ok so i have a 1995 dodge ram 3500 and i want to convert it to 4wheel drive how do i do it and what do i need

 

Can you do fab work yourself, or do you have a friend who will do it for you? If not, sell your truck and buy a 4x4 truck.

You will need:

4x4 transmission, or at the very least the overdrive unit off of one
Transfer case
driveshaft - the yoke is different, driveshaft is shorter
shifter - bezel, arm, linkage
front axle
front driveshaft
track bar
pitman arm
drag link
control arms
shocks
springs
spring perches, brackets, etc
vacuum lines if you're putting a CAD axle in, or a posilock or some other method of dealing with CAD


It's a lot of work. Best bet is to get a rolling frame. Either swap your truck onto that frame, or at least you'll have the parts.

 

FWIW, I'm in the process of doing this right now. My overdrive cooked, and I happened to have bought a 4x4 trans/tcase.

The yoke is hard to come by without buying it new.

I'm just going to roll 2wd with a transfer case until I get the time/money to do the rest of the swap. I have a rolling frame that I'll be getting soon. I'm undecided if I'll swap the frame or fab the mounts. Swapping the frame means I'm going flatbed as it's a reg cab frame and I've got a qcsb.

 

im getting a 2001 3500 frame and wont the 2wd transmission work

 

The front half of the transmission will be fine, however you'll need the 4wd overdrive housing to bolt up to the transfer case, unless you're planning on some bastard divorced transfer case (more fab work).

You can use the guts from the 2wd overdrive, but you'll need to measure and get the appropriate selective washer to set your lash, and I believe the output shaft is different...

Remember,

2wd:



4wd:

 

Just a FYI - these things are hard to come by in wrecking yards around here. I've been to 4. One had two 1500's and a 2500 long bed (two piece shaft). One had none. And the other two both have around 800 vehicles in their yards and each had one single ram 1500.

So I had to go to ebay to find a shaft. It should be here tomorrow. When I get my hands on it I'll see if it needs new joints, and then it's going up to Bellingham to get balanced.

And as far as buying a yoke - everywhere I called said they'd have to order one from Spicer - a week to 1o days out. Driveline Service, Direct Driveline, Randy's Offroad (had a 1350 series yoke but not a 1410), Randy's Ring and Pinion, etc.

 

Get a new ride with 4wd. Much easier

 

is it a regular cab long bed frame?

if so your qcsb should fit on that same frame. the cab makes up the difference in bed length.

 

The issue is the wheelbase is different between the two.

Reg cab long bed is 134.7"
Quad cab short is 138.7"

I think the rear tire might not like it.