87 Suzuki Samurai

not cool:confused:
had hopes of some drive reports:steer:

hope you get the thing figured out and done soon.
good luck:wrench:

I've driven the Samurai quite a bit. I probably shouldn't be but the Honda has developed some noise recently. I think it needs new cv axles.

It's definitely got some pep now. Everything seems to be working well enough. I think I discovered my original issue with it not starting immediately after the swap. A corroded battery terminal. I thought the ECM was bad and purchased another one. After I cleaned the wiring up this weekend it wouldn't start and I jabbed the probe of my meter into the opening on the negative battery terminal and the clamp screw and the headlights came on! The probe improved the connection between the battery post and the terminal. Corrosion! I'm pretty certain this was the problem I first had.

The oil leak seems to be coming from the oil pump. I need to see whats under the timing cover.

I post pictures pretty regularly on my Instagram if you guys are interested.

[url]http://www.instagram.com/detn8r/[/url]

About 400 miles on the 1.6L! So far so good but I still don't like that oil leak coming from the oil pump.

This Saturday I'm going to replace just about everything on the front of the engine.
I purchased a new Oil Pump, Water Pump, Timing Belt, Tensioner, Timing Cover and Electric Fan Controller.
I figure if I need to pull everything off the front of the engine I might as well install the electric fan I got from my sisters Pontiac G6.
I'm hoping I can get the oil pan off the engine without pulling the engine out again so that I could pull the oil pump and reseal the oil pan after I install the new oil pump.

I'll let you all know how it goes and then hopefully I'll take it out on a run next weekend or the following weekend.

I'm back to daily driving my Samurai! Been working out some kinks here and there.

I made a bracket for the igniter.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-3.JPG[/img]

In addition that I cleaned up the wiring under the hood pretty well. I wrapped everything with electrical tape and split loom tubing. I also took the opportunity to remove all of the automatic transmission wiring from the engine harness.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-1.JPG[/img]

With all that done I noticed I fresh oil on the exterior of the engine.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-2.JPG[/img]

The oil was the oil pump so I figured the gasket on it was going bad. I was advised to do the water pump and timing belt at the same time.
I put in an order from Petroworks for all the stuff I'd need, including a new timing cover.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-4.JPG[/img]

In order to get the oil pump off I needed to remove the lower timing pulley/cog and the oil pan. There's a nut in the center that holds it on but in order to get it off I need to hold the cog in place. I stupidly tried to pry against one of the pulley screws with a screwdriver while trying to break the bolt free and ended up cracking the cog.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-5.JPG[/img]

I got on the ColoradoZuks Facebook group and asked for one and someone happened to have one about 30 minutes from my house on an engine block they were willing to give me for free!
Huge thanks to fixkick.com for the measurements for making the tool needed to remove this bolt properly. You can see it in the bottom portion of the picture.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-6.JPG[/img]

With the new cog I installed oil pump and water pump.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-7.JPG[/img]

And after all that I still have an oil leak.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2016-11-08_00-38-8.JPG[/img]

I believe it may be from the front of the head gasket but the oil leak is slow and I'm not noticing and smoking or oil in the coolant.

In other news I purchased an OBD1 to USB cable and I plan on using the rhinoman software to read data from the ECM.

Ugh - is the oil leak, at least, less than what it was?

Those shiny parts look nice.

It is.

Nice to hear your rolling now.

Have you considered using some powder (flower) blown onto the metal surfaces to help track the origin of the leak? How difficult is it to remove the cover over the belt?

Jim- the biggest issue with the Timming cover on these engines is space!
They are super easy to work on.

Fred- good to see you are getting things fixed.
One thing to check next time you are in the Timming cover, the little screw on the cam!
There is some adjustment there for setting base timming, these things will work lose, and then you will fight it to keep it running right.
It took me a week of fighting with my buddies engine before I found this a screw had come loose.

Keep plugging away and you will find the leaks, valve cover is a big leaker too....
As well as the distributor.

