Hi, i inherited an old Suzuki samurai SJ410 from my grandpa, which he mainly used to drive around in the forest, as he was a forester. The clutch has a weird tough point in the middle, I don't know how to explain it. When you push down, it goes smoothly until you hit a certain point, that takes quite a lot of effort to push through. When you do, it goes straight to the floor. It does work though, it can be driven fine, but it's very rough to shift and to get going. What could be causing this and what could one do to fix it? It bites before the tough point.

Took the ol’ turbo Samurai to Holly Oaks ORV park in southeast Michigan for the annual 4Fest event. Joined by a buddy’s TDI 4Runner, and LS swapped wrangler TJ.

Had a great time and looking forward to going back!

Fabric on my side panels is in amazing shape, but the seats are pretty beat up. I can sew, so I’d like to reupholster the seats with matching fabric. I haven’t been able to find any samurai’s with this interior. Any idea where I could source it?

Looking for pictures of the front backseat mounting brackets as I have no idea what im looking for in my parts pile, the go to where I have circled In photos

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​Hey everyone!

​I'm currently working on my Maruti Gypsy project car, trying to make it drivable, comfortable, and actually enjoyable again. Right now, I’m having serious issues with the suspension:

​On-road: It's brutally stiff and bounces violently over minor road bumps, even at speeds as low as 20 km/h.

​Off-road: The suspension has virtually no travel/droop. The tyres refuse to flex down into ruts, causing the car to lift wheels and lose traction on really easy trail paths.

​I’ve attached photos of my current setup. It’s running a 5-leaf flat bar configuration per wheel.

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​I wanted to check with the community:

​Is this heavy 5-leaf setup known for binding up on these lightweight Suzukis?

​Has anyone here successfully pulled leaves out (e.g., converting to a 3-leaf setup) to fix this, or is a switch to parabolic springs the only real answer?

​What leaf spring & shackle setup are you running on your rig, and how does it perform for on-road comfort vs. off-road articulation?

​Would love to hear your experiences and see what setups are working best for you guys. Thanks in advance

My heater barley blows any heat, I can hear the fan working, and the heater control valve works. Wondering if there is anything else specifically I should check before tearing it apart

Im trying to get the interior buttoned up after making new seat covers. Since my factory clock is broken I've been inspired from others who have made something similar.

I'm still working out the kinks and screen arrangements. I plan to 3D print a low profile bezel and wrap it in matching vinyl. I wish they made a round screen a bit smaller in diameter so it would fit in the factory clock housing to maintain the look. Maybe as these become more common another size will be come available.

The screen size is actually good but ther is about a 1/2" band of unused surface that makes it too large.

Clock

Outside Temp

Inclinometer

Altimeter

Compass

Vehicle Voltage

GPS Speed.

Dims screen with headlight activation (all configurable by percentage)

I'll be adding a trip meter and possibly water and oil pressure down the road.

1885 SJ413 was down for a bit, got a ZOR SPOA, all new brakes (lines, calipers, pads and shoes) and 30x10.50r15 sxs tires

Hey guys, a while ago I got my santaja sj410 engine's rebuild and after fixing some electrical problems something else showed up: temperature fluctuations with the pedal pressed. To be clear, this is not the engine's temperature going to the top and staying there, it's raising to around 2/3s of the scale when pushing the engine hard-ish and coming back to normal (1/3) after some time.

Things I ruled out:

1. faulty thermostat (both I tried are opening and closing at the correct temperatures),
2. faulty sender (there are actual fluctuations near the sender and in the oil filter, I tested it with a thermometer),
3. problem in the head (there is no mix of oil and water), problem in the cooling circuit itself (no leaks).

What I couldn't rule out:

1. something INSIDE the cooling circuit, even though I purged it again and again (the level of coolant raises and plunges quickly in the expansion bottle),
2. the radiator is too big for the car/newly installed water pump (I installed it before engine rebuild and it actually stopped the car from overheating when idling, so I don't see it making any sense unless the water pump that was there was stronger than the one they rebuild it with, which I doubt)
3. The final carb tuning was badly done and it's too rich when revving, which would also explain some (burned) gasoline smell and higher than expected emissions when revving.

Have any of you had a similar problem before? What of the 3 possible causes do you find most likely? I do know how to tune carbs but I'm more used to smaller/simpler engines, so I don't want to mess with it unless I'm positively sure that that's the cause.

Thank you!

I recently bought a stock 1987 Samurai that I plan to use semi-daily. The harsh ride is a pita, but maybe I have a solution? I wanted to go with the Rocky-Road coil spring setup, but that comes in only 6" or 8" lifts, and I don't want a lift. So I found a composite spring setup made by Dr. Nano in India (click the 'Open' button above). Has anyone tried one of these setups, or know anyone who has? Or know of another composite spring supplier (besides the several of them on eBay that are all out of India) based here in the US?

Hey everyone I could use some brainstorming help. I have an ‘87 Samurai with the 1.6 16v and it has a subtle hesitation from idle to when you put your foot in it. No other noticeable performance issues.

