Hi there

[Gaz6oy]

Hi everyone im gaz from kent just brought myself my first sj needs a few bits doin to tidy her up abit, she is running a 1.6 vitara engine feels gutless as anything tho, its got a spoa conversion plus lifted shackles which i think it dont need as the tyres will never rub as there seems to be no movement on the springs, the wipers also dont work cant seem to figure out why and how u meant to get to the motor is it a dash out job or can i liven up one of the cables to power direct to the motor to see if its working, as u can tell im new to the sjs and been out of off roading for few years and need a few pointers and tips and hopefully make the most out of my new little toy,

[ROBBIE]

Hi to :suzuki:Nice looking SJ. If its a soft top lower the screen onto the bonnet and up pops the wiper motor and yeah the shackles need to go

[dan_2k_uk]

Welcome.

Bin off those shackles and get it as low as you can without the tyres scrubbing the arches.

Standard shackles are around 70mm centers if the lifted ones are suitable for chopping down.

[dan_2k_uk]

With regards to the engine being gutless would need to know what engine it it.

There is a carb or SPI 8v or the MPFI 16v.

Would guess from the age of the truck its probably.got the 8v SPI but you never know.

[Gaz6oy]

Thanks for the replys guys, it has got calamini lift shackles on the front and its a bit lively on the road, is there any way of cuttin those down abit or make some new ones out of some 6mm plate, the engine i was told was a 1.6 vitara engine must be a 8v running a su carb which also rubs on the bonnet

[twiss]

its easy to tell your engine type from the rocker cover

8v:

vit8v.jpg (137.6 KiB) Viewed 5635 times

16v:

suzuki-vitara-engine-3.jpg (50.86 KiB) Viewed 5635 times

There is also an ali rocker cover (not painted like the 8v one above) from a suzuki swift that can be put on the 8v head
Its got small ridges on it like the 16v rocker cover but it doesn't say "16 valve" on it

[Gaz6oy]

By the looks of it its a 8v

[Rhinoman]

8V with SU carb, I'd start by checking the jetting and the ignition timing, set up correctly it should go well.

[twiss]

Might be worth checking what needle and spring is in the carb though.
For a 1.6 vit engine you should have a BFM needle and a yellow spring (colour usually painted on one end of the spring)
Also make sure there is oil in the dashpot. Proper SU damper oil is recommended. You can use a bit of 3-in-1 if you have nothing else but it won't change viscosity correctly as it warms up.

[Anton]

Nice SJ! Hope you get your engine going properly!