Paint work was easy. Car sits was sitting in the garage fora few days and i ran a heater in there for for a few hours before starting paint work, then i left the heater on till i went to sleep. Figure 5 -6 hours of heater going. And the garage held heat pretty well.
That Rustoleum paint though is forgiving. Shy of applying it underwater or in a blizzard it goes on pretty well haha.
sethmeister4 wrote: Looks great! Did you ever figure out why it shuts off after 45 minutes? Seems like that would be important...
Seems like i forgot to mention that...
After reading online about the issue of the car shutting off once heated up, i narrowed it down to a cam angle sensor. (seems to be common on these) I bought the sensor for $70ish bucks. You open the hood reach straight back and its right there. 5 minutes to replace. To make sure it solved it, i ran the car in the driveway for a few hours to make sure it ran. This was back before winter so it was able to get nice and hot and no issues came forth. I have run the car day in and day out at this point and no issues.
worth noting that the car shutting off when warm issue can be traced to a CAS or a crank position sensor. The CAS is cake to replace, the CPS is behind the flexplate which is a bear to replace. since no shut off issues have plagued me i hope it was only the CAS
In reply to CarKid1989:
Great! Glad to hear it was an easy fix! That thing would be fun in the ~2 ft of snow that my folks have in Ottawa right now! 
How's this thing running? If I were to look for one of these for a new family DD, which years are the best? Which motor? I want durability, not necessarily power. 4WD, A/T. Grand Vitara or regular Vitara? I currently have a '97 CR-V, but it's time to replace it soon with something newer/nicer, and if I can get one of these cheaper than a newer CR-V I would love it. Just a good family car/camping buggy, maybe some all-terrains and a tune up. Somebody learn me!
Either one is fine (V or GV). Both should have the timing chain tensioners replaced before 150k. My personal preference is the 02-03, they had the larger exhaust and an extra 10hp for the GV while still retaining the manual transfer case. the 04 got the pushbutton/AWD version that, while I've never heard of a problem, I like having the manual selector for the transfer case.
All the Vitara's (up through 2003) only came with the 2.0L 4cyl. The 2004-2005 you could get the 4 or a 2.5L V6. All the GV's came with the 2.5 from 1999-2005. The redesign in 2006 they got the 2.7 from the XL-7.
The big thing with these: Change the fluids. ALL the fluids. diffs, transfer, trans and oil. change the diffs/transfer/trans every 30-50k miles and they'll last forever. Change the oil every 3-5k (depending on driving, more stop-n-go you do, the lower the interval). THey hold 6.5qts of oil so starvation really isn't much of a problem.
ebonyandivory wrote: Makes me wish there was a 4x4 only section in GRM.
I like that idea as well.... Interested people post up.. we have a 2 wheel section that is pretty active, think this would be too.
In reply to Bobzilla:
Ok, so an '02-03 GV would be the one to get. I like the simplicity of working on a 4cyl, so that's a plus in my book. I love the CR-V, and a 2nd gen would be nice, but even with high miles they are expensive--these seem to be a little cheaper since they are lesser known/less popular with the small SUV crowd. Thanks for the info!
I just re-read your post. I guess if I want the 4cyl I need a regular Vitara, not a Grand--the 2.5 is a V6...I'm a dummy.
In reply to sethmeister4:
I had a CRV 1st gen for a bit liked it, but these Suzuki's are awesome.."real 4wd" ton of aftermarket support as well.
BBC
sethmeister4 wrote: I just re-read your post. I guess if I want the 4cyl I need a regular Vitara, not a Grand--the 2.5 is a V6...I'm a dummy.
The 2.5/2.7 are great little motors. Tough, make OK power and arenot bad in the efficiency dept. we typically saw 25-26mpg at 70+mph cruising speeds. Drop the speed down and the mileage goes up. in town, 18-20 was the norm. Turns on a dime. The frame (true body on frame) is a fully boxed critter, all the suspension arms are tubular arms etc.
I want another, I won't lie.
Hmm, definitely has me curious. The perk of a CR-V for me is that you can't beat the space/efficiency ratio. The Vitara has about 23 cu. ft. of cargo room, the 2nd gen CR-V has about 33. And the CR-V gets better gas mileage, and I really don't need a true 4wd. But I still want one.
You'll need to log in to post.
