body lift issues on vitara?

[SiKiD_01]

not quite finished yet, still a couple of things to go.

brake lines, fuel hose, but the one that gets me is the gear shifters.

how did people do these? i know to bend them, but how the hell do you take them out? so if anyone can help me out here, please do.

now all thats left is, the 32" muddies!

hope you all like the pic.

cheers, steve.

[-Mandy-]

Is that lifted
Is that a factory colour or was it resprayed?

Mandy

[SiKiD_01]

the original factory colour was black, and yes it is resparayed, in my own drive way in fact, by myself, and a little help from my old man.

it is lifted, 2 inch suspension lift, 1" coil spacer, 1" coil spring, and just completed today, (23/7/04) a 3" body lift.

HOPEFULLY i will have either 31", or 32"s on in a couple of weeks time, depending on how the funds hold up.

[Beastmavster]

Take them out...grind a little, heat a little, bend a little weld a little...


but not too much of any of the above at once as the levers are rubber mounted.

[SiKiD_01]

and for what its worth, i have measurements of height before and after body lift:

(measurement taken fron bottom of rim/wheel to top of wheel arch, perpendicular to ground)

front: was 68.5 cm now 77.0 cm
back: was 73.0 cm now 82.0 cm

so for all those who are lazy to work it out, its an increase of 9 cm at the back, and an increase of 8.5 cm at the front.

its sitting pretty tall now, but looks like a twig with cheese cutting MT/Rs on it.

[safarikick]

looking good

[sierrajim]

looks about right for a high approach angle bar and come slight trimming of the guards.

[SiKiD_01]

i could already fit 31" tyres before the body lift, as i cut the guards already.

it was just that the tyres would scrub on full lock at the front, and the rear at full compression would hit the wheel arch.

hopefully i have all that sorted, and the 31"s should go in easily. maybe i should get 32"s, but oh the gearing......

oh well, see how it goes.

[-Mandy-]

Go 33's.

Mandy

[SiKiD_01]

its amazing how many problems 1 inch can cause.

a 2 inch body lift for a vitara (apparently) doesnt need major mods, if any at all?

but a 3 inch, geez, bring on the problems!

a 32" tyres on a standard geared zook, just manages with a tiny bit of struggling,

a 33" tyres . cv's, drive shafts, diffs, clutches, no more power, more problems.

i've had 31"s on my vitara, and it still goes pretty good. obviously no power house, or sports car on road, but with 31"s, and off road, the little vitara does pretty good for itself. (maybe because of the 5.12 diffs, who knows?)

when i first got the vitara, i was aiming for 31" tyres, and so, being true to my word, i will put 31"s on it.

but this is negotiable, for example, if someone else up here starts to build a sik vitara as well, then i might have to go that extra step.

anyway, as it is now, i'm very close to finishing what i want it to be.

[Beastmavster]

31"s are the sensible limit.... but then again sense doesnt matter sometimes.

That was always my goal on the Vit and I got there too. I found that probably a narrow 32" (eg motorway mongrel) would probably make little difference, or that a 31-ish tyre on a 16" rim might be a little better - most of the tyres in the 31-32" are a little narrower and lighter making the impact slightly less, and usually also need a narrower rim also reducing weight.

[antt]

i want 36's

and i will get em under it......someday

[SiKiD_01]

does anyone know about the steering columns in their vitaras?

ANTT??

SUZUKI VIAGRA???

i heard that there were two types, and it has something to do with body lifting.

one type doesnt need extending, and the other will not even accomodate a 2" B/Lift, and needs a spacer.

so what is the go here? i've had a look at mine, it looks normal, (whatever that is) and its all pretty solid, and i've been driving around the block.

just wondering if its gonna fall apart on me?

thanks

[antt]

i too have read this somewhere sikid, mines only a 2in bodylift, and i haven't had any drama's..........dunno what the differences are

[SiKiD_01]

i'm not sure if i should just post on this one, or start another post.

but anyway, this is probably my fault for using box tube as a body lift, but i cant seem to get them to settle in. like, one or two of the box sections, always seem to squeek.

i think its either the bolts i used, and that they dont hold properly, or something else.

or it could be the body mount seat thats on the actual chassis rail. the hole that the bolt goes through, is, i think, about the size of a 10 cent piece. even if i'm using large washers(doubled up), i dont think they are strong enough.

maybe i should make up some bigger washers out of steel flat bar for the bottom.

if anyone used box section for their body lift, could you let me know how you bolted it, and what you used, (bolts etc:)

this is clearly my fault for using box section in the first place.
maybe i should just take the box sections out, until i can afford proper body lift blocks.

grrrrr!

thanks for any help.

