Gday all, i am currently in possession of a 95 Vitara SV620 (SV620-3 specifically idk if it helps). The problem i currently have with it is that the input shaft bearing has grenaded sending shite all through the gearbox (Photos Attached) and i don't have the time, money or resources to fix it myself or get it reconditioned by a gearbox place, however i was able to find a gearbox from a scrap 96 SV420G/D (J20A) Vitara. From previous research i had come across, i found that the MT gearboxes through the different range of Vitara's have pretty much the same gear ratios/ ever so slightly different ones. here's the list i had down for the SV620 Gears:
Gear ratios: SV620 MT (Does anyone have the list of gear ratios for some of the Vitara variants? Preferably MT transmissions for the SE416, SV420D, SV420G, SV620)
- Gearbox
(1st) 3.928:1
(2nd) 2.333
(3rd) 1.451
(4th)1.000
(5th) 0.851
(R) 3.466
- Transfer case
Low - 1.186:1
High – 1.00:1
- Differentials
4.625:1
My thought process was because the SV gearboxes are so similar, that what i would do is replace the bellhousing on the SV420 with the one off of my V6 as the diagrams show that they are the same mounting pattern, and place the new gearbox in. however there have been several contradictions from sites when i was doing my research, heres what i found.
- SV420D Vitara (2WD) had the RF 2.0 diesel engine and was sold to European country's (and other select countrys)
- SV420G Vitara (4WD) had the J20A Petrol Engine and was sold everywhere else
- (Irrelevant but cool) the SV620 had 3 different sub variants (SV620, SV620-2, SV620-3) all corresponded to the different levels of trim available depending on the sales region
the big difference between the SV Variants is the MT Gearboxes, with the SV420D being 2WD unlike the others it had a completely different gearbox to the others which was my biggest concern when researching. If you are familiar with the website PartSouq (
https://partsouq.com/en) you can insert the vin number and it tells you the exact variant of the car model that is copied in. and in my case it showed up with the donor box being from an SV420D, Even though it was sold with the J20A engine and had 4WD. so i am unsure if it is a Discrepansy in their system showing the car as D instead of G or if there will be the compatibility issue. However through the wonders of Tiktok i was able to get ahold of someone who had photos of the gearbox attached to the J20A that Sold in Aus, so im pretty sure that it is the right one as the Transfer looks the same and the Bellhousing bolt pattern/face looks the same too.
So tomorrow im going down to the wreckers to get the gearbox which has some good safety nets for it. Those being its coming off a 1996 3dr Vitara that had a cooked engine(J20A) and only had 220,000ks on the clock, it has a 3 month moneyback/Repair warranty, and has been inspected by the mechanics at the wreckers and seems to be fine, all for $700. so when i there im going to verify that my bellhousing fits on the Gearbox face.
If anyone has information on gear ratio lists/knowledge/advice, please let me know.
Cheers all
NOTE: the photo size of the files are too big to attach, i tried
