Suzuki Club UK

hi
SJs are great little motors as said sick some better tyres on and it will tack you everywhere
look after it and it will look after you

to :S:cuk matey! very good choice in motor, can't beat the 970cc lump it just goes on and on and on! better than the 1.3 IMO anyway! as said just stick some mud terrains on it and go have fun, I ran my 410 with 2" lift and 31" tyres for years, it was awesome off-road (minus non existent engine breaking) and a little slow up hills on road but it never let me down and showed up a lot of bigger and more modified vehicles!

Scott keeps going on about the 1.0 engine being awesome, but he's put a 1600 in which is basically the same as the 1.3 engine anyway

twiss wrote:Scott keeps going on about the 1.0 engine being awesome, but he's put a 1600 in which is basically the same as the 1.3 engine anyway

It was a logical progression, I missed out the crap one! it might be the same but mine has 300ccs more and more torques!

plus I had to run the 1600 for my dual transfer boxes

An injected 1.3 will outperform a 1.0 any day of the week! The 1.3 engine's are great! It's just let down by that blasted Aisin carb!

twiss wrote:An injected 1.3 will outperform a 1.0 any day of the week! The 1.3 engine's are great! It's just let down by that blasted Aisin carb!

nah the 1.3s are a good engine, the 970s just rev better and are almost bomb proof, that's why i love them! you can abuse them all day long everyday and they'll take it!

Ok now, I've been reading about things to look out for when buying an SJ, things like rust, whining transmission/transfer case etc. What other things you guys think need extra attention when buying one of these? Things most prone to damage previous owner's misuse/neglect, things that in your experience have a tendency to break off just when you need them??

Gimme a sec I will write a list

Only things on mine I've had problems with are bodywork (both from rust and a crash), rust/dirt in my petrol tank and a broken alternator bracket (which I've now replaced with help from SCUK's very own Dom. )

Look at:

Rust -
down in the front footwells, water can drip down the side walls if seals are gone
rear footwells
rear corners (i.e. underneath where the fuel filler hose is)
underneath the sills, try and get a look under the plastic sill covers cos they hide a lot of rust
rust under the bonnet in the front corners near the headlights
around the wheel arches

Engine -
Look for oil at the back of the engine, normally all over the top of the gearbox. (probably a distributor/fuel pump oil seal)
Check for lots of white gunk in the oil cap
If it idles really high the carb may need rebuilding/replacing
Check the radiator isn't full of mud, this can show it's been off roaded and not necessarily cleaned properly
Make sure the starter doesn't make any funny noises when you crank it over

Transmission -
Check to see if it goes into all gears alright. Otherwise it may have been run low on gear oil
Check the transfer box goes in and out of the gears ok
turn a corner... not quite tight enough for full lock. try it in 2wd and 4wd. if there's a lot of clicking from the front axle that could be CV joints going. make sure you don't drive far in 4wd on the road though. few feet is ok
If the vehicle has free wheeling hubs make sure they are set to "LOCK" before you test the CVs
Give the propshafts a wiggle, if they move a lot then they will need replacing
Check the diff flanges that the props attach to... if they're leaking oil its basically a diff rebuild jobby
Make sure there's no oil on the front hubs

Brakes -
Fronts are normally pretty good... rears I would check the backing plate to make sure there's no fluid leakage.
Make sure the handbrake works... pull the handbrake up, and if it's a cable that splits into 2 NOT on the back axle, the splitter should show if one of the brakes is working more than the other

Steering -
Don't normally have problems with steering just make sure there isnt a huge amount of play

erm can't think of anything else off the top of my head....