2wd 95 dakota to a 4x4 solid axle convertion

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mud monkey

Guest
going to covert my 95 dakota 2wd to a 4x4 solid axle just wondering if any one has any susjestions on which axles i should use and if there is any kits available. one more question should i do leaf springs or coils in the front
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
sounds like a good project, axle choice will depend on what tire size you plan to run and what you can find, i would suggest a dana 44 (waggy) if you don't plan on going bigger than a 36" tire. My vote would be for coils which will probably involve a bit more work but if your going through the trouble of swapping in a solid axle may as well go with a better suspension setup. Make sure to post lots of pics as you go.
 
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Big-Hoe

Guest
Waggy = Jeep Wagoneer. If they are anything like the mythical Dana 60, Good luck! It would be a great axle for your project. I am doing an SAS on an S10 right now. Takes a hell of a lot more planning than I ever expected.
 
dwcjwerfner

dwcjwerfner

Well-known member
Club Member
Big-Hoe said:
Waggy = Jeep Wagoneer. If they are anything like the mythical Dana 60, Good luck! It would be a great axle for your project. I am doing an SAS on an S10 right now. Takes a hell of a lot more planning than I ever expected.
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Are you saying you think Waggy Dana 44's are hard to find? If so I have one with Chrome-moly's sitting in my garage for sale :beer:
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
If you are thinking about going Waggy and you decide on a drivers drop (since you don't have a t-case yet your options are pretty wide open), make sure you look at years without the disconnect up from - you want a 1-piece axle. Although if you're going drivers drop, I'd suggest you look at cutting down a Ford D44 anyway to get the added strength of the HP.

If you do ever plan on going bigger than 36-37" in tire, though, do it right the first time and find a D60.
 
Mitko

Mitko

The G-Spot
Club Member
Isn't it easyer to buy a 4wd truck and convert it to SFA?
Now it looks to me like a expensive experiment with unknown end result.
Kunker, if he upgrades to D60 front he needs to upgrade to stronger rear axle too, right now I think the rear is D35 or CriCo.
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Mitko said:
Isn't it easyer to buy a 4wd truck and convert it to SFA?
Now it looks to me like a expensive experiment with unknown end result.
Kunker, if he upgrades to D60 front he needs to upgrade to stronger rear axle too, right now I think the rear is D35 or CriCo.
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No argument that he'd need to upgrade the rear, but depending on the bolt pattern on the rear, he might have issues anyway with a Waggy. And again, if he's going with a >37" tire in the future, he might as well put in a bigger axle now rather than spend the money twice.
 
aweber

aweber

This thread is :rainbow:
Staff member
Club Member
Big questions are what T-Case do you want to use and what Width do you want to run. WMS-WMS - A quick google search comes up with 65" is stock Dakota width. So Waggy axles would appear to not be wide enough.

And depending on the T-Case you will end up with driver side or passenger side drop. I'd run a ford D44 High Pinion front and get the right drop T-Case to match.

Also - Running a leaf spring suspension in the front is easy and works, if your driving on the street it will be "easier" to make it safe than coils, etc for the first timer. Do a google search for Toyota SAS and take inspiration from what has been done already. Mabye run Dakota rear leafs in the front, fab a front hanger and rear shackle mount, sort out the steering and done ;)
 
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szabotage

Well-known member
there's a few divorced tcase options out there to consider just to avoid shopping for a new tranny or engine/tranny swap. nissan made a divorced case (setup kinda like a D18 so you can run waggy's), some nissans?datsuns and toyota's came with divorced D20's, dodge, ford and chev all had divorced NP205's just to open your options to what side front axle drop your axle choice is. there's lotsa kits out there like novak,OTT or AA that can divorce a t'case. hard part is finding them. but that's half the fun, ain't it?
 
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mud monkey

Guest
sorry i havent replyed in a while i was on a trip. i have pretty good welding skills i have been doing it all my life so welds wont be a problem. i already have the truck at the moment it just has the v6 in it but im swaping the 318 v8 in to it just cause its a very easy swap and a reliable engine. i have been reserching it a little i have seen guys use axles out of older f250s for the front and older chev axles for the rear. this truck will be driven on the road but not very much i only plan on putting 35s on it and i no an alignment guy who can figure out anything you through at him. i dont really have much of a bugget just cause its going to take me a long time to do it so ill just end up getting what i need.
 
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mud monkey

Guest
there is also so another reason why i want to do it to this truck......... it was my very first truck i ever owned so it has setimental value to me and i want to make it a killer truck
 
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