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Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 / hi mileage 2001 GV valve train sounds broke.

« Last post by Roguevalleyblue on Today at 02:26:24 PM »

Long time no visit site.  2001 GV 2.5l v6.  4wd, 2.5 in magnaflow catback, 29 inch tires, KYB's, new timing stuff and radiator at 185k, now just over 315k on clock.  Lots wrong but has been reliable DD. 

On hwy at about 63mph heading home from city when felt like engine was gonna shake itself loose (first felt like tire issue) and stalled on decel.  Towed home.  Thanks AAA.  STarted for just a smidge to try to detect issues.  Timing obviously off.  No parts expelled, and has full complement of oil and coolant.  Clatter sounds like top end valve train problem.  Not worth another engine as rest of trucklet is gettiing nasty.  Looking for analyzer to check codes set. 

Front end was cruched by daughter some 18 years ago, A/C leaks.  HIgh beams no work, lost gas cap DOOR, losing body panel retainers, surface rust interior under carpeting.  Love this car, but, ...

Pics if requested

Opinions please.  Is it worth repairing or replacing motor?  Time to part out?  Need solid advice, not potshots, thanks.

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Technical Discussion - Performance / Modify / Re: Tracker 1.6 16v to Aerio 2.3 general questions/feasibility

« Last post by Perryd on March 26, 2025, 07:20:09 PM »

Well, after 8 years I figure I owe everyone an update. I completed the swap between December 2021 and February 2022. Sadly, I did not document it as well as I had hoped.

Quick Recap:

• • • Donor car 2005 Suzuki Aerio FWD A/T acquired
      Removed engine and harnesses
      Obtained parts from a 2.0
      Vitara are previously discussed in this thread
      Ordered trail tough engine mounts
      1.6 Flywheel was machined and then drilled for the 8 crank bolts on Aerio 2.3 locally.
      With help of some other enthusiasts online, simplified and adapted the 2.3 harness to run engine on stand.
      Mated 2.3 stand alone harness to 1.6 (the simple, temp sensor, start/run wires, alternator signal, etc.)
      Installed rad from 2.7 XL7 and 17” electric fan (wired to Aerio cooling fan relay)
      Changed a resistor in cluster for tach

Overall I am very happy with it. It’s like a whole different vehicle. Keeps up on the highway and can merge like a modern car. The only thing I would do differently next time is maybe try crossover tubes and keep the stock rad. I had to cut a little bit of the under hood bracing as well as the rad mounts. Would have liked to leave that stock. The 2.7 rad is overkill, the fan rarely kicks in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccc23CWuO4E/?igsh=MTVsMnZsZzM5NTA5

A couple of pictures here.
 

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Technical Discussion - Beginner / Repair / Re: 2000 2.5L V6 oil consumption,etc

« Last post by user1238 on March 09, 2025, 03:23:07 AM »

At 162k miles my XL-7 ran powerfully without smoke or any oil use (fresh "synthetic" 5w-40 in it).
Then I serviced the timing chain, valve covers were taken off and stored upside down, probably liquefying characteristic sludge in PCV of which I did not know at the time.

After completing the work and driving ~15 miles, the very next morning it started blowing a cloud of smoke.
This continued happening on first cold start of the day. After driving in town at slow speed for a while and then accelerating, it would ping and blow blue smoke, so I'd give it little throttle until ping mostly cleared up, then italian tuneup for 3-4 seconds and then it ran beautifully again. I quickly learned to simply step on it from stops. One consolation of XL-7 is that it rips down the road like nobody's business :-)
It would suck up 1 quart per 150 miles. I basically carrier a gallon of oil and topped it off at every 1/2 tank fill-up.

Having prior experience with Suzuki's valve seals leaking synthetic oil, after the 1st gallon I changed oil to "high-mileage" unsynthetic. 2000 miles later changed it again. 2000 miles later cold-start smoke decreased to a little puff of blue instead of a smokescreen. ~500 miles later it was not smoking on cold start and oil consumption stopped. Oil level stayed at the same 3/4 level over 3 fill-ups, so I topped it off to the full mark. At another fuel fill it was still exactly at the full mark. So total of 2 oil changes & 4500 miles and it's due for another one. Dipstick wipe still looks "clean".

It was a good opportunity to check the spark plugs and they were heavily baked over with oil ash, the ceramic-like gray hard rock that withstands scraping with a screwdriver. Stock IFR5j11 plugs. Sparking electrodes were still clean and bright - they didn't misfire and the engine started on first crank pretty much instantly. In fact with PK16pr11 it takes a moment longer to cold-start. 

Conclusion of the story is to never remove the valve covers, or else drill the PCV drains while they are off. And always keep oil fresh, like 2k-3k miles at the most. Suzuki V6 are weird engines.

Did you ever find out what causing those issues for you?

I have been driving a 2002 XL-7 with a 2.7L V6 with about 222,000 miles and it suddenly now in the last month or so started blowing blueish smoke on start up and it's upsetting to see.

