[BacklashXJ]

Hey all, I'm new.

I don't have an astro, but I'm asking the question for a friend that just picked up a 96' AWD auto astro for 300 bucks 2 weeks ago.
this is what we've done already:
Power steering pump
new serp. belt
new belt tensioner
cragar V-5 black steelies
new tires
new rotors and pads
removed clutch fan / shrowd and installed electric fan. (you can see the front of the engine now!!) :whack:
Cone filter intake

so next step... he and I decided to convert it from AWD (it doesn't snow here, and he doesn't want to take it off road) to RWD... I was under there and thought, damn, this could be really easy! all i gotta do is pull the front drive axles and diff, the front driveshaft, and yank the transfer case. then in it's place just get a 2wd tailshaft and connect it to the rear driveshaft and drive! :swerve:

my question: is it really that easy? what year astro's shared the same tranny that's in this one? what year tailshaft should i look for to put in there to make it 2wd? is there anything ELSE i have to do to complete the conversion?

thanks everyone
- Lash

 

[nielswheels]

Hi...I dont know how much help this will be to you but I had a 03 AWD that I pulled behind my Motorhome all wheels down....the lube pump that was suppose to SAVE the transmission did not work so I had to put a new transmission into it and I went with a 2WD. The guys that put it in really knew what they were doing and they said it was an easy job. It did work...I have sense bought a new Van....but the bottom line is you can do it. Hope this helps.

I now pull a 2WD behind my motorhome that had a drive shaft disconnect installed. It works great.

 

[BacklashXJ]

Thanks for the reply, but everything is easy to do if you have the right parts and tools!

i was just looking for details on the swap so i don't mess anything up, and then have him kicking my butt for it. :whack: :whack:

 

[BacklashXJ]

so... nobody on the astro forum ever do this themselves?

 

[nick_n_ii]

Might be a old topic but looking for info on this..

I only want to do it as a temp till I can find another front axle. Basically I want to pull the front drive shaft and the guts out of the front axle. But keep the t-case.

Can this be done?

 

[ihatemybike]

Here's a quick way to find an axle.
www.car-part.com

 

[Aceman]

why not just drop the front diff down and remove the ring gear? then just bolt it back up and put some fluid in it.

 

[Br0theralex]

Somebody told me that all I need to do is remove the front drive shaft and I'll have a 2WD that will save gas and have more pep.

I dont yet believe this is true. I thought if you removed the front drive shaft the van would not move, just spin the front shaft yoke.

Does anybody know if this is true or not?

 

[ihatemybike]

Not true. Check this.

https://sites.google.com/site/astrosafa ... etrain/awd

 

[offroad safari]

so next step... he and I decided to convert it from AWD (it doesn't snow here, and he doesn't want to take it off road) to RWD... I was under there and thought, damn, this could be really easy! all i gotta do is pull the front drive axles and diff, the front driveshaft, and yank the transfer case. then in it's place just get a 2wd tailshaft and connect it to the rear driveshaft and drive! :swerve:

my question: is it really that easy? what year astro's shared the same tranny that's in this one? what year tailshaft should i look for to put in there to make it 2wd? is there anything ELSE i have to do to complete the conversion?

thanks everyone
- Lash

i would not pull the cv's and drive the van, i believe they play a part in keeping the front hubs together.

i have had both rwd and awd vans. the awd makes a huge difference when it rains. there is absolutely no wheel spin with my awdm but my rwd vans would be prone to wheel spin and fishtailing, especially after i installed a posi rear.

