On my on-again, off-again diesel postal jeep project, I hit upon the idea of creating a full-time 4wd using a front-wheel drive transaxle.
IIRC, the tranny bolt pattern of the 2.8/3.1/3.4 60 deg. and 3.8 90 deg. v6es are the same as my 5.7olds v8 diesel, so the tranny will bolt right up. Since it already contains a differential, it is its own transfer case.
However, the front driveshaft would be on the passenger side of the jeep, and most front differentials I see on trucks are on the driver side.
I first thought flipping the front axle upsidedown would be the solution, but that would make the front shaft spin the opposite direction as the rear.
Short of pullig apart the wheelshaft tubes and switching them on the opposite side (how could I possibly do that, anyway) are there passenger side front axles made?
Differentials and transfer cases are two different things. In the case of FWD vs AWD Volvos (What I am familar with) the transmissions are similar (slightly different cases) but the AWD version has an angle gear bolted to the output of the trans on one side. The axle shaft on that side sticks into the angle gear.
The angle gear is a small differential driven backward. The trans drives the crown wheel, crown wheel drives the pinion, which is connected to the drive shaft.
Transfer cases on the other hand are (In my experience) a chain driven gear case that can be engaged or disengaged via a lever in the car. When engaged the two drive shafts will turn at the same speed, no differential action between them.
In any event you are trying to modify a rear wheel/4 WD system (driveshaft/ transfer case) into an FWD/AWD system. Not impossible, but it will be a lot of work, maybe more than you want to get into.
Which trans are you thinking of using? 4T65?
Normally, the v6 and transaxle would be mounted transversely: looking in from the front bumper, the engine is on the left, the tranny is on the right, and the axlesare behind both.
By mounting the tranny and engine longitudinally, from above, the engine is up front, the tranny is in the rear, and the axles are on the passenger side.
With a regular RWD, A separate transfer case is bolted to the rearwith the front axle offset to the driver side to clear past the tranny and engine.
A Transaxle has the differential built in with both axles offset to the passenger side.
Honestly, I don’t really know the nomenclature of transmissions, so I’m just taking what I can get at the local junkyard. I could end up with a 4- or 3-speed auto, or a 5- or 4-speed manual.
I’m not worried that the v8 is too strong for a tranny built for a v6 or even a straight 4…the olds diesel only made about 75 horsepower, IIRC.