Mk6 Transit RWD to FWD conversion

[dieselhead123]

Done a few of these now, basically just a Ford parts swap.

Any one else done this?

TIM

[Punto443]

No, but can't see it being too hard

What about putting a fwd in a rwd, then leaving the live axle on the back and mid mounting a fun engine to run the back on the weekend

[dieselhead123]

I an sure I read somewhere that Ford did this at a motor show as a live demonstration, 20 mins?
Anyone got any more information on this?

The first one we did was a Jumbo, now sold on.
We installed a complete 100ps FWD set up, I have to say, the on road performance was quite good.

We have just completed a chassis cab tipper, the reduction in vehicle weight will increase available payload, I will get some pictures up of this one.

Interesting idea regards the 'twin engine', one for daily use and the other for North Weald

TIM

[coacher]

A fwd chassis van with a low body like the Renault lo-loader would be good.

[dieselhead123]

A fwd chassis van with a low body like the Renault lo-loader would be good.

That was one of our possible uses, a twin trailing axle FWD recovery vehicle.
All chassis cabs shares the same 'deep' chassis rails as the RWD vans, but the 'bed' would still be lower if running 15 inch wheels.

We are just doing a few 'conversions' to get our 'heads around' what we need/don't need to change on vans and chassis cabs before we carry out our work on a 'keeper'.

As said, the Jumbo has been sold, here is the chassis cab tipper we are working on;


Those of you with access to ETIS will be able to confirm that it started life as a 2.4 RWD 90ps model.

The jumbo was also a 90ps model, with that we installed a 100ps FWD engine complete with the 100ps ECU, performance was better than with the 90ps ECU on the 2.4 engine

The chassis cab pictured above is running a 100ps 2.0 engine, but using the original 90ps 2.4 ECU
We have yet to road test the vehicle so are unable to report on performance but the engine runs well enough.

Pictures of the install will follow.
TIM

[V184]

A fwd chassis van with a low body like the Renault lo-loader would be good.

i saw a mk8 converted to lo-loader spec at a show looked quite smart

[dieselhead123]

A fwd chassis van with a low body like the Renault lo-loader would be good.

i saw a mk8 converted to lo-loader spec at a show looked quite smart

I for one do quite like the look of the MK8 front on a chassis cab, but that's for another thread

TIM

[dieselhead123]

Here's a pic of the chassis cab with FWD engine installed;

I will take a few more pictures to document the progress of the next one.

As Punto has said, this is basically a 'parts swap' exercise.
Remove the RWD 2.4 engine and gearbox, also the prop shaft, if fully operational these parts can be sold for in excess of £1000
No need to replace the rear axle unless you choose to, we did with he chassis cab as these twin wheel axles sell rather well!

You need to remove the 'blank shafts' from the front hubs in readiness to install the drive shafts, it is also necessary to replace the power steering pipes from the rack as these are different between FWD and RWD.

Now install the complete FWD engine/gearbox and drive shaft assembly, remember use drive shafts with ABS 'rings' if your vehicle has ABS! You also need the complete FWD cooling hoses and a FWD radiator with the electric fan.

You can either code in the 2.0 injection pump or fit the injection pump removed from your 2.4 engine to the 2.0 unit.
If your RWD vehicle was fitted with a VP44 injection pump, best to install this on the 2.0 engine, you need to use the injection pump rear bracket and the injection pipes that came with the VP44.

TIM

[dieselhead123]

Just a note about swapping PCM's between vehicles, we did this on the previous conversion, when connecting IDS to the OBD port, the VIN number of the vehicle to which the PCM was first allocated shows on the screen;


Oops, did they make a 100PS 2.4

TIM

[knobby1]

Oops, did they make a 100PS 2.4

They must have....it's right there on the screen..

Lord Knobrot

[dieselhead123]

Jay completed another one of these conversions today, this time a LWB van;

Then it was down to me to get it on IDS and sort out the pump/PCM/key.

So which PCM shall I use

A small selection of our available 'stock'.

Because of 'pin out' differences the Tddi PCMs come in two distinct variations, 'early' and 'late' types. The change being when the electronic cluster was introduced, fit the wrong type and you end up with a proper 'cluster F**k'.

If you wish to check the software contained in a PCM then just connect it to the PCM socket on your vehicle's under bonnet loom;


and 'interrogate' with IDS;


No need to program it into your vehicle and just 'reading' it won't upset your vehicle in any way, an 'early' PCM fitted to a 'late' vehicle will immediately display a series of dashes, (-------) in the mileage display. IDS will display the power output and chassis number contained within the PCM on the screen, then use ETIS to confirm the full spec of the vehicle the PCM was originally fitted to. I record these details on a sticker placed on the outside of the unit.
Should a vehicle require a replacement PCM as a result of an internal failure, such as water ingress, an appropriate replacement can then be easily identified from 'stock'.

Swapping PCMs is an easy way to provide your vehicle with a power upgrade, provided the additional components are also replaced

TIM

[andz327]

I was actually going to ask if anyone had done rwd to fwd conversions as I've been thinking about converting a chassis doublecab/crewcab lwb flatbed to fwd with a BT box mounted on the back in place of flatbed

[dieselhead123]

I was actually going to ask if anyone had done rwd to fwd conversions as I've been thinking about converting a chassis doublecab/crewcab lwb flatbed to fwd with a BT box mounted on the back in place of flatbed

We will be doing our crew cab soon, just started building the engine. As this will be a 'keeper' I should have a bit more time to document the installation process. There is additional work required when converting a chassis cab, rear spring hangers need to be changed as well as the rear axle.

TIM

[andz327]

I was actually going to ask if anyone had done rwd to fwd conversions as I've been thinking about converting a chassis doublecab/crewcab lwb flatbed to fwd with a BT box mounted on the back in place of flatbed

We will be doing our crew cab soon, just started building the engine. As this will be a 'keeper' I should have a bit more time to document the installation process. There is additional work required when converting a chassis cab, rear spring hangers need to be changed as well as the rear axle.

TIM

Had thought about rear axle problem, but was going to pull the diff out and make a blanking plate and just chop the ends off the half shafts to use as blanking plates at the wheelbearings and just carry a fwd and a rwd wheels for spares

[dieselhead123]

Hello Andz327, The twin rear wheel chassis cab has the rear springs moved inwards to accommodate the inner rear wheels.
To overcome this on the twin wheel chassis cab we converted, we fitted a FWD chassis cab rear axle together with the spring mountings, (these just bolt through the chassis rails). Using the FWD spring mountings moved the rear spring outwards to suit the FWD trailing axle.


A bit more on this, we have another van in for conversion.
There are a few additional parts that need to be swapped, best done with the RWD engine/gearbox assembly removed.
The RWD brake servo is a larger diameter, this needs to be swapped for the FWD version. Simplest to leave the master cylinder in place to avoid disturbing the brake hydraulics;


The plastic scuttle drain tube is different between RWD and FWD, the RWD one will interfere with the FWD engine mounting, here you see the RWD version;


The FWD gearbox mounting needs to be installed. We use the early type, this bolts directly to the RWD chassis rail, (it shares the existing mounting points with the RWD engine cradle);


TIM