Inc's Trooper Mod Thread

[Incusus]

...also for clerification the 12 bolt count refers to the bolt count on the ring gear, not the pumpkin (mabee this is why you thought it was 16. don't know, just a thought)

that could well be, thanks

Too bad to hear my regearing options are limited I'd like to find a happy medium between the off-road benefit of running 33's while regearing to maintain a reasonable gas mileage for my daily driver. Right now my "small" 30's and stock gearing are fine, but a change in tire diameter (sidewall height, specificly) would be welcome. Hmm..

 

[Incusus]

While overhauling the cv joints and wheelbearings, I managed to put the Superwinch locking hubs on. Time to start working on the cargo area! (finally...)

 

[bigreen505]

Somehow I missed the rest of the discussion. Matt at Independent 4x has lockers and gears for the modified 12-bolt.

 

[robertdarin]

i thought the aussie matt has was just for the original 12 bolt and not the modifyed.

 

[SuperTrooper]

AFAIK the only locker available is the ARB RD-85 which is hard to find and expensive. The new aussie lockers will not fit.

 

[Incusus]

AFAIK the only locker available is the ARB RD-85 which is hard to find and expensive. The new aussie lockers will not fit.

ya, they have em at indi4x, but yeah.... they're like 3-4x the price of an aussie locker :Wow1:

 

[Incusus]

I just finished mounting an antenna to replace my crappy magnet mount cb antenna, and thought this may be of interest

I was looking for an inexpensive way to mount a 4' Firestik where it would not involve cutting holes in my truck, magnet mounts, or mounting to my rack. I need decent reception on the trail more than I do on the road, but still wanted the cb to be useful on the highway.

I've seen Isuzu's with hood mounts, which required drilling (ick) or clamping (meh) but didn't want it blocking my line of sight. I didn't want it on the roof because of mounting options, limitations carrying gear, and the fact I remove my rack constantly. That left the rear. I originally considered something like Bruce Anderson's 1996 (http://myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson/trooper/CB/cb.html) where he put a bracket behind the spare tire, but I was afraid the tire would block too much of the antenna to be useful anywhere on the trail. Independent4x has a mount that uses the a lug nut on the spare to mount a bracket, but it looked a little rough in the photos, and $20 +shipping was more than I wanted to spend. On a whim, I stopped in at Radio Shack and found this, basicly a 2-piece clamp for small tubes:

Radio Shack P/N 21-937 cb antenna, "mirror and luggage rack mount"

For $15 it already had the 3/8" threaded bade and the female PL-239 connector. Perfect.

I had recently replaced my stock hubs with manual ones, so I had the front hub covers left over. I bolted one to the spare tire and using a level on top of the bracket, marked where I would need to drill, then used a brass punch to start the holes.

once the holes were drilled, I dropped the bolts through the bracket, into the hub covers...

... then flipped them over and put the clamping piece on the inside to distribute stress over the entire area, and added the nuts and lockwashers.

I bolted the cover/bracket assembly to the spare using the stock bolts, screwed the connector, base and antenna together, and here she is:

Its strong and sturdy, stands the antenna out from the sidewall about 3-4 inches, was cheap, and isn't ugly. Yes, I had to drill, but only into a disposable part I wasn't using anymore.

Yay!

 

[endo]

Gearing

My plan for gears in my 2000 is to source a 97 axle from the local pick and pull and install the 4.77 thirds from a RS. I am also looking into swapping out the t-case for a non TOD case and using revolution low gears to help that along. From that point I will have aussies front and rear and the right gearing for a 265/285. Trooper axles are easy to find and cheap to pick up. It is a fairly straight forward swap the only issue is finding the later versions of the standard 12 bolt for the width (earlier ones are narrower)

 

[bigreen505]

My plan for gears in my 2000 is to source a 97 axle from the local pick and pull and install the 4.77 thirds from a RS. I am also looking into swapping out the t-case for a non TOD case and using revolution low gears to help that along. From that point I will have aussies front and rear and the right gearing for a 265/285. Trooper axles are easy to find and cheap to pick up. It is a fairly straight forward swap the only issue is finding the later versions of the standard 12 bolt for the width (earlier ones are narrower)

Let us know how that goes, that is basically my plan exactly, except ARB's instead of Aussie lockers.

