ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Build Diaries, How-To, DIY => Topic started by: truesuv on June 04, 2015, 09:50:13 PM
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Wow, it sucks the forum was restored back to 2012.. jeesh. I happened to create my diary post offline and since I was able to find it I figured I put it back...
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-bkPCrtt/0/L/i-bkPCrtt-L.jpg)
I know there is plenty of interest in the Calmini EDSES suspension system, and I had difficulty finding information online about it while I was considering purchasing it. Instead of hijacking another thread, I figured I could post my experiences here, and those who are interested can view it.
Quick background:
I had an 86 Samurai back in the 90’s that I towed around, here it is in San Felipe, Mexico. It was basically stock, and I gave it to my son when he started driving.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-srs2DZq/0/L/i-srs2DZq-L.jpg)
I’ll let you know up front, I’ve done a lot of 4 wheeling in the past when I had a 2000 Hummer H1 for 7 years. I did all the trails in Big Bear, Lots of trails in Moab, Farmington NM, and outside of Durango CO. I installed ARB up front, and Detroit in the rear, and that thing climbed anything.
Very reliable as well since I bought it new. I would drive it to Moab (1,000 miles), do trails all week, then drive it home.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-HncSk5W/0/M/i-HncSk5W-M.jpg)
It needed plenty of maintenance but it never broke on the trail. It was a Wagon which I put personalized license plates “TRUE SUV”, hence my current forum handle. It was fun, but I felt like I had done enough, spent enough, and I sold that back in 2007.
A few years later I wanted another Samurai to tow behind the motorhome again. I found an 87 Tin top that was stock, and in great condition…
when I bought it…
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-mq5pBXz/0/L/i-mq5pBXz-L.jpg)
Interior was perfect (nice change since most Samurai’s I went to look at were completely trashed)
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-GRnMWCK/1/L/i-GRnMWCK-L.jpg)
I put Header and exhaust, Calmini suspension (all new springs, shocks, shackle reverse, drop pitman arm, etc) and new 30” BFG All terrains. It was fun, ride was a bit rough, but was very capable (even with open diffs)
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-4kwsJR7/3/L/i-4kwsJR7-L.jpg)
I did have issues with the carburetor and getting it smogged.. seems the header and 2” exhaust flowed “too good”, and the Catalytic converter would not get hot enough.. among other things. I wasn’t using it much then so I sold it (for peanuts) due to no smog, etc.
Anyway, I missed it soon after, should not have let it go.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-XJLvVtp/0/L/i-XJLvVtp-L.jpg)
So a couple years later, I wanted a vehicle to tow behind my motorhome, again! I had been going to the desert with Quads and Dirt bikes, but I’ve been slowing down. Now I enjoy just cruising around the desert (or wherever we are camping) and I don’t want to wear a helmet and gear, etc. I previously had the Samurai for this purpose.
I was interested in a “Razor” (side by side) for a bit, but they sure are expensive ($16k…jeesh, I could buy a nice jeep for that) Plus, they are not street legal, which limits me quite a bit in California. So then the idea of a Jeep was entertained. But it seemed I could fit a Suzuki in my garage easier, lighter to tow, and was really cheap to buy, so Suzuki (Tracker) it ended up being.
I came across this 93 Tracker on Craigslist, it was 5 miles from me… so I checked it out…. Here is was:
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-bfT3KSf/0/L/i-bfT3KSf-L.jpg)
Great price, (I usually I buy high, then later practically give stuff away… but this time I found someone else giving it away) I thought I scored.
The Tracker already had several nice features added
- Header
- Intake (with K&N like air filter)
- Larger exhaust with new Catalytic converter – sounds cool
- Rebuilt engine and it passes smog check!
- New tires and wheels – 16x7 steel wheels with 235/85x16 BFG Mud Terrains (practically 32”, tires for 16” rims are more expensive too)
- Rear Lock-Right locker (Detroit like) – it works…
- Front and rear spring and strut spacers for extra lift (this was a problem)
- Body Lift (2.5” I think)
- Front frame “bobbed”
- Fenders appear to be “widened” as there is a lot of patch work inside them
- Custom Light bar across top of windshield
- Custom Front Grill - interesting
- Custom Front bumper with lights and Tow bar mounts
- Custom Rear bumper with 2” receiver
- Tow bar – Good for me, plan was for me to tow behind my motorhome anyway
- Great stereo with sub/amp, etc. – didn’t expect it, but love it
- Has all the things I would have liked on my previous 2 Samurai’s
- Bigger Engine
- Power Steering
- Fuel Injection – Yay… You know how many times I had that Samurai carb apart?
