Phase One Completed

We've owned the Zuki barely two weeks and we consider the 14 projects completed so far to be the end of Phase One for this vehicle.  Now it's time to drive it and evaluate whether we want to keep it for the long run.  Chances are we will at least keep it into and possibly through next summer before making a final decision as to whether it becomes a permanent member of the household. (Click here to read about the Zuki's purchase in Springville, Utah.)

We might undertake a Phase Two this fall and we might not.  There's only one minor project left--checking the rating of the antifreeze and refilling if necessary with fresh fluid.  Since the Zuki will overwinter here, we don't want to return home to a cracked block!

What would be involved in Phase Two?  Here's how Phase 2 would go:

A) Pull radiator. Take to radiator shop for total R&R
B) Buy new upper and lower radiator hoses.
C) Pull fan and fan clutch.
D) Replace alternator
E)Pull timing belt cover, Inspect belt, replace if necessary
F) Re-establish timing marks on crank pulley
G) Check torque on crank pulley bolts
H)Reassemble all of the above
I)Use new fan belt
J)Replace valve cover gasket
K)Check time and adjust as necessary
L)Check distributor cap and rotor and replace if necessary
M)Steam clean and detail engine compartment
N)Swap out old brake fluid with new fluid.
O)Fine tune carburetor mixture

Right now, I've invested a lot of time and money in this Zuki and feel like taking a break.  There's a lot of other non-automotive projects on our plate that need and deserve attention.  It's time to step back from teh Zuki and move on to other area of our lives.

So how much money do we actually have invested in this Zuki?

OK, let's do an approximate tally:

Cost of the Vehicle:  $1950
RT Gas to P/U Zuki  $100
Title & registration  $90
Battery & related  $70
Shocks  $140 (before $33 rebate)
Front bearings  $100
Gear Oil  $38
Instrument Cluster  $25
Gas to get cluster  $10
Broken air cleaner post $8
EGR Valve supplies   $4
Bike rack  $8
Tailpipe  $82
Specialty tools $30
Cleaning supplies $10
Oil change $25
Fuel filter  $6
Misc. $5
Total Parts & Labor  $528
Vehicle & Title         2040
Gas                           100
Total                       $2668

Note, this total reflects actual receipt of the rebate for the shock.  This may or may not happen.
The actual vehicle-related total is slightly under our target of $2500 coming in at $2478.  The remainder of the investment is the gas to go get it and the state fees for title and registration.

We're going to back off and take a break before we put any more money into it.  As we've learned from over 11 years of Zuki ownership, you CAN get your money back out of them if you are careful and prudent in how you manage the various repairs and improvements.  That's why the $2500 level is a good place to take a break.

In the meantime, there's a lot we can do without spending another dime--we've already bought the wheel polish and the car wax and a great car buffer from Harbor Freight.  That money is already reflected in teh total above.  Heck, just waxing  and polishing the beast will take quite a bit of time!

Well, that's it for now with the Zuki.  Future posts will be about gas mileage and performance and so forth.
Thanks for reading--have a great day & CHEERS!  jm

Project #14--Four new shock absorbers

I've changed shocks on a Zuki before.  It's not too big of a deal but you have to be able to get into the wheel wells and the vehicle has to be elevated.  Meanwhile, it really helps to have air tools, too.  The only time I swapped shocks in a Zuki was in Gilbert, Arizona maybe 6-7 years ago.  Some guy started a business with the idea of renting out service bays to "do-it-yourselfers."  He had all the tools and he was an ace mechanic himself.  So, he collected fees for renting the bay and the lift and then fees for various tools and then fees for himself if he was needed.  it was a pretty good business model actually.  He called it The Gearhead Garage.  I went there a lot and gave him a lot of money and got a lot done on that particular Zuki.

One project was the shocks.  Even though they look like a pretty straight forward type of a job--there's a lot that can go wrong because of the inherent corrosion that takes place under any given set of wheels wells.  Nuts can be frozen, stems can be slightly bent.  it can get to be a real knock down, drag out tussle with shocks.  That's what happened on my previous shock project.  Luckily, the owner of The Gearhead Garage was able to save my bacon and together we successfully swapped out the shocks.  But I learned my lesson.
I realized just how much time and energy it took for me to do that job and how vital were the roles of the various specialized tools, especially air tools.

So, when I realized the shocks on this Zuki were most likely 23 years old, I thought, "Hum....I wonder how we're going to do the shocks?"  As noted below, we took the Zuki out to Sears with our little $15 coupon in hand for a free brake inspection.  Not only was the brake inspection a smokin' deal in and of itself, but the Service Writer casually mentioned I could get a screamin' deal on shocks, too.  How screamin'? I asked.

Well, the Monroe shock company is running some weird special called "Shocktober," wherein you buy 3 shocks and get one free.  (The free one is actually via a rebate.)  Sears priced out a shock job at $139, including sales tax--that's the out the door price.  So, I did the math and realized the net cost for me would be $106 and the rebate.  Then I priced out the same shocks at the cheapest place I could find them--Amazon dot com.  They are $21 each there with free shipping so that $84. (Local sources of the same shock were equal to or higher than the Sears unit price.) OK, the MAXIMUM I could save by doing this job myself would then be $22, or roughly $5.50 per shock.

Would it be worth it to wrassle those shocks off and on for a mere $5.50 per wheel?  I figure each shock would have probably taken me close to an hour, barring unforeseen problems.  Uh...I don't think so!  So, I was delighted to pay the Sears Guys my money yesterday.  It was a pleasant experience, the Zuki rides noticeably better and life is good!  THANKS, Sears!