 

[95-1ton]

pardon for the piggyback, but i have a huge question here... i know i cross posted, but figure maybe it will help...

a couple of months ago i ran into a problem where i got my van stuck in some mud... rocking it did nothing to free it... eventually it got pulled out, and my left front axleshaft became disengaged with the front differential... i drove it until i could figure out how to fix, and when i did i made the repair - plus a new Advance Autoparts wheelbearing... today, i checked my work to find that the axleshaft had pulled out again, as well as bringing the splined shaft that slips into the diff with it, and the gears inside the front diff were worn... i decided to take the axleshaft out, and eventually do the front diff as well...

when i put it all back together today i made it less than a block to see that the wheel bearing had busted, leaving roller bearings all over the place... i got a new replacement under warranty, and doing another test drive... it happened again... my van got towed home, and now i'm really unsure as to where to go from here...

i would like to remove the whole AWD setup because i searched for just a RWD van but got this one for a great deal...

would the wheel bearing be engineered to 'need' the axleshaft in it...? like a rear wheel bearing of a FWD vehicle, the bearing is just 'there'...

i need some help on this, PLEASE...!

 

[ihatemybike]

I put this page together when I broke Grumpy's diff. Includes a part about the wheel bearings and how the shaft is needed.

https://sites.google.com/site/astrosafa ... etrain/awd

It also sounds like could use some new retaining clips on the diff's axle shafts.

Search my posts.

 

[95-1ton]

very much appreciated, man... guess you learn by mistakes...

i put new axle retainers in both sides when i did the LF axle, just to be safe, and yesterday when i pulled the axle out, the splined section that stays with the spider gears (where the axleshaft slides into in the diff) came out with it, and from what i could see in the case, the spider gear's splines were toast...

maybe i'll just put my Dana 60 under it...?!

 

[knelsonhfs]

about two years ago I was having all kinds of issues with my 93 astro awd. Binding like crazy around tight slow turns like backing out of a parking space. The first time it happened at a safeway. Slamed the front end so hard i thought i hit a car. Dealt with it for a couple of weeks and finally said screw this and went ahead and pulled the front drive shaft and left everything else in tact. It was like (and still is) driving a new rig. :layrubber: Never have had one problem in doing this. :rockon:
good luck....Kelly

 

[bill ahrens]

I have a wrecked 97 2wd and 01 awd with a bad transfer case. Can I put the 2wd transmission in the awd and make it a 2wd? Will a awd trouble light come on the dash?

 

[Gary]

I have limited input to offer here.I think it makes sense it all depends on how much work you want to do.If you truly want a rwd,then to swap out the awd sub frame/tranny/wiring harness for a rwd one makes sense.

 

[FamilyMan]

So if I read your post correctly ihatemybike, In order to turn my AWD '99 GMC Safari into a RWD (to bypass bad front diff) is remove and disassemble my front axles, reinstall my half shafts and retaining ring and bolt, remove my front drive shaft and pull the 20 Amp ATC fuse?

 

[ihatemybike]

Yes, that would be correct. If you don't want to take the CVs apart (quite a pain) a large bolt that fits the stock nut for the CVs can be fitted and tightened to 100 ft/lbs in it's place to hold the hubs together.

 

[boxfetish]

about two years ago I was having all kinds of issues with my 93 astro awd. Binding like crazy around tight slow turns like backing out of a parking space. The first time it happened at a safeway. Slamed the front end so hard i thought i hit a car. Dealt with it for a couple of weeks and finally said screw this and went ahead and pulled the front drive shaft and left everything else in tact. It was like (and still is) driving a new rig. :layrubber: Never have had one problem in doing this. :rockon:
good luck....Kelly

I don't understand the other responses in this thread. I pull my front driveshaft every April and put it back every November. I have been doing this for three years (as long as I have owned my 91 AWD) and have never had any issues. Mileage improves between 1-2 mpg when I remove it.

 

[ihatemybike]

That mostly sounds like the difference between summer/winter blends. How do you track your mileage? I would say you are quite lucky thus far that the viscous clutch hasn't started binding. How many miles do you put on it per week?

I thought I got lucky after not having Grumpy's in for about a year, then the clutch started binding while I was traveling on Route 66 and had to remove the front driveshaft to continue the trip.