Thanks for the advice Jim. I guess I should have mentioned that I did coat the engine with baby powder and it definitely seems to be coming from the area around the front of the head gasket. I was told that it could be a plug in the engine block that worked loose but I have yet to check and after working on the truck for so long I'm just taking a break.

I've been meaning to install one of the electric fans from my sisters pontiac g6 so once I do that and it's easier to remove the timing cover I'll move on some of the other projects under the hood.

No issues running right now. I'm enjoying the speed and horsepower and I apologize to anyone else on the road with me.

[quote=DETN8R;308375]I'm enjoying the speed and horsepower[/quote]

:thumb:

I wanted to revisit a list of planned mods I made early on in this thread and reevaluate where I am.



[LIST][*]Fix The Engine Drinking Oil/Coolant Issue[*]Battery[*]My-Side Harley Carb Kit[*]Roof Rack - Packing Camping gear for two adults and a toddler now[*]Skid Plates - Diff Armor[*]Rear Tire Carrier[*]Rear Cage - Minimally since now I have a daughter to worry about keeping safe.[*]Full Cage - One can dream[*]The Transfercase Cradle from Zuks Off Road[*]Lockers[*]Lift - Goal to get on 33's[/LIST]

That was a very randomly planned list of things.

So the things I accomplished were


[LIST][*]Battery - Was forced into getting a new one as the old one predictably died.[*]Fix the engine drinking oil issue - Well I swapped out the engine but the new engine is leaking something... Not losing that much oil and I'm not losing coolant. But something IS showing up on the exterior of the engine.[*]Roof Rack - Been working out great![*]Rear Tire Carrier - Want to change some things but I've got it done![*]Transfercase Cradle from ZOR - I have it but I have not installed it.... Want to re-gear the tcase now.[/LIST]


Plans for summer 2017

Some things have changed. My son will be born February and we plan on taking him camping with us that Summer and I've decided to build a trailer to haul to camping gear as well. Expect a new thread at some point.
The roof rack worked out great for my family when it was just the three of us but I made a smaller roof rack with the understanding that I could use the space on the back seat next to my daughter's car seat. Not going to work with an additional baby in the back. I'll extend/remake the roof the roof rack for more cargo.


[LIST][*]Head Gasket - If that is indeed the source of the leak on the new 1.6L[*]Add a receiver to the bumper. Can't tow a trailer without a receiver hitch.[*]Roll Cage - Rear cage at minimum - but hopefully I'll be able to just get the full cage all at once. Anyone know of a place I can get it welded? I've been liking this one from Low Range Off Road - [url]http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzuki-samurai-dom-sport-cage-kits-by-low-range-off-road-src-scf-src-scr.html[/url][*]Transfercase Gears - Some Crawl would be nice.[*]Lift - maybe just SPOA to start but I'm not terribly concerned with lifting at the moment.[/LIST]

The big plan for The Summer is the Trailer.
With a trailer I can stow all the camping gear, food and water. I'd like to get a roof top tent to mount on the trailer as well. I've seen some cool things done with the harbor freight trailers as a base. The inside of the Samurai wouldn't be as cramped if we could get the gear in the trailer.

Any risk with running the motor (this is a DD yes?) to summer with the compromised head gasket? How much coolant are you losing? Any oil/coolant cross transfer / mixing happening?

I know you're in tune with the rig - we'd just hate for this motor to get damaged with the time you have into it.

That's the weird thing! No coolant/oil cross contamination and I'm not losing a significant amount of either. In fact It's been so little I can't identify which one I'm losing. 2700 miles so far daily driving it these last few months. Not really sure what's leaking.

I'm pretty sure it's oil though.

I take that back. Could be coolant.... Was a little low on coolant when I check the fluids before I drove it to Grand Junction this Christmas.
What a difference!! The 16V did way better going up the mountains!. Got about 20mpg

these engines are strong they are built to take 3rd world driving abuse, thus head gasget leask rarely cross contaminate.
as long as your compresion is good and even you will be fine to run tell summer.
not a bad idea to pick up a spair head, as you will need to have it machined.

gld your enjoying the extra ponies.
hope we get to see this little monster this summer

I'd like to hope it'll last. I really want to get some longevity out of this engine.
I've been having this EGR System Failure code pop up. I think some passages are blocked and I may have to pull the intake to clean them out. Not sure what to do.

