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mattl6669
Dodge Dakota
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10/18/2002
20:33:04
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 Subject: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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Hey guys,
Theres this awesome 1998 dakota sport by my house that i really want but its 4 wheel drive, how hard/possible is it to lower a 4 wheel drive truck. I've heard you can't do it and i've heard you can but its gotta be the mild drop so i figured i would ask you guys and find out what it is.
Thanks a lot
Matt
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Hersbird
Dodge Dakota
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10/18/2002
20:56:55
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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The rear is the same as a 2wd dakota so just about anything is possible there. The fron is different as it rides on torsion bars. On the Mopar musclecars of the 60's and 70's the torsion bars could be adjusted over a pretty wide range (maybe a inch to two inches in either direction of "normal"). I've heard the Dakota is adjustible like that as well but I don't know how much in each direction it will take. Probably need a 4x4 guy's help here but all you usually get from them is, "YOU WANNA DO WHAT!!"
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steve
Dodge Dakota
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10/18/2002
21:00:14
|  RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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r u an idiot u raise 4x4 and lower or beanerize the 2wd u DUMB ASS dont be an idiot.
STUPID
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mattl6669
Dodge Dakota
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10/18/2002
22:04:51
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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noooooo, you don't raise a 4 wd when you ripping out the 5.2 v8 and your throwing a 496 stroker with 500 hp in it, and if i wanted a comment like that i would of asked for one, and seeing as i didn't that means i don't wanna hear it.
hersbird, thanks for the reply, yeah i figured the rear end would be easy but the front would be hard, so i guess i gotta call up a specialty place and ask them and see what they say.
ohh and im getting a 4 wheel b/c where i live we get massice amounts of snow and i need something besides 2wd, b/c right now i have an s-10with a 350 producing about 400 hp, and i can't go anywhere in the snow aka why i need the 4 wheel drive.
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sandman
Dodge Dakota
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10/19/2002
21:34:47
|  RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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I can see it now.... "Oh no some idiot droped a chicklet in the middle of the road; good thing I have 4lo and 500HP so I can crawl over that chicklet." The only funnier then that is a 4wd Jeep CJ that I saw once. It was dropped so low that the nurf bars had about 2" clearance from the pavement and it had axle extension that went about 2 feet past the flares. It had simulated gold spoke hub cabs on steel rims looked like 10" mickey's, PR mirror, more crome then old cady and pearlest paint. Oh I almost forgott abot the fuzzy dice and dingo berry ball. Wait it gets better the whole interior was wrapped in carpet and leather. I passed this thing trying to go over the RR track one wheel at a time at about 1/2 mph. I laughed my ass off!!! I had to back up and laugh at him again. I then started to pull away again and I had to wait for it to catch up so I could laugh some more. I would see this thing around town scrapeing the oil pan and T/case skid plate when leaveing any fast food place. Yes if you have enough money anything can be had for the right price. It realy does not make much sense though. You would be much better off finding a two wheel drive. Your end result will work out much better and people will not laugh at you when they find out that you lowered a 4x4. It is much easier and cheaper to lower or tune a 2wd then 4wd. You will also be alot faster with a 2wd as you have less weight and less drag from things like extra axle, drive shaft, t/case.... hanging down catching air. What ever you do good luck!!!!
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MOPARornoCAR
Dodge Dakota
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10/19/2002
22:31:57
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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i see a cowboy spurring a dead horse.............
lower......why?????????????????????????????????????
B>
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born2steel21
GenIII
10/19/2002
22:45:17
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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to each his own...I don't want every dak looking like mine
you can try cranking down your torsion bars in the front...I've never heard of anyone doing this but I imagine if you can crank them up you can certainly crank them down...only problem is that your going to have to do an alignment afterwards
I seen a really nice 4x4 quadcab today that had R/T wheels w/ scorpion tires...very nice looking and I couldn't even tell it was a 4wd at first.
-- Death Before Dismount --
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CW
GenIII
10/20/2002
10:11:16
|  RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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I think it is a good idea drop it and put in a AWD transfercase. Good luck catich that thing off the line with 500+ ft/lbs of torque.
4.7 HO, CW style
2001 4.7 5sp 3.92 LSD
Ported 68mm TB, IAT adjuster, 3" flowmaster cat back, TPS @ .76V, 4" Z-tube, Roadmaster active suspention, Removed Third cat, Electric fan Convertion, HO cams, Robert shaw 180 therm, HO intake manifold.
