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Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise

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Offline dingus

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Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« on: December 28, 2008, 12:19:38 PM »
OK i found a 4 door Model 1997 LSI Auto Tracker.

Any know trobles with this model or year to watch out for ?
its got 212,000 KMs.
 But back about 1500 KMs its had a brand new Crank and timeing cover Belt Ect Replaced.
The guy said someone Did the Fast timeing belt Change before he owned it (the one Bolt method  ::)) Anyway it started to loose power so he took it to a Suzuki Place.

They pulled the Engine as the key way and threads were damaged in the Orignal Crank.
Thats all new now the rest of the Engine checked out fine.

Is it bad buying a Tracker thats had the crank Replaced ? Its all done by a Pro mechanic Who owns and Drives a tracker.
Its gona cost me $5000 Canadian so $4000 US roughly, but the thing is minty inside and out No rust justy had the trany flushed and serviced new tires.

I dont want to buy a Bad year with parts hard to get Ect.
I also am looking at a 4 Door 1995 STD trans tracker Not a LSI just a Regulkar one with 195,000 KMs thats $1000 Less.
Any advise would be great.  :)
« Last Edit: December 28, 2008, 12:21:18 PM by dingus »

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Offline olija

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Re: Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2008, 04:42:21 PM »
The 1995 might be a little bit better, it has less kilometers.

Basically the only differences you need to worry about are:

transfer case output shaft spline count (changed in 96)
front wheel bearing locknut design (changed in 96 and then back in 99, stupid, I know!)

I think the 95 is OBD1 though...not sure if that is a bad thing or not.
97 Sidekick 4door 5 speed, 1.5 spacer lift, 2" body lift, CJ rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low <SOLD>
01 Vitara 2.0L 5 speed, 2.5" Calmini lift, 2" body lift, Sidekick rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low, 5.13 diffs <SOLD>
03 XL7 2.7 5 speed, 4.5" AE lift with OME springs, 2" AE body lift, 5.13 diffs, 3:1 low, 235/80R17 BFG AT's on Ultra 17x8 with 1" spacers, skid plates, Balmer Fab front bumper

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Offline Jeremiah

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Re: Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2008, 11:42:15 PM »
In the US, the 1996 uses different refrigerant (the new easy-to-find & cheap kind) for the A/C, and switched to dual air bags... if you care about your passenger. 1996 is OBDII (which some people hate, but I don't mind it).
'96 4 door kick: 29" Pep-Boys M/T, 1.5" OME
'83 SJ410: 31" Toyo M/T, SPOA, 1.3L
'08 Yamaha FZ6

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Offline dingus

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Re: Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2008, 08:50:10 AM »
Thanks for the Tips.

This 97 LSI has Cruise controll and AC but not Electric windows.
I didnt know it had Duel air bags.
My dog will like that  :laugh:
I never have passengers cause of Her,
 but that air bag would be good for her if i plow into something.

Im just wondering if i should hold out for one with Lower KMs
Tho most seem to be in the upper 180000 and Up.

The Computors seem to get Mentioned alot in Trackers here , Do they have alot of Problems  ???

I never heard anyone ever talk or know about the type of Computor my FI ford van has.
Guess a guy better buy a spare one if there prone to trobles.

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Offline idaholwb

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Re: Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2008, 09:25:04 AM »
 From what I've seen the '96-'98 Trackers and Sidekicks don't have anywhere near the ECU problems that the earlier versions did. I have a 97 4 door Sidekick that has 175,000 on it with no ECU problems.
97 Sport
265/70-16s
2" lift
2.0 swap
I know...Pretty boring... FOR NOW...

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Offline Jeremiah

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Re: Looking Hard at Buying a 1997 LSI 4 door need some advise
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2008, 10:26:04 AM »
From what I've seen the '96-'98 Trackers and Sidekicks don't have anywhere near the ECU problems that the earlier versions did.

ECU problems are rare, but they seem to happen more frequently in the older (1995 and older) models. Just do your regular checks that should be done with high-mileage engines (ask for maintenance records, check compression etc) and you should be okay. If you don't know how to do these things, take it to a reputable mechanic - it's well worth the investment.
'96 4 door kick: 29" Pep-Boys M/T, 1.5" OME
'83 SJ410: 31" Toyo M/T, SPOA, 1.3L
'08 Yamaha FZ6