Back To My Roots: A Suzuki Samurai Project

[stuntnuts]

Well, that ain't much, but you can make it work with bump stops.

I had similar clearance issues with the aaz. It made contact with drops in the pavement followed by a rise in the pavement. Hard hits. Driving slow on logging roads wasn't an issue, nor was hitting a pothole with one tire. Mostly the square hits as mentioned.
A heavy front bumper or front mounted winch will make it worse.

That would require some mega tall bump stops. I have no plans for adding anything other than a stock bumper, so hopefully it shouldn't lower it any more than it already is.

If I can figure out how to do a short runner intake manifold at some point, I'll do that. That would give me all the hood clearance I'd ever need and I could restore the stock Samurai engine mounts and engine height. With the Dodge 318 mounts, the engine sits over 1.5" lower than it was with the stock mounts. I can't imagine all the oil pan/axle space I'd have in that scenario....but it makes me salivate just thinking about it.

 

[WarTowels]

Can't wait for this to be up and running, I'd love to compare it to my car sometime. I'm also curious to see what your experience with the 318 mounts will be.

It's hard when we change so many variables at once, but my vibrations from 1.3 stock mounts -> 1.6L w/ 318 mounts (and tranny adapter of course) and it's waaaaay worse now in terms of vibrations, has been since day 1 with the swap. Word seems to be that the 318 mounts are stiffer than stockers, so gotta be the engine or maybe more likely the mounts I figure. I've been thinking about ways to get rid of the 318s actually...

I wonder how the diesel will be with the 318s. Any idea what if any weight differences there are between the two motors? I wonder what effects that may have.

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

I wonder how the diesel will be with the 318s. Any idea what if any weight differences there are between the two motors? I wonder what effects that may have.

He has a 2.0 VW gas engine, not a diesel. That said, I'm running 318 mounts in my TDI. It's a little rough, but not bad. I used to have stock samurai rubber mounts, and I can barely tell the difference between the two. The only reason I switched was because I kept shredding samurai motor mounts because of the torque from my engine. Too many clutch drops took it's toll.

 

[WarTowels]

Ohhh. I see VW and Samurai and all I can think is Diesel. 

 

[stuntnuts]

Well....bad news. FCP Euro just called to inform me that the Volkswagen Quantum Radiator is NLA. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. Probably try the Mk3 VR6 Radiator, which is 1.5" taller than the Quantum Radiator.

Can someone with a Diesel swap, using the VW Quantum Radiator, tell me if they believe a radiator that is 1.5" taller than what they have would clear the hood?

Thank you

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

I don?t believe it?ll fit. My 13? tall quantum radiator already is super close. Have you considered a MK2 aluminum radiator?  Around 24?x12?. 


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F254336503971

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

Or this MK3 radiator. Sure the inlet and outlet are on the ?wrong side?, but since there?s no cap, it doesn?t matter which way you run it, just flip it upside down. Just have somebody weld on some mounting points if necessary.

28?x12?x2?, pretty much the same size as the quantum radiator (or whatever it was) I was running before.


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F113372391459

 

[stuntnuts]

I don?t believe it?ll fit. My 13? tall quantum radiator already is super close. Have you considered a MK2 aluminum radiator?  Around 24?x12?.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F254336503971

Mk2 radiator has hose inlet and outlets on the passenger side. I'm not sure I'm desperate enough to flip a radiator over....yet.

 

[stuntnuts]

I'm thinking either Mk3 Golf/Jetta VR6:

or Audi 80 2.0L:

Both are taller than the Quantum radiator, which is the biggest constraint for the Samurai. The Audi 80 radiator is shorter than the Mk3 VR6, so it has that advantage. But it also has two additional outlets on it that I don't need and will have to cap off, whereas the VR6 radiator only has the upper and lower radiator hose outlets.

The VR6 radiator would look better in the bay, but the Audi 80 radiator would fit better...

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

Mk2 radiator has hose inlet and outlets on the passenger side. I'm not sure I'm desperate enough to flip a radiator over....yet.

