Back To My Roots: A Suzuki Samurai Project

[cygnus x-1]

The dual slim 10" ebay fans (eff the haters) showed up as well, so I mounted those. I still need to wire them up:

 
 
I have ebay electric fans as well and they work just fine.  Those little plastic mounting tie things on the other hand, are a disaster.  There's about a 95% chance at least one of them will work loose and let the fan flop around and cause all sorts of mayhem.  What I did was to make a frame of sorts from angle aluminum (riveted together) that the fans could be hard mounted to.  The frame attaches to the radiator by the factory mounting posts on the engine side.  I don't have any pictures of it but I bet you can figure it out using your imagination.


C|

 

[stuntnuts]

I finally finished up the downpipe over the weekend! I don't weld nearly enough, maybe once a year since my kids were born, and because of this I'm dealt a severe lack of confidence. I find welding these days to be very nerve wracking and stressful. When I used to do it on a semi-regular basis, although never even close to an expert, I used to feel semi-confident behind the torch. Now, the fear of blowing a hole in a tube or screwing something else up makes the process less than fully enjoyable. I wish I could get back to where I was five years ago and improve my skills from that stage.

Anyways, this project helped me improve my confidence, as I could "feel" myself getting better the further along I got on this downpipe. I feel like if I had to make another one TODAY, I could do it without any issues and enjoy the process a lot more than I did this time. If only I could do this on a daily basis, not just once a year, at best.

I welded up the flex pipe first and then reinstalled to figure out the hanger situation. The first hanger needs to be mounted to engine/transmission so that it moves with the assembly, prior to the flex joint. This is done to eliminate vibrations that can lead to snapped manifold studs or cracked tubing. The second hanger is mounted after the flex pipe, to absorb the vibrations. I chose to mount the first hanger to one of the transmission case bolts, just before the flex pipe. The second hanger utilized the stock Samurai hanger location, under the transmission.

The flex pipe all welded to the downpipe:

The second hanger, which I actually figured out before the first:

The first hanger, which I actually figured out second:

A couple more pics of the completed downpipe, ready for one final mock up:

Once the final mock up passed the test, I wrapped it with DEI Titanium Exhaust Wrap, to limit heat transfer to the adjacent fuel and brake lines. I hope this will be up to the task, or else I will be relocating the fuel lines to the driver side of the vehicle, which I REALLY don't want to have to do. :banghead:

All wrapped up and ready to final install:

The downpipe FINALLY installed:

The first hanger installed:

And the second hanger installed:

In other news, I found another Samurai in my city. A friend of mine noticed it in his travels, parked in a driveway. After him telling me the location, and me unsuccessfully staking it out a couple of times, I finally spotted it. It was parked outside of his driveway, on the road, as if it was for sale. The was no For Sale sign on it, just parked there. I looked it over and took a few pics of it, as well:

It's in decent shape, obviously it has been resprayed, average job. The seats were reupholstered in a matching blue and they looked really decent. The entire underside looks to be completely sprayed in undercoating, so I couldn't tell what's underneath that. Overall, not bad, typical Samurai condition. I really hope it is not for sale, so I can make a Samurai friend close to home.

I also randomly spotted this mid-90's Geo Tracker, all by itself, in a parking lot in an industrial park. Since I was a kid I've always like these things, arguably, the original CUV. This vehicle also has the G16B 1.6 16 valve engine that I would have installed in my Samurai, instead of the ABA that fell on my lap, if they were still readily available with low miles and complete.

That's it for today's updates. I will now focus on getting the mid-pipe built.

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

I think the wrap will be enough to prevent heat soak. If anything, could get a fiberglass blanket type wrap around that section nearest the lines, or even wrap the lines themselves with a reflective blanket as well. Might not look super amazingly pretty, but it would be a ton easier than completely rerouting lines.