EGR intake man ports were plugged on my Honda. I just cleaned them out a month ago (for me - no manifold removal needed).

Do you have a "stumble" or short rough spot on acceleration from a stop? That was the symptom that I noticed. I ran for a year or so with the stumble...

Might get a little better mileage with the EGR functioning. My 33" Sammy gets 20mpg with a 1.6 16V. I would hope yours would do a bit better.

Stupid EGR.
One of the dumbest things the engineering departments have ever done.
Spent gases run back into the engine is problematic at best.
Suet clogs the passeges
As well as hmm spent gases DON'T burn.
I get it the manufactur is trying to bring the cylinder temps down.
This can be achieved with valve over lap, thus allowing fresh clean air to pass over the pistion, and on into the exhoust side. Thus dropping NOx and carbon monoxide.

Seems that the big oil companies are doing great as we are still getting the same, or worse fuel economy.
Diesel is a prime example of this.
My 1st gen Cummins truck got 28mpg before the low sulfer junk, 23 after.
Same engine in a 2006 would be well under the 20mpg mark, move on to the 2010 and newer
These trucks are getting 9-14mpg. All this in the name of emissions standards.
Hmm twice the fuel use bring the total out put right back to where it was before all this fancy shamcy emission crap.

Fred-hope you can figure this issue out. Myron at ZOR (zuks offroad) may have some good info for you on this issue.

I braved the cold yesterday and tried running a flex cable from a rotary tool into the passages. The EGR is moving freely but I wasn't able to get the cable into one of the ports all the way. Some people on the Suzuki Samurai Owners 2.0 group on facebook suggested that I run the engine with the EGR removed and block the Exhaust. I gave this a bit of a try. I guess I'll see how it does in 400 miles. Seems like it comes on about every 500 miles or so. I rolled over 4k miles with the 16v in the Samurai this weekend.

Been reading about it on fixkick and I'm hoping I don't have to pull the intake. Though I suppose I might as well do that when I do the head gasket this summer.

Been about 1k miles after cleaning some of the EGR passages. I didn't think I cleaned them all that well but the code hasn't come back.

I signed up and paid for two easy trails at the Easter Jeep Safari in April so I'm going!
Signed up for Secret Spire on April 14th and Chicken Corners on the 15th. I may sign up for more but that depends on money and openings.

But I need to do some more stuff to the Samurai to get ready for the trip. Maybe I'll have the trailer going by then or not but my company didn't give out the bonus we were all expecting so the trailer project might have to wait. Though I will be talking with someone about buying a haulmaster soon.

I finally sold the Sidekick body but I did manage to remove the seats and power steering setup. I started on the seat swap and will post pics soon.

but here is the to do list for getting the Samurai ready for MOAB

Moab To Do List:
Head Gasket and Head Bolts
Water Pump Gasket - Water Pump needs to come off for the head gasket
Valve Cover Gasket
Adjust Valves
New Air Filter - Pod Filter from Trail Tough
Replace Oxygen Sensor
Fix The Exhaust
Change the fluids in the Transfer Case and Axles
Replace the windshield
New Shocks - Pretty sure that these are original
Finish The Seat Swap
New Tires

If I could get these things done before April I'll be really happy.

I've driven the 1.6L for 5k miles now and am pretty happy with it. It survived one trip to Grand Junction so I'm pretty sure it can survive a trip to Moab.

I've gotten a lot of stuff done on the Samurai recently.
Early this year I solved my windshield washer fluid sprayer problem. I had accidentally smashed the hose when I removed the windshield frame last summer.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-13.JPG[/img]

I relocated the on board air compressor the passenger side fender and ran a hose to a quick disconnect through the grill.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-14.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-15.JPG[/img]


I finished the seat swap last week. I started making mounts a certain way first. I planned on using some flat stock running between the sliders but quickly realized that it was going to be a lot of work and I no longer have easy access to a welder and instead ended up using some angle iron.