PS--The Monroe company must have a somewhat warped sense of humor.  They are promoting their shocks right now in the context of Saving Squirrels.   No kidding.  Click here to see it and believe it!

Project #13--Gear Oil

Most people know they need to change the engine oil.  Smart people change engine oil every 3,000 miles regardless fo what the owner's manual says.  Other's change about every 5,000 miles because they believe the owner's manuals.  Dummies change "every now and then" and idiots never change oil at all.  Dummies and idiots pay the price for their stupidity.  Changing engine oil should be a no-brainer.

Now, let's shift focus to the oil that sits elsewhere in a vehicle.  In a Zuki, a heavy weight gear oil sits out of sight and out of mind in four critical places--the transmission, the transfer case and the front and rear differential.  Each of these complex devices are obviously critical to the function of the Zuki machine.  In contrast to general awareness about changing engine oil, almost no one pays any attention to gear oil, not even most gearheads.  It's a total afterthought for most Zuki owners.  And yet, since the "cases" (as these places are called) are small and take a lot of stress, fresh gear oil is a truly important and vital routine maintenance.

There's only two ways to replace gear oil--do it yourself or pay somebody to do it.  Back in the day, I did it myself--often.  I bought gear oil in five gallon quantities and had all manner of tubing and hand pumps and so forth with which to get new oil into hard-to-reach places.  Next to changing a fuel filter, it's the messiest job imaginable.  It also stinks to high heaven.  The Zuki engineers placed the filler plugs for the tranny and transfer case in almost inaccessible places.  They are danged near impossible to reach and even more impossible to fill without spilling gear oil everywhere.  I've done it enough to be able to say that with 100% certainty!

However, here's the rub.  The only people I know who change gear oil are lube shops such as Jiffy Lube and their competitors.  They generally charge at least $30 per case and some charge $40 per case.  I've even had quotes as high as $49.95 per case.  Ouch, when you start doing the math, you're talking pretty major money here for the four cases in a Zuki.  The lube shops know they've "got ya."  They know it's a messy, stinky job and that no average person will ever attempt it.  So they can charge whatever they want and they know people will pay it.  It's a classic case of legalized highway robbery.

With this Zuki, I really wanted to gear oil changed ASAP.  I needed to know if there was metal shavings in the gear lube and what the old oil looked like.  Had it been changed in the past?  Did it look good?  This information would tell me what kind of conditions I would be facing for the gears in all four cases or boxes as some people call them.  Frankly, I was on pins and needles about it.  If one or more of the cases produced metal shavings or bad oil then my whole attitude would likely change about this vehicle.  I would instantly turn from a cautious owner to an eager seller.

But what to do?  I can't do it myself at this point in my life and I don't want to pay $120-$160 for the job.  Fortunately, I enjoyed some great luck.  There's a clutch shop only 3 blocks from our house.  The guy who runs this place is a real gem--he only does clutch work, nothing else.  Our first experience with him was in November 2008 when the starter when out on the big truck.  We needed that started swapped ASAP to get on the road to Arizona.  I reasoned that this clutch guy would have to work with a lot of starters to get at the clutches.  So, I hoped Monday morning would come and he would do it first thing.  He dropped all his other jobs and had that starter R&R's in less than an hour and only charged us $50!  Later we had him completely redo the clutches for both teh big truck and the Nissan.  His prices were always fair and his turnaround time was measured in hours, not days.  Bring it in the morning, pick it up mid afternoon!

So, naturally, I went over to Clutch World to discuss my dilemma about the gear oil.  Much to my surprise, he says he's charge less than $40 to do them ALL, including the oil AND the labor!  HUH?  I really couldn't believe it but, sure enough, he charged thirty-seven dollars and change for this job.  Plus, he looked at the old oil with the same eyes I would have used.  He looked for metal shavings and other residue and also at the coloration and scent of the oil.  He gave a great big thumbs up about all four boxes and said they were topped off with fresh oil "and good to go."  True to form, I dropped it off at 8 am and picked it up at 10:30.

How good is that?  VERY GOOD!  Idaho Falls still has some great automotive specialty shops like Art's Muffler and Clutch World.  With Oswald's standing by for the whole range of automotive service and with some great specialty shops tucked away here and there around the city, this is a very good place indeed to work on an old Zuki!

Project # 12 - Front Wheel Bearings

Here's Tim at Oswald's showing off his handiwork. Tim's great and we really enjoy working with him. He's the Main Guy we work with at Oswald's, a small downtown Idaho Falls auto repair business that's been in the same family for at least three, maybe four generations. They are a great service shop and it's such a pleasure doing business with them.

I went in last week after the brake inspection produced news that the left front wheel bearing was "suspect." Tim gave me a price quote (subject to parts that might be needed) and we made a date for Monday. I asked Tim to call when it was torn apart so I could take photos for this blog. He obliged. I held my breath. Would one or both bearings be shot? Would the spindles be OK? Would there be any major damage to the front end? Front wheel bearings are really crucial to the full function of a Zuki. Would we be facing a black hole is something weird was wrong inside those hubs? There's always a lot of anxiety in the wings while waiting for news about "whazzup" with your front bearings.

We won't touch a bearing job. Nope, it's way over our heads. It takes a very special skill to do bearings right and it takes a pro who does it frequently to keep "the touch" intact. As Tim said, "Each vehicle has a 'sweet spot' that you have to learn how to recognize when cranking down the various lock rings and so forth. Well, Tim's a pro who knows the Sweet Spot, that's for sure, and we are so grateful he was able to rip the Zuki down to the naked spindles.

