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I got a 12 bolt rear end out of a mid-80s Trooper a long time ago. It came with disk brakes. I finally decided to put it in the truck.



Here's what I found:

1) The brake line connection is normally on the passenger side. I welded a nut to the driver's side and moved the connection. I just re-bent the lines a little bit.



2) The U bolts are bigger. By elongating and enlarging the holes on the bottom plate, I was able to use the same plate.



3) the driveline was a PAIN IN THE NECK. You'd think it would be just a simple task for a shop to put the Isuzu end (which I also snagged when I got the diff) on the Luv driveline, but noooo. It needed to be shortened 1" but, because the Luv driveline is larger diameter all but the very end, it couldn't be shortened. I was lookang at $300 for a whole new driveline. Being basically cheap, I cut off the old one, rigged a shim, welded the whole thing, then ground and painted it to hide my exceedingly ugly welds. It finally works, although I still need to get it balanced.



4) The track width is slightly wider. You'd think I'd have measured them, but of course I didn't. I actually like the wider track a little better. It puts the rear wheels about equal to the front. (I have yet to see what it does to the handling).



5) I haven't rigged a parking brake yet. I need to get one off a Trooper and figure out how to connect it. It shouldn't be too hard.

All in all, it works OK. I did it for the gearing and the disk brakes but for you V8 guys, I hear it's much stronger than stock.

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You went there in that?!?!

Well thats cool, I have thought of doing the same thing to get the disk brakes. Thanks for the info

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My old but now gone Luv...

so is it still 4.10s?

thats a pretty trick swap you did there.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

different options on the gearing, you could get either 4.10, 4.30, 4.56, or in some cases even a 4.77, aftermarket makes 5.29's for off road stufff too.

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

If it is a Trooper, especially mid 80s, it would most likely be 4.56, with the outside chance of it being 4.77 if out of a Troop with the wide tire option. (also found in most RS models, short wheelbase 2 door)

To get the 4x4 LUV front diff to match you could take the third member out of an 84-86 Trooper (some 87s but its iffy) and it should bolt right in giving you 4.56 gears. Not that swapping the front diff is an easy task, but if you try to wheel much with 4.10s in the front and 4.56 in the rear you'll be tearing the front end apart eventually when something breaks. Might as well do it in the shop instead of on the trail.

The Isuzu 12 bolt is a bit ahead of a D44 for carrier and axle shaft strength, plus there are no c clips to let your axles slide out the tubes. For a mild V8 street driver I think it would last pretty well, and would probably hold up to strip use for longer than a lot of things would.

It's 4.56

My plan was to run 32" tires in the back and keep the 235/75/15s in the front. The 235/75/15 are 28.8" tall, so the ratios work out. (32"/4.56 = 28.8"/4.10)

Part of the reason I wanted to do it was just so the Jeep guys would go "Heyyy, you can't do that".

My plan failed to account for the additional track width. Now, I will have to get wheels with a little negative offset so I can tuck the bigger tires under the fenders.

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You went there in that?!?!

You id a good job on your swap.

I know that the 91' 2wd Rodeo has a lighter and smaller rear-end than say a 92-94 rodeo with 4wd. It is also 1" (exactly) shorter than the 92-94 rear ends. I'm curious if the 87-89 trooper has the same rear end as the 92-94 rodeo rear ends.

If this were the case, then you could get a 90-91 rodeo 2wd rear-end make a perfect swap.

I have changed my 91 rodeo rear end twice after I put my V8 in.

Rodeo rear end is a GM 10 bolt IIRR

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

i thought the rodeos axioms ran Dana 44s.
Anyway, thanks for posting pics of this swap, the info will come in handy when i drop a 12 in the rear of my 79.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Good point about the gear ratio differnce. I'd like to hear about if anyone goes to swap the third member. =-)

you can swap third members whith the early troopers(86 and 87). Im going to be doing that to give my LUV front and rear 4.55s.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Besides the differnet gear ratios in the axls, are there any other differnces
in the front axl? Would you just just need the axl and the cv axls?

between the 8 and 10 bolts?? lots

if your just swaping thrids between 8 bolts you'll have no problem. as to upgrading to a 10 bolt...I have no clue, I'm guessing you would need the axle ,cv's, hubs, and maybe front drive shaft

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

I was talking about swapping third members out. I couldn't say for sure if the axles and CVs from an 84-86 troop would fit a LUV, I'd guess yes but they could have different lengths or something. If your LUV CVs and etc are not trashed you would not gain anything by swapping the stuff from the trooper, same size/strength stuff.

I did read a post quite a while back on one of the Isuzu boards where someone swapped out the 8 bolt parts from an 87 Trooper and put in a 10 bolt front end. It involved swapping nearly everything though. We're talking LCA, UCA, Spindles, axle tube, shafts, CVs, hubs, etc etc. This was a Trooper to Trooper swap though, and I know that just for starters the UCA and LCAs are different from the LUV even on the 8 bolt troops. That does not mean it absolutely would not fit, but it does make the odds slimmer. 87 Troopers are also a special year, Isuzu starting putting 10 bolt front ends under them mid year. They may have things setup to accept both fairly easy.

Say you want a 8 bolt of a trooper, what years would have the right third member?

Has anyone done this swap on their Luv? Doesnt MEPR have a bunch of upgrades?

For the Troopers ,the 84-early 87 have the 8-bolt front, direct swap for the thirds, and Yes I believe MEPR did this on both axles to get the Trooper's 4.56 gearing.

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

What is the rim size minimum to clear those discs and calipers?
The rear axle disc set I will use will only clear 15" rims!

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72 L.U.V.
427 SBC-700R4
SE 9-3/8 4P TracLoc, 6-lug rear discs,
custom rear leafs, custom made aluminum radiator,
Mustang II front suspension
LUV perf parts manufacturing
My Devotion to Karl :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmXc4F78 ... re=related

i am getting ready to start my luv project i'm putting an 89 rearend and trans so i can also use the driveline i hope it that easy haha

1okey2go...Have you decided what you are going to do about your truck's master cylinder and it's brake booster??

Don't you need to make sure the master cylinder in your truck is a disc brake one that will work properly with your front brakes - AND your new rear disk brake setup??

IMHO there is a HUGE difference between a drum brake master cylinder and a disc brake master cylinder. Mixing them up without making sure everything is gonna work right first just sounds like a really bad idea.

Blowing out a master cylinder, any wheel's brake cylinder...or having one or more of the rear or front brakes fail, fade, or grab more than the other can really rain on a person's parade - even a slow speeds on dry pavement with no traffic...lol

It's just a suggestion, but ya might wanna make darn sure it's all completely compatible so your truck stops properly and evenly without any problems when it is supposed to while you're at it.

Just my $.02 worth...