ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Model Specific Suzuki Forum => Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 => Topic started by: DeLoutre on May 20, 2012, 06:56:28 AM
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Pros vs Cons? Will the same locker for the rear fit the front?
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If you mean by part #, no simply because the front and rear ring and pinions/differentials and housings are not the same size. I haven't found nor read to date about a locker manufactured for the stock 2nd generation Tracker/GV front axle.
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Hate to kinda Hijack but is there a locker for the stock rear on the GV/2nd Gen tracker?
I do remember searching, lots of people just said you have to get an axle setup from a 1st Gen installed.
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If you mean by part #, no simply because the front and rear ring and pinions/differentials and housings are not the same size. I haven't found nor read to date about a locker manufactured for the stock 2nd generation Tracker/GV front axle.
You can get one dang near everything else though? I can't believe none are made for it that's why I thought maybe they were the same.
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i was thinking of installing the manual hubs in mine then weld the front diff up, but with the air set up, i dont know if i can do it the way i want it. it would be a pain in the ass to get out of the truck after i weld the front diff, but i figue as long i keep a hub unlock i wont damage a axle. i know welding the front and use the automatic hubs are a no go for sure lol
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that's a pita, for sure...
even with one hub locked, then it is all locked and hard to turn, and no fun getting in/out all day either.
My front locker is 'stuck' at the moment, and was having to do preciisely this when wheeling it. PITA
however if no locker is available, this might be the only option.
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I have a Richmond Gear Lockright locker #1512LR in my '02 Tracker. I removed my stock 4.62 gears and installed a set of 4.88 gears from an '01 Tracker. The Lock right is installed in the 4.88 gears. Would have installed into the 4.62 gears as well. There are probably others that would work as well. I still maintain the various application catalogs of the manufacturers are neither routinely updated nor widely researched for application of different vehicles and year models.
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If you mean by part #, no simply because the front and rear ring and pinions/differentials and housings are not the same size. I haven't found nor read to date about a locker manufactured for the stock 2nd generation Tracker/GV front axle.
ARB can be fit in front of 2nd Gen Suzuki's/Trackers
Grand Vitara/XL7 (to 2005) front requires conversion using RD88, Vitara/Sidekick third member assembly and free wheeling hubs.
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I have a Richmond Gear Lockright locker #1512LR in my '02 Tracker.....
I just installed the same Lockright in my 2001 Tracker today. Its a daily driver and a two door so its a little squirrely. The only way to go in the front is an ARB. Someday......
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I have a Richmond Gear Lockright locker #1512LR in my '02 Tracker. I removed my stock 4.62 gears and installed a set of 4.88 gears from an '01 Tracker. The Lock right is installed in the 4.88 gears. Would have installed into the 4.62 gears as well. There are probably others that would work as well. I still maintain the various application catalogs of the manufacturers are neither routinely updated nor widely researched for application of different vehicles and year models.
How do you find the on/off road performance of that locker?
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I had the Richmond locker in my garage for about a year before I got around to installing it. Anyway when I was installing the 4.88 gears in place of the 4.62s, Don prompted me to go ahead and install it (we had the rear apart anyway). Pulled the side bearings and ring and then took it apart and surprisingly the side gears (and everything) were in excellent condition. So... in they went.
As far as on road/off road performance... I have no complaints. YES it does ratchet in turns while I'm off the power and occasionally will pop REAL loud as the torque unloads and the side gears override... but I can honestly say I don't have and have not had any problems while driving with it. Even in the snow this past winter, although we didn't receive anywhere near the snow accumulation we normally receive here in the midwest. The ratcheting sound is more prominent in warm weather than the cooler weather because of the gear oil thickness. I would advise anyone considering a Lock Right who lives in a snow belt to install it in warmer weather, then get used to driving your truck with the new torque quirks, before winter comes to your neighborhood.
