ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Build Diaries, How-To, DIY => Topic started by: biker on January 29, 2009, 07:18:46 PM
-
I thought I'd start up a build thread on my project that I've been tinkering on. My old 91 Tracker is getting beat up and tired so I decided to put my retired DD 94 Kick under the cutting wheel. This is my first time going into such depth building a rig and for sure my first time building a susp system. I'd like to hear what you have for pointers in regards to what I'm doing right or wrong. I had some time over Xmas so I actually made a little progress.
I started by retiring my 94 Kick DD and adding a few parts from a Toy pickup that I bought and parted out, I kept the axles and t-case.
I'm planning to run 36 Iroks when done. >:D
-
I rebuilt the Toy axles with 5.29 gears and Aussie lockers, all new bearings etc also. I added a high steer and IFS hubs and calipers with 98 Tacoma rotors to the front. This widens the front to Toy IFS width and upgrades the brakes as well. I had to add 1/4 inch spacers for my rims to clear the calipers. I also got my radius arm brackets welded on at an angle so that my arms will run inside the frame rails.
-
I then removed the IFS stuff from the front and got the axle set under it and started trying to figure out where it will fit best. It turns out that I need the steering box to be about 2.5 inches forward so the drag link will clear the tie rod. So I made up a plate and welded it to the frame then moved the box forward and remounted it using sleeves inside the frame and another plate on the outside of the frame.
-
I had to notch out the front cross member to do so.
-
I got my Kicker2 from OTT so I did some preliminary measurements to find out where it will sit under the truck and where the cross member will end up. Turns out it will be about 6" back from the stock one so I cut the stock member mounts off the frame and welded on my front link frame mounts. I then started fabbing up my links and susp using stock 4door rear coils. I ran into some clearance issues with my pan hard bar so had to settle on a short bar which I'm not totally happy with. I think the bumpsteer will be minimal as I got the angle very close to the drag link but with such a short panhard I'm afraid the the axle will move side to side when flexing a fair bit. I had to booty fab the cross member back up so I could drive the thing out to turn it around and start on the back. Dam small garage :laugh:
-
Everything fits tight but nothing rubs or hits so far with the exception of the lower frame corners which I will trim back.
-
I decided to see what it would look like in sleeper mode, looks pretty stock to me, can you see the difference 8) :laugh: The back has about 2" lift on 235's in the last pic.
-
Next up it was time to tear the rear apart and get the axle sized up. I am using an IFS width Toy axle for the rear. Looks like my wheel base will be 101" with 21" under the frame and a flat belly. Stock wb is 97 with about 9 or 10" under the frame. It will probably settle a bit once the bumpers and cage go on as I think it looks a bit high right now. I started fabbing up the lower links and have them tacked in and I'm planning on trying to get the top link built this weekend then I'll pull the axle out and weld everything up as well as gusseting and such. I'll get more pics when I get the rear setup.
-
AWESOME work!
and good looking welds! keep it coming!!
-
Yes, nice looking project.
keep it coming!
-Eric
-
Looks great. Let us know how well the shorter pan-hard bar works out.
-
Thanks guys, it seems to be taking forever to get anywhere with this project. :( Well I got a chance to do some work on the back finally so I started by building the lower links by using the ends from the stock links as they have nice flexy rubber bushings in them then sleeving them with some 1.625 dom with .1875 wall, should be solid enough.
I then put together a center mount on the diff out of .250 plate and glued it on
-
I then set about building the upper link using the same tube with some 1.750 for the center tube that the creeper joint fits into. I went with the 18mm CJ as I wanted it to be as strong as possible. I decided to run my rear links off the factory mounts for now and if I decide I don't like it I will make a 4 link later.
-
Pics of it in place. I just need to build some spring cups but I'm not sure what springs I want to run yet. I'm thinking that Heep TJ 4.0l front coils should be pretty close to fitting the bill
-
;) Really nice work biker! Looking good.
-
Thanks :) I just hope it works good after I'm all done
-
Looking good
Cant wait to see it done
-
Yes, looks good :)
-
Thanks guys. I almost got the rear finished now so when I do I'll update with a couple pics. Next step is to pull the motor,trans and case and replace.