[SiKiD_01]

and does anyone have a pic of a vitara front diff centre, or is is the same as the rear? (bar ring and pinion?)

thinking of locking front and rear diffs now. why?

after a rescent trip to some tracks up here, the vitara is struggling.
goddammit!

and someone said that you could make a sierra lock rite locker fit a vitara diff centre?
fact or just BS?

now i know what its like to hit a flat spot! meaning, you get to a certain level of satisfaction, only to get shot down in flames.
what doesnt kill you, only makes you stronger, or how ever it goes.

thanks again.

[bigsteve]

athinking of locking front and rear diffs now. why?

after a rescent trip to some tracks up here, the vitara is struggling.
goddammit!

and someone said that you could make a sierra lock rite locker fit a vitara diff centre?
fact or just BS?

If you have PWS just weld

[SiKiD_01]

if only suzuki viagra had taken my offer on his P/S, i would have p/s now.

anyway, i can get p/s up here, you just never know if its in that good a working order. or i can get one from down south somwhere if i have the money.

how does vitara front axle shafts hold up with a welded diff???

i know i should do a search, but i'm not in the mood at the moment.

[bigsteve]

if only suzuki viagra had taken my offer on his P/S, i would have p/s now.

anyway, i can get p/s up here, you just never know if its in that good a working order. or i can get one from down south somwhere if i have the money.

how does vitara front axle shafts hold up with a welded diff???

i know i should do a search, but i'm not in the mood at the moment.

We have a vit in our club running 33's with welded f&r and he just snapped an axle recently but that was flogging in on road.

That was a rear, I believe a front has also been blown but bear in mind its with 33's and a heavy foot.

[sierrajim]

The Vitara that steve refers to is a very capable rig. However after i fitted a front ARB locker i kept busting CV's and axles.

I would seriously recommend not installing an auto locker in the front, the unpredictable load would play havock with the CV's and diff housing.

Weld the rear, see how you like it and go from there.

You, like the Vit steve refers to do not have too much lift (less angle on the CV's).

The other alternative is a mini spool from trail tough. Would cost less than $200AUD air freighted from the US direct to you. If you don't like it just rip it out.

[SiKiD_01]

so is the front diff(centre), the same as the rear? i have a feeling that they arent the same.

theres no more than 2" lift on the front of my vit. i'm planning to leave it at that.

does anyone in AUS sell spools, rather than getting it from the US?
how about a spool in the front? and the reason why i'm not keen on welding, is that i see most of the welded ones crap themselves, i always thought a good welded diff will outlast just about anything on a 4wd.

and has anyone read my body lift issues? (before my diff/locking issues in this post.) i'd like to get that sorted this week end.

thanks for the help.

[sierrajim]

I think you answered your own question. Take the RHS out and wait until you can get proper blocks.

I do not (others do agree) believe that RHS is a suitable material for a body lift. If you do not believe this just wait until you have an accident. RHS is not safe for body lifts.

Re the spool, not sure of anyone out here. Can be ordered over the net and UPS shipped out here. Pretty easy.

Not aware of one for the front. Personally i do not think that the front diff is up to it (like welding it) if you drive the car like you stole it. For the front diff save for an ARB.

[Beastmavster]

does anyone know about the steering columns in their vitaras?

ANTT??

SUZUKI VIAGRA???

i heard that there were two types, and it has something to do with body lifting.

one type doesnt need extending, and the other will not even accomodate a 2" B/Lift, and needs a spacer.

so what is the go here? i've had a look at mine, it looks normal, (whatever that is) and its all pretty solid, and i've been driving around the block.

just wondering if its gonna fall apart on me?

thanks

if it does...mmake sure you think "left" and "right" really hard.

mine took 35mm and is similar model so if yours is 89 you be good.

