There will be plenty of info on the forum for you to read through…the search or ‘advanced search’ function is up at the top banner where it says ‘more’. Plus there will be plenty of people to help when you need it. Good luck with your project!!

 

Thank you. I've been reading quite a bit, finding lots of good information.

 

For any peripheral questions, I'll also link here.

Here is my noob CV boot question.

https://www.suzuki-forums.com/threads/2000-tracker-cv-boot-replacement-help.284890/?post_id=1669596&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-1669596

 

The transmission went out in the Freestar, what does that mean exactly? Did the car lose propulsion completely?

To the Tracker: Buy an new caliper, install the caliper, bleed the brakes, buy and install new axle, done

 

The freestar was making a loud popping sound. I thought it was backfiring as it did need an O2 sensor, but it likely was related to the transmission in hindsight. It would pop in rapid succession as I accelerated, never at idle or rest, never if in neutral and I revved the engine. It popped faster as I accelerated, keeping pace with the engine. It was most prodominate in the 1500-2500 rpm range, such as when coming up to speed, or going up a hill. If I came up to speed slowly, or started out going downhill where there was not a load on the drive train it did not pop. It didn't really shutter or lose power, It might have been very slight, as I thought perhaps it did sometimes, but not enough I was sure. I drove it a while like this. Then one day the transmission popped while driving and I lost all propulsion, it rolled as if in neutral. I could not move the gear shift lever. I forced it vigorously and got it into park. This happened 2 miles from the house. When I came back to tow the van, I could not get it out of park. I forced it again and it wouldn't move. I decided to try to drag it anyway, as I had to move it and didn't have any other options. It appears that it broke lose as soon as I began to pull it, and I drug it home using the Tracker. Now the shift lever moves as normal, but it doesn't catch in any of the gears.

When I took the Tracker up the road, I noticed it didn't have much power, and when I got to my friend's house, which was just before where the van had broken down, I saw and smelled the caliper locked up. I decided to try it anyway. I had my friend drive the van and I towed it with the Tracker and we towed it home without incident.

When we got home, as I was unhooking the chain, the radiator exploded. A white cloud. Upon inspection, I had about a 6" crack across the very top. It appears that there had been some stop leak put in it, and that it clogged up the overflow hose. I was able to clean this and repair it with JB Weld and aluminum can pieces for reinforcement. Not that this has any bearing on the subject at hand, but it is part of the whole ordeal.

 

Things have went farther awry!

Me and the boy went out to look it over last night and noticed this. I've been researching it all day. I hear tell it's a bear to get apart. I cannot articulate why, because I haven't taken one apart. From what I gather I will have to take the axle out and there is a tool to get the bearings off and it's hard to come by. Some years ago, my mom paid a local mechanic (that I still know) to change the wheel bearings and he had to borrow a tool from a friend.

My father inlaw is a good mechanic and has had a Vitara, and he had this issue, he said I would have to pay someone to fix it and it cost him $500 when it happened to his. So can anyone speak to this?

 

Things have went farther awry!

Me and the boy went out to look it over last night and noticed this. I've been researching it all day. I hear tell it's a bear to get apart. I cannot articulate why, because I haven't taken one apart. From what I gather I will have to take the axle out and there is a tool to get the bearings off and it's hard to come by. Some years ago, my mom paid a local mechanic (that I still know) to change the wheel bearings and he had to borrow a tool from a friend.

My father inlaw is a good mechanic and has had a Vitara, and he had this issue, he said I would have to pay someone to fix it and it cost him $500 when it happened to his. So can anyone speak to this?

Can anyone tell me if this is normal or synthetic fluid based on the color? Years ago my mom had a mechanic change the bearings, and I'd guess he put the cheapest oil in it he could get.

 

Here is my noob shock questions.

https://www.suzuki-forums.com/threads/shock-questions.284909/

 

A question regarding the Coil Packs.

Do they need to be replaced because of age? Or as long as they are working are they still good?

 

I got a few more pictures earlier.

 

This was much worse, and I have picked at the mess removing a lot of the excess. I will leave this for now and give it a coat of rattle can black, to make it a bit more presentable. The mirror is solid and the window still moves thankfully.

The bottom of the fender is rusted away, as is the portion of the body (rocker?) it attaches to. I am going to repair this with a through bolt, spacer, and fender washers just to get it solid so it's not flapping in the breeze.

 

The door is hitting the fender, and some judicious prying will be needed. I don't know if the fender can be moved forward or how to do that. If I can just get it where the door opens I'll probably leave it be for now.

