thatsnowinnebago said:Fixing those battery cables also apparently solved a weird issue I was having where turning the blower fan on would cause the idle to jump up like 300 RPM. Now it's rock solid with the fan on or off. Not sure why it helped but it did.
Probably fixed a previously unknown ground issue...
These seem to be the same Eagle center caps that you have - 4.25" bore x 4" tall.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323154182146
Recon1342 said:thatsnowinnebago said:Fixing those battery cables also apparently solved a weird issue I was having where turning the blower fan on would cause the idle to jump up like 300 RPM. Now it's rock solid with the fan on or off. Not sure why it helped but it did.
Probably fixed a previously unknown ground issue...
That makes sense. I was focused on the positive cable last night, and didn't really think about the negative one.
Dangers of positive thinking I suppose...
Update time: my Samurai easily passed smog. It's been running smoother than my fixes so this was a nice reassurance that things are fine. Didn't love the ~$350 the smog check and registration cost, but I can't really do anything about that.
The cooler update is that I added a couple USB power outlets. My particular samurai was missing the cigarette lighter so I took the opportunity to upgrade to a nice piece from Bluesea fed from a terminal mounted fuse box, also from Bluesea. The install was pretty easy, other me being dumb and smoking one of the pricey heat shrink spade connectors.
Don't worry, I'll be finishing the ends of the sheathing with some heatshrink once I have all the wires run though it.
maschinesbau's rad X-90 reminded me that I should update my Suzuki thread too. I also did a Gambler 500 (the OG one here in Oregon) was my samurai and did some "fancy" bodywork straightening the tailgate.
I'll start with the tailgate straightening. I'm writing thing while processes are running on my work computer so I'm going to be posting inconsistently.
It seems like the one of the POs backed into something with the spare at some point: 
Inspired by many shadetree mechanics before me, I figured I could fix the bend on the tailgate with some judicial use of a scissor jack and some chunks of wood from my garage.
I realized I would putting a ton of force into the latch so I backed off the scissor jack and clamped the latch with a couple of 2x4s and some clamps to take the pressure off. I didn't want to explode it.
I was far more successful than I expected with this little project. I didn't try to fix all the issues with the part of the tailgate behind the spare but I was able to get most of the twist out of the tailgate and get it darn close to perfectly straight:
And didn't explode the latch.
Awesome shadetree body work!
akylekoz said:And didn't explode the latch.
Yes yes, the latch stayed together. Great success!
I guess I probably should post an update or three here on my progress with my Samurai. I'll start small with the replacement door straps from Trail Tough. My factory rubber straps were absolutely showing their age:
The first set of new straps I ordered were waaaay too long (they sent the ones for use with a cage) and they didn't include the bolts to install them. Too is the too long one, middle is the correct length for my application, bottom is factory.
For some reason, the holes in the brackets are too small for the factory bolts heads. The solution? Turn down the outside of a set of factory bolts. I have no idea how this is a better idea than a bigger drill bit.
Here's the new straps installed. These will be nice when I get brave next summer and cut the hinges to make the doors removable.
I've also replaced the transfer case shifter bushing with brass, replaced the entire transmission shifter with a stronger OEM part from the 90+ Samurais and another brass bushing. I took very few photos of that work because I was in a rush.
Bushings:
Replacement 12mm shifter and tower. The 12mm refers to the locating bolt for the shifter itself. The 86-90 models had a 10mm bolt that is known to fail. It was like $68 for new OEM parts so I figured I might as well just do it all at once with the upgraded bushing. Just had to swap the springs and stuff from the old shifter to the new one.
Replacing the shifter exposed a larger problem. My transmission mount was absolutely destroyed and the whole transmission was crooked enough that I couldn't actually remove the shifter housing. So I replaced the motor mounts and transmission mount in the middle of the shifter project.
The red line is drawn through the center of the mount and where the center of the transmission (the rib visible)is supposed to be.
There's few photos of this work because of the nasty gunk I had to deal with when replacing the mount.
Here's the remains of the mount next to the new one:
This is about the time where I started to order all the fun parts. Trailgear had a half-off(!) sale so I snapped with their 6.5:1 transfer case gear set, HD front output shaft, and the whole rebuild kit (Japanese bearings, new seals).Samurai transfer cases are weird in that the also apply reduction to high range. So, this 6.5:1 low range set also has a roughly 20% reduction in high range, which means I don't need to re-gear my axles to run the 31" tires I want.
The nice thing about not being in a rush to build something, is that you can wait for sales. Zuks Off-road was having a $100 off sale on their front winch bumpers so I snagged one. Then Harbor Freight sent me one of the infamous 25% off anything coupons which I used to get one of their 5000 lb Apex UTV winches. These samurais only weigh a bit over 2000 lbs so those little winches are perfectly sized.
The bumper needs some additions (recovery points, flat tow brackets, and light tabs) that I'll be farming out. You'll also notice that the fairlead hole is entirely too big and too high for the little winch I'm going to be running. I have a solution for that problem that I'll be showing later, when it's done.
Here's the monster Hella 4000s I plan to run just sort of balanced where I think they'll end up. Makes a funny frog face.
Remember that nasty gunk all over the transmission? I figured it was the distributor housing o-ring leaking because The Internet™ tells me they all do. I finally ordered the new o-ring and a threw a locking gas cap in for good measure.
Installation was pretty easy. Just had to be careful to mark the distributor where the rotor was, and mark the distributor and the housing so I don't mess up my timing.
Dirty housing:
Clean housing:
And now the part I know you're waiting for: the new locking gas cap. Or as I call it, Removing the Ford Garbage From My Fine Japanese Automobile. Please ignore my finger.
Gross:
Much "nicer" Indian Garbage installed:
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