Hi all, I'm new to the site but from a few searches this looks to be a great board with lots of knowledge.

I'm looking at the Rocky-Road 4.4:1 MegaCrawler gears for my 2004 Grand Vitara 5 speed manual. Has anyone out there installed these on a 5 speed Grand Vitara?

CalMini say's their gears only work on Automatics from 2003 and up. Rocky-Road says their gears work in either automatic or manual configurations. Only difference i see is that Rocky-Road includes a new T-Case rear housing to accomodate the gears.

So please give me your technical advice. I'm leaning towards the Rocky-Road 4.4:1 MegaCrawlers but want to know if their going to fit before I order them.

By the way, I love the V6 in this Grand Vitara.

cant really help with the gears seing as my moms hassent bought a new car yet so her 01 gv isnt mine yet =)

but ill totaly agree with u on the v6..very nice and capable of 110mph with the auto over drive off =) runs nice

Hi all, I'm new to the site but from a few searches this looks to be a great board with lots of knowledge.

I'm looking at the Rocky-Road 4.4:1 MegaCrawler gears for my 2004 Grand Vitara 5 speed manual. Has anyone out there installed these on a 5 speed Grand Vitara?

CalMini say's their gears only work on Automatics from 2003 and up. Rocky-Road says their gears work in either automatic or manual configurations. Only difference i see is that Rocky-Road includes a new T-Case rear housing to accomodate the gears.

So please give me your technical advice. I'm leaning towards the Rocky-Road 4.4:1 MegaCrawlers but want to know if their going to fit before I order them.

By the way, I love the V6 in this Grand Vitara.

I really can't help you on the Megacrawlers.  But I do knwo there is a difference between the manual and auto Vit/GV/XL7 trannies.  The autos use an identical t-case as the Kicks, so any Kick get slides right in.  On the new Zooks, the 5spd tranny changed, and caused the input shaft to the t-case to be longer (I think it was longer), but yeah, longer or sumthin'.  I know CALMINI said they would have had to tool a new part just for the new manuals, so they weren't offering the Rockcrawlers to them.

Now for the Megacrawlers, they might just have a separate part number for the new manual GVs.  You would have to call or email and check that out for yourself.  If so, great, as that is the only gear option available for the new phreak Zooks.  What I can tell you for sure is the stock t-cases and gears are NOT interchangeable between the Auto and Manual GVs.

Oh yeah, I agree on the motor as well.  Big bang for a small and light package.  IMHO, the perfect V6 swap for the Sammy, trying to remain in the original design parameter of the best power to weight ratio of any 4x4 manufactured.

Just use 5w30, nothing else, and a really good filter.

Yankee Tim, thanks for the insight concerning these T-Case differences. I talked to the boys at Rocky-Road again yesterday. Their suggesting I email Glenn when he get's back in town this weekend. Apparantly they source these gears from a guy in the UK. I hope to get Glenn to confirm the 5sp manual application with the source vendor. I'll keep you guys posted.

I'm also considering a switch out to warn manual hubs and I hear you've had some experience on the topic. Can you point me to a thread that would help out concerning the installation process?

CalMini say's their gears only work on Automatics from 2003 and up. Rocky-Road says their gears work in either automatic or manual configurations. Only difference i see is that Rocky-Road includes a new T-Case rear housing to accomodate the gears.

Guess what?  ONE of them is correct, and the other one is going to be a big surprise!

Here's the catch:  If you get the RRO gears, the reason they send you a rear housing, is because their gears would require you to machine a HOLE in the housing to make 'em fit.  They build up the outside of a stock case, with a welder, and grind out the inside, to clear the gears.

Also:  RRO wants you to return your old tcase rear housing, and all the gears you remove (we can't figure out WHAT they are doing with the old gears).  If you don't send the stuff back, there's a $200 core charge.

Hiint:  HURRY - Calmini gears are on sale right now.

I'm also considering a switch out to warn manual hubs and I hear you've had some experience on the topic. Can you point me to a thread that would help out concerning the installation process?

There is a TSB on Zukiworld this month on just this topic.  Near mandatory reading, expecially if you want to lose the shift-on-the-fly stuff at the same time.

But did you say 2004 GV.  My brain is mushy, but the 2004 models years have changed.  There's something funky with the front axle, but that might just be the XL7.  I'd need to see a pic of the axle to tell you for sure.  If so, that's totally uncharted territory.  Could be cool, might not be cool.  I dunno.  Frankly, the new axle frightens me soley because I don't know how it works or what's inside exactly.  

Now I sound ignorant, afraid of the unknown and all.

But, someone else posted somewhere that the rear carrier size changed too and the 12-bolt ARB did not fit the newer GV ring gear.  I do not know if a Kick 12-bolt pig could fit the newer housing "banjo".  If so, no biggie.  If not, then you would need to swap in an entire axle from an earlier GV.

Errrr, could this  mean is there may be a possibility of no gears fitting the t-case, nor lockers for the rear axle, nor who knows with the front axle.  Before you throw coin down on any mod, you might want to check into these things.  T-case gears is a pricy, but totally worth it, off-road prep item.  But if you can't lock the front and/or rear axles, they might just be the only option you have.

I do know this.  Don't buy a 2004 XL7 manual with the intention of installing a off-road package into it.

There is a TSB on Zukiworld this month on just this topic.  Near mandatory reading, expecially if you want to lose the shift-on-the-fly stuff at the same time.

But did you say 2004 GV.  My brain is mushy, but the 2004 models years have changed.  There's something funky with the front axle, but that might just be the XL7.  .

Yeah, I believe it's shift on the fly with a knob instead of a lever now... Haven't test drove an '04 yet. Even more car like yeaaaaaaay!

-Eric

I posted this thread almost three years ago. I still have the same 2004 GV with 2.5L V6 and 5sp transmission. I do not have shift of the fly for my 4WD; mine has the 4WL/4WH/2WH shift lever on the floor stock.

So, I have the same question as before.... "What options do i have for this GV to get rock crawler type gearing?". I'm hoping that over the past three years someone out there in Zuki Land has figured out a way to make the 2004 GV 5spd off-road capable.

I've had no luck waiting for Calmini, RRO, or TT to build a bolt on solution. Is my only option to swap out driveline components with earlier Zuks?  If so, is that possible? Are there pig's to do it? Has anyone done it?