Please Educate Me Regarding Suzuki Samurai Kind People...

I would keep an eye out for rust. A lot of the Samurais are beat on pretty hard as well. The cheap ones are the worst.

My Samurai is a 1.6 with EFI. It will run 65 with no problem. At 70 it's turning pretty hard, but there isn't much to see on the interstate anyways and if I'm in a hurry, I'm driving something else. As far as off road capable, I've never managed to get mine stuck.

With locked differentials and 33" tires it's pretty much unstopable, but it's not very fun to drive on the street. I'm sitting on 29" tires and YJ springs now, it goes everywhere I need and is very drivable on the street.

The TracKicks will be more street friendly and less off road capable, but are still pretty good vehicles. I've been tempted to pick up a 4 door. The Samurai has one advantage, they are stupid simple and easy to work on.

They are tiny. I'm 6'2" and 280. It's not cramped, but it certainly isn't roomy.

Plan on changing the seats. The Samurai seats suck. I'm using Neon seats that are pretty comfortable.

The main reason I stick with the Samurai over the Jeeps is fuel economy. I'm getting 28-30 MPG with the Samruai. A Cherokee wouldn't be even close.

So keep an eye out for rust and abuse for the most part.

I'd love to find one and drop in a small diesel.

My mom has a 4 door sidekick.it was great til it wasn't, apparently they have a super annoying timing problem that's hard to figure out.....I think it's gonna be dropped in my lap soon lol

Jeez guys, he's asking about sammis. Rust! Seriously. These rust as bad as a Porsche 356 ( which means serious) Upside is that as long as ypu can get the panels, panel replacement is easy. Easiest I've ever done. Engine is the weak link. No power. Swap out a larger 4 banger. These can't be compared to many other 4x4s as they are smaller. They are great off road due to their size. If you want to have a 4x4 discussion, I'd be glad to. If we are talking stock, then Land Rover over Land Cruiser over early 4runner over Jeep. Yada yada yada....

markwemple wrote: Jeez guys, he's asking about sammis. Rust! Seriously. These rust as bad as a Porsche 356 ( which means serious) Upside is that as long as ypu can get the panels, panel replacement is easy. Easiest I've ever done. Engine is the weak link. No power. Swap out a larger 4 banger. These can't be compared to many other 4x4s as they are smaller. They are great off road due to their size. If you want to have a 4x4 discussion, I'd be glad to. If we are talking stock, then Land Rover over Land Cruiser over early 4runner over Jeep. Yada yada yada....

Also if rust is an issue where you live you can just plunk down the money for an aqualu aluminum body for the samurai for $4k.

In reply to MrChaos:

Those aluminum bodies appear to be for the soft tops. I'm looking for a tin top model.

I have a 1.3 carbed JDM model. I took it up to top speed yesterday, a blazing 100kph. This on 31x10.5 MTs though.

Works well for an offroad toy, common problems are easy to take care of, but your enemy is RUST. Samurais are some of the most rust-prone vehicles ever made, and are often used in conditions that accelerate the rust.

One nasty problem Samurai owners need to look out for but few know about is replacement of steering linkages. This is one area where there are no affordable fixes, you either need to drop big bucks on new parts or scrounge around for decent used ones which still draw a premium. Most of the rod-ends in the stock steering linkages are built into the linkage and non-replaceable. Going to aftermarket steering linkages just for maintenance reasons might not be a bad idea.

Supposedly the tin top models are much more tippy.when I was looking into them I was told to steer clear

Apparently a soft top with a hard top replacement is far less top heavy

In reply to GameboyRMH:

I think past 31's you need to go to OTT steering just to keep the geometry correct anyway.

just out of curiosity, a question hit me earlier. The hot setup seems to be the 1.6 litre engine. Is there a 2.0 that fits just as easily?

In reply to mad_machine:

Define easy. The 1.6 is almost a direct bolt in(adapter kit + wiring harness modification is $500) and almost doubles the power if 1.3->1.6 16v. You can go to the 2.0 J20 or the 2.3 but that triples the kit cost. You can also go with the complete 22r/re drivetrain swap and you can go with the GM 4.3. You can also go rotary if you are into that sort of thing. Plenty of rotary samurai's in the Caribbean.

You can also swap in the VW TDI, but that's a pretty high dollar swap.

Toyman01 wrote: You can also swap in the VW TDI, but that's a pretty high dollar swap.

mostly the engine itself though. The 1.9tdi's run $2k before the $800 for the full mechanical fuel pump.

MrChaos wrote: In reply to mad_machine: Define easy. The 1.6 is almost a direct bolt in(adapter kit + wiring harness modification is $500) and almost doubles the power if 1.3->1.6 16v. You can go to the 2.0 J20 or the 2.3 but that triples the kit cost. You can also go with the complete 22r/re drivetrain swap and you can go with the GM 4.3. You can also go rotary if you are into that sort of thing. Plenty of rotary samurai's in the Caribbean.