 

[stuntnuts]

I think the wrap will be enough to prevent heat soak. If anything, could get a fiberglass blanket type wrap around that section nearest the lines, or even wrap the lines themselves with a reflective blanket as well. Might not look super amazingly pretty, but it would be a ton easier than completely rerouting lines.

 
 

The fuel lines are already wrapped, you can see them in the bottom of this pic. The brake lines are not wrapped yet, but I intend to.

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

I doubt you?ll have an issue if you just wrap all the lines like that.

 

[stuntnuts]

I have a problem and I'm hoping someone can help me solve it!!!

I finished the exhaust, and took the Samurai out on it's maiden voyage over the weekend.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBs83k3nRvB/

The minute I took it on the street, the fuel pump started whining. It was lacking power, not sputtering, but lacking power. At one point it stalled out leaving an intersection. It did and does start right back up though. You can hear the fuel pump whining in the second part of the video, when I return to the driveway.

I suspected a few things:

Fuel level too low, tank venting issue, fuel pump mounted higher than the top of the tank, etc. So I started troubleshooting.

I put fuel in the tank, it is now above 1/2 a tank, took it for a drive, fuel pump still whining.

I took the gas cap off, took it for a drive, fuel pump still whining.

I dismounted the fuel pump and hung it lower than it was, now midway between top and bottom of the tank. It was mounted higher than the tank. I took it for a drive, fuel pump still whining.

The fuel pump is a Walbro 255 GSL392, rated at 60PSI.

Here's what I'm thinking and please tell me if you guys think this could be the issue......VAPOR LOCK.

When I run JUST the fuel pump with my scan tool, it is silent, you can hear how happy it is.
When I run the engine in the driveway at idle, WITH THE HOOD OPEN, it is silent.
When I CLOSE THE HOOD and start to leave for a drive, the pump starts to whine.
When I get it back in the driveway, if I open the hood and run the fuel pump with the scan tool again, it is silent.

I think that due to the proximity of the downpipe and the fuel lines, even though both are wrapped with heat shielding, as soon as I rev it above idle with the hood closed, it's boiling the fuel.

Does this make sense? After work today, I'm going to try driving it with the hood off the truck and see if the whining doesn't occur. If that's the case, then it could be that with the hood shut and the engine reving, it's enough of a formula to create too much heat for my fuel lines.

The next step would be to re-route the fuel lines to the driver side, which I am willing to do if it will solve the problem.

If anyone has any other ideas, please share. I'm going crazy!

 

[melbakid]

Before you go through all the trouble of moving the fuel lines to the driver side, I would make a heat shield out of metal to put between the down pipe and the the fuel lines. Try that and if it works for a longer period than you are now experiencing, add some DEI heat shield to your newly fabricated metal shield. If it truly is vapor lock this should solve the problem. They use the DEI heat shield on Pro Stock Dragsters with exellent results. With your fab skills you should be able to whip something up fairly quick!  
Also with EFI @ 60psi and a return line, I would think you should not have vapor lock.

 

[stuntnuts]

Before you go through all the trouble of moving the fuel lines to the driver side, I would make a heat shield out of metal to put between the down pipe and the the fuel lines. Try that and if it works for a longer period than you are now experiencing, add some DEI heat shield to your newly fabricated metal shield. If it truly is vapor lock this should solve the problem. They use the DEI heat shield on Pro Stock Dragsters with exellent results. With your fab skills you should be able to whip something up fairly quick!  
Also with EFI @ 60psi and a return line, I would think you should not have vapor lock.

I'm gonna start by driving it without the hood tonight, to see how it performs. If it doesn't act up, it tells me that excessive heat is the issue. I'll report back....

 

[stuntnuts]

I took the hood off last night and took it for a drive. It immediately started whining, cold engine and all. So I don't think heat from the downpipe is cooking the fuel anymore.

Then a couple hours later, I ran just the pump with my scan tool and it was still whining. It eventually came out of it after about 2 minutes of running, even though there was no heat involved.

