Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Installing PowerTrax LockRight, Suzuki Samurai, Part 2 of 4

Installing PowerTrax LockRight, Suzuki Samurai, Part 2 Before you buy a PowerTrax for a Samurai, SJ or Jimny In the USA a lot people are not familiar with the exact changes to the Suzuki SJ's when they changes from the SJ410 to the SJ413, In 1985 , they sold both and SJ410, which was a 1.0 liter engine with a 4 speed transmission. When the Suzuki Samurai came out in 1986 the engine was a 1.3 liter and the transmission was a 5 speed. The differential housing was wider on the Suzuki Samurai by about 3.5 inches over the SJ410. The gear ratio was 3.73 in the Samurai and the SJ410 had a 4.11 gear ratio. But in the 1985 change over year the model that came out was a SJ413 or Jimny 1300 (Asian model) and the rear axle housing was the same width as the SJ410 although the 1985 SJ413 (or Jimny 1300) had the 1300 cc engine and the 5 speed tarns. In 1985 the SJ413 (or Jimny 1300) has a gear ratio of 3.90 for that year only. The rear brake calibers were the same as the SJ410 and the axles and the axle housing was the same width as the SJ410, but the differential carrier is the same as a Suzuki samurai. The only difference is that the 1986 and up Suzuki Samurai has 3.73 gears and the 1985 SJ413 (or Jimny 1300) has 3.90 gears. In 1985 they sold both the SJ410 and SJ413 (Jimny 1300). Iff you have a 1985 SJ413 or Jimny 1300 you would use the Powertrax part number 1510. It is easy to screw this up because the 1985 gear ratio is almost the same as the SJ410, plus the axles and axle housing is the same width and also the brakes in the rear are the same as the SJ410, but the differential carrier is the same as the Suzuki Samurai. An SJ410 with a 1.0 liter and 4 speed would take Powertrax Lockright part no. 1520. Roadless gear was about the ONLY USA vendor that knew this stuff right. This install was more difficult because it was a Suzuki. The locker will totally lock both wheels in low traction situations only. A regular vehicle could not drive away with one tire off the ground. The tire off the ground would just spin and the vehicle would not move. With the locker, as soon a traction is lost, the internal racket locks and both rear tires have traction. If you install one locker you want it to be in the rear versus having the locker on the front wheels where the steering is. This a full time locker. On the trail having lockers on both axles may be a huge advantage in going through mud, sand or snow. But when driving on the streets in the snow, a front locker can be harder to control when you are going around turns and corners. When driving in snow on the roadways with a front locker, you would be better off locking only one hub and locking the other hub in a situation where it may be needed. With the rear locker only you will stay pretty stabile on snowy roadways and you might find that the rear locker may be good enough to get through the snow without using the 4 wheel drive.

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