Introducing myself

[oceanfaye]

Hi everyone!
I have just become the proud owner of a 1995 Suzuki Sidekick JX 4x4. The vehicle has a few problems that are definitely fixable and since it only has 44,000 original miles I'm not complaining. My daughter and I are making this a "rolling restoration".
She is still trying to figure out how to drive a 5 speed. She gets better each time we take it out.
I'm sure that I am going to be asking some questions as time goes by so I thank you all for your help in advance.
Merry Meet
Lisa

[Rhinoman]

Welcome to the forum. Here in the UK most cars and trucks are manual transmission. I drove an auto last year for the first time after 26yrs driving. I don't think it was a very pleasant experience for my passenger. Several times I went to change gear, knocked it into manual mode (Tiptronic box) and slammed on the brakes

[kelikran]

Congrats! Awesome to find one with that mileage. They are great little vehicles, get pretty good mileage, and will get you where you need to go during those spring blizzards too.
That's great your daughter is learning the 5 spd. Did the same with mine. As far as problems or fixes, there is a ton of info here, you might have to do some searching, but it
will be there somewhere. One point to keep in mind, the computer boards in these vehicles (referred to as the ECU or ECM) will sometimes develop problems in the older
trackers/sidekicks. They will cause random (at first) problems with starting or running
or idling, but they are an easy and relatively cheap fix for someome who can solder.
If you take it to a dealer, they'll roast you several hundreds if not over a thousand
for a new one, when all it often needs is a few dollars for some new capacitors and a bit
of time to pull the board and change them. Anyway, happy kickin!

[CodyJ]

I would just like to say... I don't think it has 44,000... its only an 5 digit odemeter on the Suzuki Sidekicks, so it may of rolled over. But it has plenty of life on it.... I ain't going to lie.

Do it a great service for life and change air filter, the oil + filter, plugs, wires (check resistance first) and check all fluids and tire pressure. That will sure to help it if you have not done that. I only recommend doing these things if the air filter is dirty, oil would be a yes if its black and that's not due to the myth but because you don't know the previous service date more than likely. Any questions, go ahead and ask!

[oceanfaye]

Originally Posted by CodyJ

I would just like to say... I don't think it has 44,000... its only an 5 digit odometer on the Suzuki Sidekicks, so it may of rolled over. But it has plenty of life on it.... I ain't going to lie.

Do it a great service for life and change air filter, the oil + filter, plugs, wires (check resistance first) and check all fluids and tire pressure. That will sure to help it if you have not done that. I only recommend doing these things if the air filter is dirty, oil would be a yes if its black and that's not due to the myth but because you don't know the previous service date more than likely. Any questions, go ahead and ask!

Actually, the odometer IS a 6 digit one. It reads 044965 as it sits right now. I did a carfax and a title search on it and it all jives. No crooked or misaligned numbers either like vehicles over 100k tend to do. We are the third owners and there is a paper trail from it's original purchase date. I have no doubt in my mind that this vehicle only has 44k. The body also reflects the low mileage as it is in very good shape for Ohio. It has very minimal rust, typical of a vehicle that was mostly garaged over the winters.
I went today for an oil change and every thing looks good under the hood. It needs a new muffler and the dashboard needs reassembled because someone broke into it and stole the aftermarket radio. I have already located the parts I need to put it back together. Finding a bezel that wasn't broken was a challenge but I found one. The prior owner only put 8k on it since he purchased it 4 years ago.
Since it has been stored and barely driven, I am planning on replacing the timing belt in the next few weeks. I've purchased stored vehicles in the past and have found that if they sit for any length of time that anything rubber breaks down. Better safe than sorry. Timing belts make me nervous - period.

I know for sure that the following needs done...

Replace timing belt
Check brakes & adjust
Inspect steering components
Replace tires and perform alignment
Transmission tune up (adjust linkage, clutch and change fluid if needed)
Replace spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor
Replace climate control panel & blower switch (damaged from break in)
Repair/Replace driver door lock mechanism
Repair/Replace armrest console (damaged from break in)
Repair/Replace glove box & lock (damaged from break in)

My daughter wants to upgrade the speakers and eventually put a lift kit on it. She plans to keep this until it dies. Considering my best friend has a 94 Tracker with 180k on it, I think it will be a long time until it goes kaput.

One of the best things about this vehicle is that it came with the removable fiberglass hardtop. I believe that when purchased new that it also came with a soft top plus all the support bars. Can anyone verify that for me? It has holes where it looks like the parts were removed. It might be nice to have the soft-top for summer driving and the hardtop for winter.
Unfortunately, it won't be garaged during the winters. My daughter is in her third year of college and she will be using it as a daily driver.

So, that's it in a nutshell. Any ideas of things I may have forgotten in that list of must do items?
Any companies out there re-popping parts? Where's the best place to look for replacement parts...

Thanks again for all of your help! I will post some pics in the next few days when I get time. Unfortunately, my Sunday is going to be spent dissecting the dash
Lisa

[GoGeoGo]

i found a geo tracker on ebay with 18 orginal miles. its like a brand new geo tracker, its a 1998. it still had the original window stickers with the price tag on and all the features and stuff, for about 11,000, search on ebay, it looks realll nice.

[CodyJ]

Mine has 150k and runs strong... daily driver and takes a beating on the off-road. If someone fucks your fender up its easy to fix! Not as easy with the rear... but doors are fixable too. Its so nice about that though. Thin sheet metal and decent gas mileage that doesn't hurt the wallet.

If you need any parts, let me know what you need... junkyard has plenty Suzuki's but no Geos so I am SOL on some items that I wanted and because they don't have any hard-tops at the junkyard. All of them had hard-top/soft-top capabilities depending on the final manufacter as far as I know.

I was just stating the mileage thing because most of the junkyard Zuk's have a 5-digit spedo and I was unhappy with pulling it and having no use for it. I paid no attention to it right away but it was free.

[eXpReSs]

Originally Posted by oceanfaye

Hi everyone!
I have just become the proud owner of a 1995 Suzuki Sidekick JX 4x4. The vehicle has a few problems that are definitely fixable and since it only has 44,000 original miles I'm not complaining. My daughter and I are making this a "rolling restoration".
She is still trying to figure out how to drive a 5 speed. She gets better each time we take it out.
I'm sure that I am going to be asking some questions as time goes by so I thank you all for your help in advance.
Merry Meet
Lisa

WELCOME! This is the place to be. There are some very knowledgeable people here. I'm not one of them although my '95 Tracker runs like a clock. Good luck to you and your daughter. Being able to drive a stick is plus and a good choice. ENJOY!

[JonRunaas]

As far as rust goes, being from Iowa I feel your pain. I'm planning on wire brushing all the rust spots on my car, using rust converter on them, then giving the "rock prone" parts a coating of spray on bedliner from Menards.
An acquaintance of mine bought an early 90s chevy blazer new, and every spring went over any new rust with a wire brush and black rust converting paint. He sold it 15 years later slightly mottled from years of paint, but rust free! And in our part of Iowa they use a lot of salt!

[RottenBob]

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your find! A 95 with only 44,000 miles on it - can't do much better than that!