Newbie, from 6.5TD Chevy truck to 1.6 Vitara

[matuva]

Howdy all,

well, it seems this is a nice place for who wants to care about his Vitara.

I currentely own a 1996 6.5 turbo diesel Chevy truck. I know several things about these trucks.

I recentely discovered a 1994 4 doors 1.6L injection with AT Vitara that the owner put under a cover in the back side of his court yard.
This Vitara was sitting there under the cover untill june.
I put a battery and cranck. She fired at first key on. I was impressed.
Engine runs smooth, noise free, looks responsive.
The only problem is that front power windows and remote door lock doesn't work, and it is said to suffer from a current leak (battery is discharged after few days)
Electrical gremlins to figth with I believe.

I didn't even take time to take her for a ride. I asked the owner : "how much" ?
He said $3 000. (life is expensive in NC, in US, it should be $1000 as a counter value)
I said OK.

So I now own a Vitara. I don't have it home yet, probabely few weeks before I can get it, but I'm happy. I always wanted to own one.

As I said previously, I know several things about the 6.5 TD, but not so much about the 1.6 and the Vitara itself.

You may say, a car is a car. Yes sure, but every of them has special things to care about, weak and strong points.

So guys, to make it short, what would be your advices for a new Vitara owner ? What would you do first ?

What are the tips for identifying which engine I get, tranny, etc...

Thanks

[ranger88den]

Change all fluid & filters. If it's a 16 valve, change timing belt, tensioner, water pump and check crank timing gear keyway/torque. Check battery voltage, starting voltage, charging voltage and post back. Welcome and good luck.
ps This is Jerry's website, it will be helpful to you.
The KickFix Repair Pages, for Sidekicks and Trackers

[Bex]

These are either 8v or 16v (and it should say 16v on the engine - easy to see). You don't mention anything about mileage, etc., or if the previous owner gave you his maintenance schedule. First thing I would do would be change oil and filter. If gas has been sitting in the truck (how long under this cover) I would drain and put fresh gas in. Change fuel filter, air filter (or check them for grunge). Proper tune up with plugs etc (gap them). Find out if the timing belt was ever changed. Depending on mileage, this needs to be done (especially if car is 16v, as it can cause great damage if it breaks). When you turn the key to 'on' make sure the CEL light goes on, on the dash, and then goes off when car is started. If the light doesn't go on, get in a new bulb, as this is car brains, and you need to make sure that this bulb is working. You may also want to get under the car too, and check that frame is in good condition.

[matuva]

Thanks for answers.

I was in a hurry when I visit the place where I discovered the vitara, and didn't talk a long time with the owner.
I will ask him more precise information about how he did maintenance.
Best way to start

OK, so what I did:

check CEL : OK
Check frame : looks good

The engine is a 1.6L 16V, do that mean it is a Multi-port Fuel Injection ?

I will order a timing belt + tensioners and waterpump, and care about crank timing gear keyway/torque

According to your advices here's the schedule, as soon as the vitara is available :

change timing belt, tensioners,and waterpump;
drain fuel tank (the vitara is sitting here untill more than 5 months now) and put fresh fuel in;
change all fluids : brake fluid, engine and AT oil, etc... and filters (by the way, is there a filter in the tranny pan ?);
of course, fix the electrical problem

ranger88den, thanks for the link, that's very intersting readings. Congrats to KickFix

[ranger88den]

Yes there is a filter for the transmission. If you're going to keep the vehicle for any time, you may want to install a drain plug in the trans. pan. You may also want to flush the trans. while you're at it (pumps out all fluid); Do a search for how it's done. Good luck

[matuva]

Here is my Zuki in the backyard.
My Zuki.jpg

It will be home tomorrow evening, and I will start fighting with electrical gremlins.
I have to fix why :

• power windows do not work;
• battery get discharged after few days if it stay connected and the Zuki do not run in the interval;
• temp gauges goes down as the engine revs up. See the video here, the water temp needle goes to 0 as the RPMS go aver 2500 :

  You Tube

  I guess a good reading of promoedmerc thread should help me curing that
• when I floor then accelerator, engine is not immediately responsive. There is a latency before it revs up
  You can hear it in the video too. Stayed too long without running (till june) ?

And I hope that will be all. I hate electrical problems.

BTW, any gets the electrical wirings for a 1994 16V ?