[Beastmavster]

if only suzuki viagra had taken my offer on his P/S, i would have p/s now.

how does vitara front axle shafts hold up with a welded diff???

i know i should do a search, but i'm not in the mood at the moment.

If only you'd paid me what I was asking which was half what it's worth...

[Beastmavster]

so is the front diff(centre), the same as the rear? i have a feeling that they arent the same.

theres no more than 2" lift on the front of my vit. i'm planning to leave it at that.

does anyone in AUS sell spools, rather than getting it from the US?
how about a spool in the front? and the reason why i'm not keen on welding, is that i see most of the welded ones crap themselves, i always thought a good welded diff will outlast just about anything on a 4wd.

and has anyone read my body lift issues? (before my diff/locking issues in this post.) i'd like to get that sorted this week end.

thanks for the help.

The centre is interchangeable in teh front with a sierra centre.... which is tougher and can get autolocker. the front diff design is weak both due to the centre and also the mount to the crossmemeber. This can be reinforced, or you can buy aftermarket reinforcing (ie the "anvil") or a GV solid steel diff can be used.

Dont use an autolocker int eh fornt diff unless you deliberately want to blow it up to hear the noise it makes.

[SiKiD_01]

ok.

vitara front diff centre is the same as a sierra diff centre? front? rear? all same??? but i take it that a sierra centre is stronger.

if i weld my front, will it be strong enough? will the al. housing last as well, talking about mounts. probably not, as viagra said, both are week.
so it makes more sense welding the rear. has anyone had stripped splines, or broken axles in the rear (of vitara) with a welded diff.
i'll be running 31" MT/Rs soon.

i think i should just give up, at least while i'm a little bit ahead of the situation.

anyone want to trade a honda rice cooker for a vitara?

thanks for the help. will try to figure something out.

and just another thing, how can i put some clips/vids on here for people to see(and pay me out about)? dont tell me i have to put it up on a web site thingy, and then put a link to it. thats crap!

oh well, see how.

[sierrajim]

A mate of mine down here in Melb has broken one rear alxe to 26 CV's. This in itself says they are pretty strong in the rear.

He broke the rear doing circle work on some grass and one wheel collected some cement and bang.

[Beastmavster]

The front vitara is I think interchangeable with either the front or rear sierra centre. can't remember which, but it's in this thread somewhere.

The Vitara uses an alloy centre so the Sierra one is stronger.

The Vitara alloy diff casing cracks due to the mounting being bolted only on at one point which is off centre. It usually cracks based on that when uneven load is put on it offroad. Having said that, the alloy case itself will break at a point not too much higher anyway if the weak point in the design is fixed up......

Having never broken one myself despite the 31"s I can't answer..... there's some theories that abound as to what combinations of lift and so on are likely to cause it to break. Excessively long front travel is a key one, and I've kept mine relatively low all round for stability so it's not an issue I've faced.

[Beastmavster]

if i weld my front, will it be strong enough? will the al. housing last as well, talking about mounts. probably not, as viagra said, both are week.
so it makes more sense welding the rear. has anyone had stripped splines, or broken axles in the rear (of vitara) with a welded diff.
i'll be running 31" MT/Rs soon.

i think i should just give up, at least while i'm a little bit ahead of the situation.

anyone want to trade a honda rice cooker for a vitara?

thanks for the help. will try to figure something out.

oh well, see how.

The rear can be very effective on it's own..... it's easy to get good rear travel so one rear wheel getting traction is usually possible to power you through most things.... you really will be amazed.

The front diff when it blows up.... get a GV front axle. I know someone got one complete recently with centre from Sydney shipped to Brissy for about $300. Steel GV axles are VERY tough and you can use whatever locker you choose in there with no hassles.


Just a case of replacing each weak point as/if it breaks.

[roadrunner]

The front diff when it blows up.... get a GV front axle.


Suzuki Viagra,

Is this a solid axle or an IFS setup?

Been thinking of getting another rear axle, gusseted and modified with A frame etc then using my original rear for a front setup. But always looking for other ideas......

Sorry to highjack your thread SiKid_01