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4door4x4
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2002
10:28:39
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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born2steel21...
you probably couln't tell that the quad cab was a 4wd drive 'cause it was parked next to an intense blue dak with a 6" lift.
cool seeing you out there!!
Ray
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born2steel21
GenIII
10/20/2002
10:40:12
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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lol...nice meeting you too ray!!
-- Death Before Dismount --
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scott
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2002
19:33:07
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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Message:
Matt , the rear set-up in a 4WD is NOT the same as a 2WD. The rear end is on top of the leafsprings on a 4X4 making it harder to lower.
You can always do a flip kit , but I`m not sure if you could ever get the front low enough to match the rear , because you would end up with around 4-5 inches lower with a flip kit.
I guess if the rear was 4 inches lower and you got 2 out of the torsion bars up front it would be level.
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Hersbird
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2002
23:23:10
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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You're right about the difference in the way the axle is mounted but it wouldn't make a 4" difference to swap out the rear suspension out of a 2wd. A stock 4x4 Dakota doesn't sit 4" higher then a stock 2x4 Dakota if identical tires were used so there must be more arch in the springs on a 2wd. On this same thought you sould be able to get an inch or so of lift on a 4x4 by using 4x2 springs, wich further makes me wonder if the R/T doesn't get it's rear 1" drop by using 4x4 springs, hmmmm... anybody ever look at the part numbers? wanting a 4wd for something besides rock crawling is nothing new, Subie sure sells a lot of cars with AWD and Jeep even sells a few Grand Cherokees with 2wd. GMC did pretty well with that whole syclone thing as well.
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GlenC
GenIII
10/21/2002
13:20:48
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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Hell ya! Like CW, it'd be sweet to have an AWD with 500+ lb/s push it around. Get a locker up front and watch all 4 tires smoke. I see nothing wrong with lowering a 4x4, hell, i wanted to do it at one time, but then i realized, i do live in North Idaho, and we get more than just a couple inches of snow...
GlenC
'01, CC, SLT, 4.7, Auto, 3.55 LS, 4x4
MBRP cat back. JBA Headers. Kenne Bell supercharged.
My Truck
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xplikt
GenIII
10/21/2002
14:36:26
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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Message:
I went snow camping in Idaho a few years ago. That's something I don't plan on doing anytime soon. They do get a good amount of snow, but then, so do we and I have a 2WD and get around alright. So it takes some good ole rocking technique sometimes, it happens ;)
Unless you're up in the mountains in deep ass snow, 4x4 will NOT fix all your snow problems.
-Mike
http://www.dodgetruckworld.com/
2002 2WD RC SLT 4.7L 5spd 3.92 LSD
MBRP Single in/out, straight piped 3rd cat, turndown tip
Hotchkis swaybars and springs
Bilstein custom tuned shocks
Roadmaster Active Suspension
Shaved emblems and antennae
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mattl6669
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2002
19:16:07
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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if only there was an easy way to
1. lower a 4x4
2. get an awd transfer case that would accually hold up to that amount of power without spending my life savings, but hey when you go big you pay big, thats the name of the game.
this idea is still up in the air but im thinking it would probs be easier to find a 2wd.
thanks guys
you've been a great help
Matt
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scott
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2002
20:14:34
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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Message:
I wasn`t talking about swaping leaf springs from a 2wd to a 4wd , what I said was you need to put the leaf springs UNDER the rear end in order to lower it easily...if you were to do that it would be about 4inches lower than stock , if you used the stock susp. you already have.
Now IF you wanted to go swapping this and that and the other you might come up with something that works or you might not.
Something else that comes to mind is , you could remove one of the leafs from the spring pack , and play around with the shackles.
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paysonbadboy
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2002
00:16:10
| RE: is it possible to lower a 4 wheel drive
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I can't believe anyone would LOWER a 4X4!!!
But look at all the other stupid a$$ stuff I see everyday where I live so it wouldn't surprise me.
I lived in Northern Arizona for 20 years before moving to Phoenix full time. My friend had (and still has) a Plymouth Duster. When we were teenagers we lowered the front with the torsion vars. It makes ALOT of adjustment.
But the car would bottom out all the time on the rough roads we have up there. Plus once he got headers, he needed all the clearance he could get.
This same guy has been sitting on a 425 HP 360 for almost 4 years now and never put it together. He has stainless 202 intake valves, forged pistons, ported, balanced, the works then just stopped building it once he moved out of mommies house LOL! It's sitting up there in pieces and he keeps drives a beater Chevy truck down here in Phoenix. I guess he never lost his hillbilly roots :-p
http://www.paysonarizona.net/
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