 

The back glass is busted out of the rear. I did this to it, I got it stuck in the yard and accidentally backed into a tree. I saw the tree, just not the low hanging limb. Not sure what my options are. Might end up getting a glass somewhere and putting it in, or maybe I'll put a piece of plexiglass in it. Or, it'd be cool if I could find/retrofit a soft back glass with a zipper into it. We'll see. For now, a good tape job has kept the interior from getting wet.

The inside of the back is not in horrible shape.

Need to get cross bars for the rack so I can haul stuff.

So much wasted space here... does anyone know of any mods that utilizes this space? I might make a place to store a chain here. I do have 5 wheels for it, and it has the keyed locking lug nut thing.

 

Does anyone know what those 3 buckles are for right at opening of the back door?

 

The trim was hitting the door and had been bent back enough that it took shape. Trim was about half falling off in several places, so I decided to remove it, it'll just get ripped off in the woods anyways as soon as a briar/limb gets under it. I'll spray paint the scuffs. The body is about 3 colors of black already.

If anyone wants this trim, I'd be glad to offer it for free, just pay shipping.

 

The interior is not bad, just a little dirty.

I hate the radio. It beeps whenever I turn the car off. I don't listen to the radio much anyways. Not sure how... but I will do something to remedy that beeping. I'd rather have a storage spot than tunes. Anyone know what that hole in the console might have been for? There are some holes in the roof rack that makes me think it had a light bar at one time.

Just sweep the dirt over to the hole.

I'll tell yall a funny story. Well, my uncle always had a beater 4x4 when I was growing up. At this particular time had a full-sized Blazer. It had rotten floorboards and rockers and plenty of holes. He had a bad habit of using a coffee cup in the mornings, but not bringing the cup back in. Well my aunt was riding with him once and one of her coffee mugs fell out of one of the holes in his floorboard. She was fit to be tied. We all got a good laugh about it, everyone except her.

 

The other day my van broke down. The transmission popped and it wouldn't move. I was 2 miles from home. I hadn't driven the Tracker in a while on the road, just in the yard. So I took it up the road towards the van. I noticed it had a severe loss of power, and when I got there, I saw that the caliper was locked. It appeared to have released some so I attempted to tow the van. I successfully towed the van, but when I got home, the radiator exploded. It appears someone had put stop leak in the coolant system and that had clogged up the overflow opening.

Since this was easy to get to, I repaired it with JBweld. I v-grooved the crack with my dremel, then roughed up the surface/deburred with sandpaper. Then I cleaned it with alcohol. I made small patches out of aluminum can, roughening them on the underside. I applied the JBweld to the crack, then applied the patches.

I test drove the car 1/4 mile up the Y that we're close to, and it got up to temperature quick which is abnormal for this car, as it's normally cold natured. So... I'll venture a guess that the stop-leak has clogged my thermostat. I had a pinhole leak in the repair.

After it cooled I dremelled into the pinhole and applied JBweld and tin can material over that spot. The next day I drove it to the Y and it came up to temperature and I had no leaks.

I've repaired a smaller amount of damage in a plastic radiator once before with JBwld, and that held, so I expect this to hold. Anyone want to comment on if this repair will hold up over time or if I should be expecting it to fail any time?

Here is my repair to the radiator.

 

Coil packs first - generally speaking, they are replaced if/when they fail - that said - the lower part of the coil pack that connects to the spark plug can be replaced separately, and in my opinion, should. It should be treated as if it was a short spark plug lead.

Which hole in the console? The one alongside the shifter? That didn't leave the factory like that, so we can only guess.

JBWeld and the radiator top tank - in my experience, it doesn't hold for long.

 

Thank you for the coil pack info. That boot between the coil pack and plug looked to be in good condition, no rust and so forth. They are available separately, and at about $7, so I will consider changing them when I change the plugs.

Yes, the hole next to the shifter is what I was referring to.

As to the radiator repair. I wonder how long I can get?

 

I do have a praise report! After I towed the van home and the radiator blew I moved the Tracker maybe 30 yards and parked it. I let it cool a while then I washed the motor/under the hood off with water via a 5 gallon bucket. Then I repaired the radiator as shown over the next couple days. When I started it, it was missing something awful. I thought I had a blown head gasket. After a couple days I decided to inspect the plugs/coil packs. I had to look up where the plugs were as I'm not used to this kind of motor, I've always had push rod motors.

When I took No. 1 plug out I seen 2" of water standing in the hole. I knew right then I didn't have a blown head gasket, and I praise God for it.

