Hi this is my first post.  I've learned a lot from these forums but I'm stuck on this one.  My vehicle is an 01 4 door 2.0 vitara, stock.  I have jeff's spacer lift and i will be installing it soon along with 225 75 16 mud tires, spidertrax wheel spacers, and evs foam bumpstops and manual hubs (for now..hehehe).

My front diff housing is cracked and i want to upgrade it. My parts guys can get a steel one from a manual transmisson GV, but the gears are the wrong ratio, so we were going to swap in my current gears.  I want the shop to do this job and they say they'll try but won't quote me on hours because they're not sure it will work.  It's mt DD and i need it for work, so the uncertainty could be costly for me.

Will my gears fit in the steel GV housng? Are there no detroit lockers or anything that would fit? Any other suggestions appreciated.  Thanks for reading. This site ROCKS along with all the great rides which are an inspiration.  I'll hopefully be posting my pics in the next few weeks...

John
Thunder Bay, ON

There is an article here at Zukiworld that describes how to swap an XL-7's steel axle housing.

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_090103/feature_sidekickdrivetrainimprovements.htm

Also, look at:

http://www.rhinoman.org/SuzukiStuff/mods/f_axle.html

One would assume that you can install the aluminum carrier in that housing. If that assumption is correct, you can swap your dif guts from the aluminum carrier to the steel one.

I hope that this helps!

Thanks for that.  I'll report back here once completed.

John

OR............ if you do not want to take any chances or deal with expenses i will send you my complete aluminum front housing and third with 4.62's ready to bolt onto your ride, just send me the steel housing and i'll worry about the rest.  i'm in ottawa....  otherwise enjoy ur ride

OR............ if you do not want to take any chances or deal with expenses i will send you my complete aluminum front housing and third with 4.62's ready to bolt onto your ride, just send me the steel housing and i'll worry about the rest.  i'm in ottawa....  otherwise enjoy ur ride

Hmm.. thanks for the offer. It`s tempting but even more tempting to try to upgrade to the steel one.  I haven`t seen any specific confirmation but it should be ok.. I`m gonna go for it..wish me luck. Funny thing is the housing is cracked on the top (got water in there and it froze) but has been this way for over a year and seems to work fine.  Problem is i have to change the gear oil if i drive through a puddle lol! 

Do they know the R&P ratio in the steel one?  If its lower (read: numerically higher), then grab the rear diff from the same donor and swap both out.  This will help offset the larger tires.

I think the 2.0L was 4.30 or 4.62.  The GV manual is 4.30, auto is 4.88 and XL7 auto is 5.12.  If you have 4.30 and the new axle is 4.30 as well, just swap in the ENTIRE front axle (housing AND 3rd member), and you will be all set.

If I was you, and I'm not, but if I had water in my axle housing as long as you say, then the R&P and bearings will be toast.  Change out the entire unit between both CVs and the driveshaft.

vitracker:

bzzr2 was making an attempt at humor.. 

vitracker:

bzzr2 was making an attempt at humor.. 

  Oh...yeah..I knew that... (Ha Ha, everyone laugh at the NEWB!!)

Update: the steel XL7 diffs in question iare 4:30 and mine are already 4:80, so it's a higher ratio than what I have.  The plan:  install the lift and tires and see how it performs with current gearing.  I've changed my mind and thrown away my better judgement and ordered Firestone Destination MT 215/85 r16 "pizza cutters" (30.3" and skinny). Any guesses on how they'll fit with only Jeff's kit? I have warn hubs on the way, so that should mean I can freewheel in 2wd if my already comprimised front diff were to fail, buying me time to find the right diffs, front and rear, if a different ratio is what i want.  Thanks for the help guys..

Funny story to go with the above pic:  That day I saw a guy stuck on the lake in a snowdrift ( in his 80's gmc half ton 4wd, with BFG MTs').. So I put it in 4Low and DROVE out to him, PARKED in the snowdrift, and helped him shovel and push him out!  LOL! he hated it!!  THEN I did  a few victory laps around his ice fishing shack and he gave me the finger (with a grin)! The Zuk wins again!

John

the tires are gonna rub on compression for sure but if you keep your stock rims they should stay off the body.  i ran skinny swampers that measured 30.6 for a couple yrs and they rubbed a bit in the front of the back wheel well and that is with a body lift also.  they will also rub the frame.  people are gonna look at your pizza cutters and make silly comments but they will work well.

vitracker:

bzzr2 was making an attempt at humor.. 

true, but there was a tiny bit of truth to that statement at the same time!

the tires are gonna rub on compression for sure but if you keep your stock rims they should stay off the body.  i ran skinny swampers that measured 30.6 for a couple yrs and they rubbed a bit in the front of the back wheel well and that is with a body lift also.  they will also rub the frame.  people are gonna look at your pizza cutters and make silly comments but they will work well.

Really?  Sounds like I'm fooling myself if i think they'll fit. This vehicle is for using, not just for showing off so the rub might end up wrecking the new tires. I actually didn't order the tires yet. Once the lift is installed on monday I'm taking it to Kal Tire and they will do a fitting for me before i buy tires. I was thinking if i could fit the 30.3" pizza cutters with some pounding and trimming that I could forget about a body lift (I'm not too keen on it).  I was thinking it might look cool with the 1" wheel spacers because they will still stick out a little more than stock. But if people make fun of me that's nothing new because where I live everyone drive's pick-ups in the bush, mostly full size and they laugh at my Zuk those bastards!    With some mud tires maybe I'll have to prove that good things do come in small packages . I may have to settle for 225/75/r16 but If those don't fit, then I WILL get the BL because that just won't cut it.. 

get a steel front out of an auto XL7.  This will give you 5.12's (and steel).  Then pop in a Kick 5.12 rear diff, and you golden for the larger sneakers.

And you need lower gears for the 30"s you'll have on.

But thats just my opinion.

get a steel front out of an auto XL7.  This will give you 5.12's (and steel).  Then pop in a Kick 5.12 rear diff, and you golden for the larger sneakers.

And you need lower gears for the 30"s you'll have on.

But thats just my opinion.

Thanks for the advice.  Is there a reason why both the front and rear from the auto xl7 will not work?  Why use the kick diff?

Thanks for the advice.  Is there a reason why both the front and rear from the auto xl7 will not work?  Why use the kick diff?

XL7 and GV have different rear axles.  The XL has a 8.75" ring gear, and 28 spline axles (read: much bigger), but NO locker open.  So swapping in an XL rear axle isn't a good option unless you like being open diff, or you weld the diff into a spool.

GV and Kick rear diffs are essentially the same, and interchange.  Just get a later year Kick so it has the strongs 12-bolt carrier and not the early 10-bolt.  Not that the 10-bolt won't work, its just weaker.