So far it’s had the following replaced
Injectors
Fuel regulator
It’s been timed
TPS
New vac lines
New distributor cap
New timing kit
Idle air control valve cleaned
Throttle body cleaned
New mass air flow
New fuel pump (petro works)

There may be a few other things I’m forgetting. All this work has helped it some but hasn’t gone away. It also cranks a long time before starting which initially led me to believe I had a bleed back fuel problem but I’ve verified this is not the case. When cranking I have to move the go pedal a bit like a carbed motor for it to start…

Scratching my head here 🤔

I have been getting into off roading and climbing with my stock Sami and was curious of the stationary tipping point, not when driving at certain speeds (boo consumer reports). I couldn’t find anything conclusive about the rollover angle online so I came to the next best place. Thanks!

Hi everyone! Does anyone here drive a 413 with an automatic transmission (with the stock engine)? Is it a lot of work? Is it usable for daily driving (60-80km/h) ? Is it very loud and underpowered? Are you disappointed?

I’ve been driving my trusty 2014 Toyota Yaris over a decade now, and honestly, it’s been the definition of an "old reliable." It just works, eats virtually no gas, and never gives me headaches.

That said, every single time I see a Suzuki Samurai cruising around the island, I can't help but stare. They just look so cool, and I’ve had this itch for a while to buy one, put some solid money into it, and maybe... daily it?

Before I make a financial mistake, I wanted to get a reality check from people who actually own or have built them out.

If I dump money into upgrading the suspension, restoring the engine/drivetrain, adding modern AC, and fixing up the interior, is a Samurai actually dailyable around? Or is the reality of living with leaf springs, zero sound deadening, lightweight highway instability, and classic car quirks going to make me hate my life after two weeks?

Part of me feels like it’s a fun project that could work for the daily commute, but another part of me is telling me to keep the Yaris for the daily grind and strictly save the Samurai for weekend beach runs and mountain trips.

For those who have taken the plunge: can you make a Samurai comfortable enough for everyday use, or is it strictly a weekend toy? Appreciate any honest thoughts!

Hola llevo unos 6 meses con mi Suzuki samurai , y en los últimas semanas tengo algunos problemas eléctricos, a la hora de presionar el pedal de clutch con el carro encendido y en ocasiones con el carro apagado el voltaje cae por debajo de 11v y me apaga/reinicia la radio y otros accesorios. Además los intermitentes en ocasiones se aceleran ( parece problema de tierra) dependiendo las rpm del motor. Alguna idea de qué puede ser?

Gracias y quedo atento a cualquier comentario.

Theres also a knocking sound that comes from the back as I start to slow down to a stop that also gets slower as the vehicle slows, but I'm not sure if its related.

This is a Suzuki Gypsy MPFI (2008 India market). I had left the vehicle unattended for around 10 months as I was not in town. Today morning, after filling the radiator reservoir and confirming that engine oil level was optimum I cranked the car. It started instantly but after around 30 seconds I could see smoke from exhaust headers. I switched it off immediately

The video shows the smoke when the car is off. It smoke settled around 10-20 seconds after car was switched off.

What is the cause of the smoke ? What should I do next ?

Kindly advice.

Everything worked out on the 31” tires. For future reference for anyone going down this rabbit hole, they fit with a Spring over axel.

Setup: spring over axel, 3.75 backspacing on old wheels (15x8)

I have a 1999 samurai. It doesnt start easy, (when cold) but when its warm it runs like charm. We already tried making the choque better. Can someone help

I finally finished my AC for my 87' tintop! It was a lot of work, but ultimately not very difficult.

The kit I used was from NostalgicAC, their in dash kit using their ID200 evaporator, a Sanden 508 compressor, and a 12"x20" condensor.

All hoses were crimped by hand using an Amazon cheapy hydraulic crimper.

Ive been driving it for 3 weeks, and so far, its working very well, getting 36f air from the vents.

Happy to answer any questions for those wanting to do the same.

You all may all have seen my other post about my AC install, just know all of my testing here is with the AC off.

Ive done a lot of work to my 87' tintop, it was having some bad oil leaking issues, and heat issues, so I decided to really go through it over the past few months.

Before I started working on it, I had no issues reaching 70mph flat, and was able to climb a hill near my house and maintain 55mph in 5th uphill. Now it cannot, it can barely do 55mph flat and level.

Things ive done;

New timing belt, cam and crank seal

New water pump and oil pump gasket

Distributor housing o-ring and distributor o-ring

Larger aluminum radiator and electric fan

GM 12si 100amp alternator

Rotated "improperly" installed Weber carb

Relocated PCV valve for carb clearance

ReGeared transfer case, 4.9

New clutch and flywheel

New U-joints, all

Tried various timing, 8btdc, 10, 12, and now 15

Verified mechanical advance is functioning

Added fuel pressure gauge, and experimented with an electric pump, no change.

I have a few things to try this weekend, new plugs, check vacuum advance functionality, and i have to replace the valve cover gasket, so I can check the valve lash while the cover is off. I banged up the exhaust quite i bit when pulling the transmission, so I also have an exhaust leak now, going to replace the gasket and donut as well.

Any other things I should try/check?

Thanks all!