 

[robertdarin]

let me know how you like those revolution gears

 

[endo]

let me know how you like those revolution gears

I have had them before and they are the best upgrade you can make to a trooper.

 

[Incusus]

getting there...

Ok, time to change things up a bit.
1- the roof rack I built didn't match my needs, so off it came for a redesign. I need something lower profile and am considering a trailer for wind resistance.

2- added BFG LT265/75-16's I picked up on the cheap. Best upgrade I've ever considered, and it only hit me for about -1mpg.

3- One of the Superwinch hubs had a catastrophic failure on the trail, so the set came off and went back. What little mileage I made up with them has been eaten up in the $11 shipping. I'm rather leery of them now: Even though it was probably an isolated manufacturing defect, I sure didn't like the feeling of possibly being stranded several miles from the nearest thing resembling a road with dark coming on again so I'm not sure if I'll install or resell the warranty returns.

Not a great pic, but you can see the locking gear still in the gub body and cracked in about six places. This should all be together, and tucked neatly in the cap.

By the way, Superwinch received my return on 10/30/08. No word yet on a replacement

 

[Incusus]

oh, installed some generic 6.5" floods on the front in custom brackets I bolted behing the grill. Also relocated the CB and installed a Uniden scanner in the dash.

I found out the new neighbor behind me has put in a garage full of CnC equipment, lathes, and other metal fab gear. He's open to labor trades, and I've already worked on his Saturn in return for come custom brackets for the rack. I think this is going to be a beautiful relationship

 

[SGV]

Inc: I was wondering if you could enlighten me a little on the TOD modification, or at least the necessity of one. The Trooper is at the top of my list of vehicles to purchase, so I am curious as to what the problem with the TOD. Is this something that makes off-highway travel dangerous, or just annoying?

Truck looks good btw!

After a slight *ahem* (ok... severe...) delay, The following has been performed.

Installed:
TOD 4-HI modification.

http://www.planetisuzoo.com/articles.htm?id=109&4-HI_conversion_for_TOD_equipped_Isuzus

Despite worries about functionality and compatability, this mod works as advertised.

As much as I appreciate the TOD unit, after driving it in the Ohio winter I think it should be called "torque slightly after demand". This mod has saved my rear end more than once.

If you decide to do the mod, check the pinouts for your year Trooper, and doublecheck your connections. Borg-Warner transfer case computers are rare now ( and stock, they were something like $1700...)

* Other mods: Completed wood roof rack, Magellan hard wire power & COM cabling, Tripp-Light 375W (600W max) inverter dash mount. Detailed write-up soon.

 

[bigreen505]

I'll comment, forgive the hijack. Shifting into 4-wheel low locks the center differential, so anytime you are in 4-low TOD is not an issue. TOD is nice to have on road when a road is not continually slick enough to have a locked center diff (front and back wheels spinning at the same speed). Otherwise it is slightly better than rwd. So ask yourself how much time you need real traction in 4hi (meaning you are moving more than about 30 mph or at least you wheels are). If the answer is never/rarely it is not an issue. If it is often than it is a problem and you need to wire in a defeat switch.

IMO is it is better than nothing, but should never be mistaken with actual 4wd. I will probably swap out my t-case with a non-TOD unit so I can run 3:1 gears. Another option that I have been tempted to try is to run a dial with a variable load so you can control to f/r torque split manually. Sounds cool, not sure if it is really useful. My understanding is a lot of rally Subarus are set up this way.

I consider TOD to be somewhere between worthless and dangerous in snow/ice, but I am in the minority there. Running studded snows in the winter and more aggressive tires in the summer make me hate it less.