I have a 2 wheel drive dakota and have been wanting to convert it to 4 wheel drive i know i need transfer tranny and driveshafts but is wire harness the same and also do i need to change hubs being that in 05 th 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive had the same suspension they are already geared hubs

 

You have a few choices.

1. TONS of modification to do the stock style suspension and drive-train for 4wd. Cutting and welding are going to be required.

2. You can do a SAS Solid Axle Swap. Cutting and welding are going to be required.

3. The best option is to swap frames. Get a wrecked 4wd with a good frame. Put your body and bed ect, on top of the 4wd frame. Get a frame with the same body style like Club Cab or Single Cab ect. And get the same engine set-up.

That is what I did. For my post on how it was done on a 1st Generation go here. https://dodgeforum.com/m_961445/tm.htm

4. Do the cheaters way. Sell your 2wd and buy a 4wd.

 

with the 3rd generation all of the suspesnion was the same the biggest mods would be the add ons to the drive train

 

from what i have seen looking up parts by year and model then compairing part numbers now i am by no means saying it will be easy but i think it will be alot easier than in the older models

 

the way it looks, everything should bolt in, but unsure if the same trans is used for the 2x4 and the4x4 so that may need to be changed too, and the wiring could be a nightmare too, but if you are lucky all the plugs may be there and just need the switch and componets,

 

thats what i am hoping for i know the transmission will need to be changed but i hope everything bolts right in and the plugs are all there i ma sure that is just wishfull thinking though

 

It may save you a lot of trouble to use an older style floor shift transfer case rather than trying to wire in the newer electronic shift transfer cases. Then you won't have to get a TCCM, a computer that can talk to the TCCM, you won't have to mount the switch, swap wiring harnesses, ect. You'll just have to cut a hole in your floor pan and mount the shift lever. Just my $0.02.

 

definitely go with manual operation if you plan on doing it. that way you dont have to mess with your factory controllers or harnesses. just slap in the t-case and the front end. get all your shafts and mounts made up. and run the stick up through the floor. that way your truck will still run like it should because IT wont know its 4x4

 

Aren't "Manual" transfercases nowadays just a electronic switch disguised as a stick? I seem to remember a friend pulling up the console of his Ram to show me all the contacts and wires connected to the floor-shift transfercase.

I don't think it matters one way or the other - I would think you can hardwire any solenoid-actuated transfercase to some switches and have all the control you want.

And on a side note, unless you own the truck outright and have no plans to get a meaningful trade in value for it, I wouldn't go near this project with a 10 foot pole. After all this work you're going to have a 2005 4x4 Dakota...which are a dime a dozen at most dealers around me. You have next to zero options to further enhance it's performance. All that trouble to transform a stock truck into...a different stock truck.

For the money and headache, I would look towards something with a little more 4x4 bang for the buck...

 

well the more research i do the better the news seems to be the tccm is built into the ecm and it is the same ecm for both 4 and 2 wheel drive as soon as some of this snow goes away i can climb under it and look for the mounting points and connectors to see if they are already in place.