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Adventure (Let's GO WHEELING!) / Re: KOH Anyone?

« Last post by ButchW on February 05, 2025, 06:49:36 PM »

Me too…And I’m close … I too, am not a fan of crowds… Tell you what, you come to So. Cal, and I’ll go to the Caribbean.  …
Butch

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Adventure (Let's GO WHEELING!) / Re: KOH Anyone?

« Last post by fordem on February 05, 2025, 04:27:05 PM »

It's something I'd like to do, at least once, but the logistics of planning a trip from the Caribbean, and, the truth is I hate crowds, so, yeah, no, not this year..

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Adventure (Let's GO WHEELING!) / KOH Anyone?

« Last post by ButchW on February 05, 2025, 02:16:06 PM »

Any one at, or going to King Of Hammers? My grand son was there last Saturday, and is going back up Thursday for the week end.. Said he saw a bunch of Suzukis up here… I’d love to go, but can’t make it….
Butch

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Suzuki 4x4 Forum / Re: Samurai Owners - are we antique fans now?

« Last post by ButchW on February 02, 2025, 08:05:49 AM »

Finally some chatter on here. …. I’d say something, but don’t know much … Just happy to see some activity….
Butch

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Suzuki 4x4 Forum / Re: Samurai Owners - are we antique fans now?

« Last post by ebewley on February 01, 2025, 10:43:15 AM »

Hi Jonny - Glad to see you back. I really like your idea of gathering one enthusiast at time and putting together a group activity to share a positive experience together! Keep us in the loop, I'd love to get out there and say Hi and see your rig someday.

-Eric

It’s been a long time since I last visited Zukiworld. I guess you could say that I’ve had quite a few life changes over the last 10 years. Positive ones-marriage and kids.  It was about time.  I still have all of my Suzukis too. 

To this day I occasionally see Samurais on the road here in northeast Oklahoma. . Probably about the same as I did 10 years ago. No more, no less. However, I’ve seen a very sharp drop off in Trackers and Sidekicks. They appear to be almost as rare as Samurais now.  Even Jeep YJs are a very rare sight.

As far as Suzukis now being antiques…20 years ago I had people chatting me up about their Samurai experiences. They have always been that kind of vehicle.  They always left a deep impression. 

Currently, I am building up my own Samurai club, one enthusiast at a time.    My wife and I have three young boys and a fourth son due in about 30 days. All those little hands to help me repair, modify, and resurrect our Suzukis.

In the upcoming years I hope to put an annual Suzuki get together/run in northeast Oklahoma. Probably a spring or fall run. I am just waiting for more of my kids to get a little older and out of the diaper phase. I’ll be happy when the current middle one is out.  Hopefully this spring.

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Suzuki 4x4 Forum / Re: Samurai Owners - are we antique fans now?

« Last post by Jonny Rash on January 05, 2025, 10:08:26 PM »

It’s been a long time since I last visited Zukiworld. I guess you could say that I’ve had quite a few life changes over the last 10 years. Positive ones-marriage and kids.  It was about time.  I still have all of my Suzukis too. 

To this day I occasionally see Samurais on the road here in northeast Oklahoma. . Probably about the same as I did 10 years ago. No more, no less. However, I’ve seen a very sharp drop off in Trackers and Sidekicks. They appear to be almost as rare as Samurais now.  Even Jeep YJs are a very rare sight.

As far as Suzukis now being antiques…20 years ago I had people chatting me up about their Samurai experiences. They have always been that kind of vehicle.  They always left a deep impression. 

Currently, I am building up my own Samurai club, one enthusiast at a time.    My wife and I have three young boys and a fourth son due in about 30 days. All those little hands to help me repair, modify, and resurrect our Suzukis.

In the upcoming years I hope to put an annual Suzuki get together/run in northeast Oklahoma. Probably a spring or fall run. I am just waiting for more of my kids to get a little older and out of the diaper phase. I’ll be happy when the current middle one is out.  Hopefully this spring.

10

Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 / Re: 2002 tracker 5 spd to auto swap

« Last post by fordem on December 25, 2024, 02:24:09 PM »

Over the years, the general consensus seems to have been "sell what you have and buy what you want".

The reason behind it is this, finding all the pieces you need is easiest done by buying a donor, and if that's what you're going to do, then you keep the donor and get rid of the one you no longer need - they are going to be times when it makes sense to swap, but more often than not, it won't - if you can get a donor cheap (say with a blown engine or front end damage), then by all means go ahead.

What do you need ...

ECU & wiring harness (the 4 speed is electronically shifted and the TCU is usually integrated into the ECU), the transmission and I believe the cross member, the front & rear drive shafts, the front & rear diffs, all the interior bits, shifters. console bits, pedal box.

The 3 speed might be easier, depending on which engine you have in your second gen, but, you're most likely going to be looking at some degree of custom fab, crossmember, drive shafts, and you'll need to figure out axle gears and a vacuum modulator (this is what controls the transmission shift points) and where to connect it.