Chevy & GMC Vans

Ok i know. I have look at this road before on other vehicles, and mostly the answer is .... heeeeellllllllssss noooooooo...


That being said. Even if a possibility it will probably never happent (money and time and parts never show at the same time right)...

But i still am curious after getting slightly stuck on some icy cruddy snow today.

How hard would it be to convert a 2wd astro/safari to a 4 wheel drive.

I have never looked under a 4x4 astro/safari to compare but i wonder if it would be doable with subframe - tranny - and ??ecu swap...

Hmm....

I know that you would at least need the transfercase, drive shafts (front and rear) front diff, half shafts spindles and suspension components.

The thinking here is if i were to find an AWD that was not worth restoring because of body/engine damage, would it be possible to transfer the AWD compnents out.

If it is totally crazy. just say so..

With a AWD as a donor and a full subframe swap it would be doable. It will be a lot of work and most have said it would be better to just purchase an AWD van. I've been thinking about doing it with Green since I have the parts van to do it, got a lot of other things to do first.

Finding such used vehicles here is not so easy.... That why i was thinking of it. Of course the parts vehicle is also dificult to find..


Hmm. gets the wheels turning.

Lockdoc did the subframe swap several years ago and I don't know if he would ever do it again. Of course finding an AWD here in the states is easy.

There is no way to convert your 2WD subframe into a 4x4 unless you do a solid axle swap so getting an AWD subframe, 4x4 tranny, t-case and drive shafts is the only way.

The easier route ( and one I took ) was to install a Powetrax no-slip locker, its not going to be as good as an AWD, but it will be good enough to get you outta most jams...http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/ ... /index.htm it does take a little getting used to but its overall road manners are civil enough.

Well on that note. i am seriously looking at a limited slip diff. Both times that i got stuck this week it was only the one wheel that slipped.

I think just getting the G80 axle would be a vast improvement. Now if i could only find one. (same issue with all the other junkyard peojects... Not enough junk round here... especially astrofari stuff)

If you go with the powertrax like zam did, the installation is very easy. If you go with a posi, you have to setup the rearend. This means measuring and adjusting for backlash, carrier preload and gear pattern.

Zam. What issues have you had running the locker. Since my van is pretty much only on roads. I am only really looking to save the trouble in the winter months. I think they are on there way to gettin worse in this area anyway...

Is it permanantly locked then or is it a part time thing??


I will have to look into that though.

leadtrombone wrote:Zam. What issues have you had running the locker. Since my van is pretty much only on roads. I am only really looking to save the trouble in the winter months. I think they are on there way to gettin worse in this area anyway...

Is it permanantly locked then or is it a part time thing??


I will have to look into that though.

The locker is unlocked while turning then acts like a locker while going straight if it senses wheel slip. When you get on the gas you have a slight moment where it wants to nudge you over a bit ( this you get used to very quickly and don't even notice after a few days driving )

I will say that its important to have the same size tires on the rear and that both tires offer the same quality of traction, this will prevent the locker from sensing any false slip and will make the road manners much more manageable. I had the powertrax which was installed down at LiftedAWDAstro's for 2-3 yrs and it served me well and for the price was certainly the cheapest option, I believe it was around $300 U.S. If used parts are hard to come by where you live then its an option to consider, and Like Dean said its a fairly straight forward install.

One-wheel-peal is definitely what's holding you back out there. For snow/ice...I've found even a "normal" clutch disc limited slip to be quite adequate.
Are your winters long enough to warrant having two sets of tires? Are you allowed studded winters?

no studs. but multiple tires are a definite possibility. Just too cheap at the moment. Thats why i am looking at longer term solutions..

On the subject here. Are the subframes the same across the years or do they change periodically.

To that end. If i fin a 95 awd and wanted to use that as the donor vehicle, would the subframe (and awd components) work in my 99.

And would the (mechanically??) controlled TC from earlier models then work with out computer mods on the 99 .... or lots more work there.

my 95 and 96 have different subframes.

patgizz wrote:my 95 and 96 have different subframes.

Oh. Fuuuuuddge