So I found an ad for a '99 4WD Rollover that had a low-mile 4.0L motor and 5-spd (which is SWEET!!!). Anywoo, my idea is to swap my 2WD Body onto the 4WD frame, but I thought I should ask if anyone else has ever done this and what is all involved? Or if the cabs mounts on the 2WD & 4WD are the same?

Thanks!

 

First guess (by my wild guess) would be that they are the same. Make sure you get the whole donor though because you will also need the computer and probably various interior parts to make it look normal. Your VIN is going to be wrong, but to an insurance company that could mean the next owner is only driving a 2wd. That is a case that could be considered fraud though if something were to happen

 

I believe the 4wd frame and 2wd frame would be different up front due to the coil spurng/torsion bar setup for those years between 2 and 4 wheel drive models...

 

frames are EXACT same........body mounts in the EXACT same spot for the supercabs......the regular cabs have mounts in different spots.........you WILL have to have a supercab frame to swap your supercab body on to......

 

even the 2wd models have an a-arm setup for the front end.....the only difference is the torsion bars.....and it is there to hold the diff in place from moving foward and backwards....

 

thatd be a cool swap i suppose.. good luck with it

 

I am assuming you want to put your 2wd body onto the 4wd frame. I would somehow make sure the donor frame wasnt twisted somehow in the roll though, prolly cant do that without getting it to a shop first.

 

ah thank you for the clarification

 

Just to clear things up a little.

1) From 98-on, the 2WD XL/XLT frame is completely different from the 4x4 frame in the area of the front suspension. You cannot swap the torsion bar parts to a coil spring frame or vice versa. On the other hand, 2001+ 2WD Edges/Sports have almost the same frame and torsion bar front suspension as Ranger 4x4's.

2) Torsion bars do NOT serve as locators for the front diff. The 98+ diff housing is rubber mounted to the frame and doesn't attach to the torsion bars in any way. A torsion bar (4x4 and Edge) is just another type of spring and it serves the same function as the coil used on 2WD XLs and XLTs.

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Going back to the original question, it should be possible to swap a 2WD body onto a 4x4 frame as long as they are both super cabs or both regular cabs. You would also need to swap either the complete dash assembly or possibly the dash harness and modules into the other body to make it work.

 

awwww thinks for clearing that up for me Bob....

 

Thanks guys! Gonna at least look into it and definately make sure the 4x4 frame is not all twisted up, etc. Been weighing all kinds of options (like whether to go through with this or get a 4x4, etc.) if I do the swap I'll make sure to start a thread on it