[sirbob]

Hi Team

I've been researching a fair bit about this and have so far failed to find any decent guides on what parts are required to install airlockers into a Grand Vitara.

At this stage i understand the following, but need clarification on a few things;

- You need to source R+P's from earlier model vitaras, with a 5.12 ratio.

- For the rear diff the Vitara R+P can be placed in the original GV housing with the ARB airlocker center.

- For the front diff the Vitara R+P is required, in addition to the Vitara front 3rd member

Is this correct?



Questions for the experts who have done this conversion previously;

- What model Vitara came with the 5.12 R+P? Is there a specific year and/or model you need to find?

- Does the Vitara 5.12 diff center bolt into the GV front diff housing or do you require the Vitara housing also? I believe there is an issue with different spline counts for the axles?

- Any other advice for noobs looking to do this mod?

Thanks guys!

[royce]

you dont need 5.12 gears, however you do need the rear gears from a Vitara, usually people change to 5.12 for bigger tyres

the front you use your gears in your housing, assuming you have a steel housing and not an alloy one (98-03 auto GV), unless you change to 5.12 in the rear so youll need the front too

the RH Inner CV becomes a problem and the locker gear needs to be machined to lock in properly, some people dont bother and its doesnt seem to be a worry

Whatever you do, dont get an ARB shop to fit them, they just cant get it right, it would be wise to PM joeblow on here, he has experience setting them up and modding them and works at ARB so knows whats what

[sirbob]

Ok team, research continues;

refer below for a list of Vitara diff ratios;

SUZUKI VITARA JX 92,96,97 WAGON,4 CYL, L/O 8X41,4.3

SUZUKI VITARA WAGON,4CYL,L/O,2/91 4.55

SUZUKI VITARA JLX,SEDAN,3 DOOR,1600,L/O 5.12,8X41

SUZUKI VITARA 8/92, 4CYL 8X41

SUZUKI VITARA GRAND SQ 625 99 - 03 WAGON,2.4 V6,AUTO,PETROL 4.875 (AUTO),
4.3 (MAN)

[sirbob]

So from the above, it appears some Vitara's come with 4.3 diff ratios? If this is the case could you swap a Vitara 4.3 into the rear of a GV and not have to touch the front diff?

I am asking this because I need to replace/fix the rear diff of our manual GV and am looking at putting in a Vitara center in anticipation of a future airlocker install...

I am relucant to jump to 5.12's at this stage as I will not be running super-oversize tyres and don't wish t compromise highway driving.

Thoughts/experiances?

[TheOtherLeft]

I have a 2002 GV and changed from 4.88 to 5.12 diff ratios. I went up to 29" tyres (massive I know). When I changed tyre sizes the difference was only noticeable on hills. When I changed diff gears it is now back to original speed/gearing.

I changed diff gears for both the airlocker and to get back my original gearing.

Even if you only intend on increasing tyre sizes by the measily 2" I would change the diff ratios now as you are working on them at the moment anyways.

[sirbob]

The problem with going to 5.12's is that my current ratio is 4.3 (V6 manual)! that's a 20% difference!!!

Even 235x75x16's (30's) are only 10% bigger in diameter, so my speedo will still be 10% fast... Not ideal for highway driving...

[gregdixon]

Can some one explain the requirement of a vit 3rd member to fit a air locker to a GV front? I hear of alot of vit people changing to a GV front steel carrier on thier vits which tells me that they are pretty much the same??

I have read a vit rear locker RD79 will go straight into the rear of a GV with no mods. Is this true? If not why?

If this information is else where point me to it. There is just a few conflicting bits of info.

[sirbob]

Found this in my research... I got it off the NBS site, but it does provide some good info on the swap... This blog also deals with swapping to 5.12's front and rear.

3rd member = Diff carrier
R/P = Ring Gear/Crown wheel, Pinon (SP?)

I've got my compressor mounted front passager side , i'll get a photo for you.