-
Well I got the back springs put in this weekend and hooked up the brakes, still waiting on E-brake cables. I decided to try out some TJ coils for now and see how they flex.
-
A couple more, just because 8)
-
Next step is to pull the motor and trans out along with the wire harness and replace it with a 1.8, 4spd auto, Kicker2 with 4.24:1 gears in the front case. >:D
-
SUHWEEEEET!!!! ;D
Nice job! I wish mine was that high!!
-
NICE WORK 8)
-
the 36" tires look perfect
-
have you measured your fender-ground?? i keep going crazy looking at those pics and trying to figure out if the rear is lower than the front. ???
-
front just needs a winch
-
The tires on it are 315/16's and are supposed to be 35's but only measure just over 33", the Irok's will be a little bigger.The front is a little higher than the rear but I have to install my bumper with winch and a cage yet so I'll see how it sits after that and adjust as needed. Thanks for the comments :)
-
Great job on the 4 door... Looking good 8)
Zig
-
Thanks Zig, I've been drooling over your new toy myself
-
What more could I add. You have done a good job! Good project, good text, good photo's.
:-*
-
Hey Biker,
I'm curious... It looks like the front axle is moved forward a bit but when I look at your perches on the housings, they look like they're right over the axle. Did you move the buckets on the frame? Or....? How did you get the front that far forward with that perch setup?
thanks, Eric
-
Hi Eric
My pics don't show it very well but what I did was move the axle forward and the spring pads/ link mounts are directly on top of the axle housing. I then cut all the IFS mounts off the frame and made my own upper spring pads which I welded to the frame directly above the lower pads. I then removed the bump stop towers from the IFS stuff and welded them to the upper pad giving me a bump stop to control up travel as well as a way to keep the spring lined up when flexing. I'll get a more clear pic of the setup on the weekend while I'm tinkering with it.
Duane
-
Here's a couple pics of the front spring setup, hopefully a little better than my other ones.
-
I then decided to lift it up with the engine hoist to see what will hit and where. I need to do some trimming behind the rear tires and a little behind the front tires. I got a tire 18" in the air before I had body contact and the susp still has lots of stretch left in it.
-
Great work. Nice flex.
Cant wait to see it in action
-
Nice work, That will be fun this spring/summer for you :-*
-
you are my new Hero
-
Thanks for the comments but this is a mild build compared to some of the rigs I'm seeing on here. My goal is a capable camping and trail truck, not sure how it would do in the big rocks.
-
I think it will be plenty fine for camping
This was our old camping rig. I think yours is much better suited for big rocks
(http://images2c.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp5364%3B%3Evq%3D326%3B%3E39%3B%3E5%3A%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D323%3A5%3B%3A559698vq0mrj) (http://images2d.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp53684%3Evq%3D326%3B%3E39%3B%3E5%3A%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D323%3A5%3B%3A564833vq0mrj)
-
bit off topic.... but anymore pics of the van?
-
Yeah, I got a few. Real big into setting up vans for a while
Hope everyone wont mind the pics (it is pretty off topic)
(http://www.overlandvans.com/files/testvan03.jpg) (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/testvan06.jpg) (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/testvan10.jpg)
(http://www.overlandvans.com/files/driveway0105_360x240.jpg) This was our driveway for a while. (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/vanjump_360x240.jpg) (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/wheelievan3_360x240.jpg)
(http://www.overlandvans.com/files/lilblue22_tn_360x240.jpg) (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/JoshVan.jpg) (http://www.overlandvans.com/files/lilblue.jpg)(http://www.overlandvans.com/files/BigBump_dunes2.jpg) This van is actually For Sale. $3,000 Denver Colorado
Sorry for posting all the pics on your topic biker.
-
I thought that I'd tidy up a couple loose ends while I'm waiting for my motor and trans so I started by trimming a little sheet metal behind the rear tires then I cut off the lower corners of the frame at the rear of the front tires.
-
Then it was time to see how it flex's and if I need further trimming. At this point I can get a spring to come loose on alternate corners and the tire is approximately 28" off the ground. I think I am happy >:D with the results at this point and will start looking at installing shocks.
-
Amazing!
How much for you to fab up another set of that rear end stuff for me? ???
