing. Do you know if the same straightforward swap would work for the later trucks? Say the ‘11-16 years?
I'm not too sure to tell you the truth, I would have to look and see how the frame is made
@@chauvinsgarage1515 I was looking at a ‘16 2wd truck, but I decided not to get it. No worries. Thanks!
@@chauvinsgarage1515 I think it’s probably electronic selection for 4wd anyway. Might involve a lot more work.
Check frame part #'s
before you changed the rear driveshaft and transfer case did you have to installed the driveshaft carrier bearing drop bracket?
Did you get those front spring hangers off a cab and chassis I’ve never seen that style?
There are 2 different ones, It depends on if you have a dana 50 or dana 60 front axle. Dana 60 being more heavy duty. Either one bolts up exactly the same with the exception of a couple different brackets and hardware for the front bumper
How much did cost all?
What rear springs did you use? Thanks for the videos looks great. You can definitely convert one cheaper than buying another truck.
Personally I like the back end of the truck to sit about an inch or 2 higher than the front so when im towing a heavy trailer it sits nice and level. With that said I went with 4 inch F350 springs in the rear and with the 2.5 leveling kit in the front im about 2 inches higher in the back
@@chauvinsgarage1515 Yea that’s perfect height in my opinion especially with trucks that actually tow lol. Thanks.
@@w.w.beason9183 I forgot to mention im Not running factory blocks in the rear, they're just 4 inch lift springs for a f350 they're sitting directly on the sattle
Man if only this was a 7.3
didn't even notice till now that you mentioned it
7.3 swap coming soon
My dad has a 99 super duty with only 120k on it. I’ve been trying to talk him into doing this but he says it’s too much work. I wonder what someone would charge for said work 🤔
To do the whole thing properly it's closer to the 10k point , Transmission and all parts included. I did one not too long ago, I have all the parts in stock
@@chauvinsgarage1515 that’s awesome. I might have to hit you up one day
Thanks for the video, looking into doing the same thing to my 01 with a 7.3. As I was searching for a cut front end assy, several sites asked me about gear ratio from 3.73 and up. Question was that an issue in your build? What ratio did you end up with? BTW got 530,000 on the big guy and it's definitely time to work and replace some front end parts.
Good afternoon! All the F250s had 3.73 Gear Ratio and F-350 Dual rear wheel have 4.10s, To verify this your rear differential will have an identification tag with some numbers indicating the gear ratio to be certain you get the right one 👍
Do appreciate the quick reply and the info. Another question, I know you had time spread out and we all know how much longer it takes doing something for the first time, but what’s your best guess on total amount of time it took you.
Thanks
@@roblangston9698 absolutely, The more you can do on the bench or while the axle is out of the truck the better, it just makes it easy to work on, I replaced all the ball joints, Hubs and serviced the entire axle in the Garage before installing on the truck, When it was time to remove the 2wd Components and install the axle, I did it by myself in the driveway with 2 floor jacks, Had the 2wd out and New front end put on In 3 days, About 10 hours per day. I then took it in for a front end alignment, Drove it to the transmission shop and it took them 2 weeks to rebuild the transmission
Thanks for the reply. I know it’s a lot of work. Sometimes people don’t get how involved something is while watching a video. It takes a big time commitment.
Thanks again
@@roblangston9698 Absolutely, And Thank You! Certainly payed off in the long run. The cost of a new 4x4 F250 is Absolutely ridiculous.. Still many years of service in my 2001. Good luck on your build and thank you for watching!
Coil spring from 05-07 woulda made more sense. Same amount of work
In not entirely sure if the Track bar brackets and coil spring buckets are a direct bolt on application like the leaf spring set up, It's possible though
Hey man, I was curious if you would get some lift just from putting the 4x4 axle in the front? I have the exact same truck as yours and it sits at the same height, but mine is a 2003 6.0 long bed.
I want to do the conversion like you did, but I don’t necessarily want that much of a lift on it, I like it lower. I’d like to get a small amount of lift and I like it a little lower in the front like yours. Any suggestions?
Yes sir, stock 4x4 f250s sit about 2 inches higher than a 2wd. When I did my conversion I added a 2.5" lift kit ultimately making it 4.5 inches higher overall.. So with stock 4x4 parts you should gain 2 inches on your 2wd
@@chauvinsgarage1515 Awesome, thank you man that’s exactly what I needed to know! Apparently on the 6.0 2wd the transfer case bolts right up to the transmission and you don’t have to change anything. I found a guy that converted his 2wd 2003 excursion 6.0 and he said he would sell me all the parts I need to do the swap for $1000. Think that sounds like a good deal?
How much did you lift the rear?
When are you doing to part 2 video?
Part 2 will be out Mid September, Been gathering the last few parts needed and doing tons of research, Its going in to have the transmission done beginning of September, I'll have all the details you need to successfully finish the conversion
Part 2?
Where did you get the parts for the tuck pitmanarm? Did it come with your clip?
It came with the front clip, You can also buy them online
how long would you say this took you? im getting ready to do the same thing but im going to do it at my job on a friday and work through the weekend, im also interested in the wheel speed sensors if the 4wd speed sensors are the same as the 2wd?
It's a fairly simple job to convert the front end if you have all the parts ready to go and the right tools to make it easier such as air tools, a grinder, floor Jack's etc. I had the front end swapped out in 2 10 hour days by myself in the driveway. As far as wheel speed sensors there is only 1 speed sensor on the rear diffrential, I think you are Referring to the Tone Ring sensors for the ABS that plug in behind the fender wells, They are exactly the same as the 2wd, Simply plug them in and the system works perfectly fine
@@chauvinsgarage1515 That awesome news because my job slows down around the holidays and now's the time, Thank you very much
@elitesbeast9183 absolutely, Good luck with your build and feel free to ask any questions along the way, You can reach me at lukechauvin03@gmail.com
is the powersteering gear box the same from 2wd to 4wd?
Sure is, no swap necessary on the steering box, Just have to change the pitman arm to a 4x4
Going through all the trouble, why not upgrade to the 05-07 axles. Way better ride, better turning radius, better axles.
At least get you some solastic shackles. They drastically improve the ride.
Gas 6.8 and 2wd should of just sold it and bought a 4x4 7.3
Whats the fun in that 😎 also Try and find one that color
i could barely hear you.