What's the damage/difficulty in doing a conversion to 4wd?. I have a 99 f150 XLT with a 4.6 and I would love to have the 4 wheel drive especially here in northern Michigan. Or is there anything specific to make a RWD better off-road?nothing extreme. Just some trails and bumps to get over

 

Unless you are a glutton for punishment or have done something like this before it'd be cheaper to get a different truck:

You'll have to completely redo the front end, add the front differential and the cv axles and change the upper and lower A arms as well may need to replace the coil springs. Get a transfer case and the drive axles for your wheel base and have them balanced. The computer will need to be reprogrammed to do 4x4 modes as well.

That's just a quick run down but it will be super involved and unless you are comfortable completely doing a ground off restoration of a vehicle I'd not consider it.

On the flip side if you have tons of time and want to try go for it. Generally speaking I'd say save your cash and buy a used 4x4. How much welding have you done?

Here is a little better run down of what you'd need to do.
"2wd - 4wd can be done. But it will cost some money.

theres 2 ways of doing this.

KEEP IFS
1. Go to a salvage yard and strip out all the front suspension, including the 8.8 Front diff and CV shafts. If you cant find this stuff used then you can buy it new.
2. T-case you will need one. I think our trucks use a Borg Warner
3. Front drive shaft
4. Make sure to take the hubs/ spingles from the parts truck
5. The front diff will need the same gear ratio to be functional
6. Im not sure if the T-case will bolt directly up to your 2wd transmission but it might.
7. the rear drive shaft will probably have to be shortened
8. you need either an electrical sending unit or manual shifter.
9. theres multiple wires and vacuum lines that you will need

SCRAPPIN THE IFS FOR A SFA
1. Locate either a D44, D50, or D60. Ford 9" Front will also work.
2. then decided how you want the suspension setup. Leaf springs, radius arms and coil springs, 4 link and coil overs. theres multiple options here
3. Decide on desired ride higth, you will need to add around 8" of lift to clear all the crossmembers.
4. If you cant do the welding yourself find a repected 4x4 shop to do it for you. Agains popular belief a good shop can make a bolt on conversion for an axle of your choice but it might be more expensive than just having them weld everything on. (thats what im doing)
5. You will still need a t-case, id go with a NP205 unless theres gonna be clearance issues.
6. there still will be wiring and such to deal with.
7. Decide what steering you would like to run, high steer, crossover steer, hydro assist. "

 

It is very easy, but cost will vary.

Sell your rwd and buy a 4wd.

 

Is there anything I could do to make the 2wd better off road? I don't need a fully fledged 4x4. It's light stuff. It can do it now but I would like it to be able to handle off road better when I move up there

 

Better tires and maybe shocks will help. If you are worried about snow/ice get some tire chains (check legality first as some places won't allow them.) It's all about how much you want to spend but in the long run if it's drivable now and you can get where you need to go I'd either leave it or look for a different truck.

 

Every time I've seen this question, on every forum I've been on, the answer is to purchase a 4wd. As Aragorn mentioned unless you're really handy and want to do a lot of work and/or pay a lot...

Making a 2wd more capable for me would include a rear locker and some improved tires for whatever terrain you're thinking of tackling.

And a winch.

 

The very first problem is the frame. They are not the same or configured the same. That pretty much defeats the application.

OP....if you don't have a LS rear end, that would be what I would change. If you have a LS rear, then make sure you have 300=400 lbs of weight in the bed. You can go a lot of places with weight. Snow tires or aggressive tread tires are a must for snow. All seasons won't stop you if you get into a slide. (I'm in Alaska, we get a bit of snow).

 

Thanks for all the info. Really appreciate it!

 

Add some weight in the bed. Menards sells 70# tube sand for like $2