-
You couldn't afford me ;)
-
:'(
-
28" of travel, NICE
-
Haven't been working on it much lately but I got the brakes all working and adapted the Toy park brake to the Kick lever and it seems to work well.
I picked up a twin stick setup for my Toy case and my new tires showed up too >:D Had to test fit the new boots and see where to trim.
-
Couple more, The yellow truck is being retired when the blue one is ready and I'll be doing some transplants between trucks. The red one is my brothers rig
-
I've changed from my original motor swap plan due to incompleteness of the donor truck so I'm pulling the motor and rebuilding it with some performance upgrades and swapping in my trusty old 3spd auto with 4.24 gears in the Kick case and stock 2.28 in the Toy case. I'll update when I get some work done on the motor.
-
Hey Duane, its Jeff. Wow this is lookin great. I am going to have to come out and see it in person. Keep up the great work.
-
Well it's been a long time since I updated this thread. Not much happened for quite awhile due to waiting for parts and life stuff keeping me out of the garage. I have managed to make some headway again and now I have set myself a deadline so time to get busy.
I decided to fully retire my yellow truck after exploding the R&P then rolling it(it was a rough day lol). I pulled the tranny for my new truck and hooked the Kicker2 to it.
-
The motor was completely rebuilt and a performance grind was done to the camshaft by Colt Cams. I tossed it all together and gave it a shot of paint from my leftover paint collection.
Then it was all bolted together and set back in the truck.
-
Next was the t-case crossmember, I picked up a new Trailgear dual Toyota case crossmember for $60 and relief cut it and flattened it out to work for my application. I quickly made up a couple angle brackets and welded them to the frame for something to bolt the x-member to. Then bolted everything up. Almost a flat belly but I think with a little more massaging of the floor I can get it flat, so I may have to revamp the x-member a little yet. Looks like the twin stick on the Toy case will come through the floor in the forward end of the stock t-case shifter hole and the Kicker2 shifter will come up beside the stock shifter.
-
I also got my modified Birfs back from a local guy that beefs them up so I put my front axle completely together. Just waiting for my GM alt bracket from Low Range and a new rad then the front clip can go back together. After that I will start on bumpers and cage.
-
Looks good. Are you going to add some additional bracing to your angle iron mounts?
-
I don't think I'll need to as the forces against the x-member are upward and it is against the bottom of the frame rails
-
Looks good. I like the wishbone links for the front, strong and simple. How is the shorter pan hard bar working out?
-
I think the panhard will be ok but I won't know for sure until I actually get to wheel it
-
I don't think I'll need to as the forces against the x-member are upward and it is against the bottom of the frame rails
I was more worried about dropping it on a rock and bending it up. :)
-
The brackets are 1/4" angle iron and the skid is made from 3/8" plate plus there will be sliders protecting the area but I will reassess the area after the protection is in place
-
1/4" Nice, it didn't look quite that thick. It is probably more then enough, I just like adding braces. They look shiny. :P
-
Well I got the motor all in and hooked up so I started working on other things like getting driveshafts in and shifters in place, just making up a new trans tunnel top then I'll get pics of that.
Got my trans cooler and p/s cooler in and plumbed and got the p/s pump press bumped up as well as my oba pump in but not plumbed.
-
Next I decided to start modifying my front bumper and partial cage from my old rig to fit on the new one. I made up some 1/4" plates and glued them in then attached the bumper to the brackets. I made some "L" brackets to mount the bottom of the bumper to the front x member but forgot pics of those.
-
After I got the bumper mounted up solid I gave it a shot of rocker guard to cover it all up. It's turning out nice I think. Next up is fender trimming and rocker panel repair so I can mount up my sliders and rear bumper then I can tie the cage in to everything.
-
What tube size are you using? Looks alittle on the big side.
-
I'm using 1.5" sch 40 pipe. The trees and rocks up here lay a good beating on the cage
-
Must just be the angle of the first pic. It does look good and in my opinion 1.5" is perfect for the Suzuki.
-
So I got back at it recently as I had set myself a deadline and needed it done for a club campout. I got the badly rusted rockers cut out and some new metal welded in then sealed it up with some sikaflex and coated everything with rocker guard and some rattle can black. Also got the rear bumper cut into place and welded.
