4WD swap, Adding quality of life

[Verm75]

So long story short. My 2019 Ranger SXT 2wd wasn’t always mine, I inherited it and turned it into a daily. The person who drove this Ranger was very special to me and took care of his truck with everything inside of him, so I want to keep this one on the road for as long as humanly possible NO MATTER WHAT. At some point I want to do quality of life upgrade on her since she’s base model. One stipulation is that I want it to be all ford oem products. I understand it’s probably going to be incredibly expensive to source the parts for everything but I want to eventually swap out parts to make my Ranger a 4WD Ranger, with newer Ranger changes such as a rear window with the sliding glass on it, I’ve done a little bit of research on it and to my understanding to source the parts new it’ll cost around $13,000 for the 4WD optioned in. Not including labor, tbh I’m willing to do the labor myself if it comes to it. I was hoping that someone else may be able to give me some insight into some possibilities for me and also some ideas for what I could do

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[airline tech]

I am being honest here -
First the sliding rear window - I never have it opened except for cleaning.

Second - you can invest the money into the truck to make it 4WD but resale value wise it’s still a 2WD as titled

so an expensive project for all parts plus all the wiring and upgraded modules, it sure which ones will be programmable for upgrades - without replacing, you would most likely have to update wiring harness as well

Anything is possible but it will cost money that you may not recoup in the long run

 

[ctechbob]

To back up what @airline tech said. Anything is possible, but you're talking about buying a different transmission and several heavy parts along with all of the electronics that would have to change. Anything is possible, but there's a chance that the required programming won't be without swapping over the guts from a 4WD truck.

I get being emotionally attached to a vehicle, but you'd be better off preserving the 2WD truck and buying something else you want to drive if 4WD is that important.

At the end of the day. It is a mass produced Ford Ranger. The only thing 'special' about it is something you're assigning to it and only you are going to see that. The rest of the world won't care and will probably view it as devalued.

 

[Racket]

I'll give this a +1. If you want a 4WD Ranger and want to preserve what you have, it will equal less pain and inconvenience to buy a second hand truck.

I know insurance and taxes would be an expense but altering what you have to get one sounds like going against your own goals.

I would also agree the rear slider window is something I wouldn't care if it had not been on mine. Maybe if it were powered, but they weren't on Gen5.

Save your money. If the blend doors on the AC haven't been replaced and you want to get into working on the truck, that will be an opportunity to get intimate with it. If the transmission acts up, you'll be able to really improve the 'quality of life' getting it rebuilt. If the suspension is bone stock your options are wide open. Just an MBS transmission dipstick is a top notch improvement.

There's always a tailgate damper (forum thing) to upgrade your experience.

That's a nice looking truck though.

 

[TxOTRRanger]

I'll give this a +1. If you want a 4WD Ranger and want to preserve what you have, it will equal less pain and inconvenience to buy a second hand truck.

I know insurance and taxes would be an expense but altering what you have to get one sounds like going against your own goals.

I would also agree the rear slider window is something I wouldn't care if it had not been on mine. Maybe if it were powered, but they weren't on Gen5.

Save your money. If the blend doors on the AC haven't been replaced and you want to get into working on the truck, that will be an opportunity to get intimate with it. If the transmission acts up, you'll be able to really improve the 'quality of life' getting it rebuilt. If the suspension is bone stock your options are wide open. Just an MBS transmission dipstick is a top notch improvement.

There's always a tailgate damper (forum thing) to upgrade your experience.

That's a nice looking truck though.

Good call. I'll second what Racket said. Nice looking Ranger 2wd. Preserve it, for the long haul. IMHO

 

[Grumpaw]

Additionally, I don't think or remember anyone on the forum having done the swap you want to attempt so your going to be pretty much on your own. Don't even think there is a "how to" or DIY for this swap.
Granted, it's all Ford parts to a Ford truck but as others posted, its gonna be very involved and not a lot of how to advice is out there.

 

[jflogerzi]

gonna echo what others have said. Anything is possible but converting it into 4wd just won't be economical. Now if the truck does not have a locker, this is what I would add, nice suspension and tires call it good. You be surprised what a 2wd with locker, proper ground clearance and suspension can do. Just my 2 cents

 

[pbethel]

So long story short. My 2019 Ranger SXT 2wd wasn’t always mine, I inherited it and turned it into a daily. The person who drove this Ranger was very special to me and took care of his truck with everything inside of him, so I want to keep this one on the road for as long as humanly possible NO MATTER WHAT. At some point I want to do quality of life upgrade on her since she’s base model. One stipulation is that I want it to be all ford oem products. I understand it’s probably going to be incredibly expensive to source the parts for everything but I want to eventually swap out parts to make my Ranger a 4WD Ranger, with newer Ranger changes such as a rear window with the sliding glass on it, I’ve done a little bit of research on it and to my understanding to source the parts new it’ll cost around $13,000 for the 4WD optioned in. Not including labor, tbh I’m willing to do the labor myself if it comes to it. I was hoping that someone else may be able to give me some insight into some possibilities for me and also some ideas for what I could do

What these other posters said....or buy a rear ended totaled truck and a beater daily driver and have at it.

 

[Glocker]

Keep the truck as is, and take the exorbitant amount of money you'd spend on converting it to 4x4 to buy a cheap used 4x4 truck that can also be fun.

 

[got3fords]

If you love the truck so much, why do you want to make it something it's not? At such enormous expense.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

Another thing to keep in mind is that with modern vehicles nothing is a simple bolt in.

Even on these trucks, apparently if you completely replace the transmission it has to be initialized in the software so that it can "talk" to the truck.

I would imagine that adding transfer case, axles, and all the associated wiring would require a lot of programming to make it all work together.

While I understand the desire to add to it, it is a huge endeavor you're looking at.

With me living in the country, it is a simple option to add another vehicle to scratch an itch.

If you live in the city, that may not be an option and you may need a single vehicle to meet all your wants/needs.

 

[got3fords]

OP?

 

[ControlNode]

OP?

 

[PltFX4]

IMO: The only financially plausible way to do this is to find a XLT 4x4 or Lariat 4X4 in a salvage yard (hopefully a roll over) and buy the whole thing before they take all apart. Now you have a template and the ALL the required part (except maybe the sliding glass window... it won't survive the rollover... lol). Sell the engine and any other usable parts you don't need and get to work. And it will be a TON of work... if you aren't doing the labor, it will cost you a tone... or get a community collage auto shop to do it as a training opportunity... oh, and this will not be a 1 or 2 week effort, so if it is your daily driver, it's time for new sneakers cause you going to be walking for long time...

Good luck

 

[airline tech]

I have to admit it does sound like a fun project- expensive but just thinking about the feeling of the accomplishment of such a task once you work out all the bugs from the first drive.
I will have to admit that this project is far better than the owner who chopped the top off just for a side by side , that one still makes my head spin.

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