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New to the forum

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:59 pm
by pwcgwynedd
Hi....Newbie here.
I'm looking for a anus for getting my jetski to the beach (my peugeot 407 is great at getting stuck in the sand!!), and I'm hearing good things about the SJ's...So I thought I'd sign up here, and find out what I need to know.

Oh....And Happy New Year :doublethumbs:

Re: New to the forum

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:12 pm
by turbo-tom
welcome to the club :D ,

someone else will be able to shed light on about buying a sj then me :lol: :lol:

, the rearfloor/arches rot quiet bad , normally the chassis are rot free , check bottom of doors etc for rot

try and get one with the 1,6 8v converstion , or 16v even better :brows:

but mechanically wise there pretty good , and there is no ecus to drown in water and kill

go up and down the gears in the gearbox and play around with the transfere box but not at high speeds :lol:

if there is a knob pull it , if there is a switch flick it :lol:

Re: New to the forum

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:51 pm
by ScottieJ
:welcome: to :S:cuk

As tom says the main thing to look out for is rust, look everywhere, under carpets as well if they are still fitted. The hardest area to fix is behind the seats where the floor raises around the body mounts both inside and underneath, if this area is rotton on the underneath then you either need to be able to weld or expect a big repair bill. You need to lift the body off the chassis to repair this area, not that hard but quite time consuming.

Also I'd take a jack and jack up each wheel to check for movement in any wheel or kingpin bearings and to see if the bearings sound rough when the wheel is spun. All bargaining points £30 per wheel bearing to replace and about £50 for a set of kingpin bearings + labour if you can't do it yourself

Check for smoke, knocks or rattles on start up and make sure the engine has not been warmed up before you got there (a sign the owner might be trying to hide something)

Check for oil leaks near the dizzy on the back if the engine, put your fingers around underneath the fuel pump you'll feel a hole, if oil is coming out of there then it needs a new fuel pump about £100 for a genuine one but after market ones are cheaper.
Check around all the diff and transferbox flanges for oil leaks, could be caused by failing bearings. Check propshafts for play in the U-joints and slip yokes.

Most of all take it for a good drive, they don't handle like a sports car but they should drive straight and true with no wobbles, maybe a small amount of bump steer under heavy braking but overall it should handle well and be easy to drive. There should not be any loud whines (a few small ones maybe) or big clunks during gear changes etc.

As with all old cars just give it a good thorough checking over.

Hope that helps

Re: New to the forum

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 6:07 pm
by ROBBIE
hello :welcome: to the forum hope you find a good 1 :doublethumbs:

Re: New to the forum

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:45 pm
by rgonzobull
Hi and welcome! My advise if you have never driven one is test drive as many as you can before you buy. Don't be put off by the first you try or see. This will give you an idea of the way they handle and how the various modifications affect them. As well as all the above advise given by others. Good luck in finding a good one you like