LUVTruck.com

whats a good reliable inexpensive posi for the rearend of a manual 80 4x4 thanx. matt

_________________
1980 4x4 header stock motor lifted 4 1/2 in. in the rear and 3 1/2 in the front

I'm in the middle of doing some investigation on this myself. So far I know Lockright makes a locker for the LUV rearend, and I believe that there is a PG Power Brute limited slip diff that will fit as well. I'll post some links tomorrow if I can sort through all the info I have and find out what fits and what might.

LockRight locker info here:
http://www.powertrax.com/

Pricing here:
http://www.lockright.com click Application

The Power Brute LSD is still a research project in progress. If you look at Lockright you will see both the LUV and the 84-87 trooper use the same part for the locker, have the same number of splines on the axle, etc. If you go to the Isuzu Trooper FAQ, they point out that PG Power Brute LSD part number TL14-4 will work in 85-87 trooper rear axles. I searched that part up and found this info: http://www.reiderracing.com/pgbrute.htm

So, while there is no guarantee that the LSD will work with the LUV, the 84-87 Trooper appears to use the same axle, and so the same LSD *should* fit in the LUV that fits in the Trooper.

Confused yet? I am I'm sure. I have not found anything as far as upgrades to the front diff, but just getting either a locker or an LSD in the rear will net you 50% more traction. The only time I have ever had to get pulled out of being stuck was because I high centered the front end with one rear tire stuffed in the fender and the other barely touching the ground. This was in my 2WD, but an LSD or a locker would have had me out of there in seconds instead of hours.

cough, cough,..ford 9, coughcough.......

Bolting in some LSD into the stocker requires no mods whatsoever, which can be a plus. I think a locker is overkill as Limited slip will get you out of just about everything a locker will without people looking at you funny when you click turning into a spot at Walmart.

If I were really serious about making a bulletproof LUV 4x4 I would lose everything from the frame down and throw the body on a K5 Blazer or something. Then a few bolts and I can have whatever axles I want. Though I would probably box the frame, beef up around the steering gearbox, and generally rebuild the works before I started fabbing body mounts. That is, if I were thinking about doing something like that...

FYI, a late 70s early 80s K5 has a wheelbase just one inch longer than that of a LUV. A 'bit' wider track, but all the better to throw mud around right?