Off road... the only times I have had it off road to date was in 2 wheel drive and lo range back in the woods. I had changed the BFG ATs for the Courser C/Ts and wanted to see how much traction difference there was and another time a couple weeks ago when I was pulling logs out of a ravine so they could be cut up (again in 2 wheel drive lo range) and I've had no problems with it. I have no doubt an ARB air locker would be great, but for about 30% of the cost, I can't and won't complain. I'm thinking the Richmiond Gear lock Right states their locker is good for vehicles with tires up to 31" diameter. I don't know where I read that, but my truck should never exceed those parameters.
Short wheel based trucks (2 door) might have more pronounced handling affects, but I'm good with the locker in my 4 door with the 5 speed tranny.
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I know I was not asked but since I put mine in yesterday, I have already driven 200 miles on the street so I can give my first thoughts....
Mine does not ratchet at all and has only banged slightly once so far. Instead or ratcheting, my tires squeal and squeak and chirp. Its like an older Detroit locker or a spool. Driving like this with a short wheel base 2 door will take getting used to. It dose not feel unsafe or uncontrollable so far but it does shove you around a bit. Again, this is only the first 200 street miles so I may not have been in all conditions that might cause other noises or shoves. I should also mention that I drive fairly slow and easy these days, mainly for gas mileage.
When I pull into my driveway to park at 90 degrees it dose not ratchet so one of the wheels loads up. When I go to back out of the driveway and put it in reverse, with my foot on the break, as soon as I shift to R, the outside tire chirps in-place and leaves a little black skid mark just being parked (my tranny shifts kind of abruptly anyway). Hopefully having an automatic will keep that from causing undue wear on my driveline.
I have only been off road in a field with some dry ruts in 2WD and it acts like a spool or in other words, exactly like I want.
We are going up to the Sierras to do some minor rock crawling this weekend. I'll try to write a report on the off road results if anyone is interested.
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Thanks! I'm very interested...coulda used a locker this weekend lol
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Locker/s definately help on maintaining traction, but the type of tire (tread pattern) still plays a BIG part as well. Tire diameter helps too, more being better. Another big piece me thinks, is the type of soil you intend to traverse changes the variables of everything. The various loam, sand, clay content when mixed with water creates different witches' brews and the depth of the mud factors in as well. If there is no "bottom" to the mud, not much is going through it. All mud ain't created equal. Mud can stop anything given the right blend and consistency. I keep thinking back to the rule of thumb for where you can traverse a main battle tank cross country: "where cattails grow... tanks don't go." MTBs are damned near unstoppable... but when you finally do bury one in mud it will take at least a couple of tank retrievers with 60T snatch blocks and booms to extract them when one gets buried to deck level.
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I have always considered "wheeling" around my part of the country to be on granite slabs, boulders, and crevasses. I try to avoid mud as much as possible ;). On the rocks, a locker will get most stock trucks with stock tires through things they would never dream of doing with open diffs.
As for tracked vehicles stuck up to the deck, I have a few photos like that I took at Grafenwoehr back during the Cold War. That terrain had been abused by so many tracks over the years that it turns to a fine powder that gets in everything in the summer and a hellish soup-of-dispair in the rainy months. Ahhh Graf.....good times.....
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I'm thinking mine ratchets easily in turns because I can push in on the clutch and take all the drive line pressure off the rear end. And yeah... I'm not a big "mud" guy either. Dust sucks but muds plays hell on the seals and all the little places you just can't get into to clean without disassembly. It pushes its way into every crevice and seal.
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Thanks! I'm very interested...coulda used a locker this weekend lol
Actually in this picture I was driving on solid bedrock...with 8" of mud on top of it >:D...all was well until i drove into a "bottomless" hole in the rock. Turns out it wasnt bottomless because we filled it with rocks (lots) so we could jack up the front end, leveling the truck. Then my 2000lb or so come along was able to pull me out. i need a real winch is what I need...and bumpers...and locking diffs...and...
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Hell, you need a boat! :P
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haha! I got a couple of those actually ..