-
Once that was done I got busy mounting some sliders on the truck
-
I decided to bling up the inside as I had to cut up the tunnel a bit to fit the new shifters in so I dug out a piece of material I had left over from another project and bent it to fit. I'm just waiting for my G/F to make some vinyl boots for the kicker box shifter and the auto shifter.
-
I didn't get any pics of while I was building the cage as I had my head down and ass up with a grinder in one hand and the welder in the other but here are some pics of where it sits now. I still need to add some more pipes for triangulation and strength but this gets me on the road so I can break in the new gears and motor. I had to add on the flares and mudflaps to keep the po-po off my back. The flaps detach with one pin and get tossed in the back for wheeling.
-
Of course the next logical step was to take it out in the bush for some field testing. Again I didn't get much for pics but I did stop for the obligatory poser shot. Let me just say that I am VERY IMPRESSED with the way this thing hooks up and climbs. To put it simply "IROK's ROCK"
-
During the course of the day a couple problems cropped up. One is that the center pin in my front double carden driveshaft is loose so will need some attention. The other is that the stock bushings in the rear lower control arms are screwed and therefore my pinion angle is moving all over the place so I'm off to see if I can find some better bushings to replace them with until I can gather up the stuff to make new arms with a hiem in them.
-
Looks good.
-
Time to upload some video.
How are you liking the Auto?
-
Thanks guys. I absolutely love the auto everywhere except the highway. It makes wheeling so much easier and allows me to concentrate on where I want my truck to go instead of which foot needs to go where. I can also put it in 1st and low-low and not use the brake going down a 45 degree incline. The Irok's hook up like mad, I'm very impressed with them. A little too much traction as on the first good run I gave it the upper x-member that holds the rear diff snapped in half so I'm rebuilding that now.
-
Sweet setup! What transfer case setup are you running? is it an adapter that can be purchased?
Thanks!
KJ
-
I'm running a Kicker2 from OTT Industries. Stock gears in the front case and 4.7 to 1 in the Toyota case
-
hi biker,
im new on here and have just read your build (good job by the way), just wondering how your front arms have held up. i have a 91 swb and im doing a sas on and looking for ideas for control arms.
cheers nathan
-
Thanks for the compliment. I have had zero problems with the front arms and have beat them hard. I had to remove the rear lowers due to the rubber bushings breaking down and therefore causing a rear steer problem. I put longer lowers in with poly bushings at the front and creeper joints at the axle. I also installed some rock rings on the rims as they were starting to get bent up.
-
Awesome Job and Awesome Rig!
-
The machine looks awesome. I like the idea of the fenders all over the body. its great. If you paint it carbon black it will look great its just a suggestion.
-
Is the pipe exo cage holding up good? any roll overs yet!
-
Cage is doing well. No rollovers yet but I've slammed it into trees and rocks with no damage other than scrapes
-
Any updates? Nice build.
-
Not much to report at this time. Got married and house reno's have been taking up most of my time. My daughter managed to hit a ditch with it and bent the front housing so I had to make it better and stronger this time. Hoping to go camping and wheeling for a few days next week so maybe I'll have some more pics after that.
-
After
-
Nice added bracing. Let us know how it holds up next time she drives in the ditch. :D
-
Did you make or buy the radius arm brackets on the front end.if you bought them were at ???
-
Ballistic Fab http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Flat-bottom-radius-arm-coil-mounts_p_1184.html (http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Flat-bottom-radius-arm-coil-mounts_p_1184.html)
-
So after some serial abuse I managed to break one of my front radius arms in half and my rear locker decided to crap the bed. I'm not sure how DOM breaks like this but maybe someone has seen this type of break before. On the lighter side I did manage to dig up some video from last years campout with my son driving.
nanton 2010 mike's video - Powell River (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtxL6WWtxI#)
-
It looks like it ripped where it was flared out.
-
This break is in the middle of a length of tubing with no signs of an old crack ???
-
DOM isn't a special tubing, it is mild steel electrically welded and drawn
over a mandrel to remove the inner seam, but it isn't special voodoo proof
tubing, just heavy wall, and subject to fatigue and cracking like any other
tubing.