I'm thinking that the damage was done to the pump initially when I had a clogged return line and it couldn't push the fuel back into the tank. I called Walbro last night to see if they would warranty the pump. They said if I send it to them along with a $40 diagnostic fee, they would look at it. If they deemed it faulty, they'd send me another one. I'm not going to bother, as they said this process takes about 30 days. I'll just buy a new pump, some other brand. I'm thinking the Airtex E2000.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for a different pump to try or for more troubleshooting procedures?

Thanks

 

[TTSJ413]

is it possible to run clear fuel line after the pump to observe fuel flow?

 

[stuntnuts]

Before my fuel pump debacle, I finished up the exhaust.

Once the downpipe was complete, I bolted up the new cat. After the cat, to the rear muffler, I need to make a midpipe. I also had to incorporate a hanger tab on this pipe for the stock Samurai midpipe hanger. I used the same materials that I used for the downpipe, 2" OD 304 SS tubing for the pipe and 3/16" 304 SS flat bar for the hanger tab. I also needed to include a 2" OD to 2" ID reducer to mate up to the existing rear muffler.

Why keep the rear muffler if you are doing a complete stainless system in front of it, well budget mostly. That and the fact that the rear muffler was already upgraded by the previous owner to 2.25", in good shape, and it sounded great on the stock 1.3L Samurai engine before I pulled it. Someday I'll replace it with a stainless unit, but not today....

Here is the midpipe used to join the cat to the existing rear muffler:

This is the new cat clamped to the downpipe:

This is the new cat clamped to the midpipe:

This is the midpipe clamped to the existing rear muffler:

And the complete new stainless steel system:

I also received a special order from Japan after many weeks of waiting. I ordered new fender badges for both sides and all new factory push pins to reinstall all the exterior trim. Thank you Megazip:

Then another hurdle....:banghead:

The ABA that I swapped in had secondary air on it. It basically has 4 additional ports on the exhaust manifold that inject fresh air into the exhaust ports for emission purposes. Well, when you put a 1990 Volkswagen Fox exhaust manifold on the ABA head, those ports are not 100% covered up. Enter 4 exhaust leaks.

Right next to the lower exhaust manifold studs is an additional 7mm hole that is open to the exhaust port out of the combustion chamber. The traditional exhaust manifold to cylinder head gaskets do not seal these up, as I found out when my exhaust was finished and I fired it up for the first time. At this point I'm about to throw in the towel and search out a Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick 1.6L 16V engine and scrap the VW engine altogether. After some regrouping, I decided that if I just plugged these holes, I should be OK.

The first thing I did was tap the 4 holes to a usable size thread M8x1.25:

You can see what was originally an air port is now threaded:

To receive these guys:

I only tapped the holes deep enough to get the set screws just below the gasket surface, so I could add some RTV afterwards for a final seal, before the gaskets:

And here are all 4 holes, tapped, set screws installed with locktite, and then the remainder filled with RTV:

After this, I reinstalled the Fox exhaust manifold and I was good to go. No more exhaust leak, and the 2.0L ABA in the Samurai will live another day...

 

[stuntnuts]

I can't make this stuff up....

The fuel pump that I purchased to replace the "faulty" Walbro unit showed up DOA. Plugged it in and nothing. Thankfully Rock Auto isn't walbrofuelpumps.com and happily replaced it for me, without any quibbles.

A week later, the replacement shows up. The pump runs fine, but it exhibited the exact same behavior as the Walbro, maybe even worse. Whining as soon as I take it out of the driveway. To be efficient, it seems that these external fuel pumps need to essentially need to be gravity fed. If the pump isn't mounted below the lowest point of the fuel tank, I think it will always be starving for fuel, no matter what inline pump is used. I'm done playing games. I quickly parked it and ordered a complete Fuel Tank with In-Tank Fuel Pump from an EFI Samurai from Suzuki Parts USA.

https://suzukipartsusa.com/shop/fuel-system-gas-tank-2/gas-fuel-tank-for-efi-w-fuel-pump-sending-unit-suzuki-samurai-91-95/ It should be here today. If this doesn't rectify the fuel delivery issue, be on the lookout for a BaT appearance. :banghead:

A little bit of good news to report....I ordered and installed the shocks, which gets this thing closer to full road-worthiness.