- A/C
- Granted, not as cool looking as the Samurai
When I first got it I drove it to work (70 miles per day) to make sure it ran good and reliable, which it did!
I did find the right front hub was engaged all the time regardless of the position of the locking hub. I took it apart, fixed the internal spring that had sprung, and got it working. Jeesh, how long has the right front tire been driving that front end from just one side?
The front CV boots were split on both sides… but I figured the joints may already be trashed, and I’ll just use em that way for now. The spring spacers in the front end had created extreme angle on the CV joints, so I wasn’t about to fix the boots just to have them split again anyway.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-SZNJqjx/0/L/i-SZNJqjx-L.jpg)
I figured I’d put it in 4-wheel drive only as needed (rarely since I do have the rear locker), so it should last a while.
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Now for the first trip to the Desert just east of Salton Sea (Chocolate Mountains area)
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-JtwzNkX/0/L/i-JtwzNkX-L.jpg)
- Prepped for towing
- I wired plug in front grill of Tracker so nice connector between motorhome and Tracker is all that is needed. Uses the Tracker’s running lights and tail lights (avoids using the magnetic stick on lights with wires running all over)
- Disabled the steering wheel lock
- Blacked out the silver aluminum diamond plate (my preference)
- Installed the rear spring spacers the previous owner handed me (He never installed, rear was quite a bit lower than the front) – now the rear suspension was maxed out as well as the front.
- Had 2” (wow) wheel spacers in front and rear (wheel has 4” backspacing). But the wheel spacers looked silly on the rear since these tires are kind of narrow, they stuck way out. So I removed the wheel spacers from the rear and it looks great. The front looks good with the spacers (wider in front over rear)
- Wired up new switches and relay for off road lights, and roof light bar (whip)
- Got a cool “whip” that lights up (Amber LED’s) for the desert
- Removed the rear seat
- relocated the stereo amp and subwoofer behind passenger seat (tight fit in the foot well area behind seat)
- Installed a Hi-Lift jack horizontally behind the front seats
- I modified some “joist hangers” to hang the jack, fits the width of the interior perfectly
- I strap it to the floor so it doesn’t kill me in an accident
- easy to access from driver’s door
- stays inside so doesn’t rust or get stolen
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-XvGth26/0/L/i-XvGth26-L.jpg)
- Needed a spare
- Bought matching new 16x7 wheel and tire - dang tire alone was $207 ! (suckers are load range E!)
- I modified the rear tire carrier by cutting off the stud plate, and re-welding it 3” higher
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-hQcx6xq/0/L/i-hQcx6xq-L.jpg)
I hooked it up to the motorhome, transfer case in neutral, transmission in 4th gear… like I have done many times before with my Samurai’s.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-zf9Cqb7/0/L/i-zf9Cqb7-L.jpg)
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-nVL8b8m/0/L/i-nVL8b8m-L.jpg)
After about 150 miles of towing I stopped and looked at the Tracker… I noticed oil dripping from front end area… (Rt side of front diff where CV shaft enters). Then I noticed grease from the right half shaft boot flung all over the place. This was weird because I had been driving this thing for a couple months on the road now, and I hadn’t seen anything going on in the front end (since it isn’t moving). Why suddenly would everything be moving while I’m towing it?
I checked both front hubs, neither was locked. I went to spin the front drive shaft (figuring I should be able to since the transfer case was in neutral) but I couldn’t… hmm.
I started engine, put transmission in any gear, and let out the clutch… nothing, yep, transfer case is definitely in neutral, what the hell?
Turns out, against my (and everyone I tell this too) obvious assumption, that when the transfer case is in neutral, the rear drive shaft will turn the front drive shaft, (even though it does not do this in 2 Wheel drive setting)
I did notice plenty of warnings online to make sure the front hubs were not locked when towing, but that seems like an obvious thing. I didn’t expect my front end would be turning at all while I was towing it, so that surprised me.
