Chevrolet Express Van - AWD to 4x4 conversion

[n2ojunkie]

Hi guys i am new here and joind just because of this tread. I have an 04 awd express conversion van and love it. Mines a little different because i am in a wheelchair and have a lift installed for it. I have also installed 1 ton rear leaf springs, well mine came out of a 3/4 ton suburban but the part numbers are the same. I also installed lift keys for the front and have 265-70-16 right now but i did have a set of 32-11.5-15's on it for hunting season last year. I only had a little bit of rub at full lock and hitting a bump.

I do have a question o hope someone can answer, i know the front is a 7.25 like in the s10's but are a little different. But is the differential a differnt casting, or is the only difference in the lenth of the passenger side shaft? I know that shaft can be unbolted and probably switched is why i am asking. I think mine is going bad as its making alot of grinding noises. They are hard to find. Thats why i am asking. I can find s10 fronts all day long cheap, but not one for this van. Also as i was doing aomw trouble shooting on the front i removed the front driveshaft and the noise went away, i covered the hole on the transfercase incase it leaked. But i parked my van in my driveway which has a slight incline and it rolled down the driveway, not fast but park wouldnt hold it. Is this because of the way the transfercase works? I also plan on doing a 241 case swap just not right now. I have to look into doing a push button due to me not being able to have a shifter next to my chair because my chair slides forward and bad and spins around so i can transfer to and from my wheelchair. Yes i do almost all of the work myself. I pulled the front shaft out today myself. I also put the new lift keys on myself last fall. I paid aomeone to change the rear leads for me i couldnt lift and hold them on my own lol.

Thanks guys love this thread it has helped me alot. Even before today.

 

[TDIJ]

Here is a pic of my shifter

 

[TDIJ]

Also as i was doing aomw trouble shooting on the front i removed the front driveshaft and the noise went away

Pretty sure you risk damaging your transfer case by taking a drive shaft out.

I'm not sure on the s-10 case

 

[n2ojunkie]

Thanks for the pic, but ibcant do something like that. My chair rotates 90 deg towards the center. Then slides back almost a foot in order for me to transfer into my wheelchair. So anything in the middle like that would get in the way of either the drivers seat when it moves or be in the way of my legs when i try to lift and rotate them.

I thought about if it would damage the tc but i dont know why it would. I know you can remove the front shaft on a normal tc and not have a problem. And sense it only transfers power to the front shaft during slippage of the rear why would it? I do know my front differential is bad by the amount of noise that was coming from it and now i have no noise at all. I felt something was about to give before if i didnt do something. And now i can at least drive it and feel safe doing so.

This is my only means of transportation right now because i am in a power wheelchair due to my injury. I am a paraplegic and both of my shoulders are bad and i have respiratory problems due to my level. I also dont have tons of money to beable to take it in and just have it fixed. I have always done all my own work and have done extensive work on cars from replacing basic part to fabrication work. I worked at gm and built the medium dury trucks until we stopped that business then i went and built the heavy duty (2500 3500) trucks. I worked everywhere from the time the frame hit the line to final repair where i fixed any problems they found on final inspection. Then i transferred to the corvette plant and worked on the launch team for the 2014 model back in 2012. I came up with a few small changes on that car to make production easier. I am not trying to brag at all, i am only letting you know my knowledge and qualifications.

If the van used the same front differential at the hd truck i would know how to drop it on change it. But this differential is the same as the s10 from what i have read, so im not familiar with this one. I know from reading that the passenger side shaft is different but does anyone know if the case itself is the same and i can just switch the shaft?

Thanks again.

 

[TDIJ]

The picture had to do with the original topic of this thread, and was requested by others.

The original awd BW 4473 transfer case (not the one we are discussing using in this particular thread) will not handle missing a driveshaft. It is a viscous coupler, and I am pretty confident you will destroy your transfer case running with the front driveshaft out.

 

[45Kevin]

The original awd BW 4473 transfer case (not the one we are discussing using in this particular thread) will not handle missing a driveshaft. It is a viscous coupler, and I am pretty confident you will destroy your transfer case running with the front driveshaft out.

I agree 100%.
Although only from what I read. I have not seen the real world results of driving with one of the drive shafts removed, or driving with unmatched tires sizes or towing with one set of wheels off the ground.

 

[n2ojunkie]

Ok i will call a shop in the morning. I havent driven it that far only about 20 miles. But i will check into it. Thanks

 

[n2ojunkie]

Ok i talked to a couple shops they said i should reinstall the front shaft so i did. I checked everything i could in the front differential and didnt seam like any excessive play. No the noise seams to have went away. Still looking for a front differential but ill have to drive it the way it is for now. Thanks.

 

[blazen71]

Reviving an old thread. I have an 03 Express AWD 2500. The only thing I can find that makes it a 2500 is the rear axle. It's a semi-floating 6-lug Dana 60.

 

[Len.Barron]

Not many 2500 AWDs out there...I've heard of both 6 and 8 lug versions. You probably got the 2500 leaf springs, maybe bigger joints on the rear driveshaft...possibility of bigger disc brakes...hard to say without looking at each.

 

[blazen71]

Not sure on the springs as they were swapped out by previous owner for a super heavy duty set, that I had to take 2 leafs out cause the suspension was rock hard. I don't have a 1500 van to compare all the other possible differences.

 

[blazen71]

Almost finished with my NP 241 swap. Everything is in and working except the front driveshaft. I have the shaft from the donor truck but its about 3" short. Gonna get a new tube put on this week and then it's done. I found that a shifter assembly from a 81-87 Chevy truck fits great. The only thing I had to do was lengthen the rod between the t/c and shifter about 2". Amazingly it cleared all the fuel lines! The pics wont attach to this thread so just google 81-87 Chevy Transfercase shifter.

 

[blazen71]

My brain must have been scrambled when I tried the driveshaft originally. I actually got it to work!
Total budget of $130 
So if anyone needs a good AWD transfercase and front driveshaft it's available for pickup in 53188.
.

 

[boardrider247]

My brain must have been scrambled when I tried the driveshaft originally. I actually got it to work!
Total budget of $130 
So if anyone needs a good AWD transfercase and front driveshaft it's available for pickup in 53188.
.

Awesome!
What year/model was the donor vehicle?

 

[blazen71]

94 K2500 diesel standard cab.