Back in the zuk game!.....help

Damifino

Damifino

The Unlikely Overlander
I previously had a 1987 samurai I used as a daily driver for 16 years. I never got to do the things I wanted to to it because of it being my daily. I have been without one for a few years and back in may I picked up a 1990 Samurai that was in the process of a diesel swap. The guy I got it from claimed it was a freshly rebuilt 1.5, I was not thrilled with the 1.5 but it also came with the block and new pistons and rings for a 1.6 TD. The plan was to run the 1.5 for a while until I sourced a head and other missing pieces for the 1.6. Well the freshly rebuilt part was a joke, yes he had slapped new parts on it but the cylinders were so worn I could not get compression, the head gasket was on upside down so no oil pressure to the top end. Needless to say I junked it and completed the 1.6 TD. She runs good but will definitely need some re-gearing. Currently on 31s but plan on going to 33 or 34 when I run through these. What is everyone's suggestion on gearing? I have done some searching but seem to come up with more questions than answers. I am also debating a hybrid rear-end at some point.
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Damifino said:
I previously had a 1987 samurai I used as a daily driver for 16 years. I never got to do the things I wanted to to it because of it being my daily. I have been without one for a few years and back in may I picked up a 1990 Samurai that was in the process of a diesel swap. The guy I got it from claimed it was a freshly rebuilt 1.5, I was not thrilled with the 1.5 but it also came with the block and new pistons and rings for a 1.6 TD. The plan was to run the 1.5 for a while until I sourced a head and other missing pieces for the 1.6. Well the freshly rebuilt part was a joke, yes he had slapped new parts on it but the cylinders were so worn I could not get compression, the head gasket was on upside down so no oil pressure to the top end. Needless to say I junked it and completed the 1.6 TD. She runs good but will definitely need some re-gearing. Currently on 31s but plan on going to 33 or 34 when I run through these. What is everyone's suggestion on gearing? I have done some searching but seem to come up with more questions than answers. I am also debating a hybrid rear-end at some point.View attachment 258400View attachment 258401View attachment 258402View attachment 258403View attachment 258404
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Cool Sami love the exhaust location! For gearing I started off with the 6.5 tranfcase reduction TG gear set. Nothing but good things to say about this set up. 33’s

Swapped Yota axles in with 4.10’s also another good ratio for up to 35’s

Switched my 4.10’s to 5.29’s as my end goal was 37’s. On 37 / 14.50’s now perfect combo for my application.

Hope this helps & largely dependent on your driving style & end game for the Sami
 
pattersonja said:
Cool Sami love the exhaust location! For gearing I started off with the 6.5 tranfcase reduction TG gear set. Nothing but good things to say about this set up. 33’s

Swapped Yota axles in with 4.10’s also another good ratio for up to 35’s

Switched my 4.10’s to 5.29’s as my end goal was 37’s. On 37 / 14.50’s now perfect combo for my application.

Hope this helps & largely dependent on your driving style & end game for the Sami
Click to expand...
Thank you for the input. I will be hopefully doing a lot of overlanding with this and trails from mild to wild. Going to the Rubicon next year. Im on 31s currently but would like to go 34 or larger later. I would like to be able to drive the road without dropping to 40 every time there is a slight hill. I still need to tune the injection pump and sort an oil leak once I figure out where it is coming from. But gearing has always broke my brain. Ive been leaning towards the 6.5 but also looked at 4.9. I am going to get ring and pinion gears from a tracker or sidekick and also build a hybrid rear end but that will not happen until I go to larger tires.
 

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