Due to the 3" lift springs, I had to size up appropriate shocks to match. Based on max extension, max compression, and mounting style, I selected rear shocks from 80s Toyota Vans. There were two options, with coil springs or with leaf springs. The ones for coil springs were ideal for the front of the Samurai and the ones for leaf springs were ideal for the rear of the Samurai....an odd combination, I know.

I chose KYB Gas-A-Just, which seemed like the most premium choice available. They were a direct bolt it, met both front and rear mounting requirements and are made in Japan. The best part is they were only $29 a piece. :laugh:

Passenger front:

Driver front:

Passenger rear:

Driver rear:

And a view from down below:

That's all I can report for now. I'm now patiently waiting for the UPS truck to drive down my street. More to come.

 

[stuntnuts]

My lovely wife gifted me my first ever (after 30 years of vehicle ownership) vanity plate for my birthday. Seeing that "ITSNOTAJEEPSTUPID" far exceeds the allowable character criteria, this one is a keeper.

 

[stuntnuts]

The new fuel tank arrived, so I drained the remaining fuel out of the old tank and removed it:

The new to old comparison:

The new tank with the new fuel lines installed:

All ready to lift into position:

The new fuel tank installed:

And the underside, sans inline pump and pre-pump filter.....SO MUCH CLEANER:

I only had a little bit of fuel on hand, but I put in what I had and ran the pump.....it worked. I tried to start the engine and it fired right up. I did not take it out on a test drive, but did drive it back into the garage. Once the torrential rain stops, I will take it out and see if the new in-tank pump is sufficient for fuel delivery service to the ABA. This pump is a 3 bar pump, exactly like an in-tank fuel pump on a Mk3 Golf/Jetta with ABA, so I'm optimistic. But, I've been let down before, so we'll see....

 

[TTSJ413]

Should work fine , looking good

 

[stuntnuts]

Yesterday, I put on 44.2 miles of shakedown testing. I'm happy to report that the biggest problem I have been facing, with this swap, has been 100% corrected. The new fuel pump in the new fuel tank fixed the fuel delivery issue. I love it. It's quiet as a mouse, it totally cleaned up the underside of the body, and it just works great.

It was a real scorcher yesterday, about the hottest we see around here all year, so I made it a point to take it out at high noon. I wired up the radiator fans on Friday night and I found them to come on way later than I'm comfortable with. Monitoring coolant temperature with my scan tool, the fans wouldn't kick on until quite a bit higher than 212 degrees F. The fan switch is supposed to kick them on at 195 degrees F. I'm not sure if coolant just wasn't filling the radiator completely to get an accurate temp reading to the the fan switch or if the coolant in the radiator is just less hot than the coolant coming out of the head where the ECU sees the coolant temp.

Either way, I drove it on 85% back roads and maybe 15% in stop and go traffic. The fans never kicked on, but the temp gauge always stayed normal, while driving. It did creep up a bit sitting in stop and go traffic, but never enough to validate the fans to kick on. After my journey, I parked it in the driveway and shut it down. I walked into the garage, and all of a sudden the fans came on. Evidentially the radiator finally got hot enough for them to run. I was pleasantly surprised. They ran for about a minute and a half, then shut down.

I noticed that the coolant level in the overflow bottle was lower than when I started, and I didn't smell or see any coolant leaks, so I'm assuming (and hoping) that driving it those 44 miles self-burped it and maybe the system is completely air-purged now.

I ordered a lower temp fan switch just for the heck of it, to get the fans to run earlier. Unless the burping fixed that issue, which it may have.....if there actually was air in the system.

