i was wondering if the tracker third member bolts right in the axle housing just like the stock coming out?  I have a 1988 sammy and am looking at putting third member in rear first.  I was informed that a third member from a 1998 4door tracker would work (5:13 gears).  but was also told that if installed the third member from tracker that the aluminum house would break after a while?  any feedback on this, anyone been runnin tracker third members.  any problems, how long u been runnin them?  Good choice to go tracker third members or look at sammy ring and pinion gears?  any mods needed to be done to axle housing for tracker third member to fit? 

It's a pain to get lockers for the tracker third member, other then that it works fine.  I would just look at putting the 5.12 gears into your existing steel housing if you want the gears.

The 89-95 Trackers have the smaller spline in the front and will swap into the front end on a Sammy.  The 96-98 Trackers have the larger spline and will bolt into the back, or a front end with heavy duty axles.

If you want to use the Tracker Rear Third member you need to pick up a Hybrid Rear housing, available from a couple different sponsors of the board.

you can fit the early tracker fronts right into the samurai fronts. The aluminum tracker cases don't hold up to as much but will work for a while. You take the gears out of the front pot and put them into the rear of the samurai. You need an install kit with I think they call it a can. We make our worn down here. If you don't use the "can" then the pins will cause some issues.

I've been told that you can put in the side gears from the rear samurai pots into the tracker front pots to bolt them into the rear.

When you bolt in the front tracker pot it doesn't oil properly so if you drive in 4x4 on the road alot or with the hubs locked the bearings will blow in a short period of time. 512 in the standards and 462 in the auto.

We take the rear from the tracker and cut off the tubes and then weld the tubes from the samurai rear. It gives you the offset for the samurai and the strength of the tracker R&P.

I've used up to 96 with no problems but I know the newer ones had different parts.

zukimoo can u put that in terms a rookie can understand?  If i have access to a third member from the front of a 98 tracker 4 door auto, will that bolt into the rear axle of the 1988 sammy?  if i can get my hands on the rear axles from a 98 tracker 4 door auto and a 98 tracker 2 door soft top, would those be of any benefit to me, the gears in the rear end?

anybody know more on this?

In order to use the third member you will have to buy a Hybrid Rear Axle.  It uses the Tracker rear third member, but the Suzuki axle shafts.

If you have a third member from the front of a 98 Tracker you can drop it directly into the rear end of a Samurai.  If you buy a set of Heavy Duty front axles, from either Calmini or Trail Tough for example, you can drop it in the front end as well.

I'm more of a fan of using transfer case gears to run larger tires myself, much easier to install.

I have 4.625 Tracker ring and pinions in my steel Samurai third members (sometimes called "pots").

This is the best way to regear your differentials because you don't have to worry about shafftering the aluminum cases on Tracker/Sidekick front third members.  The process does require precise setup, a Can/spacer kit (available at most Suzuki aftermarket vendors) for each differential and a fresh crush sleeve - if not a full rebuild kit.

You can bolt aluminum thirds onto a Samurai axle but you probably will need to find/swap sidegears to match the Tracker/Sidekick third to the Samurai axles.

Such a swap MUST be done on both axles at the same time AND with the same gear ratio.  Rear Tracker/Sidekick Difs will not fit - they are physically larger.

You can find links to a number of good articles and post threads by doing a search for differential at Ack's FAQ (the link is in my signature).

I hope that this helps!

I have a spare t-case.  So if going to regear sammy for 33x12.5x15 tsl swampers would u do 4.9.1 trail tough tcase gears and then eventually go 4.62 ring and pinions (this is what brent recommends from trail tough) , or ring and pinion then tcase gears? If I just install tcase gears would that be enough or need ring and pinion as well?  Money is a great issue here this is why I was looking to see if I could directly bolt in 1998 geo tracker 4 door third member (5.13) in sammy stock rear axle.  reason why i ask this is i may have access to some tracker third members (free). running that large of a tire in stock gear offroad is hard, I rarely every leave first gear at silver lake sand dunes in Michigan (sometimes i will hit second but lose alot of rpms). thanks for the info, remember money is an issue (I dont have much to spend).

