Front Diff problems.

[marjan]

I have just fitted a second hand Front Diff to my Vitara due to breaking the other at Kirton Pay & Play yesterday but something is not quite right somewhere!. It drives ok till I put it into 4WD, then after a matter of only a hundred yards or so it feels like the brakes are on. Putting it into 2WD again doesn't cure it unless I back up a few yards then it's OK again.

I have heard of Diff Windup but surely that wouldn't occur after just 100 yards on tarmac?. I'm wondering if the new diff has different gearing to the old one, the guy I bought it off assured me that it came off a 3 door 1.6 16V Vitara the same as mine. The only difference is that mine is a 1997 and the diff came off a 1995 model, could it have different gearing than the original.

Any hints or suggestions would be most welcome.

[generation-x]

dont drive in 4x4 on tarmac m8 100 yds is doin well for diff winde as long as the new front diff aint an auto it shud be same ratios

simon

[marjan]

Cheers Simon,

The only other difference is that mine is a Spanish Vit and the diff came off a Jap one, would that make any difference?.

[generation-x]

hi mark no difference in the diffs from jap to spanish m8 think your just gettin diff winde on the tarmac

simon

[marjan]

Thanks Simon, somehow I thought you would be the one to give me advice as you certainly seem to know your Suzuki stuff  :D .

Found a web site that gives the ratio of the 8v at 5.12 and the 16v at 4.35 but the guy I bought it off swears it came of a 16v.

I can see what you mean about 4wd on tarmac but I never had this problem with the old diff  :? .

[generation-x]

4.35 thats auto ratio i think all manual vits are 5.12
easy way to check jack ur front end up lock ur front hubs and spin one front wheel this shud give to ratio as close as u can read it

simon

[marjan]

Well Simon, my greatest fears have been confirmed. Just had the vit on a rolling road and when it's in 4wd the front wheels are turning slower than the rear ones so it must be the wrong diff for my model.

Both diffs have the same part number stamped on (27451-60A01) so there is something strange going on here  :?  :?  :?

Silly question, is it possible to swap the insides of the 2 diffs over?. In other words put the internals of my old diff in the new casing?.

Just one other thing that I forgot to mention. The new diff came with a right hand drive shaft already in place but my original R/H shaft had new boots on so I thought I would use my shaft in the new diff and take the other one out.

Now here is the strange bit, my original shaft would not fit into the new diff for some reason so I used the one that came with it. So I guess that this goes to prove that the 2 diffs are different.

[generation-x]

hi mark
you can change over the internals buts its a pain to do im affraid ur be better off gettin another diff imo
halfshaft prob: there are 2 different spline counts on vits 22 and 26 this might be the problem u have again only way is to count them on the halfshaftbut this does not mean the ratio's are different suzuki just thout they wud make them stronger buy usiing the different spline count .the only thing i can think is the new diff is out if an auto hence the different ratio.
if you get into prob ive got a couple of front diffs

simon

[marjan]

Hi simon,

The guy I got it off still swears it was out of a manual.

I"ve managed to get another one from a breakers, making sure it was from a Spanish built Vit. Just finished fitting it and everything is working fine so the other one must be geared different  :?: .

The guy at the breakers knew that you can't fit a jap front diff and still keep a spanish one on the back!.

I will stick the other one back on Ebay,making sure that I put that it is for a japanese built Vit only.