The way the sidekick seats bolt into the sidekick higher on the middle of the vehicle on the tranny tunnel and lower towards the door side. So I needed to cut the door side mounts down to sit even with the tranny side mounts. I mostly followed the guide on izook ([url]http://www2.izook.com/?page_id=279[/url]) without the welding.
I used two inch masking tape as a guide.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-16.JPG[/img]

I had to remove the fabric and foam on the sidekick seats and detach the back rest from the frame as well.

On the tranny side I utilized the mounting holes left from the sidekick sliders and bolted the angle iron the mount. I had to mount the door side angle iron a little differently. I drilled sideways into the remaining metal of the door side mount. I made a template to transfer the original Samurai seat slider holes to the angle iron I mounted on the sidekick seat frame.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-20.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-22.JPG[/img]

I got the passenger seat finished after some struggle with the mounting holes. One of the previous owners had added some pipe flanges as seat risers and drilled through the mounting nuts in the tub.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-23.JPG[/img]

During this I solved another problem. The original passenger seat for the Samurai had a cable that ran down to the slider mechanism that would allow the seat to slide forward automatically when you pulled the reclining lever. This was a complete assembly and I discovered that I could use the assembly from the samurai seat on the new sidekick seat.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-31.JPG[/img]


I began the drivers side the same as the passenger side but the sliders on the drivers seat are a little different. The bolts on the drivers seat were going to interfere with the sliders.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-26.JPG[/img]

I solved this by countersinking them.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-27.JPG[/img]

The sliding mechanism was still in the way so I added some spacers anyway.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-29.JPG[/img]

One of the previous owners insisted on the seat lift for the drivers seat as well and mangled up the rear most brackets.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-24.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-30.JPG[/img]

I purchased a head gasket set and power steering kit from petroworks as well. I think I'll hold off on the head gasket until after the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab because I'm not sure I can afford the machining (if necessary) and I feel pretty confident that the engine will survive for quite some time.

I removed the old steering box easily enough and installed the sidekick power steering box with the wedge from Petroworks.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-11.JPG[/img]

I wasn't expecting much trouble with steering shaft but apparently there were two nylon pins that I had to break to get the steering shaft to shorten so that the rag joint would be in the proper location. At some point I'll eliminate the rag joint as well.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-33.JPG[/img]

The relocation bracket for the pump was a little confusing but I eventually got it installed. I had to try two belts before finding one that worked well.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-7.JPG[/img]

You might notice that one of the mounts on the pump is broken nearest the pulley. I think it'll be ok though. This must have happened in the sidekick somehow.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-10.JPG[/img]

I ran into some issues with the reservoir as well. I was expecting the reservoir to mount somewhere near the radiator like in the sidekick but I ended up making a new bracket and replacing the hoses with longer ones and mounting it in front of the air box.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-9.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-12.JPG[/img]

After that was all done I installed new shocks as well!
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-03-23_00-48-1.JPG[/img]

I did an oil change yesterday and I hope to get around to changing the fluid in the transmission, transfercase and differentials before the trip to Moab as well but I'm not sure if I will.

I also need to wire in the new Oxygen sensor.

I need to weld on or get some bolt on recovery points for the rear and install the reverse lights I bought before Christmas. Almost done working on the Samurai before Moab though.

My son was born January 29th and he has been a welcome distraction for me but I'm excited to take him camping in Moab next month.

More updates soon!

wow you have been busy. Congratulations on the new family member.

when are you going to moab?

Thanks Xaza.

I'll be heading out of Denver on the 12th next month.

I'll try to catch you all up. I didn't really do much to the Samurai since the last post. I installed a new oxygen sensor since it was supposed to be replaced at 80k and this engine had 140k when I pulled it from the sidekick. I also didn't like how close the windshield wiper fluid reservoir sat to the air intake so I made a new mount for it to move it a couple of inches away from the intake. I used some 1"x.25" aluminum I had lying around. At this time I also put in a new air filter, completing the tuneup.