If Brent suggests 4.9-1 tcase and eventually 4.625 ring an pinions, then it's probably good advice for those tires.  His opinion is valued and he is an excellent vendor.

The philosophy behind tcase gearing and dif gearing is much-debated - but I can tell you this from doing a ring and pinion regear and what I have read about tcase regearing:

Tcase regearing is a much simpler, less labor-intrensive process.

There is a wide range of ratios available with tcase regearing - more than with ring and pinion options.

Simple is good. more options is good. 
 

There is, however, something to be said about gearing the dif to take the load off the drivetrain...

...and the debate rages on...   

I would just go with a 5.8:1 or 6.5:1 transfer case kit myself.  You will be in 2nd or 3rd gear most of the time on the trails, but shouldn't have any power issues.  You will want to get bullet proof mounts at the same time, and buff up your t-case mount so it doesn't twist.

Like Ack said, you can put the lower gears into the Sammy 3rd member.  If you have the right equipment it takes an hour or two in the garage.

debate debate debate. 

If Brent suggests 4.9-1 tcase and eventually 4.625 ring an pinions, then it's probably good advice for those tires.  His opinion is valued and he is an excellent vendor.

The philosophy behind tcase gearing and dif gearing is much-debated - but I can tell you this from doing a ring and pinion regear and what I have read about tcase regearing:

Tcase regearing is a much simpler, less labor-intrensive process.

There is a wide range of ratios available with tcase regearing - more than with ring and pinion options.

Simple is good. more options is good. 
 

There is, however, something to be said about gearing the dif to take the load off the drivetrain...

...and the debate rages on...   

You can bolt in the front (tracker) pot into the samurai with no mods at all. IT's better to install the gears into the samurai pot due to the strength.

The tracker front pot will not oil itself properly so if you drive at high speed and for long distances with the hubs locked it will not last very long. We've run alot like this and they are ok as long as you not lock the hubs  and drive fast.

You can take the front tracker pot and change the side gears and run them into the samurai but I'd never do it and strongly advise against it....the no oil problem is going to make itself apparent very fast and you'll see how much they are weaker.

IF you can weld and grind you can put in the tracker rear in the samurai but you'll need to fabricate a "hybrid". You'll need the outer tubes of the samurai rear housing and the middle section of the tracker rear. Install the tracker gears into the middle section and install the axles. Take a measurement so you make sure the tubes are the right length. Make sure to slide out the axle a little bit. You don't want them in all the way, otherwise it's hard on bearings and parts.

I've built a jig to put these together but we've done many "freehand" and had no problems. Tack it all together and take measurements....remembere to measure twice cut/weld once. I always ask someone to take a look before I weld it up. I have a tendency to work too fast.

So done right and strong you'll install the front gears into the samurai pot, for the back you're going to weld up a hybrid and use the tracker rears and these are tough as hell. You can weld these up and they will hold and take alot of abuse.

I'd always do the gears first but it's because I know how to and I find it cheaper. The only negative is that the low is always there. I was running 512's in my 413K with 31's and was in 5th gear and could cruise around town. I could go 90-100km/h but it was pushing it hard.

My friends are all running 512's and they have 33's. They've never complained about it and they all have the 5th gears. We don't run rocks around here. Hills, washouts and trails with some mud. Actually there is plenty of mud but I hate paying for the repairs that mud will bring on.

Around here we pay anywhere from $75 to $125 for tracker pots, tracker complete rears are cheap...$50. The guy that does the install for the fronts charges $75 plus parts if need be....bearings, seals or crush sleeve. Always change the crush sleeve when you take them apart and if you don't know what you are doing for gear install then pay someone....it's not worth the money to loose your gears and remember to make sure the oil is in there and good.