Track Kick 4.25:1 Transfer case gears install

Trail Tough's NEW 4.24:1 Rockmonster gears for the SUZUKI SIDEKICK/TRACKER 1991 to 1998 and the SUZUKI VITARA AND GRAND VITARA 1999 to 2001 are here! These gears provide 134% low range reduction from stock.







****This will be a working article, continually edited until complete****

General over view with personal experiences added for flavor.  

1- Removing the Transfer case.

Remove the T-case console shifter knob (Flat head screw on the back of the knob)
If you have no body lift you might want to remove the console and shift boot.  This may make access to the top a little easier, Better to do this stuff first while you are still clean.

Drain the case of fluid, Other wise it will pour out when you remove the front drive shaft  

Remove both front and rear drive shafts

Remove Speedometer drive cable (10 mm bolt and the whole barrel slides out)

Remove the ground strap by the speedo cable

Remove the Vent breather at the top front of the T-case shifter (Rubber tube)

Remove the T-Case shifter cover bolts (5 bolts on my 94)

Do you mean the manual transmission shifter casing that sits on top of the t-case and transmission?NEver mind I look on down the page and saw what you were talking about, do you have an Automatic? If not, did you forgtet to include having to remove the transmission shifter casing to get to the 12 O-clock bolt? I had to on mine. [/i]

Disconnect the two electrical plugs (Hi - low range & 4wd 2wd) Up top by the 12 O-clock bolt.

Remove the T-case mount bolts on the pass side by the Speedo cable.  (Mount to case bolts)

Remove the bolts holding the T-case adapter to the back of the transmission.  
Their is one bolt in the 12 O-clock position that is difficult to get to.  I have a body lift and used a 16" long 3/8 extension with a swivel.  This allowed me to remove the 12 O-clock bolt as easily as the others.

With these items unbolted you can (with a 2" body lift)  Remove the 4wd shifter and slide the T-case the T-case back.  Once free of the Transmission it will drop out of the truck no issues.

On a stock Kick no body lift you might need to gain access to the 12 O-clock bolt by removing the transmission crossmember and lowering the trans / T-case 2-4" or maybe buy removing the T-case shifter cover and boot possibly gaining access to the bolt from inside of the Kick.

When lowering a Trans/tcase in a non body lifted vehicle be VERY carefull not to damage the distributor by allowing it to crush into the firewall while doing this. Even with the lowering it is very difficult to reach the shifter housing bolts(manual) and the 12 o-clock bolt, I found it much easier to drop the crossmember and remove the trans and t-case together and then seperate them on the bench.


2. Disassembly of the Transfer case.  

Clean the transfer case and inspect for damage or wear.

Remove the 10 front cover bolts (12mm) and the one secondary shaft retainer bolt (10mm)



Gently tap the cover with a nylon hammer to break the RTV seal.

Remove the cover,  The Primary input gear and main bearing will remain in the cover.  



Remove the needle bearing that was behind the Primary input gear, place this bearing in it's recessed place in the gear that is in the cover.

Remove the secondary shaft and counter gear.  This assy should pull up and out altogether as one.  The shaft has two thick spacers (One on each end) these hold the 2 ball bearings (One on each end) that are keeping the needle bearing cages in place on the shaft.  

Pic is Worth 1,000 words here.



Next remove the large bolt on the upper passenger side of the t-case (just below 4wd shifter) also remove the parts behind this bolt.  The spring, Ball and a small machined steel pin.  This is the spring loaded d-tent for the shifter.





On the shift passenger side shift rail/shaft remove the roll pin that retains the cast steel sleeve for the T-case shifter to sit in.  Remove the shifter collar.  When you drive roll pin out of tcase shifter rod DON"T LET IT FALL INTO THE CASE. If you do you may have to split other side to get it out.  



The whole shaft assy and collar must come out in order to drop the main gear in place.  Next remove the shift rail d-tent ball this is under the bolt on the top of the case just in front of the electrical plugs.  You can tell it is them cause they are the two twin bolts side by side.  Pic  
Remove the d-tent bolt spring and ball.

