One in a million AWD swap question

[bewstin]

Alright I'm pretty positive no one has ever asked this before (i looked). Long story short, i have 100% of everything i need for my AWD swap to begin, other than the bolts for the transfer case (which i need to figure out how long each one is). But what i don't have is a lot of time. I'm going to try and get everything done over the weekend, as i already removed everything from the donor car down to the spot-welded drive shaft mounts and sub frame bolts.
I've done mounds and mounds of research on the swap, and i''m a 50+ hr/week automotive technician, so i don't see myself running into any issues. If i wanted to slap it all in and get it done, i'm sure i could get it done in a day or two, but i want to sand down all the surface rust underneath my car and undercoat everything. Also I'm going to sand down the new subframe, diff, and all the suspension components and paint them black. I work mon-fri and drive my eclipse daily to work which is 18miles one way. I'll be working on the car at my shop i work at, so i figured i'd start the undercoating and painting on Friday night right after work. Then i will try to tackle everything else on saturday and sunday.
I'm planning for the worst, in case i spend all weekend struggling with the gas tank and subframe bolts, and end up not have enough time to install the transmission and tcase. So Here's my question... if that happens and i get the subframe and gas tank in, but cant put in the tranny and tcase, will i hurt the car driving it for a week to work with the rear end free rolling. And the following weekend i will finish the swap. I just don't have a ride to get back and forth all week so i would need to use my car. Everything i know about cars tells me it will be fine, as long as there is gear fluid in it. But before i go and assume i figured i'd ask some DSM veterens. I've been dealing with DSM's for a long time, but haven't ever had this come about before haha. Any input would be great, thanks! Also the rear end IS LSD

 

[DRTredHEAD]

It shouldn't. I had my drive shaft come loose at the rearend once and ended up having to cut it just past the first carrier bearing and drive fwd for a couple months till I could find a new one, never had a problem other than no traction from forgetting I was fwd.

 

[tkelly27]

It is common to tow AWD cars on a tow dolly by disconnecting the drive shaft. There is no T-case so it won't leak, and you've got the cups in the rear so the bearings will be supported. No worries.

 

[bewstin]

awesome! Thanks for the input that's exactly what i wanted to hear!

 

[SrKegler]

Haven't the time to do the research, but I'll bet you burn up the tranny. When we have our AWD dyno'd it isn't as simple as just unhooking the drive shaft. A VC eliminator is bolted in place of the transfer case.

Might want to check with a wiseman for the correct answer.

 

[twicks69]

You will need a welded center differential or install a viscous coupler eliminator in place of the viscous coupler to lock the center differential. That will be the only way you can drive it with the transfer case and driveshaft removed.

 

[jjw205]

Haven't the time to do the research, but I'll bet you burn up the tranny. When we have our AWD dyno'd it isn't as simple as just unhooking the drive shaft. A VC eliminator is bolted in place of the transfer case.

Might want to check with a wiseman for the correct answer.

I think he plans on leaving the FWD trans in in the meantime. Yea, as others said, you should be fine. You can definitely do it in a weekend, as long as you have the parts painted ahead of time. I had the back of my car done in about 2-3 days of full work, including sandblasting and painting all parts. It really isn't all that hard, I could probably do the whole thing in a weekend, assuming all of the parts are ready to go in.

Good luck.

 

[twicks69]

Yes, if he has his fwd transmission still installed then it is no biggie. Simply gear oil in rear diff and axles installed and he is fine.

 

[dsmcurse]

^^^ i understood it like this too. he says "if i only get my rear end and gas tank swap done, can i still drive on my GST tanny?" thats how i understood the question. yes, it will be just fine

 

[DRTredHEAD]

Yes that was what I was reffering to. If he has his fwd trany in. My car has a welded dif and I had the tcase on it with the drive shaft stubbed off at the first carrier bc the second blew out when it came off.

 

[bewstin]

awesome! glad to hear that its good to go if i cant finish it in time. I'm mostly concerned just in case something comes up or goes wrong, i always like to have a back up plan. I'm crossing all my T's and dotting all my I's before i even get started on friday. I just need to find out the sizes for the transfer case bolts so i can get some from the hardware store.

 

[crash89]

Just for reference, I spent 70 total hours doing my swap. And I consider myself pretty mechanical inclined. The only part that still give/gave me issues was the wiring for the friggin fuel gauge and dummy light.

But yes, as others said already, You'll be fine keeping the fwd trans in for the time being.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

The main parts for the swqap are easy. It is all the little details that will hold up a job like this. When I did the swap, it was annoying having to wait for all the bolts or seals that I had to order because I overlooked them. Make sure since all new stuff is going in to replace all the seals that you can (input/output seals) you can order transfer case bolt sets form extremepsi. Quick shipping as well.

 

[buhay6]

If you get your bolts from a hardware store make sure you get the proper grade bolts as well, to soft and they'll break. I'm sure you could get the bolt specs from the dealer, I think extreme PSI has the dimensions of the bolts. I know I've bumped into the bolt dimensions before on either extremePSI or another vendor but I cant quit remember where, either way I'm sure some one will know them as its better to get for "sure's" then trying to measure them up and figure out what the thread size is.