AWD Conversion

The reason I started the thread was to find out what it would take, not to say "Hai giyz, im dooing awhl weel dryve cunvert on me grand pree LULZ huw i doo it? tut plz?!". I figured I'd get some criticism, but **** lol I didn't expect a massive flame. It's not like I'm completely retarded or anything. I've been a part of other forums and worked my way up to admin so I know what it's like being asked the same questions and **** like that, but we never shot down creative ideas just because they were way out there. I guess I expected a more mature response is all.

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Originally Posted by Confusingboat

Well I'm glad you're all having a good laugh about this. Sorry for being creative with my thoughts? I guess I'll just go do a top swap and drop a pulley like everyone else. And people wonder why **** never gets done in this country...

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you know what, i think it's a great idea. it'd be really cool to have it AWD. realistically, probably not that easy to pull off, but anything is possible. cars weren't possible until someone said hey i bet it could be done and they did it.

if you got the money and time hell i say do it! it's a very creative thought. if you're passionate about it, do it.

all this damn negativity...ugh

I dont know why everyone shuts this idea down.....Ive been thinking alot about it as well. compare the aztek and gp for a second. very very similar in width and length, both use 60 degree v6 bell housing pattern aztek with 4t65e, same as gp but the versatrak aztek has the transfer case but as long as you have clearance for the t case and the floor of the car, that shouldn't be a problem. So there you are basically looking at "just" a tranny swap.....then since the aztek is also IRS like the GP, the rear drive shaft/diff (torque tube i believe its refered to as) is solid mounted to the vehicle body (so what? fab some poly mounts to hold the rear drive unit in place? wow that would be hard....not), then you have rear hubs, guess what? aztek uses the same hub on the rear as the gp does on the front, ive drawn up some preliminary drawings of a simple spacer/adapter to run front gp hubs on the rear (go from 4 bolt to 3 bolt and a larger hub dia. and space out 0.900" on each side to keep the width the same) and abs would be plug and play. so now u have to find out about cv shaft, stock ones might work or may needed to be modded (i work at a parts store so i can compare hubs, cv shafts, etc all day long lol)

mechanically i think its reasonably doable, the problem i see is getting the electronics to work, its my understand that the versatrak is not suppose to be AWD all the time, suppose to lock and unlock when needed (clutch setup in rear drive unit) and when abs is trigger the rear drive unit disconnects. This could be wired to a manual AWD on/off switch and taped into the ABS with a little work i believe. I have emailed Magna which is the company that produces the t-case and rear drive units for the Aztek and similar GM vechiles but have not heard back yet. I was asking on what kind of power these components are rated for. Im worried about a built GTP gernading the rear drive unit.

But Im like 30 mins from Dave at TEP so you could build the tranny and tcase and I could always upgrade to a different rear drive unit if I had too.....

I have wondered myself about getting AWD for my GP. Realisticly i dont have the money nor the knowledge to do it. It would be sweet as all hell though! So I say go big or go home! Do it man! Or get a crappy GP and use it as an experiment and then you could either A. Sell it for alot more, or B. keep it as a reminder of your accomplishment. :th_jester:

Yea i really want to do the getrag 284 swap in my gtp, id love to find another gp with a blown tranny for cheap and take on this project....(red 4 door gt or gtp would be ideal) be a frekin awesome winter daily I think, motor would be very lightly modded, probably more of a tune for fuel economy then anything.

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Originally Posted by neel2008

I dont know why everyone shuts this idea down.....Ive been thinking alot about it as well. compare the aztek and gp for a second. very very similar in width and length, both use 60 degree v6 bell housing pattern aztek with 4t65e, same as gp but the versatrak aztek has the transfer case but as long as you have clearance for the t case and the floor of the car, that shouldn't be a problem. So there you are basically looking at "just" a tranny swap.....then since the aztek is also IRS like the GP, the rear drive shaft/diff (torque tube i believe its refered to as) is solid mounted to the vehicle body (so what? fab some poly mounts to hold the rear drive unit in place? wow that would be hard....not), then you have rear hubs, guess what? aztek uses the same hub on the rear as the gp does on the front, ive drawn up some preliminary drawings of a simple spacer/adapter to run front gp hubs on the rear (go from 4 bolt to 3 bolt and a larger hub dia. and space out 0.900" on each side to keep the width the same) and abs would be plug and play. so now u have to find out about cv shaft, stock ones might work or may needed to be modded (i work at a parts store so i can compare hubs, cv shafts, etc all day long lol)

mechanically i think its reasonably doable, the problem i see is getting the electronics to work, its my understand that the versatrak is not suppose to be AWD all the time, suppose to lock and unlock when needed (clutch setup in rear drive unit) and when abs is trigger the rear drive unit disconnects. This could be wired to a manual AWD on/off switch and taped into the ABS with a little work i believe. I have emailed Magna which is the company that produces the t-case and rear drive units for the Aztek and similar GM vechiles but have not heard back yet. I was asking on what kind of power these components are rated for. Im worried about a built GTP gernading the rear drive unit.

But Im like 30 mins from Dave at TEP so you could build the tranny and tcase and I could always upgrade to a different rear drive unit if I had too.....

