I am looking at potentially converting my 94 cruiser over to part time four wheel drive. I know Slee has a kit as well as Man A Fre. Slee's kit looks to be a lot more involved than Man A Fre's. Has anyone tired either of these? If so how do you like it? I have the Man A Fre 38gal. fuel tank (that is loud as hell above 55mph) and it showed up missing brackets, so I am not 100% confident in their products. Any infor would be appreciated.
Part Time 4 Wheel Drive (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter 94cruiseridiot
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Why is the fuel tank loud at speed? Curious
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After the tank was installed there is a loud deep noise when I get above 55mph. I am thinking it may have something to do with with aerodynamics or something of that nature as everything was installed correctly and is secure.
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- #5
I was mentioning the tank because I had issues with the tank shipment from Man A Fre and was referencing that when comparing conversion kits between Man A Fre and Slee. I also mentioned the noise as an issue in case anyone has installed it previous and had a solution for the issue or a cause.
They probably removed the drive shaft when installing the fuel tank. That might be what’s causing the noise if it was put back in wrong or damaged in the process. The fuel tank doesn’t make noise.
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The driveline didnt even cross my mind. Thanks! I was looking into the conversion just because I was thinking about upgrading the axels and figured if I was in there the conversion wouldn't hurt. Plus it may help with the MPG.
I find Andrew St. Pierre White's opinions to be quite well informed and well considered on such matters, and he says a part time conversion is a waste of time and money.
Despite pressures to increase fuel efficiency Toyota/Lexus are still making full time 4WD (AWD, actually, if I understand it correctly) vehicles.
I'm not convinced it makes sense to convert an 80 to part time 4WD, but that's just my two cents.
YMMV.
Despite pressures to increase fuel efficiency Toyota/Lexus are still making full time 4WD (AWD, actually, if I understand it correctly) vehicles.
I'm not convinced it makes sense to convert an 80 to part time 4WD, but that's just my two cents.
YMMV.
Unlikely, as you're still pushing a 6000 pound brick through the air.
The only real way to increase fuel economy on these things is to keep it to 55 mph.
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Thanks everyone, really appreciate the info! I had never heard of Andre St. Pierre White before. Feel like I have some YouTube binge watching to do.
*to get an idea of the handling, but not the mpgs as all the parts will still be moving
I have a part-time kit in mine and it's ok. I installed it because I have a 4 inch slee kit on my rig and I was getting some driveline vibrations. At the time of install I was having the 3:1 low range gear put into the T-case sio I figured might as well have the part-time kit installed too. My driveline vibrations went away. Don't install a part-time kit to try and save gas. There is no increase in milage what so ever and if people say there is I have a hard time believing it. Originally from the factory a gas powered 80 only got 12 in the city and 15 on the highway. When my truck was bare bones stock and fully tuned up with new plugs, wires, air filter etc. I got 15 some times. Now that I have a fully riggd out 80 with bumpers, sliders, winch and all of the other goodies I might get 12 on the highway now.
I would do a part time kit if your having drive line vibrations from a lift or if your running chrome-moly birfs and don't want to excessively cause more wear to the front end in full time 4WD.
Just my two cents.
I would do a part time kit if your having drive line vibrations from a lift or if your running chrome-moly birfs and don't want to excessively cause more wear to the front end in full time 4WD.
Just my two cents.
You ever drive a 80 without AWD?
If you do this to increase mileage you have to be a complete idiot.
I like the math to spend the coin to convert to part time to save gas.
Estimating that it REALLY does save gas, let's say it improves it 5%. On a truck that's getting 15 MPG, then that's an increase of 0.75 MPG.
The average annual vehicle mileage in the USA is 12,000 miles per year and I'm guessing most of these rigs are in the 10K range (I am unusual at closer to 20K)
So, assuming 10K/ year at 15 MPG, then that is 666.67 Gallons/ year.
Assuming 10K/ year at 15.75 MPG, then that's 634.92 gallons/yr.
So, annual difference of 31.75 gallons/yr. Let's push the envelope and say gas is $3.00/gallon (premium high octane). That's $95.25/year payback.
So, if the part time kit is $2500 if dealer installed (or parts plus your labor) and I assume this is actually low, considering front hubs, transfer case rebuild, changing out stuff just because.....
That's a 26.25 year payback to break even.
That sounds like it's worth it!
Go hug a tree!
Cool factor = Priceless!
Estimating that it REALLY does save gas, let's say it improves it 5%. On a truck that's getting 15 MPG, then that's an increase of 0.75 MPG.
The average annual vehicle mileage in the USA is 12,000 miles per year and I'm guessing most of these rigs are in the 10K range (I am unusual at closer to 20K)
So, assuming 10K/ year at 15 MPG, then that is 666.67 Gallons/ year.
Assuming 10K/ year at 15.75 MPG, then that's 634.92 gallons/yr.
So, annual difference of 31.75 gallons/yr. Let's push the envelope and say gas is $3.00/gallon (premium high octane). That's $95.25/year payback.
So, if the part time kit is $2500 if dealer installed (or parts plus your labor) and I assume this is actually low, considering front hubs, transfer case rebuild, changing out stuff just because.....
That's a 26.25 year payback to break even.
That sounds like it's worth it!
Go hug a tree!
Cool factor = Priceless!
For me, it's got nothing to do about gas mileage. It's the wear and tear on the front axle and the steering. Some of you may need all time 4 wheel drive, but for me, I never have
Bludozer
SILVER Star
Has anybody been able to actually demonstrate the difference in "wear and tear" between PT and full time 4wd? I would bet the differences are very minimal, just like the gas mileage. Just not worth it, especially when it has a big impact on the trucks on road drive-ability.
The only reason I'd ever go part time is if I had a huge lift and tires that made it necessary (from a driveability / vibration standpoint). One of the things I really enjoy about the 80 is the full time AWD/4WD and how well it behaves on and off road.
