The 5.12 dif gears are from a man trans
Track/Kick, get the whole drop out as they
are all ready setup, the only problem would
be if they are new and the front is a 26 spline
instead of the 22 spline that you have now.

In that case get the front axles too, cost from
a wrecking yard 80-100 ea for the drop out 3rd
member, or you could get the whole front axle
as a spare for when you need it

While you have the gears out install a rear
locker, the locker just makes both rear wheels
drive when the power is on, but allows a differential
affect when power is off (engine power)

a locker will make you a 3 wheel drive, both rear
and 1 front, with out you are a 2 wheel drive, 1
front and 1 rear, if you spin those you are stuck, so
a locker equipped vehicle climbs as well in 2WD as
a open vehicle climbs in 4WD   cool huh  

Wild

If it says JLX on it doesn't mean it's an auto. If it was an auto, being a newer than 91 4 door means a 4 speed auto, which also means it already has 5.12s in it. Only the 3 speed autos have 4.62s, what would I know, I've only been doing the gear thing in these for years.

Ahh yes, I missed the 4 door part, check before you buy
you might not need the 5.12 gears after all

Wild

SO how do I check what gears I do have now

1991 Suzuki Sidekick JLX 4-Door Automatic Trans.
My shifter says:   l P l
                           l R l
                           l D l
                           l 2 l
                           l L l
And then of course I have the 2L, 4L, and then 4H
No overdrive or whatever

SO WHAT DO I HAVE?  

steveo

oh yeah, I got some parts to go look at tommorow after my morning shift at this older imported vehicle yard. Hoping to score some good finds! Wish me luck... I could look for those gears if I need them.... whatever you can suggest to get from this guy would be helpful too!

Steveo, the gears you arelooking at are in the
differential, not the trans selector.

The easiest way to check the diff gears is to lift
one rear wheel, block the wheels and put the trans
in Neutral, now mark the wheel with some chalk so
you can see the rotation, and mark the driveshaft
also so you can count the revolutions.

If the driveshaft turns about 4 and 1/2 times for 1
turn of the wheel you have the 4.62 gears, if it turns
a little over 5 times for 1 turn of the wheel you have
the 5.12 gears, if you have the 5.12s then you can't
find lower diff gears unless you happen to find a 1.3L
89 Man Trans SideKick (rare as hens teeth) so there
would be no point to getting the gears from a wrecked
Track/Kick, unless you want to have spare gears around.

Or you could get one now, and save for a Locker, then
just drop it in the new diff at your leisure and pop it into
the tracklet when you are ready

CAUTION if you change one set of gears, you need to
change both sets or you will cause serious damage to
your transfer case if you engage the 4WD

Happy Parts Hunting

Wild

Yeah, I think the 5.12's would be the best. Heather suggested that to me a while back and I think I'll get them. Questions though: How hard is this to do? Remember, I'm not that great at mechanic-type stuff! Now if I can do this myself, where can I find the 5.12s? I looking for afforability and practicallity. I'll spend the money, it's just I want to make it go as far as I can (like everyone on here I suppose!). And while I'm at it, should I do my cam-shaft upgrade at the same time?

Since you have a 91 4 Door with NO overdrive, I would suggest that you have 4.62 gears.

As I stated in my post, you can get 5.12's fairly inexpensively from Trail Tough, a set with one lockrite for the rear would cost about 500$ - about 150 for each diff, and $189 for the lockrite. Brent will install the lockrite in the diff for that price too.

Replacing gears is easy in the back, harder in the front, but can be done in a day. Let us know when you are working on it,  PM me, or email me... If you get stuck I can give you my phone number.

Why not do the camshaft, if you're going to devote a weekend or two to working on the truck, and having it apart?

2" coil spacers sound good. What size am I running at the moment (stock)??

None. But you could do the spacers as well as flip the front strut mounts while you are replacing your front differential with your 5.12's.

3x3x3 box tubing should do the job for the body lift. Now how hard is this to do with two people?? I don't have access to a whole lot of expensive tools and such, but between me and my father-in-law (ex-heavy duty mechanic) we should be alright, right? Heather, if you could hook me up with some pics of how to do it and some instruction (oranyone interested in helping out), that would be divine!!
Of course.. you've seen my link...

http://www.whitepineclub.com/offroad/tech/budgetbodylift/index.htm

Tell me more about Lockrite, as I have no experience with these things. Are they similar to my manual locking front hubs? ARB is a little too expensive right at the moment, so Lockrite lockers will be fine! Are they a lot better when turning bigger tires and running that set of gears?? I'm guessing that's the other reason... (other than traction).

A lock-rite sits inside your differential, and is spring / mechanically / centrifugally driven. It pretty muich permanently locks your rear tires (i.e. they both turn at the same time, no more getting one tire in the air and not being able to go anywhere) however, when you turn corners on pavement it will unlock so that they can spin seperately. A lock-rite is noisy, clicks and bangs sometimes, but the advantage you gain off-road is worth it.

So this is what I'm now thinking about. Largely influenced by Heather, as she's running a monster of a 4-door!

- 2'' coil spacers
- custom 3'' body lift (if I can actually do it!)
- Set of Lockrite lockers
- 5.12 gears (although where to get them cheapest, not sure)
- Some used 30" tires (or 31s if you think I can do it!)
By the way, running those size of tires, do I need to trim the fenders?
-  MAYBE a new camshaft

Thanks for the compliments!

I highly advise AGAINST putting a lock-rite in the front unless you plan to make your truck pretty much trail only (it's hard to steer) AND you replace your aluminum housing and carrier with steel ones. But, really, these things don't need a lock-rite in the front unless it's a trail ONLY rig. I've seen these things with the body lift, coil spacers, bigger meats, Lock-rite in the back, and a belly pan go ANYWHERE... and if they can't then they could be drug over where they can't make it.

With 30's you may NOT have to. However, 30's and 31's are fairly close in diameter. You'll have to get them on and check your clearance.

steveo

Thanks all for the quick replies! I'm sure there'll be more! Anyway, its off to the junkyard to see what I can dig up!

Hope this works out for you, let me know if you have any more questions! I'm here to help.



Heather

go like me.  4 inch body lift $200
33x12.5 rubbber and rims $900
fender flares
make sure you buy a little someting nice for the old lady so she wont be angry for you spending all your time in the garage - almost priceless

WOW $200 For a Body Lift . I paid like 2

Hope this works out for you, let me know if you have any more questions! I'm here to help.

Thanks a bunch Heather (as usual   ) and many thanks wild, and everyone else! This thread has been another testiment for why I love Zukiworld  

YOU ALL HAVE MADE ME A FREAK!  

steveo

Not a freak.
A ZOOKAHOLIC

Posted by: HotRod Posted on: Today at 00:11:43

Not a freak.

A ZOOKAHOLIC

Yeah, exactly!!   But with no hangover!

Golden man!



steveo

Well I narrowed it down and am just a little over budget!

1590.00 (plus shipping, ouch!)

- 2" suspension
- calmini's idler arm brace
- header and exhaust (can not weld, so I'll have to take it in )
- camshaft
- 3" body lift

if I have any money left over, I'm getting the rear locker, and the some ranchos.

steveo