I have a stock 2wd truck...and the motor is having some problems...which actually the only problem is is that it has 40psi in cylinder #3. And the rest have 180psi.

To make this short. What do you think of me swapping in a Chevy 350 (my favorite motor and better aftermarket support than a 22re) and converting my truck to 4wd with a straight axle in front and running approx 37-40" tires? I know it sounds crazy...but would it be worth it?

Thanks!

 

uh... you know thats been done, right? lol

 

better off with a 4x4 to start, save u alot of cash time and headachs. Do a search, it was coverd a few weeks ago.

 

Yeah...it's been done. I just thought I would throw it out there and get some opinions on it.

 

I am planning on converting my truck to 4wd as well.

People everywhere ask me why not just buy a 2nd gen 4x4..
My answer is that I have taken such good care of my truck that just selling it would make me probably cry haha.

If you have the time, money, and resources to do this kind of thing, I say MORE POWER TO YA!!! Take tons of pictures and put it on a dino at the end!

 

Yeah...I am trying to figure out what to do. Are you converting yours to a straight axle...would that be the easiest?

 

why not just fix the problem instead of spending all that money on another motor if it is your head gasket you are looking at 100$ in parts and 8-15 hours of work.

there are 4 things that can be wrong
#1 bad head gasket
#2 burnt or stuck valve
#3 burnt piston ring (truck would smoke)
#4 cracked head

but you could go out and buy another motor and tranny and swap it out
I would go on pirate and look at some of the members builds over there,
I know that there are more people over there that have done that swap then here or at least have done a detailed build thread.

 

Check the valve clearances. Valves adjusted too tight or loose will cause a dramatic drop in compression. You could very well fix your problem for free!

 

2WD to 4WD has been done before, you'll need all the drivetrain parts along with front and rear six lug axles. Small block chevy has been done in about every car ever known to man including a few on this board. Search and you shall find...

 

The 350 is good and plenty powerful, but with a yota rear axle were talking serious destruction aseptically since you have the 2WD version most likely the weak 5 lug skinny one. Youll need to upgrade axles for sure and the work involved with the swap will take loads of fabrication. If the skill is there than its definitely doable. Just like all swaps, suspension and motor it takes time and money. If you have both it just makes it easier. Its up to you and your desire. Search more into it and study it and other peoples work and youll make steps in the right direction. Its been done and it has loads of info on this site and others. Check out Northwest offroad and Downey offroad for starters. Just a few sites with info on the subject to get you started

 

Well since you are starting out with a 2wd truck and will probably be putting a solid axle in anyways it shouldn't matter if you were to start with a 2wd or 4wd cause your changing everything anyways. No need for retrofitting stuff you just start fresh. Pick up what all for running gear you want to use and just put it in. Cut all the old 2wd IFS stuff off and the motor mounts, fit the motor in and decide on a tranny and Tcase. You will be needing to change the DS lengths anyways so no need to worry about that as you'd have to do that with a 4x4 as well. I don't see starting with a 2wd a hinderance in this case. Could turn out very nice if done properly and more than likely not any more expensive than with a 4wd truck.