Hello all. I am new member to the forum. I have owned one Samurai about 6 years back and it had SPOA, body lift and 32s, but bought it like that. I recently purchased what I consider to be a pretty nice one for 3,400 dollars. It is SPOA with the shackles (not sure how big, maybe an inch or two), new 31x9.5 Swampers. Calmini Locker rear, Calmini Bumpers front and rear, 4.5:1 Tcase, 8500lb winch, New heavy duty clutch, and a header with stock exhaust. Also has a new top from Besttop. Well I have already put it through the regular paces. I have done some pretty gnarly hill climbing with it. Some smaller rocks here and there, and some mud. Preformed well everywhere.
Problems so far:
1. Steering is shite. Lots of slop and it seems to turn right a lot sharper than left.
2.................Hmm.....guess that is it (for now)
Things I would like to do.
1. As usual, bigger lift and tires. I would like to fit 33s or 34s. I try and keep a narrow tires usually. No 13.50s or anything crazy. Wouldn't go any bigger than 11.50 wide. Trying to learn a little more about the YJ swap. How much MORE lift would I see since I am already SPOA? My leafs pretty much lay straight now with no arc to them. I am pretty good when it comes to fixing and working on things. How hard is this YJ swap? I have everything except a welder but could borrow one if needed. How much lift will I see. I have heard they offer more lift and a noticeable difference in ride quality and flex.
2. I currently have 31s and already want a lower gear. Should I go with a 6.5:1 case or do gears. Since I do do a lot of hill climbing I know that I will need to upgrade axles. I have heard that Sidekick axles are stronger. I was thinking about doing Sidekick axle in the rear and double toughs up front. What about the Yota swaps though. They seem like a lot of work and dont give you as much ground clearance.
3. What oils do y'al reccomend for the diffs, trans, and t case. I plan on running Rotella 15w40 in the engine. Since I own a diesel I always have it laying around the house and have heard that it is actually pretty popular to run in Sammys.
4. POWER. It has a header, but appears to be stock after the downpipe. In my opinion, isn't a header pointless if it cant flow all the extra air once is leaves the header. I took out the stock airbox the other day and slapped a old KN air filter I had laying around.
5. CARB. I have heard so many things about Carbs. Webers give you all this power but suck hind tit on hills (they flood out and stall) The stock one hasnt failed me yet, and I have been up and down some scary stuff. Could I port the stock carb and jet it up a bit or would that not make much of difference?
6. What plugs do y'al recommend? I live in Hot ass Florida FYI. Also when playing around in the mud yesterday the temp got pretty good ways up the needle. Is there something I can do with the thermostat or do I need a bigger radiator or......
The truck is not a daily, but if I can get the bugs out of the steering I would like to slap a tag on it soon.
Here are some pics so you can see what I got and in one you can see how the leafs lay straight.
THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP IN ADVANCE