We breathed a major sign of relief when Tim told us everything was OK inside the hubs. It only needed two new seals at ten bucks a pop. Whew, whew and Major Double Whew! Great news! The bill came to $99 and change.  If you've ever had front wheel bearings done, you know what a great price that is for the complex skill and service involved.  We really appreciate the price & service.

If you happen to live in Idaho Falls and if you need any type of repair down to your vehicle, we give Oswald's a five star rating (our highest) and highly recommend their excellent service.

Thanks, Tim! Ya dun good!

Project #11-The Fuel Filter

We've gone to great lengths to discuss the Zuki fuel filter. It's always been a "bear" of a job for me and I don't like it at all. I made a little progress in coping with this job but not much. The next time around, though, I think I will have a much better "grip" on it. No matter what I've done, I've always been covered with gasoline during this R&R. Not only does it stink but it's dangerous, too. The thought of a static electricity spark scares the daylights out of me. You can look at the slideshow above to see how I handled the latest fuel filter swap. If you can't see the slideshow or can't get Adobe Flash to load, click here to see the individual photos.

The little hose things I made sort of worked. The one I used on the outbound gasline worked great. I couldn't get the tubing to fit on the inbound line.
Meanwhile, I should have figured a way to use the chopsticks (as shown in the last photo) this time around. Next time, I guarantee you will be using at least FOUR chopstick pieces. I think the tapered chopsticks will work a lot better than the tubing. I definitely will be able to plug the filter barbs quickly. That will help on the total amount of gas that escape containment. The most difficult aspect is the incoming barb and hose. It's impossible to plug them both at the same time.

One thing I'm thinking about is replacing both of the shorty pieces of gas line tubing with something a little more pliable. Maybe I could put a big clamp on each piece of hose. That would help. Right now the hoses are rigid and brittle and a clamp would do anything.

Back in the day, I salvaged a clamp and bolt off a junkyard Zuki. I then could put the clamp onto the new filter to I wasn't under such duress trying to swap the clamp while gas is spewing every which way. This helps a LOT. I think it also helps to have a space bolt, too, just in case the existing bolt decides to "bolt" and hide out someplace where you can't find it. I'm gonna keep messing with fuel filters (pun intended)until I figure out how to do this job without getting covered in gasoline. I'd like to be able to look forward to this job instead of approaching it with fear and loathing.

In the meantime, I hope my notes on the above slideshow help you understand what you are getting yourself into when you decide to swap out the fuel filter.

Thanks for reading & cheers, jp

PS--A fuel filter generally costs about six bucks but that can go as high as ten. I've never seen them cheaper than five. If you find a good cheap source, buy a few of them and then you won't have to go looking around for one when the time comes for a swap.

Project #10 - New Twist on an Oil Change

Oil changes on a Samurai are about as straightforward as an oil change can get.  Everything's easy to access and it's usually, "WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU, MAN!"  Somehow, I managed to really complicate an oil change this weekend.  Instead of spending perhaps an hour on the whole thing, I spent more hours than I care to think about.  Why?

Well, for starters on Saturday I began researching oil filters and that ate up gobs of time.  Then, I spent way too much time roaming around looking at filters and it just spiraled out of control.  Sunday, I went way out to K-Mart in Ammon to buy some $5/quart Castrol Syn Blend oil for a mere $3/quart.  Throw in a trip to a thrift store to buy a low profile cake container and you're looking at even more gobs of time.  The upshot of all this running in circles is that I feel like I have the best possible oil filter available at any price and that I am using the best possible oil for the money.  Likewise, I came up with a "new twist" on the time-honored "guy thing" of doing oil changes.


But the biggest deal of the oil change is the plastic container shown in the photo.  It's amazing I never thought of this in all the previous years of doing Zuki oil changes!  What a dummy.  You simply slide this plastic container atop two of the front suspension and steering supports below the oil filter.  You pop off the oil filter and 100% of ALL that sloppy oil goes into the handy, dandy little container situated in perfect position below the filter.  No mess and nary a drop of stray oil to clean up.  ALL of the oil from the filter is captured for recycling and NONE of it goes onto the groundsheet or, (GADS!) into the soil.  This is mighty slick.  It makes an oil change downright civilized.

OK, what about the Purolater Pure One filter?  Bosch now owns Purolater so the filters shown below are the exact same as a Bosch.  I found documentation online to convince me that the innards of this filter as as good or better than the most expensive oil filters available for the Zuki such as K&N and AMSOil.  In fact, I came upon documentation that the Pure One filter actually outperforms the much-hyped AMSOil filter by a couple of percentage points. You can buy the Pure One all day long for seven dollars and change.  The K&N filter is generally around $15 and the AMSOil filter is $17 and up.

Note: The filter on the left is the stock item.  I thought I could use the one on the right but the post diameter was wrong.  One of these days, I will find a correct oversized filter for the Zuki.

One of these days soon, I will put up a separate page on oil filters and oil and so forth.  In the meantime, I highly recommend adopting these two new twists described above.  It was worth the time and trouble to find and use these techniques.

Project #9-The Bicycle Rack

Most Zuki owners would NEVER even think of putting a bicycle rack on the vehicle. Bicycles and Samurais generally aren't mentioned in the same sentence! Well, I have a practical reason for wanting a bike rack on the Zuki! It's called Convenience. I have a lot of work yet to be done on the Zuki. I don't want to have to ask Susun to provide a shuttle to and from places where the vehicle is serviced. Soooo....the "Best Mgmt. Practice" here is to get myself a bike rack so I can drive off to a service center, drop off the Zuki, and then bicycle back and pick it up. How simple is that? Real Simple!

