new here and a first time zuk owner! 

i picked this guy up last week dirt cheap!













have a few questions about my '87 1.3l...

the main question i have is the difference between GL5 and GL4 gear oil.
my tranny is leaking somewhere, i think it is near the rear of it cause it drips
a small bit on the exhaust right near the exhaust hanger, and possibly in the
front, but was wondering about that also...does the rear main seal aslo seal motor oil
as well as gear oil?

also, out of haste, i filled my tranny with GL5 75-90 gear oil...is my tranny gonna fall
to pieces? should i drain and fill with GL4?

after doing a very fast google about oil leaks on sammi's, i found my fuel pump
leaking out of the breather tube...that happens when the fuel pump is bad, correct?

and last but not least, after being under the car all weekend, i found this -





i'm pretty sure that is a dinger on the frame...i mean, i'm a total noob when it comes
to car repair, but put me in-front of a pc and i'll program a c based drilling rig software suite,
but is there any thing i can do to this? weld on some frame support? add some nerf
bars that support directly on the wrinkle?

the ding is pressed in about 1/8 on an inch.

thought i would come ask the pro's before i head down to that mom and pop shop on
the corner...

thanks in advance and great forum reads you have here!

Nice looking Sammy. 

Hi and welcome to our madness!

Generally speaking, newer specifications of lubricants are better than the previous spec.  The only possible exception that comes to mind occurred way back in the 60s when there was detergent and non-detergent motor oils...   You should be fine with GL5 lubricants. 

That said, it is a good idea to stick with the factory viscosities for motor oil.  I use a 10-30 here in the Midwest based on the chart in the owner's manual.  Don't have one?  You can find them by downloading the Factory Service Manual (FSM) at a number of popular Suzuki Samurai websites.  Of course my favorite (right after this one..    ) is Ack's FAQ  go there and do a search for fsm.  The link is in my signature...

I can't say much about the frame - I drove the Sidekick to work today so I can't compare my '88 Samurai to your pics.  Perhaps someone can comment on it with a comparison.

 
 

Thats a very clean looking Sammy. I can't help wondering how it got a ding like that in the frame without damaging the body. Are there any signs of replacement panels or a body swap?
 I'd get the alignment checked and if its OK then weld a strengthening plate over that ding. The FSM also has a chassis drawing that you can use to check that the frame is still straight.

Tap it with a hammer to make sure it is in fact metal, and not some goo filling a rust hole... 

thanks for the replys 

i did make sure it was in-fact metal and looked all around the damaged area. it looks like the other side isn't warped or bent...looks like something was pressed on it right there...i did find what seems to look like bondo on the front fender near the passenger headlight..i bought this '87 from the 2nd owner (1st owner was his brother, supposedly) and he claims he and his brother only put approx 2000 miles on it a year when they and the mrs. would go on a yearly vacation and it was mainly towed behind the RV...he does have all the service papers and it passed smog like a brand new car, atleast that's what the smog guy said...the orig owner told me that 47k was the true mileage (he was in his 70's atleast, so i believe him  ).. i should do a car fax, but this zuk is clean and nearly stock. he changed the front seats out for comfort...

after doing all the basic tune-up stuff over the weekend, i found all the fluids, differential, oil, coolant, and even washer fluid nice and in great shape still changed em out though...

as for having the car aligned, this thing drives straight! i have already went on 2, 400 mile round trip camping excursions on my attempt to find the ULTIMATE fishing spot  and the sammy ran awesome...

didn't do any 4-wheeling due to being nervous about the frame...

headed over to find that fsm...thanks again!

oh yea, and the a/c blows coooollld! 

sounds like you got a real steal!

take a wire brush to that area and clean it up REAL good ... then just pass a weld down (what appears to be a frame crack), add a plate as well for good measure, and then have fun with it!

nice rig- I'd also be a bit leary about wheeling w/ the frame ding