Search the Community

This how-to is going to address the process involved in taking a 2006 Silverado SS with Rear Wheel Drive and convert it to All Wheel Drive. I know, I can already hear you all asking me why anyone would ever do that. Well, everyone with an AWD wants a RWD and vice versa. The good news is that this write-up will actually explain how to go either direction. It’s a very similar process, albeit a little easier to go RWD. Whatever your reason, whether you want the all-weather drivability of AWD or the tire melting burnouts of RWD, you've come to the right place. Before I get started, let me first address the elephant. This is a complex process. It will not be a simple bolt on application. Anything done to your vehicle is at YOUR OWN RISK. That being said, unless you have significant automotive experience, money, time, and patience then don't even bother attempting this. I am simply going to show you how I did this to my truck. I did this to a 2006 SS. Your year/model may have differences. I don't have a 2005 so I can’t vouch that the frame will be the exact same as the 2006. You will be cutting your frame. You will be welding things to your frame. You will be rebuilding drivetrain components. If you can’t do these things comfortably, or the person you are having do this can’t, then you have no business attempting this. Now if you are feeling brave, or just have nothing better to do, then read on…then re-read it…a few times. Make some lists. Get under your truck and make some measurements. Now let’s get started. Ok, so first off a little background. I love my truck. It’s my daily driver. I tow, haul, travel, and everything else except take it offroad…because if it ever touches mud or snow, I’m all over the place or stuck. So when I slid off the road twice during a blizzard (at 25mph, going straight no less, with snow tires) I decided it was time. After a lot of research online and finding essentially nothing but people talking about how they think they would do it, I decided the best thing to do was just get a salvage SS and figure it out. I found a 2004 SS locally at an insurance auction and bought it. I then spent the next couple months tearing it apart piece by piece to retrieve the parts I needed, then ordering a whole lot more. If you are going RWD to AWD this is about your only option….unless by some fluke your truck came with the proper mounts (you’ll see later). Remember, if you get a salvage, make sure it starts and drives. Large impacts can do serious unseen damage to the drivetrain, even if it wasn’t touched. So you got your donor truck. You are going to need to strip it down to the frame. I recommend you do what I did and sell what you don’t use to recoup some of the cost of buying it. There are plenty of people who want/need parts, especially the cladding. Here is what you need: NV-149 Transfer Case Transfer Case Adapter AWD Transmission (or just an AWD output shaft) Front IFS (8.25”) Front IFS Mount Front Constant Velocity Axles Intermediate Driveshaft Front Hub Bearings Engine Support (2-pieces) Transmission Support Transmission Mount Frame Mounts (cut out the whole frame sections) Primary Driveshaft (see below) Some things that you need to do/consider: Rebuild the transfer case and front IFS. It doesn’t matter what the mileage is. These are probably halfway to junk. They may have even been rebuilt once already. Don’t trust that. Consider replacing or repacking the CV axles. Probably a little contaminated by now. I rebuilt mine just because I’ve never done it before. You can see below how contaminated they get. Its fairly easy to do, but getting the right dog ear clamps is a giant pain (online) and the clamping tool is not easy to find. New axles aren’t that expensive. Lesson learned. Consider replacing all of the universal joints. Consider the mileage they have on them. Consider buying new Hub bearings. None of this is mandatory, but why not. If you are about to put a new drivetrain on your truck you should probably build it to last. Primary driveshaft. You will need to either have the AWD shaft shortened or a custom shaft made. The reason for this is because of the Rear Axle. The 2003-2005 has an 8.6” 10 bolt piece of crap (a great reason to stick with the 06’). The 2006 has a 9.5” 14 bolt. The 9.5 is slightly longer (front to back) which will result in the old shaft being slightly too long. New Ring Gear: This is up to you how you do this, but the AWD has 4.10 gears while the RWD has 3.73. The front and rear axle must match. Either put a 4.10 in your rear or a 3.73 in the new front…or something else in both. Choose your own adventure. I went with the 4.10 in the rear because I was already rebuilding it and I wanted the low end for the extra weight I was about to add. The easiest way is to just change the front axle since you should already be rebuilding it (hint, hint). Transmission Exterior Seal Kit: This can be a slightly misleading name. It is going to contain some important seals and gaskets that you will need during the transmission rebuild; more on that later. Fluids: you will need the following Transmission: 11.2 quarts of Dexron VI – brand/synthetic or not is personal preference Front Axle (IFS): 1.5 quarts of 75w90 or 75w140 (severe service) Gear Oil. I (and many others) recommend the 75w140. These axles are a bit weak. Rear Axle (if necessary): 2.75 quarts of 75w90/75w140 gear oil. Same as front. Transfer Case: 2.22 quarts of either Dexron VI or AutoTrac II. This T-case is also a bit weak so don’t skimp. Some will swear by one while others swear by the other. Your choice. Coolant: 16.7 quarts Dex Cool GM 50/50 Freon: R-134a – enough to get 24-45 psi low side (dependant on temp/humidity). Or just have GM refill it. With the drivetrain fluids it isn’t necessary to go with synthetics, but with how crappy this AWD drivetrain is, you might want to go the extra mile. I went with Amsoil Synthetics and Autotrac II (ACdelco PN# 88900402). Now you know why everyone wants to convert to RWD. Also go ahead and double the gear oil and t-case amounts as you will need to do a break-in fluid change at 500 miles. Anaerobic Sealant: You will need this to rebuild your IFS and T-Case. Any brand will work. This stuff hardens in the absence of oxygen. DO NOT USE SILICON SEALANT! I will show you why later. Transmission Assembly Lube/Goo: there are multiple types and colors. You won’t need much. Tools: There are some specialty tools you will need as well. I will try and address them as I go. I also recommend the factory service manuals for torque specs and reference, but you can probably find a lot of the information on the internet if you look hard enough.