What was involved? Well, as Samurai owners know, there's a rather odd arrangement tacked on to the rear of all Samurais. It's kind of a feng shui steel thingie that drops down from nowhere and then twists around and magically goes back up to the frame. Onto that "thingie" is normally attached a small "baseplate" that has a hole drilled in it to accept a hitch ball.

I know for a fact that some people actually TOW stuff with a Samurai. Frankly, I think that's nuts. (Disclaimer: someone towing a sailboat from a storage yard to the ramp is NOT nuts but practical. In that case, the Samurai would be the perfect tow vehicle.) Anyone thinking they can get out on the highway towing something with a Samurai is endangering other people, pure and simple.

OK, so I unbolted the hitch ball from that plate. Then I went to Harbor Freight and spent $8 on a two inch to 1 1/4 inch adapter thingie that normally fits into two inch receivers. Then I turned it on its side and used a big bolt and some fender washers, a lock washer and a nut to put it onto the flimsy little Samurai "baseplate." Of course, this plan meant that the bicycle rack couldn't possibly be attached to this adapter as the adapter was turned 90 degrees. Not to worry. I used a Northwest River Supply (NRS) 3 foot cam buckle strap to snug the bike rack into the new receiver hitch.

Next, I used two 9-foot NRS cam buckle straps to snug up the rack. Meanwhile, I attached a real bicycle and used a variety of NRS straps to make it totally secure. This rig isn't for the back-country. Nope, the back-country would destroy this rig. This rig is for around town in the "right here and now."

I'm quite proud of this rig!

Cheers!

Project #8 -The Brake Inspection

I got to thinking I should inspect my brakes.  The seller said the rear brakes were new.  Should I believe him?  I dunno.  Meanwhile, what about the front brakes?  It's a real bear to self-inspect brakes.  Imagine my surprise this morning when I opened teh daily newspaper about 6 am and Sears had a coupon for a totally FREE brake inspection.  WOW!

I hotfooted it out to Sears just about the time I thought there might be a late morning lull in their action.  Sure enough, they got me right in a bay and Richard started to work ASAP!  He tore each of the wheels apart--even took out the disc brake pads and measured them with a caliper.  He mic'd the drums and rotors and calipered the rear shoes, too.  WOW, it was way more thorough that I expected.  Then he wrote down everything to the third decimal place on a data sheet and explained to me that the brakes were great and didn't need a thing!  He said the rear ones were almost brand new so that validated the seller's story.  He said I had a LOT of life left in the front brakes and not to worry about them.

He did point out that I needed four shocks and that the left front wheel bearing had a lot of play in it.  Then he put it all back together properly and they let me loose scot free.  It took Richard over an hour to do the job.  They even made a copy of the data sheet for me.  Meanwhile, they quoted $140 "out the door for 4 shocks installed with a $33 rebate, too.  I'm taking 'em up on that one!

I went down to Oswald's and got a quote of $100 to R&R both front wheel bearings, plus parts.  That's a smoking deal so we're booked on Monday morning at 8 am.  Good Ol' Sears really came through today.

Project #7 - The EGR Valve

EGR means Exhaust Gas Return.  Supposedly, mixing in a little exhaust gas with the combustion chamber fuel reduces nitrogen oxide.  The EGR valve is a common ingredient of the spaghetti of pollution control hoses and devices under almost any vehicle hood.  Yesterday, the first time I drove the Zuki, I noticed the smell of "rich" gas.  Normally, that would mean the carb was not adjusted correctly but that's rarely a problem with the stock Hitachi.  It's almost always some other culprit.  I spent about 3 hours online last night reading everything I could about vacuum lines and the pollution control stuff on the Zuki.  I came to Hypothesis #1 that the rich burning smell was due to a malfunctioning EGR valve.  A lot of commentators said to simply make a plate and block off the valve entirely.  They said I would pick up noticeable horsepower and fuel economy, too.  Well, I am keeping that option open.  About half of the commentators cautioned against disabling the EGR valve saying it would cause bigger problems elsewhere.  A consensus of those commentators suggested simply cleaning the EGR valve with brake cleaner and elbow grease.  I chose the latter solution, at least for now.  Luckily, I was able to find an EGR gasket for $1.48.  Naturally, I checked the Autozone on the Westside and the part was only available at their Eastside Store.  So it goes.

After much double checking with various diagrams and pictures, I was certain I had identified the EGR valve.  There's so many valves under the hood it's easy to get confused.  I was able to loosed both 10 mm bolts and easily pull the valve off the intake manifold.  The two vacuum lines also disconnected very easily.  The device was filthy, of course.  I used about half a can of brake cleaner to thoroughly clean it out.  It was easy to tell the diaphram was stuck when I pulled it out.  After much cleaner fluid was applied, the diaphragm broke loose and worked again.  I gave the diaphragm a thorough inspection and it appears to be intact.  After about 30 minutes if cleaning, I let the part sit in the sun to air dry.  Brake cleaner fluid will evaporate very quickly!  Also, It's important to capture as much used brake cleaner fluid as possible.  This is nasty stuff.  Do not let it go into the soil!  I used a plastic wash tub to wash and clean the part so I could capture the used fluid.  Then I put it in a glass jar.  It will be suitable for cleaner small parts for quite some time.