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These are all great ideas and it would be awsome if somone did it but is there room under the car for the rear differential, how will the other suspension components bolt up, will you have to use a custom length strut, do you have a driveline shop near by that can custom fit the rear drive shaft and balance it, what custom brackets etc will have to be made for all of this to work well, will the wiring work with the pcm since the aztec doesnt have the same engine??????????????? Ther are alot of things that will bolt up but there are alot of unknown variables that could trash a couple of automobiles and drain your bank account while your at it. Again it would be a legendary feet to attempt this and even bigger if it worked but as they say its a no risk no reward type venture.

GP pcm "should" not know the difference between trannys since they are the "same" (the t case "intercepts" the power at the diff before it goes out to the cv shafts, the computer controls the tranny like normal pretty much to my knowledge as of now)

Also there are NO joints in the shaft. DO NOT think of this is a rwd solid axle car. way way way different. according to my research the aztek wheelbase and gp wheelbase are less than 2 inches different. I believe that the length does not have to be spot on because the cv shafts can fugde it a little. (also I have thought about a simple small spacer between the t case output and rear drive unit to fix the slight length difference. but like i said, i don't see why its absolutely imperative to have the center of the rear diff right in line with the center of ur rear hub because the cv shafts will let you cheat it a little (might wear the shafts out a tiny bit faster....) besides my adapter rings I have drawn up, I do not believe (yet anyway lol) that the rear gp suspension, mainly the "knuckles" will not need anymore work. (hole in center of knuckle might have to enlarged a tad depending on cv joint clearance.) better trailing arms would be a must as well lol. Im still doing some research on the rear drive unit vs space. but (not trying to brag, just explaining) being that I am used to baggin and body droping s10's where some guys (not me, yet) have done 6.0 ls2/t56/vette IRS bagged on a stock floor body drop custom frame, this should be slightly less complicated. what i am trying to say is if some floor mods and building mounts for the drive unit and modifying the knuckles and having some spacer/adapter plates made for the rear hubs is the just of it, then all i need is some parts and some motivation, but like i said, the functionality of the system is another thing to consider. I really wish they would email me back and let me know what kind of power these components are rated at.....

I also looked at using the aztek rear suspension but it is like stupid way different. as of right now, i believe that modifying the stock gp rear irs is best way to go....

how about just lowering the crap out of an aztek and building that instead? :)

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Originally Posted by Bio248

how about just lowering the crap out of an aztek and building that instead? :)

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They're too ugly.

Here are the reasons this is a bad idea:

4t65e doesnt like power.

theres is no manual transmission you could use.

Where would you route the exhaust?

Where would you move the gas tank to?

Can you fab up the rear end?

If you can solve all of those then you might still have a fighting chance.

But if you have to ask, then you're probably never going to do it.

You have to remember you'll still have all of the normal grand prix issues.

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Originally Posted by Confusingboat

Lol I didn't mean to sound like a dick, but seriously if I wanted to buy something else I would. I just wanted a simple discussion regarding the process of converting a Grand Prix to AWD, not the typical "go buy a <insert car here>".

Also, it's not like I'd be in this alone if I were ever crazy enough to attempt it -- I know a lot of people with plenty of experience with cars that would be more than willing to help me out. If money were no object I would 100% commit to the conversion. Just wondering what it takes is all.

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You can't be serious. No words can describe, and yes, this is my first post on GPForums.net.

Hang on a minute. I do believe allot of the high end Drift cars are 500+HP All wheel drive cars. So there are AWD trans axles that cant take the power. And if you can have a 4X4 Camaro with 44" tires. Then I'd say this can be done. But Money and time with a little ingenuity anything is possible. I say go for it and document everything. Also, I have seen anyone welcoming you, So Welcome. Glad to see you on the forum. IMO

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Originally Posted by matt5112

4t65e doesnt like power.

TEP = problem solved -- wouldn't be pushin 500hp or anything, and it's not impossible to find a 1" chain

theres is no manual transmission you could use.

Big deal...

Where would you route the exhaust?

Exhaust can be routed pretty much anywhere so it's a non-issue

Where would you move the gas tank to?

Also not really an issue, it's pretty much a big water bottle with a hose and a pump

Can you fab up the rear end?

This is pretty much the only issue, but anything is possible as long as you're not easily discouraged

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The issues have been addressed.

For the money you spend on it...with all the issues your going to run into...you can run 9's in another platform that isn't lame. AWD GP is dumb.

But...I don't care...it's your money to blow...and it isn't cost effective...so who's to stop you from doing it? Not me.

dow hats my friend did...ditch the gtp for a awd turbo car like i will one day....he got a 96 dodge stealth TT R/T....he isnt looking back.

I don't understand why everyone seems to think I'm actually going to attempt this. This discussion is completely hypothetical, and I don't have anywhere near enough money to even consider doing it. Unless places take Monopoly money? Btw I don't have a GTP, and the Stealth is gay.

/thread

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Originally Posted by Confusingboat

I don't understand why everyone seems to think I'm actually going to attempt this. This discussion is completely hypothetical, and I don't have anywhere near enough money to even consider doing it. Unless places take Monopoly money? Btw I don't have a GTP, and the Stealth is gay.

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Then I guess this thread is done then and no one else is gettin' free posts.

Take it to the chatbox for that shiz