You may of had a stress flex spot there that worked it to it's breaking point,
it looks to have a good amount of corrosion both inside and out, so I wonder
how long has it been in service and not protected with a coat of paint?
Now if you had these made out of chromoly steel tubing, that stuff is more
or less voodoo proof and would probably hold up better, but requires special
welding techniques to stress relieve the weld site, not as user friendly as DOM
Wild
-
Some video, that was awesome video, I love that kind of wheeling.
Thanks for posting
Wild
-
These have approx 3500 kms on them since I built the truck or 2 years, I painted everything when I built it but not the inside. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that video but that's the only kind of wheeling we have around here >:D
-
For the inside you can get that creeping oil, you shoot it down inside to the
welded end and then weld the last part, it will creep around inside and help
prevent corrosion, you should be able to get it from air craft supply like Spruce
Aircraft Specialty
Oh, I enjoyed the vid, I would not of watched all 12 min if it was boring
Wild,
-
isn't that weld spatter visiable in the second pic?
-
Might be a little from the upper link intersection which is farther forward
-
Great Vid, looks like a tricky section but serious fun. Oh, and Wild , it's more like 13 minutes ;D
-
great looking cage. im hoping to get mine done over the winter but have mine open to use the back passenger doors.
-
Awesome bulks! Video?
Zak
-
Great Vid, looks like a tricky section but serious fun. Oh, and Wild , it's more like 13 minutes ;D
;D
-
So I pulled the rear end apart to have a look. Carrier was swollen and I was unable to remove the ring gear so I had to cut the carrier to remove the locker and this is what I found. :( I think the locker is still usable with a little cleanup.
-
What happened :o that's so extreme of a break, what/who's brand locker is that???
-
I got myself wedged into a bit of a spot and tried to power out of it, some say that lots of gearing can be a bad thing ::) Who knew that a Zuk motor could do that much damage ??? That is an Aussi locker in a Toyota axle.
-
I got myself wedged into a bit of a spot and tried to power out of it, some say that lots of gearing can be a bad thing ::) Who knew that a Zuk motor could do that much damage ??? That is an Aussi locker in a Toyota axle.
A buddy destroyed two rear axles and one front in Johnson Valley with gearing. The downside of being able to crawl. :D
-
So I guess it's time for an update to this ongoing build. I calculated that my break ratio is approximately 50% ::) so I set out to improve that number. I figure that by increasing HP by 70% I should be able to get my ratio up by at least that much. >:D I started collecting parts a few months ago and proceeded to bolt things together. I found a manifold on ebay that bolts right up to the 16v head and also a T-25 turbo that came from a Nissan. I had to build an o2 housing from a sch 40 elbow and a couple flanges that I had my buddy cut out on his plasma table. I welded it all together and put in 2 bungs, one for the stock o2 and one for the wideband o2 sensor.
-
I then proceeded to get everything hooked up so that it can work. I picked up a Begi rrfpr and installed it to control fuel pressure only to find out that the stock pump doesn't really make enough pressure so I sourced out a fuel pump from a late 80's Ford truck and now have tons of pressure. I also installed a gauge in my fuel rail to assist in tuning.
-
With that done I set about putting the plumbing together. A handful of silicone fittings, some exhaust pipe and a recirculating blowoff valve from a Mitsubishi. I made a fitting to vent the blowoff into the intake of the turbo to avoid the engine going rich when it vents. On the exhaust side I fit in a flex coupler to take the stress off the turbo from engine vesus exhaust system movement.
-
Then I plumbed in a h2o/methanol injection system as I just don't have room to run an inter cooler and all the related piping. I found it quite handy that 4 door Kicks have dual pumps, one front and one rear so I just disabled the rear squirter and fed that line to the meth pump. I set the solenoid to turn on at 3 lbs of boost. I also wrapped the charge pipe with insulated wrap to keep the heat from the turbo from heating the air back up after being cooled by the h2o/meth.
-
next I plumbed in the wideband A/F meter and a vac/boost gauge so that I can keep a close eye on how the motor is running. I will also be installing an EGT gauge as soon as it arrives to fill in the last hole in my A pillar mount.