Next, Was able to get off the old gasket and there was no gasket residue on the manifold.  Imagine that!  So,  I popped on the new gasket, reconnected the vacuum lines and snugged in the two bolts with my fingers.  Yes, they went in that easily!  I gently torqued them into place.  You dont' want to man-handle an aluminum manifold.  it's EVER so easy to strip out a tap in one of those manifolds.  Go easy!

The total cost for this project was the gasket ($1.48) and the brake cleaner fluid ($2.37) so call it four bucks.
I printed out an eBay listing for a new Samurai EGR valve.  It's listed for $164!  They aren't any longer available at the parts houses here in the city.

Now, the only thing that remains it to go out driving and see if there's any difference.

NOTE ADDED shortly after the blog post done--we took it for a drive and neither one of us could smell that gas smell.  It had noticeably more power and "zip!"  YEA for online research!!!!!

Copyright Notice--The small vacuum line diagram is used from ACK's FAQ which is hotlinked via the left hand column here.  If you use ACK's stuff, you really oughta donate to him, too!  I sure plan to.

Project #6 - The HIC-Manifold vacuum line

As you've read, the air cleaner cowling was held on (loosely) by baling wire!  I also noted that the small vacuum line that connects a valve inside the air cleaner with the manifold was cut off and plugged with a steel rod.  Today, we set about replacing that six inch line.  The first trick is finding the hose with the correct inside diameter (ID) so it can slip on tight without a hose clamp.  The ID is metric of course and too small for me to measure with my caliper.  It's less than 3/16ths of an inch.  I thought this called for a visit to the professional hose people out on Utah Avenue.  They charged me $1.58 for a foot of "fuel/emission? hose they thought would work.  it didn't.  The ID was too large and it wouldn't make a good seal.  So, I went back to them and they said to go try Rush's, a Carquest Dealer across Cleveland Street from Art's Muffler.  Sure enough, Rush's had the right hose and charged me 61 cents.  So, off I went and had that problem remedied in a jiffy.  Whew, except for the running all over two twice to get the right hose, it was a simple, straightforward job.  Of course, without long nose needle nose pliers, it would have been impossible. The red "X" marks the line in the photo.

Copyright Notice--The small vacuum line diagram is used from ACK's FAQ which is hotlinked via the left hand column here. If you use ACK's stuff, you really oughta donate to him, too! I sure plan to.

Project #5--The Exhaust System

Project #5 was really easy for me.  All I had to do was delivery and then pick up the Zuki at Art's Muffler Shop in Idaho Falls.  That and pay then $83 cash.  Art's is a throwback business that dates to the 1950's.  It's once of those places that is always "too good to be true."  The people there are truly outstanding and as honest as the sunrise and smarter than tacks.  You wouldn't believe all the stuff they've done for me for free.  I can't even recall all the stuff they've done for free.  This summer, for example, I needed two rebars tips bent at a 90 degree angle to use for campfire management.  They did it free and thanked me for bringing them in!  I've always told these guys I could hardly wait to find a project where I actually could give them some money.  Well, September 21 was the day and I was so happy to pay then $83.  As usual it was a great deal.  First, Stan inspected the whole system and called and told me it needed only a new tailpipe and a catalytic converter.  OUCH!  The cat converter was gonna cost about $300.  I was worried he would say that I HAD to get the cat converter.  But he didn't.  I simply said I couldn't afford the converter right now and would be OK to just do the rotted tailpipe?  He said "Sure" and quoted me $80, plus a pittance of tax.  Sure enough, I went over not long later that there it sat with the spiffiest new tail pipe you ever did see.  I asked Stan if the manifold, donut, and hangers were all OK and he gave them thumbs up and said they were fine. Those guys are so much fun to deal with!  Well, Project #5 is done and it was sure enjoyable.

Project #4--The instrument Cluster

I just successfully swapped out the Zuki instrument cluster Friday afternoon, September 24. The broken glass is gone and we gained a trip odometer, too.  The new temp gauge works better than the old one.  It only took a little less than 3 hours round trip.

This is going to be an ongoing project for awhile as I have other stuff to do in the meantime.  So we will consider this post as Phase One of Project #4.  The glass over the speedometer is broken as you can see.  Also, the trip odometer doesn't work.  I think some ham-handed owner got upset that the trip odometer broken and he(she) hit the little reset button a little too hard one day and shattered the glass.

Saturday, I roamed around the various Craigs Lists and found several people selling Zuki parts.  I sent them emails asking if they had other parts.  Cliff in Bannock County replied that he had a variety of parts, including the instrument cluster I needed to R&R the broken glass.  I drove down to Cliff's place Sunday afternoon and he had two clusters.  He settled on a $25 price for one of them and off I went.  I know it's going to be a real adventure swapping this puppy out so I'm not gonna tackle Phase Two right away yet.  At least I have the correct parts assembly and I can cross my fingers and "hope" that the new one works!

Sunday Morning Dink ,Tink & Think

Nobody wants to roll up their sleeves and dive into a meaningful project on a Sunday morning.  Nah, that ain't the rules of this here game.  In the meantiime, however, it's fun to take a cuppa joe out to the garage and mess around acting like we are doing something.  Here's what I did this morning and here's what I am thinking.

I spent quite a bit of time online and signed up for membership in the Off-Road Dot Com Forums.  Then I studied an ACK FAQ on the vacuum hoses.  That consumed almost an entire pot of coffee!

Next, I decided to swap out the PCV valve.  That's an easy task since I have a deep socket specifically for that valve.  It was evident no one had swapped that item in awhile--just getting the hose off made me wonder if I had bit off more than I could chew.  But it finally came off and the valve came out OK and I carefully put in a new valve I already had in my spare parts kit.