I removed and dried all the coil packs, their boots, and the plugs. When I reassembled it all, she fired up and runs good. None of the plugs were fowled with oil, though 2 appear to have had a small amount of oil on them, but their holes were not filled with oil thankfully.

The plugs have some visible wear and will be replaced. They are NGK brand.

 

Another issue with the Tracker, the 4x4 won't engage. It was working fine as I drove it occasionally around my land, but... the 4x4 light would sometimes flash. Then one day I went to engage the 4x4 and I didn't have 4x4 at all.

I have done some research here, and as a result know where to look and with an idea of what to look for. I have a hole in the soft hose that goes into the transfer case. I can hear the compressor run, and it runs for like 10 seconds and not 2, which according to my research is exactly what it should do if I have a hole.

I will replace the hose. Probably black tape the hose as a temporary test once I get it back on the ground.

 

Anyone want to comment on if this repair will hold up over time or if I should be expecting it to fail any time?

It can fail the next minute or stay like that for ten years, who knows. You should definitely prepare for it to fail anytime. My personal guess is it will fail after 2000 miles.

The back glass is busted out of the rear.

Easiest option might be to replace the whole door. I see two black Trackers, 2003 and 2004, at Jay's Auto Recycling in Sparta, KY, with rear doors listed for sale. They don't name a price but I saw other doors for $150.

 

It can fail the next minute or stay like that for ten years, who knows. You should definitely prepare for it to fail anytime. My personal guess is it will fail after 2000 miles.

Easiest option might be to replace the whole door. I see two black Trackers, 2003 and 2004, at Jay's Auto Recycling in Sparta, KY, with rear doors listed for sale. They don't name a price but I saw other doors for $150.

Thanks! I had not considered changing the door. That might alleviate some minor door latch issues it has. As of right now, the door latch is working.

 

This is one heck of a project. Just curious, did you purchase the car in this condition or was it yours and kind of deteriorated for whatever reason??

 

I added a post script to the original post with some back story. But in short, it was my moms car, and I've had it for 3 years since she's passed away.

 

Just reading this thread now. I admire your ambition, but I would have left this vehicle to the scraping folks. There must be better bring-back to life candidates out there from which to choose.

 

I'd buy another vehicle if I had the funds to do so. This is what I have, and I have to make it usable for the time being. I do not care what it looks like, only that is is mechanically sound. When I do get another vehicle, this will continue to be a hunting vehicle.

 

I hear ya', but you'd spend less on a better vehicle to begin with than what it will cost in parts, labor and sitting there unusable with this basket case. I think.

 

I hear ya', but you'd spend less on a better vehicle than what it will cost in parts, labor and sitting there unusable.

I flat don't have the money to buy another vehicle. It's not a choice of how best to spend the money (or that I'm trying to save a few bucks), but rather, sell something to have the money to buy the parts I need. I sold a rifle and now have $500 to buy the immediately needed parts so it's drivable. Right now, it is my only choice, and I'm thankful to have a vehicle that appears to be able to be brought into driving condition.

 

The transfercase lever might be where the exhaust gas enters the cabin. I'd remove the plastic covers and check the seals. Not smelling exhaust and getting a headache would be a major alarm signal for me and I'd not get into this car without a CO and CO2 detector.

 

Thanks I will check that. I don't have any detectors... I hadn't thought of that though. Hmm, It's possible that when I got a headache it was from something else. It doesn't happen every time, but did once that I remember and took mental note of it.

 

I found this thread on another forum that has a lot of pictures of various things that are helpful to myself and others. The Heap. A Gen 2 Tracker/Vitara Build

I won't be going that in depth, but I want to eventually do more than the basics repairs needed to mine. Skid plates, and hitch would be top of my list of extras I'll be adding.

 

While I wait for a new caliper to get here, I was able to get the old one to unlock using Kroil and working the cup back and forth. I took it up the road to the Y and ran like a champ. Not locked up, it will climb a hill. Now I can at least move it up on ramps or jack up another corner.

It's a different animal going from a 3.9 V6 to the 2.0 inline 4. After I change the plugs and air filter it should improve. It'd be fun as heck if it was a manual.

 

I got a question about the "Power" button. Is it incorrect to leave it on all the time? It won't tear up anything, just lower the fuel mileage, correct?

 

I got a question about the "Power" button

It does two things. In "Power" the transmission will hold the shift points longer and it will allow you to start off in 2nd gear (which can reduce wheel spin on slippery surfaces). It will not hurt to leave it in "Power" all the time. I rarely use it.