AboutDavid Scott Expertise Questions regarding the advisability of different kinds of modifications to Samurai/Sidekick/Tracker or various kinds of off-road usage. I will not attempt to do more than provide links for questions about other Suzukis such as Vitara, Grand Vitara, etc. I may or may not give generalized advice for newer models, but have no experience regarding newer models, and will not attempt to give more than the most generalized answers for questions regarding vehicles later than '95 manufacture. I will however provide a link that will help you contact a professional in your region.
Experience I've been a professional mechanic for over thirty five years, live in the center of the Rocky Mountains, and have been active in exploring the old mining/4wd roads for decades. I've specific experience with Samurai modification, because that's my personal vehicle.
Education/Credentials Thirty five years of advanced, intensive classes for experienced professionals only. Manufacturer seminars and training classes averaging four to six weeks per year. I'm now a professional heavy duty fleet mechanic, and no longer deal with issues such as MIL (check engine) lights
Expert: David Scott Date: 7/2/2008 Subject: Suzuki Samurai
Question I have a 1987 Suzuki Samurai. That apparently the previous owner beat pretty badly. The car did not run at all due to a clogged cat converter. I removed that and replaced the whole exhaust. I replaced the plugs, cap, rotor and wires. Now, it instantly starts even better than my good condition samurai.
The problem is that the whole body and engine vibrates. Its almost as if the engine is out of balance. Its vibrate rate varies depending on the rpm of the engine. If you put your hand on the body you can feel the vibration. I have checked all the body mounts, replaced the transmission mount, checked the engine mounts and checked the exhaust to make sure it does not touch. For the life of me I cant find any answer other than the engine is out of balance due to the last owner beating up the car so much. The engine has horrible valve noise which im sure has nothing to do with it. Oh and it does it wether its in gear or in neutral.
Finally, the engine works great at low rpm but as soon as it gets to about 2500+ the power stays the same no matter how hard you mash the pedal. I can smell fuel from the carb leaking but im not sure the problem is from the carb or the supposedly out of balance engine. How do you balance a samurai engine? Is it a shaft, balancer or all internals? Thanks, sorry its so long.
Answer If the valves clatter badly, you need to adjust them. If the valves are badly out of adjustment, it can very seriously affect how the engine "breathes", and can easily cause a severe miss or imbalance in power from cylinder to cylinder and cause the engine to vibrate badly. The fuel smell could be from a gross miss. When I bought mine, it had a broken piston, and bad rings on one cylinder and symptoms much like you describe. An overhaul solved the problem. It's one of the easiest and least expensive to overhaul. Try adjusting the valves, and doing a compression and leak test. Go to www.izook.com, and look through the links, although I personally prefer Hawk Suzuki for engine parts.
Scotty
