I have had it!!! I went rock crawling with friends and...well...lets just say that i was left behind. a lot!!!
jokes aside regarding my driving abilities, lets just say that any 1,000$ 15 years old suzuki sidekick rustbucket with a simple 200$ diff lock kicked my butt. and i mean really kicked my butt.
I am well aware of the fact that there are no diff locks. Im aware of the greek lock-to my understanding it does not work well. and anyone with a trackfinder lock hangs on to it and wont sell.
Im beginning to consider a rear axle swap.

what are the axle ratios on my 2001 auto transmission sporty?

which axles will fit??

Its important to note that im not yanking your chain here (sorry for my bad english..) - i have spent a lot of money on my sporty-more than the price of a new one in the US- and im willing to go to great distances to finally be happy with the way it perfoms

4.777:1 and good luck. No other manufacturer runs 4.777 and if you go anything different in ratio then you need to match it to the front as well.

Nearest I have come across in many hours of research is a Rover diff at 4.75 which would pretty much require custom everything (given all Rover rear axles are offset). If you want to get serious, SAS and match front to rear.

First of all my dear friend COUNT the teeth form your ring an pinion

sor some unknown reason to me I have came accross 3 ratiow
4.44 the dizel ratio, that... a friend of mine found it on its 3door
4.777 that Gary says that is the most common
and in the books
I have foynd an other ratio 4.64 or.67 dont remember well..

OH and the greek diff is buletpruf.. Never had the money for it but a friend of mine has it wi no problems.

One thing he learned by experience.
the guy had many diffs for sportage made, so without taking any new mesurments he fabricated one. Didnt fit because the "cone" was not the same as the other sportages.

So if you want to be 100% sure you send your complete diff for him to assemble and then fit it to your car.

Contact page is here
http://www.protrack.gr/contact.html
use any online translator and I think you will find your way.

Forgot to say

for HIS cariers he has also lower gearing 5.3something
but aw I said it doesnt fit the stok cariers

That does not sound good at all. I cant believe that no one makes mass market diff locks. even "kaiser" who make 26 spline lockers refuse to make a locker for the 28 spline. i cant figure it out.

As for the greek lock-where is he located? For me, it takes 50 minutes to fly to athens (been to creta and athens- mythos beer rules!) and i can bring the diff lock with me in 1 day.

Athens..
I think its beter to send him the "cone" idealy it will need it for verufy correct mesurments
and come to pick it up assembled..

( We have the same taste in beer!!!!!!!!)

Your axle ratio's don't need to match exactly they just need to be realy close. Any axle can be modified to fit but the easy way if your ok with your ratio but need a locker is to get an extra drop out section and weld the spider gears (lincon locker), it takes about a half hour to swap out a center section so do that as part of your prep before you go wheelin and swap back when you get back, keep the gear oil clean and reuse it. It may sound extreem but you should be able to hang with them next time.

Dennis

Very curious about this 'Lincoln Locker' method. You just weld the spider gears? This is something I've actually thought about doing to make my own locker, but didn't know it's had a nick name. I understand your reason behind having replacement of internal parts to go back to open diff, but if you unlock your front hubs whether it be stock vacuum warn auto's (like mine) or aftermarket warn manuals like most, wouldn't the front wheels still be 'open' in 2wd? I know in 4wd they'd be locked, but that's actually what i want. I don't use 4wd until Rwd just doesn't cut it anyway. pro's? con's? opinions? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" />

LincLok front is not generally a good idea. Makes vehicles difficult to turn as both wheels go the same speed it tends to understeer (plough on) which is not want you want on sideslopes (dangerous +++)

Question:
Has anyone performed the Lincoln Locker method to their rear axle? (On Sporty or anything else)
My wife finally got herself a vehicle. I want to get a truck in the near future to haul stuff.
That will leave my 2002 Sporty with 65,000 miles and a long life ahead of her.
Is this a safe and fairly maintenece free way to get more traction from my Sporty?