hey guy's, another probably silly question but I found a really really clean 95 tracker but it is in 2 wheel drive.  I know anything can be done if you have the money but is it a reasonable endeavor?  I am not joe mechanic so I would have to pay for some or most the work depending on the complexity.

I suggest you keep looking - the amount of work involved in a 2WD->4WD conversion is not worth it, and more so, if you're not actually doing the work yourself.

What you're going to end up doing is buying second vehicle with 4WD to get the necessary parts - transfer case, front axle, drive shafts, and you're also going to have to cut & weld the frames.

thats what i expected but thought i would ask just the same.  thanks

Cut and weld the frame? The drivers side front axle mounting bracket needs to welded on, if it isn't on there already (some 2wd trackicks already have the bracket). Other than that, zero other frame mods are necessary...and definitely no cutting of the frame is necessary.
You really don't need a whole donor vehicle, but it may be cheaper to find a wrecked/rusted one cheaper than buying parts piece by piece. You'll need...Complete front axle assembly with gear ratio that matches the existing rear axle ratio, front spindles, lock out hubs (auto hubs will work too), driveshafts, tranny/tcase crossmember, 4wd tranny, tcase, speedo cable (the 2wd one will be too short to reach the tcase).
I have done a few 2wd to 4wd conversions and I have either posted on here a pretty detailed write-up, or I have linked my write-up I have in the How-to section of zuwharrie.com on 2wd to 4wd conversions for trackicks.

Other than possibly having to weld the one bracket on the frame, it is really a pretty easy, remove 2wd parts-bolt 4wd parts on, modification.

There is an ongoing build in Petersons $wheel drive magazine about a tracker and they are converting a 2wd to 4wd.

Cut and weld the frame? The drivers side front axle mounting bracket needs to welded on, if it isn't on there already (some 2wd trackicks already have the bracket). Other than that, zero other frame mods are necessary...and definitely no cutting of the frame is necessary.

You're contradicting yourself there Sky - IF - the frame you have does not have the bracket, you have to cut it off the donor vehicle and weld it on to the one you have.

There is an ongoing build in Petersons $wheel drive magazine about a tracker and they are converting a 2wd to 4wd.

That's also a solid axle swap and uses a Samurai transfer case, so it's a very different conversion, including modifications to the chassis rails.

By the time you move the clean parts & body onto the donor frame/drive line you will wish to high heaven you had just bought a 4x4 in the first place.  Don't feel bad, everyone has this idea once in there life--I helped a friend do it with a Chevy Truck back in the 90's.  It was a nightmare, but we learned alot.  The main thing we learned was----never again!

It might make sense if these vehicles weren't so cheap.    Mine 93 cost $3k and it had all kinds of mods already, new engine, tires, bumpers, etc. 

Quote from: Skyhiranger on December 15, 2015, 07:22:05 PM

Cut and weld the frame? The drivers side front axle mounting bracket needs to welded on, if it isn't on there already (some 2wd trackicks already have the bracket). Other than that, zero other frame mods are necessary...and definitely no cutting of the frame is necessary.

You're contradicting yourself there Sky - IF - the frame you have does not have the bracket, you have to cut it off the donor vehicle and weld it on to the one you have.

I don't consider cutting a BRACKET off the frame and welding a BRACKET on the frame cutting and welding the FRAME.

For those of us who don't have the facilities, any sort of cutting & welding is an added challenge - the OP has made it clear he's no mechanic.

I've seen some of your work (or pictures of it) and the sort of stuff you do, the rest of us wouldn't dream of attempting - I can turn a wrench as good as anyone else, and I wouldn't consider a 2x4~4x4 conversion.

I suggest you keep looking - the amount of work involved in a 2WD->4WD conversion is not worth it, and more so, if you're not actually doing the work yourself.

What you're going to end up doing is buying second vehicle with 4WD to get the necessary parts - transfer case, front axle, drive shafts, and you're also going to have to cut & weld the frames.

When I consider all that has been expressed in this discussion, Fordem has probably summed up the facts.  The capstone is "more so, if you're not actually doing the work yourself".  While my inclination is what Skyhiranger expresses, even Unclebucky47 learned something.  If you are paying to have the work done, you are not learning much about what has been done, or adding much to the project.