Slide the shift shaft/rail and collar up and out of the T-case.  This Rail should come out uneventful once these parts are removed.  

Next remove the small gear that is next down on the primary shaft () spur gear) I'm not sure what to call it.  Then remove the main gear and needle bearing cage.  



3. Installation of the new gears

Now that the front half of your T-case is gear less, it is time to begin the install of the new gears.  

First clean and inspect the inside of your T-case.  Next fit the new Main gear into place.   Notice that the new main gear will not seat all the way back into position due to interference with V shape in the case (12 O-clock).  





Mark the area of interference and notice that it is not centered with the shaft, You will massage this part of the case to fit with the massaging off set to one side.  Here you should take measures to prevent the aluminium filings from getting into the lower workings of the T-case.  I use tape and rags then went back and later cleaned with brake cleaner and compressed air.  Also realize that the area will need to be machined / massaged all the way out for install, not just at the gears position in the case.  Machine / massage to fit.

Machining notes from Silver Sam:
After measuring the amount of metal to be removed(.062 + clearance=.072 tho total)
I split the case and machined it on the mill. A WORD OF CAUTION the case wall is only .175 thick before you take the .072 off. the rib you are working on is larger at the bottom than the top but the wall thickness is the same all the way up. GO SLOW if you are grinding instead of machining.





Install new Primary gear and reinstall spur gear shift rail collar shift sleeve roll pin d-tent ball spring & bolt, along with the shifter d-tent.

Now check the fit of the Idler gear on the counter shaft.

Old and new side by side.    Big difference


This is tricky with the 2 balls mentioned earlier (that hold the needle bearing cages).  I did this with the case on it's side and the shaft straight up so the balls would sit in their recessed position on the shaft and not fall out.  The case will need to be massaged / machined for this gear to so check, mark, and modify at this time.  



Once the case is clearances for the new Idler gear, Remove the shaft and gear.  These items will need to be installed in the cover for reassembly.  

Last remove the input gear and bearing form the front cover.  First remove the big snap ring, then we held the cover in hand and tapped the bearing gear assy out of the cover.  With the bearing gear assy out you can now see the second snapring that was hidden on the back side.  Remove this snapring and the bearing is ready for removal.



I used a bearing splitter to hold the bearing while striking the shaft with a nylon hammer.  Once the shaft was down to the bearing I used a socket to press it the rest of the way out.  Now change the bearing to the new gear and tap it down on the shaft.  With your large snap ring in place drop the input gear assy and the Counter gear assy into position on the cover.  The gears must mesh perfectly and you will tap the input gear/bearing into place with the counter gear engaged.  This is best done with two people as to make sure the bearing is going into the case correctly and the gears are meshing properly / no damage.   Now remove your caged needle bearing from the inside of the old input gear and swap it to the new input gear.  Slip the whole assy back into the T-case using proper RTV to seal the cover and keeping a watchfull eye on the counter shaft bearing retaining balls.  



With the assembly in place tighten the case cover bolts in a criss cross pattern to torque about 18 Foot pounds.  Be very careful, as here I wrung one bolt and stretched 3 others.  



Check the gears out and make sure they are turning properly as you tighten the cover, any unusual feeling, tight , binding or strange noise most likely means something is wrong and you should stop and check it out.

4.  Installing your modified case back into the Kick.      

    I need to do this tonight, but it should be straight forward just reverse of removing it.

Do not forget to add Gear oil when you are done.    Also I like to check / drain and change my fluid after a major repair / install.  I just like to be sure I have all the contaminants out and the every thing is clean, no extra sparkley metal flake oil ect.   I will probally drive it for Zuwharrie then bring it home and change it out.

Track Kick 4.25:1 Transfer case gears install


Remove the T-case console shifter knob (Flat head screw on the back of the knob)
.

Looks identical to the Calmini install.  I mean, yeah, it's great that we now have these gears from a second source, but I don't see any difference.