Other than that, I detected a light tinny rattling noise around the engine. It sounds like it is in the alternator or timing belt area....almost like a loose, rattly, timing cover plate. I will further investigate. Besides that, it seems to run great, and is a blast to drive.

First stop, a photo op with its VW brethren. I?ve owned many Volkswagen powered vehicles in my life and this is the only one I?ve ever had any desire to recreate this overplayed, corny-ass shot with. You?re welcome. Now to seek out a Suzuki dealership for an engine bay shot.....oh wait, we don?t have those anymore.

 

[melbakid]

I have a Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle with a radiator and electric fan. Often times in the warmer weather when I park the bike the fan will kick on and run for a short time. When I asked my motorcycle mechanic buddy about it he said it was just heat soak in the radiator. He said while driving it's able to release the heat out of the radiator but when you stop it can't.

 

[cygnus x-1]

You'll probably find that when the vehicle is moving the fans rarely come on.  High load low speed conditions are where the fans are really needed.  Offroading is particularly tough on cooling systems for this reason.


C|

 

[Diesel_Zuk]

Sweet little rig! The fans coming on after shutting off the engine, reminds me of my MK2 Jetta and B5 passat doing that.

 

[stuntnuts]

So this happened last night:

A few days ago, I was browsing Craigslist and saw an ad for a set of 235/75-15 General Grabber AT2's in excellent condition. Ironically, it came with wheels, the exact white wagon wheels that I wanted for the Samurai, no red and blue pinstriping either. Was this really happening? It must be too good to be true....

I got a hold of the seller and arranged a time to meet up to view the tires. He listed these as coming off of a Geo Tracker. I played dumb and asked if he'd let me try one on to see if they fit.....duh. He obliged, so I drove the Samurai up to his place and checked them out. Sadly, once I got there, he told me he just gave the wheels a fresh coat of paint. He "painted them with a brush", his words. :facepalm:

I was let down, but figured the opportunity was still there to try them on and get a feel for how they look. I'm on the fence of whether to go with 235/75-15's on 15x7 wheels or 30x9.5.x15 on 15x8 wheels. So I threw one on (VERY HEAVY), and took a few pics. To me it looks perfect and that pretty much convinced me that the 235/75-15's are the way to go. The Samurai just looked so right with it on IMHO. I'm definitely open to criticism and encourage it, please.

I removed the wheel and told the seller that I'd give it some thought. Even though the tires are in great shape, they aren't the tires I want, which are BFG KO2's, and the wheels were painted with a brush. There's no way I'd be happy running those wheels, unless I had them refinished.

This morning I called a local powder coating place to see how much it would cost me to get 4 15" steel wheels powdercoated in a low gloss white. They came back with $120/each. New wagon wheels, with a factory white finish are $66 each. It just didn't add up, although the only new ones I can find have the stupid red and blue pinstripes on them.

The seller is asking $250 for the set. If the wheels were a factory finish, I'd sacrifice my tire snobbishness and run them, but that's not the case. Plus i really don't want to invest in getting the Generals removed from the wheels, investing $480 in refinishing them, and then getting the Generals put back on. Running total for all that would be $250 + $480 = $730, which is pennies less than new BFG's on new wheels.

I also got to put on more shakedown miles on it, I'm up to 80.2. Everything with the swap seems just about perfect. I checked the coolant level before I left and it was the same as when I returned. Lots of stop and go traffic on this journey and zero high temperature issues. The coolant fans are coming on at a much lower temp now, since it burped during the last time out. Looks like I got that low temp fan switch for nothing.

Some bad news to report.... I knew I was going to be trying on wheels, so I brought my own floor jack with me. I had the rear seat folded and while driving, I noticed quite a bit of "wheel bearing noise" coming from the rear end. I have no idea what that is yet. It has never been touched by me, so it isn't swap related, but was very nerve racking while I was driving. Bearing noise, diff noise, low gear oil, who knows???

So please critique the Samurai on a 235/75-15 tire. Thanks.