I have found a 1994 2 door five speed 4x4 tracker. Has about 140K miles on it. I am looking for a daily driver to occasionally play in the woods with. I know that this is an IFS front end. That is a weakness in some peoples view. What are peoples experiances with this model? With a small lift, some larger tires, lockers and some armor how competent is this model? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What should I look for in my inspection of this model?

Any informed advice is awesome. Thanks in advance.

John

Wow John lot of questions! These are very capable rigs, even stock. 140k is nothing as long as it was maintained well. You'll want to do the usual checks as with any used vehicle, observe and smell the fluids, look for rust under the carpet and floor mats, is the engine compartment clean? That's always a good sign. Listen to the engine, ticking a bit is normal for these motors, check the 4wd for proper operation, the locking hubs either manual or auto to make sure they work, all interior electrical components for proper operation. Check everything and if your new to used vehicles take someone with you that isn't.  With as little as 2" of lift and a 225 AT you be amazed where you can go. Through in a rear locker and go even further. Armor is always good especially to protect the aluminum front diff housing and trans and tcase. Oil pan too. The front diff housing is one of the weak points of these rigs, but there are several methods to fixing that, from a complete swap to a steel one, to special support brackets that help strengthen it. Some if it's strengths are it's quite economical to run , very durable, inexpensive to maintain, small enough to get into and out of just about anywhere, lots of aftermarket support, plenty of spare parts around,....I could go on and on. Weak points? I could say NONE! But really, they're a bit noisy inside, easy to fix swith some sound and heat insulation, and creature comforts can be lacking to someone who's used to bigger and heavier vehicles. Ride can be choppy if you lift them too much, front diff housing, did I mention that? yes and it can be fixed before broken!!! As far as the IFS goes, plenty of people here wheel the crap out of their IFS rigs and blow other folks minds with what they can do. The big benifit is they ride great too. You can find almost any info you may be looking for here, it's probably already been done or experienced so don't be afraid to use the search function. Welcome to the wonderful world of crazy Zukers!

Thanks a ton for your reply. I have yet to go look at the rig in person. It is bone stock. The pictures the guy has are clean as hell.  I have already priced and found a rear limited slip type differential for it. I am getting what i think is a good price so it will leave some money to play with. I am thinking i will start with the locker in the back. May even be able to throw in the 2" calamini(sp) lift and some more aggresive tires.

I like the fact that it is is a hard top. Here are a couple pics. He changed the wheels and added a fake hood scoop and some fake air intakes on the fender. I am hoping he has both sets of wheels still with it. I am also hoping the fake scoop and air intakes are just on with double sided tape or something on those lines. I like it better without them on there.

John

stay away from the calmini lifts. just go with some 2" coil spacers. jeff makes some and so does mudchild/sr customs.
even stock you can put 235/75 r15's on these trucks with minimal rub on the frame at full lock. (adjust the steering stops)

The Calmini lifts are solid, but they are designed to be run with heavy duty bumpers and such so the ride tends to be a little stiff.  But the engineering is top notch.

But Jeff's spacers are cheap and much easier. 

That is a beautiful looking rig...

Damn that thing is CLEAN!!!! Jump on it!

I've owned 8 Sidekicks, but I would LOVE to have a 2-door tin-top like that!  That's SWEET!

Yeah, Tin Tops RULE!

 I spent yesterday following some 4x4 quads through boulder covered stream beds and narrow trails. The sides are covered with "Arizona pin stripes" and I had to rearrange some rocks on some of the step ups and downs that were 1-2+ feet but Little Suzi made it through with very little wheel spin and minor scuffs on the underside (8 stream xings too). Never deployed the winch even though some sections had me thinking I may need to. The quad riders were impressed also that a stock air conditioned "car" could do what we did. My Suzi is not raised and has 215 AT's.

I say buy it!!

The sale depends on him finding another car. He is looking at a saturn today. All i am waiting for is the word that he is ready and then it will be mine. I have been looking for a samurai but have not had luck finding one close in my budget.

I have owned 4runners in the past. I love the fact that these little rigs are tough as nails it seems and they get kick ass MPG.

Yup what they said, if it's solid underneath, the engine sounds good, and the trans shifts right, I'd say grab it up!!

On second thought, that thing sounds pretty shady, I'd steer away from it. In fact you should give me that guys # so I can give him a good talking to!   

One thing that I would be sure to check out is wether it has had the timing belt replaced if it has more than 80k on the odometer.  If not - and you buy it - be sure to have a reputable mechanic do the job!  MANY perfectly good Trackick (and Samurai) engines have been ruined by poorly-executed timing belt replacements.

It is NOT necessary to remove the large bolt in the front of the crankshaft in order to remove the crankshaft accessory pulley!

If the place that you take your Trackick to has an online vehicle service manual service (most shops do) they can easily figure this out.   Shade tree mecanics and many of those "Buy here-Pay here" used car dealerships don't.  I have personal experience to back that statement up... I got a really fine 93 4-door from a "buy here-pay here" lot for next to nothing because of a botched timing belt change.
 

Nice try bentparts.

My understanding also is that since it is an 8V engine, it is a noninterference type engine. So if the timing belt does go before i get it done no bent valves. Is that correct?

I figure with 140K it will def need a timing belt done.