[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-22.JPG[/img]


[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-20.JPG[/img]


[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-21.JPG[/img]


Now I really wanted to show some Suzuki pride for this trip so I put some decals on the Samurai. I got some overlays for the Suzuki emblem on the grill from Dan Muskopf Designs
[url]http://muskopfvinyldesigns.tictail.com/[/url]


I used a brayer roller and heat gun to make sure it was pressed down nice since I had sprayed over the emblem previously with bedliner.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-19.JPG[/img]


Also added some new jeep eater stickers (no pics, sorry)


This trip was a little different than our usual family camping trip. I had planned on camping 3 nights. 1 or two of those nights I was likely going to be camping on my own so I was actually left with some free space in the Samurai. I even considered taking out the passenger seat for the pelican cooler because I was going to be solo for wheeling and my family was going to be heading back to Grand Junction to wait for me to finish wheeling. I'm glad I left the passenger seat in and I'll tell you why later.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-17.JPG[/img]


[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-18.JPG[/img]
The cooler and water jug were actually empty to save weight. I'd get groceries and water in Grand Junction.


Gassing up and Heading out!
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-16.JPG[/img]


Now we left Denver at noon, which happened to be when we had wanted to be getting to Grand Junction but we can't ever leave on time...


Running so late we decided to spend the night in Grand Junction at the in-laws house. We got an early start Thursday and ended up pulling onto 128 around 3:30pm. Now don't ask me why but I thought I could get away with a 3-wire sensor and it worked great for several hundred miles. I also decided to store a jug of oil under the hood that I think may have been pulling on some wires. Anyway. Just as we were pulling onto 128 the Check Engine Light started coming on. I was getting codes for MAF, O2 Sensor, IAT sensor. I moved the Jug of oil and the light went off. But I had a feeling about that o2 sensor.
Driving through Moab I saw tons of nice rigs! I saw the Chevy Tracker from the 2011 Ultimate Adventure! In the City Market parking lot I saw this nice Isuzu Trooper.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-14.JPG[/img]

We ended up camping at Kane Creek campground just outside of Moab.
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-4.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-11.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-12.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-13.JPG[/IMG]


Now Abby is amazing with a sewing machine and is a great designer! She made our 2 month old son a sleeping bag/swaddle! Which he seemed to love! He did great camping!
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-9.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-10.JPG[/IMG]


Anyway. Long story short. After wheeling Secret Spire Friday the IAT and O2 Sensor codes came back. I didn't get any pics of the Samurai wheeling but Secret Spire was a gorgeous trail.
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-3.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-8.JPG[/IMG]


The only damaged I did to the Samurai was I slightly bent the leaf spring mount.
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-7.JPG[/IMG]


The power steering performed great! The sidekick seats were extremely comfortable.


I stayed in town for the Red Rock Four Wheelers Easter Jeep Safari raffle and at 9:30pm that night with the raffle still going on and having not won anything myself I decided to call it and drove back to Grand Junction to spend the weekend with my family.
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-2.JPG[/IMG]


On Saturday I decided to replace the Intake Air Temperature sensor because I got the code for it. We drove the kids to the park in Grand Junction to meet up with a friend and afterwards went to the O'reilly Auto Parts for the sensor, which turned out to not fit (8v maybe). On our way back to the in-laws we got rear ended at red light. After sitting there for nearly a minute!. The driver of the truck said she was looking at other vehicles and thought we had started moving. From my perspective we got slammed into at a red light! We had the kids in the back seat but they were ok. We got hit hard enough for Abby's glasses to fly off her face. Abby's neck was hurting pretty bad and she went to the hospital with our son in the Ambulance. The in-laws showed up and gave me and my daughter a ride to the hospital after dealing with the police. Abby's neck is still pretty sore but the kids seem to be just fine. My back was just a bit sore the next day but I don't think I sustained any real damage.
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-6.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-5.JPG[/IMG]

My mother in-law offered to drive our camping gear down in her truck on Monday and after buying a new car seat for our son (I had one in the Samurai for my daughter) we loaded both kids in the Samurai and left Grand Junction, which happened to be my Sons first ride in the Samurai and Abby's first real ride in the Samurai since the night she went into labor. We stopped in Glenwood Springs for a swim and got home pretty late Sunday night.
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-20_17-59-1.JPG[/img]

Nice write-up and pix Fred! Sorry to hear you have issues with a sensor - and that rather important accident.