-
Then I decided to install the biggest HP producing devices to cap off the perfomance mods. 8) The obligatory stickers and hood scoop to help let the hot air out from under the hood. >:D
-
I took it out for some road testing today to see if all that I've been doing is going to help this poor gutless truck with wayyy over sized tires for the gearing in road gear. All I can say is HOLLLLLLYYYYYY CRAP :o :o When the turbo kicks in and the cam comes into its power band it kicks my stock Trackers ass, it literally flies. Way better than it was, hold it to the floor and hope you hit the speed limit before a turtle farts in front of you and breaks your momentum. :laugh:
-
I have been doing a couple of other mods in between doing the turbo upgrade also. I replaced my solenoid pack for my winch with a contactor pack. Much more compact and it works my winch awesome. I couldn't use my wired remote with the contactor so I fabbed up a little in cab control with stuff I had laying around. I also made up a bracket to hold my CB on the roof by the rear view mirror.
-
Wow it looks different in pictures ;) Nice work as usual Duane. Glad it is working out as now I have a prototype to copy LOL.
-
did the pilar setup just bolt right in? and how much did your hole turbo project cost apx? it looks really cool i cant wait to start my toyota axles but i am going to use jeep rubicon express long arms in front.
thanks,
chad
-
With that done I set about putting the plumbing together. A handful of silicone fittings, some exhaust pipe and a recirculating blowoff valve from a Mitsubishi. I made a fitting to vent the blowoff into the intake of the turbo to avoid the engine going rich when it vents. On the exhaust side I fit in a flex coupler to take the stress off the turbo from engine vesus exhaust system movement.
That turbo stuff sure fits in the engine compartment better without the ac compressor in the way. That caused my biggest headaches, but now that it's a 100 degrees and humid again I sure am glad I went the extra bit to keep it. Yours looks good, bet it works well too.
-
The A pillar mount is from a Honda CRX and I had to trim it a little to fit but pretty easy. I think it run me about $700 for everything.
Yours is a lot nicer looking install Mike. I had to remove the ac comp that I was using for onboard air but I might try to find a big enough shoehorn to fit it back in as I really miss having air on the trail. It seems to work pretty well but I think it's addicted to meth as it likes to drink it on the highway. Might help if I wasn't doing 120km/h though >:D
-
did you move the front spring perches?
-
Yes, factory mounts were cut off and new ones made to line up with axle placement.
-
okay thanks. im doing toyota axles on mine to its a 98 4 door. im using jeep rubicon express long arms for my front and i dont know yet for the rear but i think im going to build my own links and 4 link it. oh did you move the rear spring and shock mount to and how long were your front links?
-chad
-
Rear upper mounts are in factory position but that may still change. I can't remember front arm length off the top of my head but I think they are around 30" They end even with my front transfer case output
-
okay thanks this should help me a lot
-
how do you do twin stick can you just hook to stock ones togerther? i have another stock one from a parts car and if could do that i would.
thanks, chad
-
The twin stick is on the toyota t-case and it does involve a little work inside the case to install
-
okay what is the difference betwean twin stick and dual casses?
-
okay what is the difference betwean twin stick and dual casses?
Twin Sticks is a setup that allows you to engage low range and 4wd independently. On some t-cases it allows you to disconnect the rear drive line and run in front wheel drive. The advantage of this setup is if you just want to go slow but don't need 4wd you can. It can also help with maneuvering your vehicle if you have a front locker on tight trails since the front end will not lock up and cause the vehicle to push through corners.
Dual t-cases gives you two low range options, but the rear t-case you still have to be in 4wd to be in low range. This has the advantage of allowing your gear ratios to stack up. You can have two 2:1 t-cases and have 2:1 or 4:1. Or you can have a 2:1 and 4:1 t-cases and have three gearing options of 2:1, 4:1 or both engaged for 8:1.
You can also get real fancy and run both a dual t-case and dual sticks. :)
-
okay thanks thats really helpfull. can you do dual casses to a stock sidekick case. or do they make a kit or something that will work for one
-
The closest I have seen is the kicker series that allows you to mount it to a Samurai t-case or to a Toyota T-case.
You should probably spawn a new thread to discuss options there.
-
Thanks for filling in the info Drone, couldn't have said it any better
-
okay thanks. and sorry for drillin you guys with questions