From what I've seen, All of those swaps except the 1.6L require a 3" or greater lift. So on top of the higher swap cost you need to include a lift + wheels & tires. Looks like the 1.6L is the way to go.

Which vehicles had the 16v 1.6L engine?

My auntie and uncle in the U.P. had one for a good while. My aunt thought it was cute, so my uncle went ahead and bought it. Brought it home and put a SBC engine in it, lift kit and I don't remember what else.

It only ever saw trail duty. And if you asked him how he liked it, he would only say "it hasn't been stuck yet", which translates to "it's really nice for a foreign piece of E36 M3".

I'd like to own one some day.

secretariata wrote:

MrChaos wrote: In reply to mad_machine: Define easy. The 1.6 is almost a direct bolt in(adapter kit + wiring harness modification is $500) and almost doubles the power if 1.3->1.6 16v. You can go to the 2.0 J20 or the 2.3 but that triples the kit cost. You can also go with the complete 22r/re drivetrain swap and you can go with the GM 4.3. You can also go rotary if you are into that sort of thing. Plenty of rotary samurai's in the Caribbean.

From what I've seen, All of those swaps except the 1.6L require a 3" or greater lift. So on top of the higher swap cost you need to include a lift + wheels & tires. Looks like the 1.6L is the way to go. Which vehicles had the 16v 1.6L engine?

Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara/Geo Tracker 96 and newer 2 door and all 4 doors except some really early ones. 1.6 usually require a 3/4 to 1 in body lift to clear the hood.

Keep in mind the 1.6L will also cut into your upward suspension travel because of how tall the block is. You'll need extended bump stops to keep the front axle from hitting the oil pan.

In reply to secretariata:

You don't have to do the suspension lift. You can do a oil pan and pick up swap off of the 1.3. The 1.3 pan has a smaller sump for the solid axle.

It's not a bolt on swap, but is documented.

^Good point, forgot about that one. IIRC it doesn't completely eliminate the interference but greatly reduces it, am I right?

Edit: BTW, another cool engine mod, one I'm considering myself, is to put the G13BB head on the G13A block. No suspension or engine accessory mods needed, but wiring and fuel system mods will be. That'll give you 16-valves with a single cam and EFI with distributorless ignition.

GameboyRMH wrote: ^Good point, forgot about that one. IIRC it doesn't completely eliminate the interference but greatly reduces it, am I right?

I think it also depends on whose engine mounts you use as some like the ZOR one drops the engine 2 inches to clear the hood without a lift. For a 1.6 swap use a hybrid pan below a 2.5 inch lift 1.6 at 3inches or higher

GameboyRMH wrote: ^Good point, forgot about that one. IIRC it doesn't completely eliminate the interference but greatly reduces it, am I right? Edit: BTW, another cool engine mod, one I'm considering myself, is to put the G13BB head on the G13A block. No suspension or engine accessory mods needed, but wiring and fuel system mods will be. That'll give you 16-valves with a single cam and EFI with distributorless ignition.

The G13BB was only available in the US in the 1998 to 2001 Geo/Chevy Metro and Suzuki swift so stupid hard to find, where as the g16 in both 8v and 16v were available from 1989 to 2000.

MrChaos wrote: The G13BB was only available in the US in the 1998 to 2001 Geo/Chevy Metro and Suzuki swift so stupid hard to find, where as the g16 in both 8v and 16v were available from 1989 to 2000.

They are abundant pretty much everywhere else, but the G16 16V head is essentially the same head. The differences are the intake port shape to accommodate the injectors, so the intake has to go with the head in most cases. The 1.6 intake is by far the better choice, in part due to the TB being bigger. The TB on the 1.3 is only 40 mm, although you can find a bolt on swap 45 on some Esteems. The 1.6 cam has 5 degrees more duration, but the same lift as the 1.3 cam, and is also a better choice.

Ok, I'd "found" several tintops within a couple hour drive and they all vanished or won't respond to their requested contact format, so potentially moving on...

What's an early '90's 4runner with a 3.0 v-6, manual trans, 4x4, 4 door, bad paint, no serious rust, and 200k miles that won't start worth? Sounds like the engine turns over but won't fire. Advertiser (because I'm no longer certain that they are actually "sellers" on CL) is asking $1500, but I'm thinking half that if the engine actually turns over. Some brief searching seems to indicate several possible problems that are fairly common and easily fixed such as bad fuel pump, bad ECU, bad grounds, bad coil, bad starter or solenoid (I doubt but who knows). I think I'm gonna try and see it in a couple of days, but would like some input from the hive...

In reply to secretariata:

Look at trackers/sidekicks as well.

In reply to MrChaos:

Got my eye on a couple of the early '90's 4 door sidekicks, but they both are a 3 hour drive (and in opposite directions) while the 4runner is less than 30 minutes from home.

In reply to secretariata:

My favorites are the 2door tin top sidekick

the want is strong