Meanwhile I took out the #3 sparkplug.  It looks brand new and properly gapped.  it is the wrong plug.  It's supposed to be a 5ES but it's a 5EY.  I'm not sure that would make much difference.

Then, I backed the beast out into the open air so I could run it without getting killed by carbon monoxide.  I pulled out my stethoscope and listened carefully to all parts of the engine.  There's some odd noises coming from this Zuki--not like major odd noises, just mysterious odd noises.  However, I couldn't find anything abnormal anywhere with the scope.  The disty, alternator and water pump purr as quietly as a kitten.  The valve train sounds fine--there's no noises come from the block or either manifold.  Nothing from the top of the tranny either.  Nothing from the carb.  I went over everything at least 3 times searching for odd noises but couldn't find a single one.

then I decided to hook up the timing light and that went A-OK until I pointed it down to the timing marks.  The fixed degree plate, of course, shows up fine but I couldn't see a timing mark to save my skin.  I turned everything off and got a strong light and looked high and low for a timing mark--there was none to be found.  I turned the timing light back on and still no luck.  Hum....that's odd and perplexing.  I'm not quite sure what to do about that.  I guess I will have to do some online study to get some ideas.

I could see there's a missing bolt in the radiator bracket--good thing I noticed that.  The hoses look old but serviceable.  I suppose it's time to rip the old ones off and put on new ones but, golly, I really don't like messing with radiator hoses, especially old ones that are bonded to the pipes.

If I decide to keep this Zuki, I think I will pull the radiator and have to gone through just for good measure.  While it's out, I will probably swap out the alternator, too, it's so much easier when the radiator is gone.

The only thing I could not check with the scope is the fan clutch--that might be the source of the noise.  Chances are its the original one.  I have a spare so I will probably just swap it out to see what happens. Since then I've learned the crank pulley bolts might be a tad bit loose. I reckon it would be a good idea to pull the radiator and then check the timing belt anyway--that's when I could check the pulley bolts.

Last night I spent a lot of time roaming the Craigs Lists of Slat Lake City, Missoula, Boise, Montana and Wyoming.  I found numerous Zuki parts and established email contact with three of the sellers.  I have a line on a complete Weber carb unit for $200, a good used t-case with a new bearing set for $150 and a whole bunch of parts down at Fort Hall.  I might go down there this afternoon and see if I can get the parts to fix up the broken dash glass.  This are progressing pretty well and I am pleased.

Now it's time to go hit a bucket of balls before the wind comes up.

Cheers, jp

Third Project-The Oxygen Sensor.

Right off the bat, I noticed the sensor light staying on all the time on the dashboard. I bought a new oxygen sensor and then remembered I might actually have a good used one. Sure enough, I found that I did indeed have one. Next challenge was the sensor wrench. They essentially rent them free at Auto Zone. You pay $25 and then get your money back if you return the tool. Somehow, though, I was certain I had a 22mm wrench. After much looking, I actually found I did, indeed, own such a wrench. Well, someone had recently replaced the sensor. it came out far too easily and that's a sure sign it had been recently pulled. Oxygen sensors DO NOT come out easily. Period. This one came out like a greased pig. Hum.... Meanwhile, I cleaned the old one and put it back in. The sensor light still stayed on, no luck. So, I pulled the existing sensor and put in my own used sensor. Still no luck. I was not willing to use the new one I bought because my intuition told me it wouldn't work either.

So I got online and went to my Old Standby--the Off-Road.Com Suzuki Forum. There's currently 29,800 threads (topics) with 239,000 posts to those threads on that forum. What those numbers mean is that you can find a solution to any known problem regarding a Suzuki Samurai. So, I simply typed in "sensor light" and, BAM, just like that I had my answer. Sure enough, it really wasn't the sensor--it was a small switch hidden near the steering column. I got under there, found and flipped the switch and, presto, problem solved. While I was at it, I cleaned that area thoroughly. Meanwhile, I pulled out my used sensor and applied some anti-seize compound to its threads and torqued it back into place. it's good to go and the annoying Sensor Light is OFF! YEA!

Second Project--The Battery

I didn't take a "before" photo of the ridiculous battery. It was disgusting. It was easily perhaps the worst battery corrosion I've ever seen. I noted the date on the old battery--February 2004! Gee, six and a half years old, eh?

Just getting the old battery out of the Zuki proved to be a substantial challenge. Everything was frozen up. Luckily, the terminal nuts came loose and I was able to pry the terminals off. Then I used channel lock pliers to remove the tie down wing nuts. Luckily, nothing broke. But the real challenge was getting the top bracket loose from the battery itself. The thick corrosion had bonded itself to the battery and wouldn't budge. I finally brought in a large rubber mallet and a 18 inch piece of 2x2. After whacking awhile on the bracket, the corrosion broke loose in a big cloud of acidic dust. (NOTE: I was wearing a full face shield, a full protective mask and latex gloves for this phase of the project.)

Before pulling out the battery, I was convinced I'd find the sheet metal below the battery completely rusted through. Imagine my surprise when I saw that NONE of this metal had been damaged! WHAT? How could this be? Luckily, someone had put a thin piece of rubber beneath the battery--that helped a LOT. But I also realized that someone had sprayed an aftermarket protective coating beneath the battery. The coating looks like a mirco thin bed liner sort of coating. Clearly, that saved this vehicle's battery bacon in this case. Most sheet metal beneath old Zuki batteries is long gone! So, at least I had a reasonable hope of being able to get it all back together.

