wana get rid of AWD

[Muddybuddy]

hey guys, ive got a '99 4door XLT with 5.0 and lovely AWD of course. the trucks got 150k on it and still runs great, but the mpg is horrible. sometimes when i turbn backing out or pulling into parking spaces or has my foot on the gas on turns the found end sounds like its binding or something. the truck is completely stock. im curious what it would take to swap it to 2wd. i know i'd have to pull the t-case, but is there anyway to run the awd tranny w/o a t-case behind it, maybe with an adaptor or something, or would i have to swap tranny's? what would need to be done on the front end? have been thinking about it for a while, and just wanted to get an idea what it would take before i decide what to do. any info would be much appreciated. thanks

 

[techieman33]

A 2wd trans would be needed to run without the transfer case. As a temporary fix you can remove the front driveshaft and see if that helps. If that doesn't work you can remove the front diff too, if you do that you'll need to cut your cv axles up and continue to use the outer stub in the spindles or the bearings will fall apart.

 

[Muddybuddy]

how hard is it to remove the front diff? would there be any way to switch to 2wd spindles and avoid keeping the cv outers?

 

[techieman33]

how hard is it to remove the front diff? would there be any way to switch to 2wd spindles and avoid keeping the cv outers?

Removing the diff itself is easy, it's only 3 bolts holding it in. But getting it to that point can be challenging if you haven't done it before. You will have to remove both cv axles which can go easy, or not so easy. I would plan at least a day if it's your first time tearing into the front end. You can replace your spindles with the 2wd version if you do so you'll also need different brake rotors, the calipers are the same though.