The problem is the grand vitara (03-) rear crownwheel is too big to fit on the vitara ARB air locker, so you need to change it to an vit crown wheel. I wanted to change my diff ratios anyway so that I could run larger tyres. I got some 5.125 R/P to use, this still has me 6% lower than stock ratios with 31inch tyres on the car.

I use the following as a guide when installing the lockers.

> PLEASE READ FIRST:
Know exactly what you are getting yourself into BEFORE doing this modification. The higher ratio gears will make you rocket off the line with the stock size tires, however your RPMs will also be a bit higher than "usual" at speeds of 65MPH or more.

Just to give you an idea of how the RPMS will be: Although my speedometer says 85MPH, I'm actually doing (roughly) 77MPH. My RPM gauge is definitely correct, so at that speed, it stands around 4000 rpms. It does give a whole new meaning to 4th and 5th gears!

WARNING: If you are going to do this, make sure you do BOTH the front and the rear gears at the same time. If you do the rear first, and you're coming home drunk one day and accidentally engage the 4X4. Well, guess what? You'll be leaving your drivetrain behind you on the floor, and you'll break every damn component from the front all the way to the back. You have to have the same gear ratios installed in the front AND back!!!!!!

Although these upgraded gears are necessary if you have a lift with larger size tires, if you install them on your stock vehicle, you'll have successfully turned it into a Street Screamer.

If you've read this far, good. Here's the type of vehicle you absolutely need to get the different parts from:

1996, 1997, or 1998 1.6L JAPAN-MADE Suzuki SideKick
(read: not CAMI built), with manual transmission. Canadian Trackers and any SideKick with the 1.8 & 2.0 Liter motors will NOT work.

You can tell it's Jap made because the VIN # ALWAYS starts with JS.

For the rear, take the entire 3rd member. It's the same 12-bolt carrier that is in the GV, except it has a ABS tone ring (ours is on the outer bearing retainer), and the housing has some unneeded mounting bosses. If the Kick doesn't have ABS, don't worry, as the GV is 4-ch ABS and uses tone rings on the axles, not the carrier.

For the front, grab the entire 3rd member (INCLUDING bracket, nuts and bolts), the driver's side inner axle shaft, the passenger side CV shaft, and the manual hubs. Considering everything will be on the same donor truck, getting in one shot would be the most practical, and will get you your best price.

And now, without further ado....

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - REAR

Please keep in mind. All these instructions are assuming that you are somewhat mechanically inclined and are familiar with different terms. Also, the use of power tools and a lift makes things a whole lot easier!

We'll start off with the Rear b/c not only will it "pop your cherry", but it will make the most difference b/c our vehicles are RWD.

Things you need BEFORE HAND:
> The rear pig (duh!)
> At least 2 quarts of 80W90 differential oil
> Big ass sledgehammer
> Razor Blade
> RTV Sealer

Again, let me emphasize, having a lift and using air power tools will definitely make the job much much easier:

1. Drain the differential oil from the pumpkin.
2. Pull the wheels.
3. Using the 12MM wrench/socket, pull the 4 bolts on the back of the brake mounting disc thing...this holds the bearing cup to the axle.
4. Put one wheel back on, and thread like 3 lug nuts.
5. Take the big ass sledgehammer and stand under the car. Hit the living <=nice try=> out of the tire from the inside out, until, like magic, the axle comes loose. Note, this step is a pain in the ass, and you have to hit the tire HARD from the inside (so imagine standing underneath in the middle of the car slamming the hammer against the inside part of the tire). Wouldn't hurt to disconnect or loosen the brake lines so that you have more room to slide out the axle. Once it gives, slide it out 3-4" the most. Do this for bothsides.

6. With the axles out, unbolt the driveshaft from the back.
7. Unbolt the 8-10 bolts on the housing to loosen and remove the pumpkin.
8. Using the blade, clean off the sealer from the surface where the pumpkin was removed from.
9. Installation is the reverse of removal! Don't forget to add Differential oil back in and check that the ABS Sensors didn't become loose!