11-14-2019 So it’s that time again ladies and gentleman. As many of you know I made and sold the adapter brackets to mount Z06 Corvette calipers on Silverado SS trucks using Baer disks. The first batch I made was almost 9 years ago. I’ve made more smaller batches along the way. Currently I am sold out of the adapter brackets. I was not planning on making any more due to more than a few reasons. For starters, all my contacts and hookups at machine shops have either moved on or changed fields. I will no longer be able to get any discounted rates for small batches of the machine work, the raw materials, hardware or anodizing. This means I will have to do one single large batch. That means I will have to put out more than $10,000 to make a batch. That is significantly more than what i paid years ago. Now I don't have anything close to enough to sink that much money into these brackets. But I have had more than a few people recently persistently asking about purchasing brackets. So to help offset the initial cost I will be offering them to anyone that purchases them before they are finished at a discounted price. Pre-sale price Front and rear $400 Front only $250 Rear only $200 After pre-sale price Front and rear $450 Front only $275 Rear only $225 Here is a link to the How-to I wrote for anyone not familiar with this upgrade. You can also contact me at [email protected] if you are not a member here. But I would highly suggest joining so you can be part of the forum/community. There are a lot of really good guys on here with a lot of helpful knowledge. Currently the front brackets are being made. I still have a limited number of rear brackets from the last run. More rear brackets will be made shortly after the current batch of front brackets are done. FYI, this very well could be my last so get them while you can and spread the word. If you refer anyone that buys a set of brackets and they mention your name, I’ll send you a few bucks for your time. 11-19-19 12-4-19 Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. So the forum went down for a bit but it’s back up. Had a few people panic. Don’t worry gentlemen. Even if the forum were to go away, you will all get tour parts. I’ve been selling these brackets for nearly a decade. Even when USPS busted open a box with two full sets and wouldn’t refund my money, I made sure the customer still got his. Anyway, front brackets are back from machine shop. Waiting on anodizing shop at this point. There is a bit of a back up due to a huge order ahead of me. They estimated late December. I’m currently working on getting rear brackets machined. Might be able to get them done before fronts are anodized, but don’t know for sure. 12-27-19 Rear brackets have been started !!! 1-10-20 Pre-sale is closed. Thank you to everyone for your patience. This forum is full of some really great people and a lot of great info. There were a couple of delays with the anodizing shop, but all the brackets sold during the pre-sale have shipped. If you missed out on the pre-sale, I still have more. Contact me [email protected]. I will get back to you ASAP.

Hey guys. I am looking do a red led conversion on my gauge cluster. has anyone just bought a kit and if so where did you find it? anything I should know or pay extra attention to? Any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance guys.