greggbrat

I have an extra EA82 motor that I am trying to sell. It has good compression just needs new head gaskets. Its in Denver. Let me know.

I am thinking of selling the brat now that it is restored.

Kudos to you! I am encouraged when I hear the "can do" attitude. I get reluctant to even ask questions, such as this one about a low range gear, on this board because it appears that most (not all) people respond with comments about how it cant be done.........or answer my questions by giving only the popular way to do something. If I can simply find a few people that are interested in making this happen then we make a small brain trust to accomplish the goal.

Everyone wants to argue with the numbers I pulled out of the various owners manuals printed by Fuji Heavy Industries. Call Japan and argue with them.

I did some research about the gearing of the various trannys and came up with the following. Unfortunately I dont think you will get enough from any of these trannys to push 31" tires. Year ............................1st ........2nd ......3rd ......4th .........5th .......Rev .....4wd low 1982 D/R.....................3.636.....1.950....1.193....0.769.................3.583....1.462 1982 Brat D/R..............3.636.....1.950....1.266....0.885.................3.583....1.462 1983-1988 4dr/RX ......3.545.....2.111....1.448....1.088....0.871....3.416....1.196 1983-1988 Wagon........3.545....1.947 ....1.366....0.972....0.780....3.416....1.592

I would be happy to spend $500 for a 4:1 low range gear......I could manage the rest of the work myself. Hence why this post is titled "Any machinists up for a challenge". I believe the tranny gears could handle the extra torque as long as you treat it gently. Anyone who has experience with rock crawling already knows that slow and steady keeps things from breaking. With a 4:1 low gear ratio I could probably keep up with most of the Jeeps out on the trail. My brat has great clearance, great traction and reasonable articulation. It just needs more power to crawl slowly.....ie lower gears.

And the advantage of changing the low range gear is that it only requires a single change........assuming it can be made to fit in the limited space inside the transaxle.

That presents another problem in that the highway gearing would probably be too low. The high range on my brat is fine......cruising the interstate at 75mph in 5th gear hits about 2800 rpm. With 5.xxx gears the car might be limited to about 55mph. Hence the better bet is to change the low range gear or regear the entire tranny with first gear being a granny gear with a ratio of about 6:1.

4.11 gears still are not low enough. Something in the 5 plus range would be required to make it worthwhile.

Finally a "can do" kind of guy. What did you have in mind? Are you looking at upgrading the ring/pinion alone? Or perhaps the low range? If you are planning on changing the ring/pinion then do you also have ideas for the rear?

If I want cheap I will get a 1974 or newer scout.......go anywhere and really easy to build.

The divorced transfer case requires a very large lift kit and lots of fab work. The time and expense is much more than I have. It might be time to sell the brat and get something better for off roading.

I would like to put a 4:1 gear to replace the low range gear in my 5sp D/R. Are there any machinists out here that might be up for the challenge of making one?

I made the whole red cone pass without a tow.......it was going up the final stretch of Radical Hill that I just didnt have the gearing or power. I also managed to take it through Slaughter House gulch a few weeks ago. The lack of power is just killing any concept of real rock crawling.

I have been 4 wheeling on the toughest trails in Colorado in a Jeep, a Scout and a Toyota 4 Runner. I think I know how to drive. I managed to overheat the clutch a few times trying to get up these hills in the brat...........the clutch cant handle it. I start up the hill at about 4000 RPM's on level ground hoping to keep the RPMS up for when I hit the steep parts........I make it about 100 yards before the power gives out and I come to a complete stop.