[Nisskat]

Greetings, I'm in Belize and just purchased a Samurai 1996 SJ80V, 1.3L, 4 cylinder, standard transmission 4x4, engine G13B. I don't know anything about it's origin. The person I bought it from bought it 2 years ago and doesn't know much. I believe it's European, maybe... My question is regarding the modifications on the suspension. Someone replaced the front coil springs with leaf springs. So the front has leaf springs and the back coil. Anyone know why someone would do that? Any benefit/purpose? Is it worth restoring back to coil springs?

Also looking for parts that can be easily shipped here to Belize.

Thanks in advance!

 

[fordem]

If you provide the VIN or chassis number I may be able to dig up some details on it - if it's a 17 character VIN, the first few characters will identify the country & factory where it was built.

The "coily' or coil sprung Samurai/Sierra are generally looked upon as inferior to the leaf sprung versions, mainly because the suspension is perceived to be more restrictive in terms of flex or articulation in off road situations, there are other quirks that many feel make them less desirable, but the only reason I can see why someone would convert one end and not the other is out of necessity, perhaps they were unable to get the parts required for a repair.

Whether or not it's going to be worth restoring to the original configuration - or - even going the other way and completing the conversion is going to be a bit of a personal decision - are the parts readily available, what is it going to cost you, and last but not least, how do you plan to use the vehicle?

Parts that can be easily shipped to Belize - first I believe few of us will know how easy or difficult it is to ship anything to Belize, or even from which country it might be easiest, although I suspect a US source might be your preference - you need to bear in mind that the US market never got the model you have, and that parts may be different.

My goto place in the US for Suzuki stuff is Low Range Off Road, and you can also try HWY 83 Salvage, if you know what parts you need you can try RockAuto for generic stuff, and then there are japanese spares specialists like megazip.net and amayama.com.

 

[Nisskat]

If you provide the VIN or chassis number I may be able to dig up some details on it - if it's a 17 character VIN, the first few characters will identify the country & factory where it was built.

The "coily' or coil sprung Samurai/Sierra are generally looked upon as inferior to the leaf sprung versions, mainly because the suspension is perceived to be more restrictive in terms of flex or articulation in off road situations, there are other quirks that many feel make them less desirable, but the only reason I can see why someone would convert one end and not the other is out of necessity, perhaps they were unable to get the parts required for a repair.

Whether or not it's going to be worth restoring to the original configuration - or - even going the other way and completing the conversion is going to be a bit of a personal decision - are the parts readily available, what is it going to cost you, and last but not least, how do you plan to use the vehicle?

Parts that can be easily shipped to Belize - first I believe few of us will know how easy or difficult it is to ship anything to Belize, or even from which country it might be easiest, although I suspect a US source might be your preference - you need to bear in mind that the US market never got the model you have, and that parts may be different.

My goto place in the US for Suzuki stuff is Low Range Off Road, and you can also try HWY 83 Salvage, if you know what parts you need you can try RockAuto for generic stuff, and then there are japanese spares specialists like megazip.net and amayama.com.

Thank you very much for your informative response. I will be using it for both highway and off road. We live in the mountains and it's very rocky terrain. The Chassis # is SJ80-100126. I couldn't find it in any decoder.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[fordem]

Catalogs

It comes back as an SJ413-8 built for the Africa market.

 

[fordem]

My inclination would be to consider a return to stock, but as I mentioned earlier availability and cost of parts is a consideration that has to be made.

 

[Nisskat]

Thanks again! Glad to know where it came from. Yes the plan is to restore back to it's original as I find the parts needed... That's the challenge. 😊

 

[fordem]

On the where it came from aspect - the market the vehicle was built for is not where it came from, but rather where it was meant to go - that vehicle was most likely built in Japan (it should be on the VIN tag), but it was built to comply with the legal & emission regulations required by the Africa market. Africa market vehicles seem to show up in random "third world" countries where, just as an example, the emission standards are not as rigid as the US.

Several of the Suzuki vehicles I've looked at in Guyana were Africa market models and those were imported and sold by the Suzuki dealer, presumably through official channels.

