AAZ going in a Samurai

[Grunttorque]

Hey guys what a good site here.. I just bought a 97 AAZ with a lot of miles/km and am cuious if you guys think I should do anything before i put it in my Samurai. I def. want to get a Giles pump and possibly an intercooler and different turbo. This front crank gear pulley problem Im reading about is scaring me, is there an easy fix for it? This engine has a serp setup on it also. Thanks for any help!

[arb]

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What's the health of the engine ? Normal blow-by ? Good compression ? If so, I would change the oil with Mobil 1 10w50 or some similar high quality synthetic and install it as is, after you replace the timing belt and idler if that has not been done in the past 50K miles. You would do well to check the glow plugs and build the super dooper glow plug system many of us are using.

[Grunttorque]

Thanks! I'm not sure the health of it. It has 264k on it so its probably tired. I bought it from a wrecking yard we do a lot of business with and they said it ran good before they pulled it.

[arb]

254K ? Just getting started !! LOL, well, if the owner changed the oil regularly and never over heated it. I'd do the timing belt / idler and see how it ran before I tor it down. You're looking for torque on the trail, not a million miles on the freeway. Its small enough that it would be easy to pull from the Sami.

[zukgod1]

Damn I would have loved to have a 1.9 in my zuk.

I'm looking for another now, leaning towards a sidekick though over a zuk.

Be sure to post up some pics as you go through your build.

[Smokey Eddy]

while the engine is out it's always easier to do everything.
Maybe change common seals to prevent leaky mess. a light Hone & ring would be easy + a head gasket change (obviously). That would keep it in good shape for sure. While the head is off you could check how well the valves are seating. Just get a good idea how it's all doing and put it back together.

[zukgod1]

I agree with eddy BUT.......

If you tear it down its just silly to not just rebuild it.

On the other hand a tear down and reseal as mentioned is a good idea. At that point you could get ARP head studs and never have to worry about your HG again..

The problem I have when doing stuff like that is before ya know it I have new bearings, seals, gaskets, rings, had the head checked at the machine shop. So just shy of a actual TOTAL rebuild.

Sometimes its just easier to install and run it.

[Smokey Eddy]

What is the difference between that and a real rebuild?

Why bore if you don't need to?
what else is missing....
do a head job and there you go.

Im assuming the condition of the block is mint. and will do with a light hone for basically cleaning purposes.

[zukgod1]

What is the difference between that and a real rebuild?

Why bore if you don't need to?
what else is missing....
do a head job and there you go.

Im assuming the condition of the block is mint. and will do with a light hone for basically cleaning purposes.

The difference is about $800.00.

Unless you actually measure the taper in the bore you have no idea what your building.

It could "look" good but in reality be out of spec and you will end up with excessive blowby etc.

Having the head work done is quite a bit more in depth than just having it checked for flatness/ vac tested.
There is damn near as much work to do on the head as the block when doing a full rebuild thus the reason it's expensive.

If all you wanted to do was toss in some rings and gaskets then all your really doing is what I would refer to as a budget refresh not a rebuild, even if you add bearings.

[jtanguay]

i got a really good deal... about $260 for new lifters, shave head, guides, seals, oh and the hot tanking to remove all of the EGR build up, and then it was pressure tested.  the thing came back looking MINT!

quick note, make sure to check the center of the lifters for the very small cracks.  if its just barely noticeable, it won't be long before they break.  they can last quite a while though...  i replaced mine then and there so i didn't have to worry about it down the line.  makes  for an expensive job though  

[DonkeyWorx]

Grunttorque - Welcome to the forums. Well, I have been lurking enough myself so I thought I would finally register.

I too am a Zuki fan. I have a 95 Sidekick with a 4 link Suspension and Toyota axles. I bought a 1.9TD AAZ also and am in the process of finalizing the installation.

Oh, I am located in Oregon, so we are close!

[Grunttorque]

Wow you guys are awesome.. thanks for the welcome. I'll be sure to get some pics when I start the swap. The swap kit I bought is in shipment so it wont be long! I would love to tear it down and clean it all up and put head studs in but im not sure yet. The engine looks pretty nasty on the outside I wish there was a way to make it look better but I did pull the valve cover this morning and it looked really good inside.

The fabric lines coming off the injectors.. are these return lines? If so is there a kit I can buy to replace them? They look pretty worn and nasty.

Donkeyworx I wish I had the money for the 4 link! Your rig looks really good. Maybe we can get together down the road sometime.

[zukgod1]

Grunttorque - Welcome to the forums. Well, I have been lurking enough myself so I thought I would finally register.

I too am a Zuki fan. I have a 95 Sidekick with a 4 link Suspension and Toyota axles. I bought a 1.9TD AAZ also and am in the process of finalizing the installation.

Oh, I am located in Oregon, so we are close!

Hey I see a Zukiworld sticker..

You know Eric B?

Nice to have some fellow zukers around

[autoholic]

I have a 1.6TD in my Samurai. I completely rebuilt the motor, had it installed running great, then I retorqued the head and cracked the block. Now it's all apart and will be getting another block as soon as I can save a few more bucks.

I am also rebuilding the trans which is all apart now (unfortunately I need a 1st gear which I need to track down).

I would recommend the following, some of this will depend on what kit you are using:

~I used a Geo tracker gear reduction starter, it's very small and works much better then the stock starter.

~Rebuild the trans, the kit's are like 90 bucks and pretty easy to do (compared to other tranny's) I regreted not doing mine originally, but now it's out again so I'm glad I'm doing it, it needed it.

~Install a heavy duty clutch, they're not much more then stock.

~Use a bigger rad then stock (I  used a rabbit rad w/ 2 10" elec fans)

~ You can probably adapt the stock Sami clutch cable bracket, I ended up making one that was not as strong as I thought, it flexed a bit, so now I'll be adapting the stock bracket

~Do a good job cleaning up threaded holes in the block (engine mounts, etc) and be sure to use the right length hardware and locktite. It is easy to break the cast bosses - and that would suck!

~ Make sure you engine mounts are in good shape.

~ You will need some lift for diff to pan clearance.

~ I would definitely pull the head and check it out, it probably could use guides and a fresh valve job, use studs in the block. If the bottom end looks OK you might as well run it (?)

~ Install an EGT gauge.

These are all I can thing of at the moment, best of luck, theis is an excellent swap!

I'll be re-gearing my t case, rebuilding trans, reassembling motor and building another IP this winter. I'll do it all one at a time since that would be alot of small parts spread out all over the shop!!!

At some point I will be pulling out my rocky road springs and installing wrangler spring SPOA with long shocks.

[autoholic]

Sweet Sidekick!
This is my Sami, not pretty but it's a solid offroader.