Since my Spring spacer lift in the front had my half shafts at a maximum angle, the towing on the freeway at 70 mph, for 150 miles, and the half shafts being driven by the rear wheels, really worked them out. Made a mess, but held together
We got to the desert, I drove it around for 3 days with no issues. I used 4 wheel drive only a couple times to get out of some sand, and everything was still working.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-3KQCjwB/0/L/i-3KQCjwB-L.jpg)
The oversprung suspension (using only spacers to put stock travel up to maximum, with no droop) beat me up.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-6bH2hSd/0/L/i-6bH2hSd-L.jpg)
Towed it back home, (another 150 miles) and the halfshafts made more mess.
So the dilemma now… If I replace the front half shafts, they will just get messed up again due to the bad suspension lift. I need that differential drop.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-SZNJqjx/0/L/i-SZNJqjx-L.jpg)
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I guess I need that Calmini suspension kit sooner rather than later… 3” super articulation looked like what I needed to get rid of the “spacer lift” I was running. My struts were shot and, well the EDSES just looks really cool, I had to have it!
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-HTLhq8S/0/M/i-HTLhq8S-M.jpg)
so that was pretty much all I needed to throw that in. Reviews were mixed and minimal, so I figured it had been out long enough to have the bugs worked out… apparently the new link was already taken care of. (I had used Calmini suspension on my Samurai and it all worked well then) I wanted the kit to correct the half shaft angles, and I’m hoping for a softer ride (assuming the new suspension will have some droop in it (not sprung up to maximum
height) on desert washboard roads.
I called Calmini and order the full combo suspension, 3” body lift, 3” suspension lift, and EDSES. They had the springs on about a 1 week back order when I called.
While waiting for it to arrive, I started taking my Tracker apart in anticipation…. I took the entire front suspension out (a-arms, cv joints, sprints, knuckles, etc) and left it up on jack stands.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-6FcHrrh/0/L/i-6FcHrrh-L.jpg)
While waiting for the kit to arrive, I did salvage my CV joints with some new boots and grease. They seemed to be in good condition when I took them apart… so only $50 for the new boots from NapaOnline. Also a new seal for the Diff.
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-GwSm3LX/0/L/i-GwSm3LX-L.jpg)
After a couple weeks the kit shipped. Shipping was fast (overnight) due to my proximity to Bakersfield obviously (about 200 miles), that was cool. I did receive everything at the same time (5 boxes) and nothing was missing. Those packing peanuts can drive you crazy though!
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-SjpQQdp/0/L/i-SjpQQdp-L.jpg)
Ok, here is what it looks like all done…
(http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-BfcCkWk/0/L/i-BfcCkWk-L.jpg)
But if you really want to see what happened before it looked like this… then here are ALL the pics.
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-QwFSQ (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-QwFSQ)
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How well have you liked running those 235/85/16 mud terrains? I've been wanting to go with narrow 16" rims and that size tire too. It just appears there would have more room under the fenders (with that profile) and be more durable too.
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I run the stock Grand Vitara wheels with 235 85 16s on the daily driver and on my wheeling rig I run 255 85 16 KM2s
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I think I'd have to do a body lift on my '02 Tracker to get the 235/85/16s to clear my fenders. I'm not too keen on the idea of installing a body lift, yet. On the flip side, I don't want to crank my suspension too high either. Obviously I'm going to have to change my mind on one or the other to make them work.
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How well have you liked running those 235/85/16 mud terrains? I've been wanting to go with narrow 16" rims and that size tire too. It just appears there would have more room under the fenders (with that profile) and be more durable too.
well they are about 32" tall... I doubt they would fit without some kind of lift.
I'm don't think I would have picked this narrow of a tire if I had bought them... but these were new when I bought the tracker so... they work fine though, very heavy duty as they are load range E I have to air down to about 10lbs before I can tell the difference! On the good side they are very tough.
These steel wheels and KM2's weigh 85lbs each... the stock wheel and tire is about 50lbs I think. I believe tires for 15" wheels are much cheaper so if I was going to buy a set of wheels and tires I would go with 15" and probably a bit wider tire with a lower (lighter) load range (like C).
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video of it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37uA8nAWm_A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37uA8nAWm_A)
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nice to see that is back up thx for posting