the no dosh LJ revamp

[donkeychomp]

She has a Vit lump Andy. And a new...well, new when I put it in, rad. Runs A1 all the time but this summer is a belter and is causing issues lol.

[Rabid Rhino]

Oil Cooler ?
My LHD LJ160 spent 15 years in the South of Portugal as a farm work truck in blistering summer temperatures pulling tillers and carting 100s of kilos of fruit in the summer heat which is picking time.
It still has its 1300 rad from 20 years ago when it was built by Leigh, the same guy who built yours.
End of April it spent a long weekend rock crawling at Zuwharrie in North Carolina. 85-95F (hi 20s - low 30s C) I remember summers in the UK when your shoes would stick to the pavement but this heat when you combine it with the humidity is unbearable and just gets worse the further South you go. Why & how people live there is beyond me. With a 4.1:1 tcase & 5.1:1 diffs on 33 speed isn't it's forte so the air hardly rushes through the cooler & rad. Despite that the Temp gauge stayed in the middle all weekend long.

Complete oil cooler kit from Demon Tweeks.
Smaller oil filter to fit the sandwich plate & clear the chassis is from a Renault. Can't remember which. I spent ages at the motor factors opening boxes to see what would fit. I must change it as don't know how long it's been on the car. Same goes for the oil.

My UK RHD LJ160 did have some overheating issues when the rad became blocked and the fins all bent over from jet washing at muddy off road sites. I did suggest to Leigh about fitting a Vitara rad but he always said it was too big a unit and job to install plus the 1300 rad was more than upto the task. I got him to put a decent used one in there & he was right. No more overheating. (Look at all the Sammis crawling in AZ, NM, NV & CA with stock rads)

I read about the issues you've had & I can't relate. I drove my LJ from Romford to Tong & back twice. (once for Rhino Rally) I even drove it to France a couple of times with Raging Rhinos to the 5 Pilliers cave system & Circuit du Ravine. To offroad it "locally", near Brands was 40 miles each way, which it did most months. Never let me down. When it needed work, it was over a 200 mile round trip to Leigh's & back home. Seeing as he built it he was the only one I trusted it with.
Great rig with some extra trick bits from LA SupaTrux.

[donkeychomp]

Not sure how to reply to that as you offered no solution at all lol. I have flushed the rad out twice and the fins are fine, it is as new condition. Added a smidge more coolant but she still overheats but only if I give her the beans. Now suspecting there is something more afoot. She also sometimes stutters and feels like conking out on full welly, but only sometimes. Not sure about what Lee says but when the vit rad arrives I will make it fit and will go from there.

[Jordi]

Mine always ran hot on the standard sj rad Alex.

Swapped to a vit rad and cured most of the issues. Only time it really warms up now is when it fills with mud.

I know it doesn’t get used much but when i do take it out tends to do 50 to 70miles of laning a day with it.

Swap the rad and see what happens, worked for me.

[donkeychomp]

Yes mate I know that's the answer. Hopefully the new rad will get here tomorrow.

[Rabid Rhino]

Eh ?
Well I'm glad I was at least able to make you "lol"
I assumed your fins were fine and your radiator clean as for all your pics, I haven't seen any of it off-roading or on long journeys, just broken down or parked up on the roadside, locally, like a pavement princess. ;p (Oh no I didn't ! That's an extra laugh at no extra charge)
Seriously, this thread is sooo long, says the guy writing a novel here, but did keep to bullet points on his own build thread. It's tough to keep up with what's gone over almost 4 years with a lot of non-build related posts, so please forgive me if I missed you checking the rad. I've been meaning to ask if you could redo this thread from beginning doing away with all the "piglets" which I lost track of and just concentrating on the vehicles individually, one at a time.
If no new thread, how about an update summary recap at the top of each page at integers of 10, starting at page 60. I'll try to get you there.

Joking and teasing aside, back to the topic.....
You said your engine was overheating, which I also experienced in my RHD UK LJ over 18 years ago, when Vitara parts were expensive. My "solution" in 1998 was to fit a later bigger core 1300 rad as I had no dosh then for a Vitara rad and it was a straight swap.
I didn't take any chances in 2001 when I bought my LHD LJ for the South of Portugal so I fitted the bolt on oil cooler as soon as I got the car. I thought: Cooler oil = cooler engine.
This being the "no dosh" build, my oil cooler "solution" was, at the time cheaper. It may be out of date now, compared to Vitara rad prices but I think it's still "cool". It certainly still keeps mine ... cool ? (Said in an Austin Powers/Dr. Evil way)

You say I "offered no solution" ? I think I offered 3 in 1. Both an easier bolt on & cheaper not to mention alternative solution to cutting up your car, seeing as the 1,300 rads work in Samurais with the 1,600 and even 2,000 & 2,300 engine conversions. The radiator does seem to be up to the job, if you get the right one with the larger cores. It's worked on all the other LJ160s Leigh's built.
I went as far as to point you and others reading this, in the direction for the hard to find substitute stubby Renault oil filter required to clear the chassis once the oil cooler's sandwich plate is fitted. Another "solution" for a "solution". I've lost count of so many solutions.
I even backed it up with my personal experience explaining how my engine has stayed and hopefully continues to stays cool in much hotter climates under heavy load and has remained reliable so hopefully you could see my "solution" should be more than capable in the UK which is actually cooler than the other 2 climates mine has experienced. I just stated my factual experiences.

Leigh has been building Suzukis for over a quarter of a century. In the last 20 years that I've known him I've bought 2 of these LJs & an 8" jacked up Vitara off him. Many times I've tried my own improvements on his designs and workmanship, against his advice and almost always have gone back to how it was originally done by him. Expensive mistakes, but I've finally learnt. I say "almost always" as my oil cooler idea is one of the few still working. I'm stubborn and much as I hate defeat I have to admit he's tried and tested these things for years and does seem to know what works best.

I like this thread because it's an LJ and I'm looking forward to seeing you fit the Vitara rad. If it works I may follow & I'll let Leigh know. I just cringe at the though of you cutting up the front of such a clean straight shell.

If you read all this, well done. I've probably written as much on 1 topic as the previous 58 pages. I'm just passionate about these vehicles.

Now stop wasting time on the internet & get on with fitting your Vitara rad ! I want to see how it goes in.

[Rabid Rhino]

Jordi: You have a Vitara Rad ? In an LJ160 ? Pics please. Want to see how you got it to fit and how it works.

[donkeychomp]

Puts down War and Peace and gets Mr Angry out.

[Jordi]

Jordi: You have a Vitara Rad ? In an LJ160 ? Pics please. Want to see how you got it to fit and how it works.

It’s in my Samurai. Quite a few of us found running the 1.6 especially at low speed and low revs the standard 1.3 rad and viscous fan wasn’t enough to stop them boiling up.

Swapped to a vit rad and it solved all the problems, a few people also run electric fans to keep constant air flowing.

[donkeychomp]

Parcel left with a neighbour when I got home. Yay! Then...Nay! It's a bloody SJ rad they sent.