AWD Changeover

A friend and I were discussing the possibility of switching a 2 WD Caravan or Voyager to AWD.

Anything can be done (at a price), but was curious to find out: Has anyone out there attempted this?

How difficult could it be?

I know the gas tanks are different. If you make a complete changeover, what else would be entailed?

I'm eager to find out some thoughts, and possibly hearing some someone who has performed this operation.

Reply to
CaravanGuy
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It would be cheaper to sell the 2WD Caravan and buy a AWD to replace it. I currently own a 1994 T&C AWD, and a 1995 T&C 2WD drive. They look the same until you start looking closely. Even the height of the vehicles is different by a few inches. And underneath, everything is different. Transmission, power train, you name it. The gas tank is just the beginning.

Just how much beer were you and your friend drinking?

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

As to how much we drank, I'll never tell.

I am aware that the trans has to be changed out, the drive shafts have to be connected, the gas tank, as previously mentioned and the fuel filter and exhaust system. I can't see where a couple of inches (is that what we're taking about?) is going to make that much difference, if we are talking height. Is the suspension the same? Maybe there's something I don't know....It's a long, labor intensive job, but just bad can it be??

Thanks for Replying

Reply to
CaravanGuy

Reply to
tim bur

Extremely.

Entire rear suspension, transmission, TCM, and a whole hell of a lot of "et cetera".

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Well, let me just add one other thing. Do you know how much my 1994 T&C cost? $200. (plus rental for the car carrier) Know why it was so cheap? Because someone figured AWD = 4WD and took it 'muddin' (ie: offroad) and broke the transmission.

Of course, the seller didn't admit his stupidity to -me-, but, when you spend

8 hours cleaning a vehicle (I even did the headliner, and underside) you gather enough clues to figure out what they were doing with it.

AWD is -NOT- a particularly desirable option. About the only thing its good for is if you live at the top of a mountain where it snows every day during the winter, and they don't salt the roads up where you live, and you run around with studded tires or chains on 4 months out of the year.

It's primary purpose is to keep soccer moms who can't drive out of the ditches in the winter. It is completely worthless in a vehicle of that size, carrying capacity & weight for any serious offroading. In short, if visions of taking your buddies out hunting in comfort are dancing through your head, you need to go buy yourself a nice used SUV, a minivan with AWD will be about as useful to you as teats on a boar.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Ted: Hold your horses! I am smarter than that to think ( or even imagine) that these things are offroad material. I desire one because I do a lot of medium to light duty towing, and having all four wheels (when needed) in motion helps to move the cargo a bit more securely. Better traction That's it.

Perish the thought of every considering taking this thing off a paved highway. Bite your tongue!!!!(LOL) (SMILE).

Reply to
CaravanGuy

I always say, if you have to ask us, you shouldn't do it.

Get under an AWD, it'll be obvious what all is there. The suspension is about the same, so that's not a big deal at all. The gas tank is different, as you say. The AWD body has a lot of stuff mounted to it that's not on a FWD, so there may be some differences in the actual steel floor. But you'll have park the two side by side and look. I don't think any of us on this newgroup would actually do this swap, so I will speculate that nobody has actually looked.

The AWD system has a very simple (vacuum operated) control system that I would leave off if I was doing a swap. It only works in reverse. But I'd never do such a swap. It's too much trouble to waste on a minivan. They're disposable.

Reply to
Joe

:-)

Well, if your towing I think even more so you might think of an SUV. But I guess that depends on what your defining as light duty. I have a class 1 hitch on my 2WD T&C with the 3.8L that I have used to tow a utility trailer I have. Said utility trailer is a homebuilt job (I didn't build it) that uses huge dump truck wheels with a rediculous load rating, and I have used it to haul at least a ton of concrete before. (although, very, very carefully and NOT with the T&C)

It does track OK but I don't care much for the lack of visibility of the load.

I would certainly not consider anything less than a 3.3L for towing, though. 3.8L gives you decent power for something like a utility trailer or a small sail boat. It also helps if you get the long body Grand Caravan as that weighs more and helps with stability. And of course, an additional transmission cooler is a requirement here (but I'm sure you already know that)

On dry pavement towing, I don't think an AWD would buy you anything. I can't say for wet weather towing, as I've never done it in that van.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

The AWD actually reduces your GAWR and tow rating by 300 pounds (the approx. weight of the AWD gear). The GCWR remains about 8600 pounds with the tow package (tranny cooler, full spare, ....).

I have the 2002 AWD and tow a Coleman Sun Valley, about 2800 pounds loaded, add in the cargo/people/pets, we are close to GCWR.

The AWD does NOTHING for me!! In the beginning, I was doing rear- wheel spins around corners in the winters. it took some time to get use to. Next winter, I constantly got stuck in the DRIVE WAY and could not rear-end spin out if I tried. I actually took it back to the dealer for a check. nothing wrong was the verdict. Seems after the first year and the fluid thins out a bit in the coupler (guess), the rear wheels are not spinning much! Time for a change this fall I think. The rear wheels will NOT spin if the front ones are!! I found this out a few times at the toboggan hill last winter.

I would NOT buy an AWD DC mini-van again.

Reply to
PT_Sean

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