 

[Nisskat]

Do you happen to know where I can find the ID number on the actual engine? It's not the original and I'm trying to figure out what year and make it is.

 

[fordem]

Assuming a Suzuki G series engine, left side near the bellhousing - I don't think there's a way to determine the year of manufacture from it.

 

[Nisskat]

Great, thanks! Engine says G13V. Does this photo help tell what year it is?

 

[fordem]

Photo is a little too close to really see anything other than the fuel system - it looks like an 8v engine, with a mechanical fuel pump, and a carburettor, so no real way to tell the year. Suzuki switched US Samurai production to EFI from 1990, but carbed vehicles were being built for other markets long after.

Now - there are some people who claim that the V in that G13V can be used with a VIN year chart to determine the year of manufacture, in this case a V would correspond to a 1997 build year, I don't subscribe to this theory because I have owned one vehicle, from new, with a G13B prefix (which would be 1981), but the vehicle was built in 1992, I also have a second G13B engine that came out of an 1989 model, so I have my reasons for rejecting it.

 

[Nisskat]

Ok thank you so much. You've been very helpful! 🙏🏼

 

[fordem]

You're welcome.

 

[drebaje]

You're welcome.

Not to hijack this thread @fordem, but I saw you from neighboring Guyana. I am from Barbados and just bought a coily samurai SJ80 121037 . Are there any good part sources for them in Guyana? Right now I am look for some shocks, brake rotors and pads etc

 

[fordem]

Are there any good part sources for them in Guyana?

I highly doubt it - we've just, as in within the last two years or so, seen Suzuki yank the dealership from Auto Supplies and give it to Ansa Motors - Auto Supplies did have, and may still have parts in stock, my attempts to source parts through Ansa have not been successful, I can do a better job myself through megazip or amayama.

If you have part numbers I can give Auto Supplies a call, but getting anything over to you likely to be quite expensive.

 

[drebaje]

I highly doubt it - we've just, as in within the last two years or so, seen Suzuki yank the dealership from Auto Supplies and give it to Ansa Motors - Auto Supplies did have, and may still have parts in stock, my attempts to source parts through Ansa have not been successful, I can do a better job myself through megazip or amayama.

If you have part numbers I can give Auto Supplies a call, but getting anything over to you likely to be quite expensive.

Sucks that they pulled the parts from Auto supplies. Right now I'm looking for 4 struts Genuine Suzuki 4160082CA1 ABSORBER, FRONT Front. Amayan have those at $300 usd.. That seems steep. So this is why I was asking if it'll probably be better to get them locally. I will call Simpson motors in Barbados tomorrow also to check prices.

This is where I am pulling the part numbers from. Catalogs

 

[fordem]

They pulled the dealership, whatever parts Auto Supplies has/had in stock still belong to them - USD$300 per shock/strut is ridiculous, I could probably find Koni adjustables or maybe Old Man Emu for less than that. I notice you're showing as registered in the US, but you say you're bajan, you should know then what Simpson's pricing is going to be like if they do have the part.

Do you have any idea how those front struts compare to the ones fitted to the more recent Jimny - it's a very similar suspension design.

 

[drebaje]

They pulled the dealership, whatever parts Auto Supplies has/had in stock still belong to them - USD$300 per shock/strut is ridiculous, I could probably find Koni adjustables or maybe Old Man Emu for less than that. I notice you're showing as registered in the US, but you say you're bajan, you should know then what Simpson's pricing is going to be like if they do have the part.

Do you have any idea how those front struts compare to the ones fitted to the more recent Jimny - it's a very similar suspension design.

Hey, yes I split my time between Boston and Barbados. I will ask the mechanic to check on Jimny parts. I reached out to simpson today and the front struts were about $110 usd and of course they are out of stock on the rear shocks.

 

[Nisskat]

Greetings again! Hoping you can assist me with this as well... My 96 sj80v needs a new booster and master cylinder. Do you know if it would be the same as a 95 or any other year?