'06 E-350 Newbie Conversion Questions

[wild-kiwi]

A conversion in the process. All done in my driveway, by myself (no 2nd person assistance) with minimum mechanical experience.

https://www.facebook.com/4x4-Expedit...21379148121143

Drives considerably better than standard. I have no problem with anyone local (Florida) wanting to test drive as a comparison for their own aspiring project.

Detailed list of expenses so far...



https://www.facebook.com/4x4-Expedit...1379148121143/

[BenJJ]

Originally Posted by smithie

I don't want to thread jack or anything, but boywonder/Grampswrx, can you say a little more about the lift and locked differential option? What's the general cost difference between this and 4wd? I know that one wouldn't be overlanding or anything with the lift/locker option, but are there any other advantages to this option? Better MPG, for example? I'm a relative noob myself, and hadn't ever heard about this as an option for the more common snow/ice/mud/forest road type things that I'd be using 4wd for.

I took my 2wd van to Agile and got a RIP kit (~2.5" lift), LSD, re-geared to 4.10, and BFG KO2s for just under $5300 all said and done. Not sure what a fresh 4x4 conversion costs from them but I would imagine somewhere in the 15k-20k range which was way out of my budget. I mostly am out in the CA desert and on forest roads in Big Bear/Sierras and have had zero issues with this setup. It has actually exceeded all of my expectations regarding capability. No snow/ice driving yet though.

[Vanimal]

I did my own conversion sometime back in 2005-06. The axle was a dually front that I removed the hub spacers and put 8x6.5 adapters. I wanted a wider front for stability and I wanted the rear to tuck inside the wheel wells while off roading. I went with progressive front coils from Valley Spring in Central California. My total cost has been in the $4-5k range. This included coils, rear springs reworked, transfer case, Quigley transfer case to 2wd transmission adapter making both driveshaft equal length, shocks, including 10 1 1/4" heim joints at $100.00 each for my long arms. I did have to upgrade to a 46 gallon tank a about $700.00 more but I could have have mine cut down to 32 gallon for $250.00!

[Phred]

Thanks, hoping to take you up on your offer! P.m. sent