They are literally identical upside down sans the mount points. If you get an aluminum radiator, you can just weld new ones on. I wish you well in your hunt. Be sure to post pictures of whatever radiator once you have it mounted.

 

[stuntnuts]

They are literally identical upside down sans the mount points. If you get an aluminum radiator, you can just weld new ones on. I wish you well in your hunt. Be sure to post pictures of whatever radiator once you have it mounted.

What radiator do you have in your posted pics?

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

What radiator do you have in your posted pics?

According to the part number I had originally ordered, it was a quantum radiator. But after looking at some other measurements, I'm not 100% sure that's what it actually is. I do know though that it was made to have the inlet/outlet on the left hand side, I didn't have to flip it.

 

[stuntnuts]

I ended up ordering a Mk2 Golf/Jetta radiator. 12.75" total height. I will be flipping it. If I'm not happy with it, I will order the Audi 80 radiator.

The Mk3 VR6, although it meets all inlet/outlet requirements for me, just seems too tall. I didn't want to deal with anymore hood clearance issues, so I scrapped that idea.

As much as I don't like the idea of flipping a Mk2 radiator, I don't like having to plug two unneeded outlets on the Audi 80 radiator more. Plus, the Mk2 radiator is .5" shorter than the Audi 80 radiator.

I have some mounting ideas in my head and we'll see how they shake out when it arrives....

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Aids10]

How about this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIATOR-COOLING-ENGINE-ENGINE-COOLING-RADIATOR-VALEO-VW-PASSAT-1-6-1980-/323074317172

 

[stuntnuts]

How about this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIATOR-COOLING-ENGINE-ENGINE-COOLING-RADIATOR-VALEO-VW-PASSAT-1-6-1980-/323074317172

A couple of things....

#1 International seller
#2 That radiator uses a cap, which I wanted to avoid.

 

[stuntnuts]

Edit:
I canceled my order for the Mk2 radiator and ordered the Audi 80 instead. I talked myself out of the Mk2 one due to the position of the fan switch when the radiator is flipped.

 

[stuntnuts]

A small update:

It turns out that I did not go with an Audi 80 radiator, after all. I ended up getting a Mk2 Golf/Jetta (with AC) radiator instead. It was a little bit shorter in height (important), and didn't have the extra outlet on it, that I would have had to cap off anyways. The problem with the Mk2 radiator is that the upper and lower radiator hose inlet/outlet are on the passenger side, where I need them on the driver side for this application.

My work around for this is to flip it and mount it upside down. Doing it this way puts the inlet/outlet where they need to be in the Samurai. Details online about mounting the Audi 80 radiator to a Samurai are sketchy, but details on mounting a Mk2 radiator are non-existent, so I had to get creative. The first thing I did was go to the local hardware store and pick up a series of bolts, nuts, spacers, and washers that I will be using to mount it. The two brackets in the pic are supplied with the radiator to mount the Mk2 fan shroud to it. I will use these brackets to mount my hardware to the radiator.

Hardware Store/NAPA Haul:

The Mk2 radiator has four mounting bosses on each side of it. My plan is to use these to mount long bolts to and then thru the Samurai radiator support. This radiator HAS to be mounted at an angle due to height limitations in the Samurai, so I will use longer bolts in the two top mounts and shorter bolts in the bottom mounts. This will put the radiator at the correct angle to clear the underside of the hood.

Upper mounting brackets installed:

That's it for the radiator for the time being. I need to figure out the lower mounting brackets now, since the radiator only came with two of those fan shroud brackets and they aren't available separately. :banghead:

When I got the Samurai, I immediately noticed  the clutch pedal felt horrible. Not smooth and light like I remember my first Samurai felling like. I figured it was the tired old pressure plate and clutch release lever. I did replace both of those earlier, during this swap project, but I figured I'd rebuild the clutch pedal assembly as well. I REEEEALLY miss the smooth clutch pedal feel. So I tore into it.