But first....

I put the bracket and one of the tie down posts in a tub of water and baking soda. You should have seen it boil and fizz! I let it sit overnight and meanwhile bought more baking soda for the work ahead.

Then I went to Sam's Club with tape measure in hand and decided a Group 58-N battery might be able to fit. I carefully took the 58-N measurements and, just to be safe, returned home to double check the available space. I put the old battery in a Home Depot orange plastic bucket and then returned to Sam's to buy the new battery. I fit the new battery back into the bucket and brought it home.

The next challenge was removing all of the dried corrosion that had formed beneath the battery. I bought a $24 one gallon mini-shop vac and put on all the personal protective gear and began merrily sucking it up with the vac. I needed an ice pick, two wire brushes and a knife to break loose most of the corrosion residue.
For the remainder, I mixed some baking soda with water and put it in a spray bottle. Then I gave the area repeated doses of the soda solution while soaking up each round of spray with paper towels. In this manner, I was able to thoroughly clean the battery compartment.

One of the tie down posts couldn't come out of the compartment so I had to clean it in place. The corrosion was so bonded to the post, I had to use channel locks to bite away at the big chunks clinging to the post. Meanwhile, most of the caked corrosion had dissolved from the bracket--but not all of it. There was a substantial amount left. So I put the bracket in the shop vice and used wire bristle wheels attached to the electric drill to grind out the remainder. it was very stubborn stuff! For good measure, I buffed the entire bracket and the wing nuts and painted them green. I would have painted them black but I didn't have any black paint.

While the paint was drying, I went to Harbor Freight and bought two felt washers for a buck to go under the terminals. Then I went to Checker and spent $1.37 on some di-electric anti-corrosion grease for the terminals.

Next came an unexpected surprise: I could pry the battery out of the Home Depot Bucket! No way, no how. So, I had to get out the aviation snips and destroy the bucket. I had to make two cuts top to bottom in order to free the battery. Who knew a battery could be held captive in a bucket?

Luckily, the battery fit the compartment. There was not even a single millimeter of space on either side. Whew! Meanwhile the negative terminal wouldn't quite fit and I had to put out the 2x2 and rubber mallet to "snug" the negative terminal down on the post. Luckily, I didn't break the top of the battery casing!

Once we got it all back together, it fit like a hand in a glove and looks real spiffy, too. The battery cost $63 including tax and there's a 36-month free replacement on it. I will put the receipt in an marked envelope in the glove box.
I'm glad that project is done. I don't like working with batteries at all!

First Project--Broken air cleaner post

The very first thing we noticed when we opened the hood was the badly corroded battery. The second thing was that the air cleaner was held by a piece of baling wire! Frankly, the wire didn't hold the air cleaner down onto the top of the carburetor and that's NOT a good thing! So, it became our first priority project. At some point someone had man-handled the nut that holds attached the air cleaner to the carb. They broke the stub right out of the top of the carb casting. The casting was badly mangled with a big chunk broken clean away from the casting wall. It looked like a pretty daunting project.

Our first step was to clean both ends of the threaded post. We then bought a metric tap and die set at Harbor Freight for $10 and reamed a new coarse thread into what remained of the top of the carb casting.

We were very careful, of course, to protect all parts of the carb from the fine metal shavings the tap produced. We then used our air compressor to blow away even the tiniest metal particles before we removed the protection from the rest of the carb.

Even though the tap we used was much bigger than the actual post diameter, we figured it didn't matter. The goal here was to give something for the JB Weld to key into. JB Weld holds much better if it has a rough surface to key into. Then we used the correct size die to ream the threads of the hold down post. We compared all sorts of two part epoxies and couldn't find anything better than Good Ol' $5 JB Weld. Why? Well, it has a very high tensile strength and is good up to 600 degrees! That sounded perfect for the carb post project.

We made a nice gob of JB Weld and stuck in the post and cleaned up the excess and waited awhile to line it up plumb from both front and side views. Then we carefully closed the hood and didn't touch the Zuki for almost 24 hours while the JB Weld fully cured.

In the meantime, we lost a metal and rubber bushing that fills in the large hole on top of the sheet metal for the air cleaner. No amount of looking would find the lost bushing. Bummer! So, we went out to ACE Hardware in Ammon and bought two rubber fender washers and a couple of galvanized fender washers and, WHAM-BAM, they fit perfectly. We put it all back together and it's better than new and tight as a piano wire. This project was finished September 17.

A New 1987 Zuki Arrives

We bought this Zuki September 14, in Springville, Utah. Here's how it unfolded.  I was sitting online about 9 pm Monday, September 13.  I was roaming the KSL Cars website out of Salt Lake City.  Once in awhile I check the Samurais.  Normally, anything decent has long since been sold.  Imagine my surprise when I saw this one had only been listed 4 hours ago.  I called at 9:15 pm and it wasn't sold.  I talked at length with the seller and by about 10 pm I made a deal to buy it sight unseen.  I asked him to trust me that I really would drive 270 miles and be there by about lunch time.  Sure enough, he held it for me even though he said his phone was ringing off the wall.  You can click here to read an archived printout of the KSL Cars listing.  If what the guy said in the listing would have been true, the $1950 price would have been a steal.  Unfortunately, the seller wasn't honest about the vehicle but it's still probably worth close to the $1950 I paid.  A few things are undeniable--the interior upholstery really was redone at a cost of $550 and the vehicle is rust free.  He put in new carpet and diamond plate door panels--that's a fact.  It's got real nice cast aluminum aftermarket wheels and some decent tread on the tires.  The top is in great shape, the windows aren't cracked and everything seems to work well.  I asked him Monday night if it needed ANYTHING and he said no.  Well, DUH, that was an outright piece of flagrant BS, as you can tell by reading this blog.  But, whatever, that's the way it goes with sellers these days.  I figure in the grand scheme of things getting a decent, rust free Sammi with a basically brand new interior and one that has everything in working order is probably worth two grand.
--------------
Below are the two blog posts I put up on my personal blog.  One went up right away Monday night.  The other one was written after I got back home Tuesday evening.  They are both self-explanatory.