Just remember to bleed the brakes if you loosened them (might want to add some brake fluid). ALSO, REMEMBER NOT TO ENGAGE YOU 4X4 IF YOU HAVEN'T INSTALLED YOUR FRONT GEARS YET!!!!! You'll destroy your car if you do!

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - FRONT

The front will take more time, but is straight forward.

Things you need BEFORE HAND:
> The front differential (duh!) AND BRACKET, INCLUDING
> ALL NUTS and BOLTS
> At least 2 quarts of 80W90 differential oil
> Razor Blade
> RTV Sealer
> CV Boot Clamps
> Passenger side inner axle seal - SGP Part #:
> 09286-64001-000 (this is for preventative maintenance.
> They are prone to wear out and leak.)
> The inner axle shaft
> The CV shaft
> and the manual hubs
> (the last 3 parts are to eliminate the shift-on-the-fly
> design. This reduces the rolling friction, thereby
> making the wheels spin more freely b/c of no
> resistance, hence more speed!!)

First, the Driver side:
1. Drain the front axle assembly. (Don't forget to refill at the end!)
2. Disconnect the air line and diff breather.
3. Unbolt the driver's side CV at the flange.
4. Unbolt the diff mounts.
5. Remove the 4 bolts from the driveshaft and use a bungie to hold the driveshaft up and out of the way (do not pull it out of the t-case)
6. Now, I save some time by wiggling the assembly down and pulling the driver's side CV stub out (it should just pull out). This saves the step of removeing the hubs and pulling the CV shafts out, but it's a little more tricky, requiring an extra set of hands.
7. Once it's out and on the bench, use a dead blow (or rubber mallet) and knock out the inner shaft by hitting the flange.
8. Unbolt the diff and remove.
9. Clean the surface of the new diff and where it will be installed (there will be gunk there from the previous diff.)
10. Install the new Kick 5.13 pig and bolt down (Make sure to use fresh RTV sealer.)
11. Install the Kick inner shaft, hitting with a dead blow until fully seated. (If you compare the shafts, you will notice the size difference, with the GV being longer.)

Now, the Passenger side:
Compare the two CV stubs. Notice that the GV is shorter than the Kick. The difference in the two side lengths is because the airdiff moves the centerline over about 1" towards the passenger side. The passenger side is a floating stub, and the shorter it is, the weaker it is. YOU ARE MAKING THE FRONT END STRONGER!

What you want to do here is swap the Kick stub onto the longer GV mid-shaft and outer CV.
1. Carefully cut the band around the CV boot.
2. Remove the GV's stub/ CV cup and replace it with the stub/cup off the Kick, making a "hybrid" CV shaft. Use the new clamps on the boot.
3. This would be a good time to replace the passenger side inner axle seal. The Driver's side doesn't have the same problem, as it has a bearing supported inner shaft.

With that done, re-install everything back into your GV. The front 3rd member has a center mount. This mounts to the GV crossmember. I find it easiest to remove the two bolts from underneath the crossmember, leaning the center mount on the diff, and using the bracket from the sidekick differential. IMPORTANT: The GV bracket will NOT work. Make sure you have the nuts and bolts from the sidekick bracket. If not, Home Depot has them. I think the size is 5/8" X 2.5" (you'll need 2).

4. Now the hubs. This is REALLY tricky. Ready? a) Remove bolts from existing lock-out caps on the hub. b) Making sure the hub is in the "open" position, install hubs with bolts and tighten to spec.

5. Finally, stick a golf tee into the rubber differential breather hose so it can build pressure and make the 4WD light come on. Also, plug the metal air line. You can use a small piece of rubber hose with another golf tee at the end.

Done!! If you want 4wd, just lock the hubs and put it in 4wd. With hubs locked, you can shift on the fly, just like the GV does now. And to prevent dirty fingers, pick up a plastic hub turner.