Shooter83's 100% Complete AWD Conversion (pic heavy)

[shooter83]

here is the full conversion thread: *COMPLETED* My AWD Conversion - Florida's Mitsubishi 3000GT & Dodge Stealth Community!

YouTube - AWD Dodge Stealth ES

most people don't understand why you cannot simply install the Z16A (AWD) rear end in a Z11A (FWD) car, i will do my best to first explain why.

for some reason that i cannot figure out, mitsu decided to design and install two different rear ends for the FWD car & AWD car. instead of simply using the AWD rear end without the rear diff or c/v axles. in order for them to use different rear suspensions, they had to design different mounting methods for each rear end.

first, on the rear of the FWD cars, the rear struts are mounted closer towards the front of the car. while in AWD cars, the struts are farther back towards the rear of the car to clear the c/v axle. because of this, our platform has two different types of inner fender wells/strut braces, one for AWD, and one for FWD. you can see an animated picture i made showing the difference in this thread:The difference between the AWD & FWD rear wheelhouse *ANIMATED PIC* - Florida's Mitsubishi 3000GT & Dodge Stealth Community!

second, the FWD rear end uses trailering arm mounts that are installed on the frame rail, while the AWD cars have a mounting plate to connect the rear sub-frame. you can see this differance in post 3.

third, the FWD cars rear end is held in by 4 studs coming out of the frame. the rear of the AWD rear end only uses two of these and they are longer and thicker then the ones used to hold in the FWD rear end. you can see this in post 4.

and finally, the FWD cars have 2 of the 4 needed studs used to hold in the drive shaft. the rearward set contains both studs, but the forward set is missing both studs in the brace. you can see the Z16A brace and Z11A brace in the 9th post.

here are some interesting pics i took of the extracted Z16A parts for my conversion:

[shooter83]

i started by removing the inner-fender wells:

[shooter83]

next i removed the factory Z11A trailing arm bracket. what you have to do is remove a portion of the frame rail in order to fit the AWD forward sub-frame mount. i used a grinder, cutting wheel, and a sawzall. the first pic is of the stock trailing arm bracket. this is a picture i modified from Barefoot, because i forgot to take a picture of mine before i started cutting. the next is the end result after cutting, third is of the AWD mount in place. and the last pic is a little diagram of the Z16A framerail (so i a had a general idea of where to cut)

it's really starting to come along!

[shooter83]

i was too excited to call it quits after getting the bottom mounts in. so i decided to go back out and figure out what to do with the issue of the rear studs on my FWD car, that are too short for the AWD sub-frame.

in the first picture, you'll see the two studs coming out of the frame. one stud is X'ed out because it will no longer be used. it's only for the FWD rear end. it could stay there as it doesn't bother anything, but i will cut it off because i do not want ANY trace that my car was ever FWD anyway the green stud is what we'll be paying attention too.

the second pic is showing us how i accessed the stud with the green arrow, i cut a "U" shape with a cutting wheel, and bent back the metal to make a door.

the third pic is giving us a better view at the top of the stud and how its held in to the frame.

the last pic is showing us the difference between the FWD stud and AWD stud. i still need to enlarge the hole in my frame a bit so the AWD stud can fit though.

[shooter83]

Alright! here's a nice update!

today i decided to start test fitting the parts and i got a little carried away because i wanted to take some pics.

the first three pics show the rear sub-frame mount stud that i removed from the AWD car, after removing the smaller and shorter FWD stud i had to enlarge the hole a little bit so the AWD stud would drop in. the 3rd pic is showing the difference in size, i still need to cut the second FWD stud off that is pictured to the right.

the fourth pic is showing the difference between the AWD rear wheelhouse on the left, and the FWD rear wheelhouse on the right.

the fifth picture is showing the AWD rear wheelhouse and strut brace installed.

the sixth picture shows the AWD rear sub-frame installed in my car

the seventh pic is showing the drivers side rear sub-frame front mount

the 8th & 9th pics are showing the outside view of the AWD rear wheelhouse and suspension


so the next few steps for me is to clean up all the AWD body panels & parts that are to be installed on my car. try to figure out how to halt any further rust from forming before closing everything up by welding.

[shooter83]

inner panels welded in!

[shooter83]

got the forward rear-subframe mounts welded in and undercoated:

[shooter83]

sealed the inner fender seems with 3M seem sealer, and gave a nice first coat of underbody spray to the fenderwells:

[shooter83]

heres the last part i needed to remove from my car to complete my conversion, as i mentioned in the first post, the Z11A FWD cars have two of the four studs needed to secure the drive-shaft in place. you can see what i mean in the pics. the last 2 pics are after welding, and undercoating.

[shooter83]

it's on the ground sitting on it's own weight!


first pic shows the all wheel steering delete, and the reassembled rear suspension.

third pic shows the horrendous wheel gap with the unsettled tein s-techs + light car.

last pic shows the ES with AWD!

i'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!