WOW--we just made a deal to buy this vehicle sight unseen tomorrow and I have to drive a 550 miles round trip to pick it up!  Can you believe that?  I'm not sure I can.  It kind of makes me dizzy thinking about it.  It's in Springville, Utah.
Click here for the KSL Cars listing.  More on this story as it unfolds.
------------------------------

It's so wonderful being back in Idaho today!  You have no idea how wonderful it is unless you live here.  It's even MORE wonderful being back in Idaho after you have been through Utah's Salt Lake traffic gauntlet twice in one day.  Trust me, Utah is a Beautiful and Wonderful State but the drivers in the Salt Lake metroplex are totally crazy and it's like completely off the wall there.  WOW!

Anyway, I did the "sleep test" on the Zuki and decided to buy it.  So, I started packing at 6 am.  I thought of all the contingencies and so forth and packed WAY too much stuff.  Three tool boxes.  A total camp rig.  A cooler full of food and beverages.  The Snack Box. The laptop.  Cameras, chargers, you name it, I packed it.
By and by, I was able to leave the house about 8:15 am and go on I-15 at 8:27 am.  Who knew there was such I-15 mayhem between here and Pokey?  WOW!  The Bingham County People are totally nutso--they drive like race car drivers.  They are not as bad as Salt Lake driver but close. I felt lucky to survive my drive this morning and I hadn't even entered Utah yet.  After Pocatello, the craziness disappears and life is good.  I really didn't have much angst about traffic until the I-215 loop rejoined I-15 south of the airport.  That's when people really amped it up again. Geeze.  Here's this 24 mile long construction zone and the speed limit is CLEARLY posted 55 mph with many signs saying fines are DOUBLE for speeding.  DOH.  Nobody paid a speck of attention to these signs and they were speeding like you wouldn't believe.  Well, I didn't want to get a ticket so I kinda kept it "close" to the posted limit, driving 60-62 most of the time. That really annoyed the Salt Lake drivers and I was tailgate bait Big Time.  It was real annoying but what can I say?  I try to obey the posted laws.

Meanwhile, I showed up @ 1:05 pm at the seller's mini-mansion in a very valuable niche neighborhood of Springville.  Who knew Springville harbored an enclave of such high dollar houses? This guy had it all--quads every which way, wave runners, a 30-foot cabin cruiser, Harleys here and there, and various trucks and Jeeps draped about the property. Luckily, he was a very nice person and quite helpful.

He confided in me that I was "right," he should had priced the Zuki at least $500 higher. That's what I told him the previous evening. Fortunately, he honored his word to sell it it to us for the posted price.  He said he was doing so because he knew we would treat it the way it should be treated. He sure had that part right.

Once I was all paid up, title-equipped and hitched we headed off for the Wild Blue slight after two.  After refueling, I hit the mano-y-mano Fast Lanes of I-15 at 2:20 pm.  What can I say about I-15 in the SLC Metroplex?  It's basically a NASCAR race. I really felt today like "tradin' paint" with some of the other drivers I was racing with.  Geeze!  Even the semi truck drivers seem to lose all common sense when they drive I-15.  I looked back in the mirror once and a semi was six inches from my left side.  Oh, doesn't that send a warm and fuzzy feeling through thy body and spirit?  I had this one Yahoo driver who was simply enjoying the pleasure of DRAFTING my rig. As nearly as I could tell, he hung out a few inches behind the Zuki and merrily cruised along in his beat up old pickup.

The funny thing about the Salt Lake area is that the people there (and throughout Utah) are very nice and polite when they are not in their vehicles.  We really enjoy the people and places of Utah--it's a great state.  Somehow, though, when people who live in the Salt Lake Basin get behind the wheel of a vehicle things change dramatically.  It's a real Jekyll-Hyde thing.

I was able to exhale, as usual, when I finally passed Mile Post 357 at Willard Bay.  Yes, the traffic is still substantial but it seems to lack the sense of random craziness that the traffic south of there has.  After Tremonton, all was OK.  I encountered a nice thunderstorm from Malad to McCammon.  Lightning was spiking down on the mountains and the rain came in vertical sheets.  It was delightful and refreshing and very fitting for re-entry to Idaho.  Oh, how good it feels to be back in The Gem State.  Say what you will about Idaho but it is a very SANE place to live, traffic-wise.  The greatest value of Salt Lake traffic is that it makes Idaho traffic look sedate and sane!  Thanks, SLC Drivers!

Well, here's some photos.  They are pretty self explanatory.  Maybe I will add some descriptive comments tomorrow morning.  I've driven 560 miles, 100 miles more than the distance from Flagstaff to Los Angeles (464).  And half of those miles were TOWING something.  Yikes! I'm tired.  Have a great night & Cheers!  jp

PS, I finished editing (sic) this post and looked up at the clock and it's precisely 24 hours (9:15) since I "discovered" the listing on KSL Cars for the Red Zuki.  My, my, what a lot of stuff can transpire in a mere 24 hours!