Buying a Samurai...

[funkle95]

Hey everyone, so I've been looking aroung this forum and a few other Suzuki forums and Zuwharrie seems to be the best one out there! I'm a jeep owner now, but the gas is killing me and I'm just ready for something a bit different. So I have decided to sell the XJ and pick up a Samurai. My question is, what are some common things I should keep my eyes peeled for when inspecting a used Samurai? I know there must be certain problem areas that commonly wear out or fail, as there is with most makes and models (Like XJs and their crappy rear main seals!). I would appreciate any help I can get in making this purchase as I intend on daily driving this truck and lightly wheeling it, and potentially having it for a long time. Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks for a great forum!

[ack]

Look for rust.  Rustbelt trucks are often just that - rust.

Check the crankshaft accessory pulley for any play.  People/mechanics (sorry for the mechanic slur -  but they are out there screwing things up on a regular basis when it comes to Samurais) have a habit of trying to (as opposed to usng the FSM for the proper proceedure) remove the crankshaft bolt while trying to change the timing belt. This often "effs" up the keyway causing the timing to go bad.  If allowed to go unfixed, the crankshaft ends up needing to be replaced.

The transfer case will sometimes appear to be "locked up" requiring the truck to be sold at an obscenely low price.  If everything else appears only nominally worn, BUY IT!  The t-case fix is less than 15 bucks!

Most of these trucks - if untouched - need engine work.  The capacitors in the ECM get leaky and cause ECM failure.  You can fix this yourself - or have someone on the forums fix it for you - for a nominal fee.

Bad grounding causes al kinds of whacky problems.  Most can be solved by cleaning up all ground connections - black wires bolted to metal.

You may need to replace the entire set of vacuum hoses on the Hitachi carb.  3 feet of hose from the auto part store can take care of that.

Finally, if the engine is isn't too worn out (Compression test is 150 or more on the cylinders) you might consider a new carburetor (assuming it is equipped with a carb - later models had Throttle-body fuel injection).  Although the Weber DGAx 32/36 is popular ( I have one), more folks are switching to a sidedraft Harly carb setup called the MY-Side from Zuks Offroad.  It offers better offroad performance and aftermarket service as the carbs used are widely available at Harley dealers and bike shops.  Putting a new carb on a worn-out engine is not gonna make it run like new.  There are more than a few post on these forums about folks whining because their new carb didn't magically make their engine problems go away.

Oh and don't forget to check out Ack's FAQ. See link in signature, below...

[bossgobbler]

I am a jeep owner (TJ) as well that is currently switching to a sammy. Much cheaper to run and maintain.

If your not in a big hurry, I would try and find a fuel injected model unless you are familiar with working on carbs. They can big a big headache, although I do hear great things about the my-side(harley carb) setup that ack was refering to.

One with a hardtop is nice too, but can be hard to find.

Look at some of the sammy's for sale on here. They are cheaper than you could buy a stock model and build one for. May have to travel to pick it up, but it would be worth it. If I didn't already buy a stock sammy and start building mine, I would purchase one of the one's for sale on this board. Would have saved me a ton of time and money.

[ARGALI]

If you get a Samurai, make sure the rear end (axle/differential) has no slip in it. This can be very expensive and make offroad a pain due to the delay in take-off because of slipping. The More little things already fixed will save you cash and time. The Clicky Starter Fix is key. Bigger alternator to run a winch. Check Transfer Case for it's Transfer Case Arm and Mounts, these can get warped. The More already done to it, will obviously save you money in you having to do the upgrades. I would find one that someone who has already put some time beefing it up has worked on. It'll get you out on the trails faster and keep more money in your pocket.

[funkle95]

Ok so I should be on the lookout for rust, which isn't uncommon on vehicles this age. I don't live in the rustbelt though so there should be a few rustfree examples. Is the factory carb completely unreliable? I have found quite a few Samurais with all factory engines, is it worth the risk, or would I be better off to try to find one with a webber or My-Side carb? On that subject, if I were to purchase one with a factory carb, what kind of price range am I looking at for the My-Side, or Webber carb conversion?

  I guess I may also be looking at replacing alot of wiring and vaccuum lines? I kind of expected this, and replacing the vaccuum is no big deal, but as far as the wiring goes is it usualyy just the grounds that need help, or is there any other common electrical gremlins that I may encounter?

  I have found a couple modified Samurais in my area, and I'm worried about buying a previously abused one, do they hold up to heavy wheeling alright? Also, alot of them around here have very large tires, like 33" or 34" tires. Even with proper gearing, how badly will this hurt fuel mileage? My initial build plan was for a small 2-3" lift and 30" tires max. What type of mileage could I expect with that setup?

  Sorry for all the questions, but I want to be as informed as possible before making this purchase. Thanks again for everyones fast responses and useful info!

[jaunty]

I have 30" tires with 4.16 t-case gearing and am getting 20-25 MPGs.  The stock sammy should get a few more mpgs (25-30).  Fuel injected ones i hear get a little better, too. 

I found a rig that somebody put a lot of money into so i was ok with spending the extra grand or so to get an already modified samurai that included RRO SPOA welded on, new AT 30x9.5 tires, custom roll bar, rebuilt engine etc etc etc.  If your set on doing everything yourself you'll end up spending because stock samurais don't go for too cheap anymore.  seems like they are going for an arm and a leg lately.  I looked for 3 years though so just keep searchin!

put your t-case in neutral and shift the tranny through the gears and listen for bearings, they'll be loud if need replacing.  rear tranny tail seal and distributor cap leaks are common and very easy to fix. 