Supposedly the clutch pedal bushings disintegrate and you end up with metal on metal contact between the pedal shaft and the bracket. I figured I'd purchase the rebuild kit for it, which also includes new pedal springs for all three pedals, so I pulled everything:

Upon very close inspection, everything looked great. All the wear points, the bushings, the springs, all of it. I decided not to order the rebuild kit and just clean and re-lube all the existing stuff:

Everything went back together really good, which is great, but it still doesn't explain what the rough clutch pedal culprit is:

I removed the clutch cable to investigate that and it moved in and out pretty rough. I sprayed WD-40 into the housing, flushing it out as I moved the inner wire in and out... What came out on the other end surprised me. A TON of brown-ish/orange-ish powder came out. I have no idea what that is, be it rust, disintegrated nylon lining, whatever, but it's clean in there now and not bound up, whatsoever. I ran some grease on the inner wire, on the portions I actually have access to, and threw it back in the Samurai. I plan to hook it back up on the clutch end within the next couple of nights and see if it's back to the smoothness I remember from my old Samurai. If not, I shall replace it...

 

[cygnus x-1]

I would just replace that clutch cable now.  It's worn through the plastic liner and will continue to wear further.  Grease will slow it down but it's only a matter of time.


C|

 

[stuntnuts]

I would just replace that clutch cable now.  It's worn through the plastic liner and will continue to wear further.  Grease will slow it down but it's only a matter of time.


C|

I was gonna ask that question, is there a nylon liner between the inner wire and the outer casing? If there definitely is, that's gotta be what the orange-ish/brown-ish dust was.

 

[stuntnuts]

Since the last update I've done a lot of stuff, inching closer to getting this thing mechanically ready to run. I'm getting pretty close, as you will see in the following pictures.

I finally got the flipped over Mk2 Golf/Jetta radiator mounted. In order to clear the hood structure, the top of the unit has to be tilted back towards the engine. Thankfully there is still plenty of room for the cooling fans, which I have not purchased nor selected yet. I haven't decided if they will be mounted in front or behind the radiator yet, either.

Mounting point (1) on passenger side:

Mounting points (2) on driver side:

I also spent some time trying to figure out how to mount the coolant bottle. I decided to go with a Mk3 Golf/Jetta bottle:

In order to get this thing mounted to the Samurai, I had to make a special bracket out of aluminum plate:

I still have another mounting bracket to make, underneath the bottle, but I haven't gotten there yet.

For the sake of simplicity, I chose to go without the factory ABA oil cooler.

To delete this, you need a shorter fitting for the oil filter to thread on to:

New fitting installed:

Followed up by the oil filter itself:

View from the top:

I planned ahead, so if a deleted oil cooler is hurting performance, one can easily be plumbed in, at a later date.

Also notice the lower radiator hose outlet that comes off of the water pump. It is a 1.8T AEB Passat unit (part number 030-121-121-B), which points the outlet closer to where it needs to be, as opposed to the transverse Mk2/Mk3 unit, which point directly towards the firewall:

This is the make up of the lower radiator hose:

The upper portion is a Mk3 ABA LOWER radiator hose (unmodified).
The lower portion is a 1.8L Quantum LOWER radiator hose (top half removed). Gates #21218.
Both portions are joined with a 1.25" 90 degree aluminum fitting from Jegs. #511175 and appropriate VW factory spring clamps.

As assembled:

And installed:

The very important steering shaft clearance:

This is the make up of the upper radiator hose:

The first portion at the radiator is also a Mk3 ABA LOWER radiator hose (unmodified).
The next portion is the Factory ABA upper middle upper radiator hose (unmodified).
Those portions are joined with the Factory ABA T-piece, which goes down to the water pump, but is not pictured.
From there we go to a Mk4 1.8T 45 degree fitting.
The final portion (at the head) is also the Factory ABA upper rear radiator hose (unmodified).

As installed:

And a few current full engine bay shots, provided in both directions, depending on how you prefer to view an ABA:

And last but not least, I got the Fox exhaust manifold back from the machine shop. It took them 3 weeks to get that frozen O2 sensor out and the threads they damaged re-tapped. I'm glad I left it to them, honestly. Anyways, here is it installed and patiently awaiting its mating downpipe to be fabricated:

Up next will be the coolant bottle mounting, the heater core hoses, and the airbox and intake stuff. After that....the fuel pump and the wiring!!!