4L60E 4WD to 2WD Conversion

[Andrew Warfield]

Due to many issues with my 4WD system and the fact that I will never go off-road and I have some free donor 2WD tranny parts. Also, I have a lot of time/$$ in my current truck and it would most definitely not be cheaper to sell it and buy a 2WD truck. As well as my current 4L60E is recently rebuilt with a shift kit and so on and so on. No more need to justify this, let's get on with it I want to convert my 4WD 1995 Tahoe/4L60E to 2WD. Exactly, what all do I need to do? I know that I will need a 2WD output shaft and 2WD tail-housing for my trans, as well as switching from 4WD hubs to 2WD hubs in the front. But is there anything else at all I need to do? Will a different length driveshaft to the rear diff be needed? Once I remove the transfer case, front drive shaft, front diff and CVs - then install the 2WD output shaft and tail-housing and 2WD hubs, will there be anything else I need to do? Once I switch over to a 2WD output shaft and tail-housing, the 4WD trans will be good to go? Nothing else is needed to be done to the trans? Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[df2x4]

Can you elaborate on the "many issues" with your 4WD system? I can't imagine a situation in which converting a transmission to 2WD would be cheaper/easier than fixing the 4WD.

 

[Mark Gilbert]

You will need the 2wd output shaft and tail housing. You will have to essentially rebuild the transmission to install this. Your rear driveshaft will now be too short, so plan on getting a new one or going to the junkyard.

When the output shaft is changed you need to make sure it has the rear reluctor ring installed, because it will now be the source for the vehicle speed sensor. Which means you will have some wiring changes to make.

I believe you will also need to change the crossmember, but you may not...

Up front you can now remove the cv shafts and differential. You can leave the CV shaft outers in place and be ok, or you can change the front spindles and assorted extras to 2wd units. I would also make a crossmember that bolts in where the differential was, but again, you may not have to.

That's all I can think of for now

Personally I wouldn't recommend doing any of this, but it's your vehicle to do with as you want.

 

[Andrew Warfield]

Sure, I knew it would be an uphill battle convincing people that this was worth doing but here we go. Keep in mind I only want to convert the drive-train, not the suspension or anything else (except those front hubs because it is necessary). The 4WD has never worked since I bought it a few years back. It constantly clunks when turning in any direction and is very noisy every time I drive it. All 4 CV boots are ripped and fully leaked out years ago it looks like. I had a mechanic at my local 4WD Parts shop take a look and he said most of the system would have to be replaced to get it to work probably costing at least a few grand. And here's the real kicker, I have many a spare 2WD obs parts already, including a 2WD output shaft, tail-housing and front hubs. Plus, even if I were to repair all the 4WD issues I know for a fact that I would still never use 4WD anyway. So, should I convert the drive-train to 2WD? Leaving it be is out of the question, I simply cannot live with all that noise and clunking every time I drive it.

 

[df2x4]

Personally I would just fix what's broken and leave the 4WD intact. I really doubt you'd be saving any money by converting to 2WD even though you have a bunch of free parts. Even if you think you'll never use 4WD you might end up wishing you had it once or twice.

 

[Andrew Warfield]

I was worried this would turn into a debate about even doing the project at all.

If it will cost me let's say a conservative amount to fix the 4WD, how about $3,000? That will still be cheaper than removing all the 4WD parts and installing the 2WD parts that I already have for free? And I do the labor myself???

Ok, how about we all just look at this hypothetically? If in a perfect world of 4WD to 2WD conversions, how to do it right and all the steps involved? If anything, just for the pleasure of the puzzle of it and to figure it out. It doesn't matter if one way or the other is cheaper or easier or whatever.

And I do appreciate any and all help. This forum has taught me so much over the years and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the folks here

 

[1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2]

Just curious, do the 2wd spindles direct swap into the 4wd upper and lower control arms?

 

[Mark Gilbert]

I was worried this would turn into a debate about even doing the project at all.

If it will cost me let's say a conservative amount to fix the 4WD, how about $3,000? That will still be cheaper than removing all the 4WD parts and installing the 2WD parts that I already have for free? And I do the labor myself???

Ok, how about we all just look at this hypothetically? If in a perfect world of 4WD to 2WD conversions, how to do it right and all the steps involved? If anything, just for the pleasure of the puzzle of it and to figure it out. It doesn't matter if one way or the other is cheaper or easier or whatever.

And I do appreciate any and all help. This forum has taught me so much over the years and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the folks here

While I don't agree with your logic, it is your choice and your truck, so I tried to provide the info you are looking for.

Now, that being said, Instead of removing all the 4x4 components you can pull the cv shafts apart and just use the outer pieces and re-install it to hold the bearings together. This on it's own would eliminate any funky noises you have in the front end (that are due to the 4x4)

you mentioned a "mechanic" at a local parts shop. Most of the time parts guys are not real mechanics. I would double check your diagnosis. From what little info I have on your issue, my first guess would be that your front differential actuator is not disengaging or only partially engaged. That and bad cv shafts.

This is work you could easily do yourself, and you could find many parts at the junkyard with the whole thing costing less than $1000.

The main problem from my viewpoint you will have is that you will need to essentially rebuild the transmission in order to replace the output shaft. And then you may still have to get a new crossmember and you will need a new driveshaft. So, I honestly believe you will spend more money or at least the same money doing a "full" conversion. Which is why you keep getting kickback.

 

[Brittin]

I believe the easiest would be to remove the front driveshaft, front diff, and CV shafts and leave it at that.

Replacing the 4wd trans with a 2wd trans would require a 2wd rear driveshaft, some wiring, and possibly a cross-member.
Since the frames are different between 2wd and 4wd, I'm sure I could be missing a few things.

At the end of the day, you'll end up with a 2wd torsion bar truck.

 

[Andrew Warfield]

Thanks again for all the help guys!

As for the 2WD spindles bolting to the 4WD control arms, I'm not 100% sure but I'm willing to bet they will not. I don't want to or need to do that anyway. However, there is the necessity to change out the 4WD hubs to 2WD hubs after removing the CVs. The hubs are a direct bolt on.

The shop I mentioned was 4WD Parts here in Austin. They are a chain of shops around TX that specialized in 4WD vehicles. It wasn't the sales dude at the counter but one of the actual mechanics who works there with much experience working on 4WD trucks that gave me an estimate on fixing all the issues on my 4WD system.

Even though I have a 2WD donor that I can swap the output shaft, tail housing and drive shaft for free. The rebuilding of the trans for the output shaft is daunting I must admit. Which leads me to why I really like the idea Brittin mentioned. Remove the front diff, front driveshaft and CV's. Then replace the 4WD front hubs with the 2WD hubs I have. Then simply leave the transfer case in place (plugged to prevent leaks of course) and thus I don't have to rebuild the trans to replace the output shaft.
This would probably be the easiest path to take. I will most likely go this route. I'll keep you posted how it turns out.