[funkle95]

20-25 mpg on 30s huh? That's not bad at all. About what I was hoping I could get. I imagine rigs with larger tires than that like 33s or larger would be getting something like 15-20 mpg? That's not really enough of an improvement over the Jeep (14/18). 20-25 sounds great though. I think I'm slowly starting to love these little suzukis. And I don't even have one yet!

[bossgobbler]

Is the factory carb completely unreliable? I have found quite a few Samurais with all factory engines, is it worth the risk, or would I be better off to try to find one with a webber or My-Side carb? On that subject, if I were to purchase one with a factory carb, what kind of price range am I looking at for the My-Side, or Webber carb conversion?

  I guess I may also be looking at replacing alot of wiring and vaccuum lines? I kind of expected this, and replacing the vaccuum is no big deal, but as far as the wiring goes is it usualyy just the grounds that need help, or is there any other common electrical gremlins that I may encounter?

This depends on who you ask. A lot of people have had great success with the factory carb. If you switch from the factory carb for the weber or my-side, you will be pulling a ton of vacuum lines, ecm, and other emmission control parts off the engine/manifold.  You will be shocked at how it looks under the hood when you switch from the factory carb to weber or my-side. Since you are in Florida like me, you shouldn't need to worry about passing emmissions. In my opinion, pulling all that extra crap off when removing the stock carb eliminates a lot of potential problems.

Here are links to costs for both webers and my-sides for the sammy. 

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/samengine.htm

I would think that most people running carbs on this board would recommend the my-side, but people on here do have success with the weber as well, but the concensus seems to be on webers that they are harder to get the correct mixture tuned properly and have problems when running at steap inclines or declines(depending on wether you mount the weber forwards or backwards).

If you do a search for carbs, my-side, harley carb, weber, you will get more info than you will ever want to read on this subject. It has been beaten to death on this board.

In my opinion, the best route to go if you are patient is to go fuel injected, but I do not own or have ever driven a fuel injected sammy, but they seem to get the best reviews on here and you probably won't have to pay that much more for a fuel injected than carbed sammy.

[piglatinhater]

I think I'm slowly starting to love these little suzukis. And I don't even have one yet!

I have a completely built cherokee (winch bumper, rear bumper with swingout, lift, snorkel, etc), great offroad rig but its like driving a tank. The samurai is completely different and gets three times the MPG....

[ack]

You mentioned bigger tires...

There is a rule of thumb that goes "Samurai Axles cannot take wheeling very well with 33" or bigger tires."

If you find an already-built truck with large tires, check for Toyota axles.  Otherwise you may be buying a truck with a severely-abused drivetrain - unless it obviously looks like a mall crawler instead of an offroad truck.  The dead giveaway on that is piles of Bling added... 

Oh, and the clicky-start mod is a good idea!  Thanks to the person who mentioned it!

[Freebird01]

here is my opinnion on the engine...

the the stock carb is there and works ok then leave it go. when in good working condition they dont work that bad. on a good running 1.3 stock samurai you can get 30mpg highway. average is 26-28 though.

if you start adding a lift and bigger tires you must regear or the 1.3 carbed will be enemic. a 1.3 FI is a good runner too. most guys after a year of two look to upgrade to a 1.6 8v or 16v depending on whats available around them.

a stock 1.3 carb is around 67hp
a FI 1.3 isnt much more
a 1.6 8v is around 90hp and the 16v is closer to 100-110hp

to do a 1.6 in a stock height zuk you need a custom oil pan to clear the front diff. most guys usually already have a lift before they look at a motor swap.

the problem with the stock carb is they are overly complicated and when they stop working they are a nightmare to troubleshoot and repair. thats why most people look at a weber or CV carb

[funkle95]

I see, so it's not a matter of the factory carb being junky, just that it's a bit of a headache to work with if it has trouble. Well I guess I'll keep my eyes peeled for an FI 1.3, or maybe a 1.6 already swapped in there. Good info guys, I'm really starting to get a clearer picture of what i need to look for. Oh and the Aks FAQ is AWESOME! Great tip. Thanks again for all the great help!

[outsydthbox]

If you find a modded one, and have time to think it over, take good pics of the modifications, and post them here. The guys here will be happy to give you "good" advice...what has been done right or wrong. Could save some headaches

[Skyman]

Best advice I've seen.

If you find a modded one, and have time to think it over, take good pics of the modifications, and post them here. The guys here will be happy to give you "good" advice...what has been done right or wrong. Could save some headaches

Honestly if you are going to buy one and mod it, make sure it has the money parts first. You won't  pay much more for one that has a lot done to it, versus mint stock one.

Mine had a ton of things to fix, but
It had t-case gears, a spool in the rear, locker in the front, a 9000lb Ramsey winch (old school heavy duty). So I fixed the steering and suspension cleaned 'er up a bit and have a nice wheeler.

So for me, it's  buy mint stocker and do it myself, or buy one that has been partially modded and sells for the same price a decent used one would.

Oh! I would definitely look for a EFI model with the square dash. EFI is awesome, and the dash is nice and more convenient.

[zukwithleather]

You may need to replace the entire set of vacuum hoses on the Hitachi carb.  3 feet of hose from the auto part store can take care of that.

3 feet 

you are funny, shouldn't that say 13 feet