Great write-up. So sorry to hear about getting rear-ended, but glad everyone's OK and hope your wife's neck is back to normal soon. BTW, your kids are ADORABLE. The pix of your two month old, what perfection!

Thanks! Yeah. The accident was very unfortunate but I'm just glad we're all ok.

Thanks Heather!

I forgot to give you all an update on the rear bumper reverse lights! I got these done before I went to Moab.

I started by removing the bumper from the Samurai and removing the tail lights.

Eventually I want to mount some shackle mounts and a hitch to the bumper so I made sure to leave room for those.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-28_01-09-5.JPG[/img]

I used masking tape and measured the location of the lights from the center of the Samurai. I used a hole saw at all of the corners and a jigsaw to cut the rest of the metal from the bumper.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-28_01-09-4.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-28_01-09-3.JPG[/img]


I used the opportunity to touch up the paint on the bumper and the swing for the tire as well.

I had some issues getting the lights to come on when I put the Samurai in reverse. Turns out that there is a plug under the hood from the reverse switch that I unplugged when I did the engine swap.

I really like the amount of light these put out and I think they look pretty good.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-28_01-09-2.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-04-28_01-09-1.JPG[/img]

The lights look great! Glad the family is all OK after the entire ordeal!

Nice mounting the lights inside of the bumper!

nice! I love my LED reverse light. people still dont seem to understand what it means.....parking lots suck now days.
Looks realy good Fred. nice to see it getting long trips with little issues.

Thanks Everyone!

I guess the next thing I'll move on is the front bumper project.

With the Samurai back on Daily Driver Duty it'll be hard to get some of the other things I want done finished.

Well I've been getting a little work done.

I've got the base for the bumper project welded.

The Samurai had some brackets on the front of the frame already. For Recovery or tying it down on the boat it came over on or something.

So I had some free time at work one night and made some copies.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-11.JPG[/img]

Once these were cut and drilled out I began mocking some stuff up.

I think I've got the beginnings of a winch bumper going.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-9.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-8.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-7.JPG[/img]

We're having some work load issues at my job and unfortunately they're having to let some people go. The future of my job is a bit uncertain as well but I prefer to remain optimistic. Anyway, the welders last few days came around last week and he welded up the brackets to the plate which will make the base of the front Bumper. He's also the same welder who welded the brackets for the rear bumper/tire carrier.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-6.JPG[/img]

I'm using some 3/8" bolts to attach it to the frame (Hey, I come across hardware for free at work but it's mostly standard) and I'm using some 3/8" drill bushings as the spacers for inside the frame. Which is about 44mm if you ever find yourself googling the inside width of the stock samurai frame.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-4.JPG[/img]

Got it mounted late Saturday evening to see how it fits.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-3.JPG[/img]

Going to get some u-bolts bent and Denver Spring soon to attach the bumper to the center tube/crossmember on the samurai frame to added support. Still want to get a winch before I start making more progress on this bumper. Wanting to go with the Stinger design.


Now for some other news!! I've had some craigslist alerts set up for quite a while now for a harbor freight haulmaster trailer and Friday morning (also PAYDAY) I got an alert for a small (40x48) haul master trailer for $150. I got the original samurai hitch bolted back on and went and took a look. I ended up nabbing it for $100! Towed it home and marveled at it for a while. A Tiny Trailer for a Tiny Truck!

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-2.JPG[/img]


Put it to use this Sunday as well to haul a play set and our grill from my sisters house.

[img]http://www.detn8r.net/Samurai/2017-05-15_00-20-1.JPG[/img]


Getting some ideas for it and crawling over expedition portals trailers subforum.

That's it for now! Probably won't do much to the trailer in the mean time. I'll keep the frame the previous owner put on and we'll probably load the camping gear on it for camping trips. The wiring is kind of horrible and I'll need to re do it.


Also, this has made it very clear I need to get a hitch on the bumper.