Hello to all. a few months back i posted a message that surprisingly, trackfinder are back to work-and producing diff locks (automatic kind) for the sporty. no one even bothered to comment or post a reply.

well-as it turns out-they didnt bother to comment either. emails were not responded etc. so, frustrated, i went to an institute that specialises in trading with korea (hyundai is a top selling brand here-so is samsung ) and asked for help (im a journalist, its useful) and a few days later they got on the phone with a korean speaking translator (hey-this isnt the USA- we dont have many koreans over here). as it turns out after a long conversation which was translated from korean to english to hebrew (hey-im saving you the hebrew part)-Trackfinder went bankrupt and was purchased-and still has some unpurchased lockers. the price is equivalent to 600$ for a rear 28 spline locker and 700$ for front.

As usual-shipment is the real problem here-but there is a solution- an easy one- I have a friend who works for hyundai and travels to korea every 2 months. and this is the good part- he called me a short time ago -
he just bought 4 diff locks and will bring them here in 1 month. (why four? because that is all he can fit in his suitcase)

I realy dont want to jinks it- and i really hope that this is for real - i am eagerly waiting for my locker to arrive. i will keep you posted.

i would be interested in the front. the question is ur saying dif lock now are we talking spool or limited slip

Neither.

It is a Lockrite style locker

DAMKIA is right-this is not a limited slip diff-its a locking rear diff-similar in action to a lockright or a noslip

wow you guys really pay alot for a locker for these things. I just dont see paying that kinda money for a drop in style locker. In my opinion you would be money ahead to swap the entire axle to something stronger that already has a locker available for it.

That sounds great. So is there an option to keep these items in production by the new owner or has that part of the company folded?

Do you know if they have the elusive 5.38 ring and pinions still available as well as their winch mount bull bars etc.?

Cheers, Chris

It will cost a lot more than $600 to do that for the rear. You would have to regear what ever axle you find. Gears (If you can find the ratio)and setting them up will run way more than $600.

here are the answers-as given to me by my guy in korea

1.yes-they have diff lockers and they are currently in production. however- they only produce for the facelifted sporty- 1999-2003. no lockers for 1994-1998 26 spline axle. rear 28 spline diff lock is 600$. front diff lock is 430$- but it requires a special fitting process (sorry guys- i dont know what that means- my mechanic, who is a kia dealer and has a garage and owns a sporty with front and rear diff lockers that he purchased from trackfinder 6 years ago says that you need to do a small gringing of the housing or it will mess with he steering, or something like that......). for 700$ they will send you a complete front axle with diff lock already fitted. prices do not include shipment, tax and what not.

2. they dont make the diff ratios. thats another company. same for extended front forks that i really really wanted.


3. as for all the guys that sent me a pm and asked for one- sorry guys, but im not in the parts selling buisness- and im not in this for the money- all the lockers were pre-promised to my friends. and btw-why buy a600$ diff lock from a guy in israel? shipment alone will be really expensive. it does not make sense. why not contact these people and try to place an order?

oh- as for replacing the diff...i tried. the only option is a re building the sporty with 2 live axles from whichever manufacturer that you might want (ah....my dream...my 11 month old daughter, and strict rules regarding modifications prevent me from doing that)- not possible. regarding the price- i didnt put the price tag on the part- i just discovered it. for you 600$ is expensive-but over here, due to high taxes my sprty is currently worth about 11000$ blue book value. (yes, life here sucks, i know, we also tend to complain a lot... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />).

Website with pics of Sportage on front page.
Trackfinder



Wish some one from here knew Korean to translate for us.

ALL will be taken care of soon. im trying to establish some sort of contact with these guys but their english is worse than mine. as far as i can understand my contact, they have some religious holliday right now-and it will take a week before they come back.

I do believe that the only problem with exporting the diff locks to USA is the language barrier. after all- for them the US must be a very big market. lets face it-the sporty is not a vitara (sidekick) - i dont know how many are even left in korea...so they must be a very small factory.

If someone will be able to get to them and exlain the potential- they will probably lower the cost of the locker and the shipment. think of the demand....they are the only sportage auto locker manufacturer in the world!

as i said- for your benefit- im really trying to establish an english speaking contact