[joeblow]

now that i have some extra time on my hands, the bush won't be good to use for a while since the fires, i have decided to pull a project forward that i have had planned for a while. i want my 2.0 litre v6 estate to become my tourer now that we have a kid. nothing radical, just ome lift, 30 inch tyres, 5.1 diff gears and an air locker. i want to ditch the front becuase i don't like ifs in certain applications, and its the weak link in a vitara.

i'm not doing this becuase its some awsome idea or shite like that, i'm just doing it cause i can.....thats all. the housing will be made from scratch using laser cut and folded pieces, the tubes will be heavy wall (all assembled in a jig), and the axles will be a mix of jimny and sierra off-the-shelf items. here is what i have so far.


laser cut housing components.


folded state.


front view.


rear view.

still got a lot of nutting out to do and a heap of measurements. i also want to swap the strut towers around on the vit when i do it as this will bring the centre line of the coils in line with the diff and axles. and....the missus said ok.....

[atari4x4]

mmmmmm SAS

[lump_a_charcoal]

Joe, stop making us jealous of your abilities and resources...

[Damo]

Cool project Joe. Will you be able to get the track width the same as the Vit IFS with off the shelf parts?

[royce]

the v6 is wider ya so will be a one off that wont fit other vits?

is it going to use something similar to a sierra swivel or something bigger? I always thought something like a hilux swivel with a redirlled hub to take a suzuki rotor and new caliper bracket (mainly cause I think the toyta caliper and rotor setup is utter shit) would work well in a solid swap.

or get some hilux ifs stuff in there, you could build up a better setup than whats available IMHO :wink)

[joeblow]

i knew i forgot to put in the 'joe will not use toyota running gear whatsoever' statement in there. nah, i have used toyota gear in a zook before, but i don't want it in one of my vehicles. the v6 is a little wider than a standard one, which is why i'm playing around with some axle/ cv combo's. i will get the track width. now, can anyone tell me if a jimny front axle is 21 spline or 19 spline?.....cv end that is.

[Gwagensteve]

Does it matter? No stock sierra CV/inner axle is going to be strong enough for a V6 vitara with any tyre size that would make the IFS swap worthwhile.

Why not just get Doubletough CV's and one new inner axle made, at least it should last then.

I actually think there's nothing wrong with the vitara IFS, with the right stuff in them they're plenty strong and flex and balance really well all with more clearance than any live axle could offer.

It would be a cool project but it might be cool for its own sake - not actually any better than the car with the IFS in it.

Steve.

[kenn]

Yes just like 1lt cv's wont turn 33"s with out going 'PING' all the time wright..

[zookernator]

God bless you and your shed joe.. god bless

[atari4x4]

can you make 2? my alloy diff will go bang, crunch, grind one day.

[kenn]

zookernator wrote:

God bless you and your shed joe.. god bless

x2 Zookernator

[joeblow]

now i do believe from the start i said i'm doing this because i can, not because its going to be the ultimate system. if i wanted to build the ultimate front axle i could, as i have the resources to machine and or broach anything i like, but thats not what i want. i want to try off the shelf items first. 235's or 30 inch tyres are my max, and i do believe it will work. yes, cv's and axles will let go, they all will eventually, but i want the abillity to replace these 'servicable' items with stock units. atari makes a good point, i would rather change axles than have to replace a front ifs housing and or a drivers side cv that has done the inner shaft. i'm not here telling people this is the best and you should all do it my way, i'm here to post up info of the way i am doing it and if it works, which i believe it will, than it works, if it doesn't than i will look at other options. simple..........oh....and the first components should be ready next week.




so everyone sit back and enjoy.....i'll either fail dismally..........or enjoy my new solid axle vit.





p.s Atari.......i'm cutting a few components at a time......hint hint......

[kenn]

By a few you mean at least 3 yeah

[joeblow]

ok............first bits arrived.....................




the components spread out.


ahhhhh....centre fits..............woo hoo.........


before welding.....



cooming up good..........tube is 60mm dia 5mm wall thickness. jig is under construction.

plans so far-
to put the first in the yellow thing.
second in the green vit.
third to make one to replace the alloy vit housings so people can put thier vit gears in a sierra centre.

[steve]

Are you going to do up some kind of diff guard while you're there?

[joeblow]

i will, but won't be going overboard as this is 4mm plate to start with.

[royce]

joeblow wrote:

third to make one to replace the alloy vit housings so people can put thier vit gears in a sierra centre.

dibs on being test mule!!!!!! and I promise to have it fitted faster than Damos rear brakes!!!!!!!!!!

[Zook_Fan]

joeblow wrote:

third to make one to replace the alloy vit housings so people can put thier vit gears in a sierra centre.

and put the whole lot into a sierra housing?

[joeblow]

Zook_Fan wrote:

joeblow wrote:

third to make one to replace the alloy vit housings so people can put thier vit gears in a sierra centre.

and put the whole lot into a sierra housing?

nahh........not wide enough....thats what plan 2 is a.k.a my green vit.

will try do a rough cad model of the ifs substitute this weekend.

[royce]

hows the bearing housings on a sierra rear diff compare to vit fronts? I wonder if you could cut and shut a sierra rear diff into a vit front

[Zook_Fan]

would it fit into a sierra housing though? for us sierra drivers wanting 5.12 gearing?

[royce]

dude your confused, he is making the housing not the centre

you can already stick vit gears in

[Zook_Fan]

damn right im confused.....
but i understand now....

[kenn]

plans so far-
to put the first in the yellow thing.
second in the green vit.
third to make one to replace the alloy vit housings so people can put thier vit gears in a sierra centre.[/quote]
And the fourth one is for that white vit your going to surprise my with one day

[antt]

any updates joe?

[joeblow]

yes, bits are comming together slowly. will also be doing a vitara ifs version that uses a sierra cast centre. will keep you guys updated.

[ofr57]

joeblow wrote:

yes, bits are comming together slowly. will also be doing a vitara ifs version that uses a sierra cast centre. will keep you guys updated.

this looks good joe ... I would be interested depending how much it would cost

[kenn]

$1000,000.00 Well that's what I'd charge..

[cj_zuki]

kenn wrote:

$1000,000.00 Well that's what I'd charge..

Or you could just buy this http://www.puresuzuki.com/anvil_axle.htm and get the diff drop brackets built in as well.

I made my own version using a GV steel front axle housing with a few mods I designed plus I also got the steel diff centre housing and all up it cost less than buying just the Calmini Anvil.

Another option I've seen is a Sierra rear cut down and modified to work in the front if you can fab.

[joeblow]

kenn wrote:

$1000,000.00 Well that's what I'd charge..

ge kenn, thats expensive for a housing made from bathroom tiles!