that is interesting, maybe the info i received in the past when looking into this was skewed, leaving me improperly informed....  i know there's some guru's on this board that can tell you the real deal but i cannot confirm this as i never bothered to regear once i figured out how much it was gonna cost me.  maybe have a look around zuwharrie and zookpower if you're not finding the info here...

If the spline count ends up being different, just swap out the side gears. However, I thought the spline change was only in the front end, 22 spline to 26 spline....

A guy on zuwharrie is telling me that in order to get my Detroit Locker to work in the 1999-2001 Vitara/Tracker I can't just swap the third members, I have to take the side gears out and swap them and it sounds a little more complicated than I anticipated. Has nobody done this before? I see a thread on the same page here and it seems like a pretty straightforward swap but other sources are leading me to believe otherwise.

You could always get them changed and set up at a performance shop. Do you have any shops around specifically for Drag racing?

There is a driveline shop in my city that is quite reputable, I just wanted to get the budget for this rig down pat before I go out and snap one up. They seem quite reasonably priced for what you get. A 4 door with 110-150,000 km goes for less than 8 grand. Can't say the same thing about a Toyota 4Runner, but I guess you get about twice the truck for the money with one of those. I drove a V6 5 speed 4Runner on the weekend and it didn't exactly blow me away...I think I am smitten by Zuki Love!

Ok it turns out that the 3rd should swap NO PROBLEM. I was mixed up, I thought that the bolts holding the third member into the axle housing were the 10 or 12 bolts everyone's always talking about.

Tonight I test drove my first 2nd gen Tracker...wow, what a difference. It actually accelerates going uphill at 2000 rpm!!! Getting back in my beater 97 after that REALLY makes it feel like an old jalopy in comparison...couldn't believe how much the 2nd gen felt like a go-cart. I'm really looking forward to getting my new Zuk...er, Chev?...I wonder how hard it would be to pry the bow-tie off and put a Suzuki badge on...never been the biggest GM fan!

LOL - once my grill is completely ruined i'll be replacing it with a suzuki grill....  i hate explaining the chev thing to people.

LOL - once my grill is completely ruined i'll be replacing it with a suzuki grill....  i hate explaining the chev thing to people.

Here in the midwest at least, I believe they sold a bunch more Trackers than Vitaras.  I never have to explain anything, until the bit about the engine swap comes up.

It must drive you nuts having that bow-tie on the steering wheel right in front of your face.  Might as well put a new airbag on your list while you're at it.

Can someone throw me a how-to link about locking the rear of a vitara/tracker..  I've been trying to get a Detroit for the  rear of my vit but haven't had much luck getting a solid answer on what to buy or where to get it..     

From what I gather it is uber straightforward. In my case I already have a 5.13 Detroit Locked third member so all I have to do is:

1) Remove rear tires+ brakes+ axleshafts
2) Unbolt the rear driveshaft from the rear diff
3) Unbolt the upper link from the rear diff
4) Unbolt the third member from the rear diff, pull it out, plunk the new unit in
5) Reinstall everything

Of course if you are planning on keeping stock gears (4.) then you will have to have the gears swapped which is a more complex procedure.

Just picked this little cutie on Saturday. Proceeded to take it wheeling up the mountains in the background the very next day.

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?image=http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/5/web/3161000-3161999/3161345_2_full.jpg?243120-274

To come are: 3 or 4" lift, 31" tires on 15x7 steelies, 5.13:1 diffs, Detroit Locker rear, TrailTough t-case gears, new deck and speakers, skidplates and sliders, possibly bumpers.

PS: it's an 01 Vitara JX 4WD!

Looks clean..   Have fun with it!  Thanks for the locker info. Can you explain the gearing.. I still a newb and need to learn more about gearing.. 

Stock differential gearing is 4.something. It's plenty adequate when turning the stock 26" pizza cutters. But, throw on some meaty 31x10.50 mudders and you will certainly feel a power loss because of the larger rotating mass of the 31's. To offset this, you can lower the ratio of the differential gearing on the front and rear differentials. This is fairly easy to do on these trucks because both the Vitara and Tracker and the older Sidekicks all use removable third members which have all the gears installed in them already, so you don't need to take it to a shop and have things swapped from third member to third member.

What I plan to do on my Vitara once I put 31's on it is take the lower (but numerically higher) 5.13 diff gears out of my Sidekick and install them in the Vitara. It should eliminate any power loss from running the 31's and will keep the vehicle feeling spritely as ever. That's the plan anyway, I'll get back to you how it works out when I get to it.

Stock differential gearing is 4.something. It's plenty adequate when turning the stock 26" pizza cutters. But, throw on some meaty 31x10.50 mudders and you will certainly feel a power loss because of the larger rotating mass of the 31's. To offset this, you can lower the ratio of the differential gearing on the front and rear differentials. This is fairly easy to do on these trucks because both the Vitara and Tracker and the older Sidekicks all use removable third members which have all the gears installed in them already, so you don't need to take it to a shop and have things swapped from third member to third member.

What I plan to do on my Vitara once I put 31's on it is take the lower (but numerically higher) 5.13 diff gears out of my Sidekick and install them in the Vitara. It should eliminate any power loss from running the 31's and will keep the vehicle feeling spritely as ever. That's the plan anyway, I'll get back to you how it works out when I get to it.

Thanks alot man..sounds simple enough!  Now the question is where do I get 5.13 kick 3rd members without already having a spare kick?   

If you want brand new ones you could probably go to your Zuki dealership, but most people just go to the wrecker or buy them off 4x4 sites or buy/sell sites.