[this.rob]

Hey all.

I'm from the UK. I'm going to be buying a Vitara soon for my partner. Looking at late 90's models. I've been to view 5 of them now, and think the last one I saw was the best one yet but wanted to get some advice before handing over my cash.

Having seen 4 before this one I've seen where they usually rust. This one was clean in all of these spots aside from one of the rear seat belt anchorage points:

One spot of rust I did notice which I've not seen before was as in the pic below, behind the bonnet hinge:

I think this is the A-pillar, just below the lower corner of the windscreen.

Does anyone know if this is a major problem? How hard is it to cut out and fix?

Thanks!

 

[this.rob]

Thanks for the replies. I was aware that it is a body on frame design yes. I've spent a decent amount of time looking at resto vids on youtube including body splits and finding as many posts with pics of rusty Vitaras as I can!

I had a good look under the car with a bright torch and the frame looks good. The only bits I didn't manage to check were the rear cross members in front of and behind the petrol tank. I'll be checking these if I go back with the intention of buying it.

The only bit i'm still worried about is that rust on the A-Pillar, since I haven't seen any photos or videos of anyone tackling rust in this area. It could be a death knell for all I know...

 

[this.rob]

I bought it! Negotiated on the price so we have some budget left over to get the rust looked at. Will post photos here when we tackle it.

in the meantime, what should be at the top of my maintenance list given that the car has barely been used for years but is now going to see daily use? It’s only covered 1,200 miles in the last 6 years… Engine oil (5w30?) and filter change, brake fluid, anything else? It’s a G16B engine.

 

[this.rob]

Hey all! Tara the Vitara is going well. We've been doing lots of research and she's currently on axle stands in the garage.

We've drained the coolant, removed the radiator, taken off the drive belts and are now working on getting off the pulleys so we can get off the timing belt cover and then replace that.

Moving the alternator to get the drive belt off was tricky... That bolt at the rear was very hard to get to...

Does anyone know the correct size drive belts? From my research it seems PK4800 for the one that goes around the water pump and alternator. I can't tell if I need a 4PK790 or 4PK810 for the one that goes around the steering pump. The parts catalogue I'm looking at says 4PK790 for a "Type1" car, 4PK810 for a "Type2/3". What "Type" car do I have, or how can I check?

Is the Haynes manual a good reference for changing the timing belt?

We're also doing the oil and filter. What oil should I use? I'm in the UK so temps aren't going to be below -10 celsius, won't be much higher than 30 celsius, so according to the manual turboguzzi linked I can pick any of them:

 

[this.rob]

😂 UK does not feel tropic right now I can tell you! Seems to be getting more and more variable...

Thanks for the advice, will stick to the FSM and use that parts site. Although it says "not found" for my VIN...

Partsouq.com recognises it:

The Vitara I bought was the only one that didn't have "Santana" on the VIN plate. I think it might be a Japanese manufactured one?

 

[this.rob]

Yup, ours starts with a J so its Japan made.

Spent some more time last night working on replacing the timing belt. Got the water pump and crank pulleys off, got it to TDC on cylinder 1 (is that necessary before taking off the belt and replacing?) Got the timing belt cover off but heads snapped off on the two lower bolts in the process, not sure what to do about that The timing belt euro car parts gave me is also totally wrong so I'm trying to source a correct one. Seems to be either 103RU25 or 103XR25 does anyone know the difference or where to buy one from (UK)? The currently fitted one is 103XR

 

[this.rob]

I've re-read the linked rhinoman workshop manual and it seems like TDC on piston 4 (compression) is the position it needs to be in when installing the new belt. But it doesn't say to get it into this position before removing the old belt, only to turn the cam and crankshaft pulleys into this position after removing the belt, moving each independently. Is it not better to get the pulleys into this position before removing the old belt? The manual also says to completely loosen the valve adjusting screws on the rocker arms first, so I'm guessing that then means it is safe to move the pulleys independently?

 

[this.rob]

Help needed! We've followed the FSM up to the point that it says to loosen all of the valve adjustment screws so the camshaft can turn freely. We've done that, but the cam isn't turning freely. It seems to be engaging the intake valves still as we turn it. I can completely remove the adjustment screws on the exhaust valves, but not on the intake valves. On the intake valves I can loosen them to a point and then they become harder to turn. Is this normal? I'm reluctant to try and loosen them any more past this point for fear of stripping or breaking something... Because the camshaft is engaging the intake valves we now can't get the camshaft to sit in the correct position to align the timing marks as each time we get it close it then flicks over past the timing mark...

 

[this.rob]

here’s ours. I haven’t removed the cam pulley so it’s installed correctly. It was impossible to get the notches lined up with the valve screws all loosened. The intake valves hitting the cam meant it would flick past that point unless you held the pulley in position. It was easy to get it into position before I loosened them all… I’m wondering if loosening them is only supposed to be done on 8V engines. That FSM doesn’t cover 16V, my chassis number isn’t in the range it says is covered by the manual in the foreword. I’m going to tighten them again but I don’t know what the clearance should be. Has anyone got a link to a manual that covers 16V?