01-23-2014, 05:17 AM
Good day. I became the proud owner of a 1998 Suzuki JS Sport with the 1.8l VIN JS3TD21V9W4103315
I believe it is a US model as the speedometer is in MPH and small KPH. Not necessarily so from what I am learning about this apparently quite rare vehicle.
I have the integrated ball joint lower control arm if that solidifies the animal in question. :-) These need replacing - anyone know a part number - so I can be sure I have the right ones sent? I am in the middle souther Belize with the closest "town" 40 minutes away so getting the wrong part can be more than just a PITA!
I just finished replacing the clutch on it - Oh - 4x4 5 speed - and am now noticing it running rough and missing on steady rpm under load. Treat it like a race car and it performs fine... As much fun as that is - it's got 150,000 miles on it and I don't think she'll take that for long. Did put a new cylinder head about 5,000 miles ago and a complete refit is the plan.
I had to drill out a broken bolt on the catalytic converter and when it went back together the gasket was, well, I guess partly there. Parts are hard to get here. I am wondering if it's the up or down O2 sensor that would be causing this. I could see it being the down run sensor but the up one? Now - I also discovered that my cast exhaust header has a hairline crack between 3/4 cylinder. That can be welded right? Now - Is my next part to order an O2 sensor?
Next question - What if I just got rid of the Catalytic converter? How would that affect my performance, mileage etc.. There's no real need for it down here. Or any law that says I have to have - well, any of this crap... can I just remove it? Is there an ECU that I can get - or a chip that would fool it into thinking everything is cool?
4x4 is a must here - only 4 paved roads and the rest - you can bathe in the potholes and mud pits. Was heading to a friends house about 2 weeks ago and after about a mile of up to the door sill mud puddle (the gooey red clay mud) she stopped going forward.. Spun the tires just a little bit. Shrugged my shoulders, put 'er into 4 wheel high lock and crawled the rest of the way there.
I LOVE my Suzuki. And with finding out how rare this particular model is.. Makes me want to just keep going with the re-build. has a new cyl head, complete new front end (except Ball Joints - need. Year old Pirelli scorpions, and all those great save us from the mud stories... So any help getting her to run better is greatly appreciated. Body lift would be good too, but one thing at a time...
Thanks for any help.
Captain John
S/V Stone Age
Belize.
I believe it is a US model as the speedometer is in MPH and small KPH. Not necessarily so from what I am learning about this apparently quite rare vehicle.
I have the integrated ball joint lower control arm if that solidifies the animal in question. :-) These need replacing - anyone know a part number - so I can be sure I have the right ones sent? I am in the middle souther Belize with the closest "town" 40 minutes away so getting the wrong part can be more than just a PITA!
I just finished replacing the clutch on it - Oh - 4x4 5 speed - and am now noticing it running rough and missing on steady rpm under load. Treat it like a race car and it performs fine... As much fun as that is - it's got 150,000 miles on it and I don't think she'll take that for long. Did put a new cylinder head about 5,000 miles ago and a complete refit is the plan.
I had to drill out a broken bolt on the catalytic converter and when it went back together the gasket was, well, I guess partly there. Parts are hard to get here. I am wondering if it's the up or down O2 sensor that would be causing this. I could see it being the down run sensor but the up one? Now - I also discovered that my cast exhaust header has a hairline crack between 3/4 cylinder. That can be welded right? Now - Is my next part to order an O2 sensor?
Next question - What if I just got rid of the Catalytic converter? How would that affect my performance, mileage etc.. There's no real need for it down here. Or any law that says I have to have - well, any of this crap... can I just remove it? Is there an ECU that I can get - or a chip that would fool it into thinking everything is cool?
4x4 is a must here - only 4 paved roads and the rest - you can bathe in the potholes and mud pits. Was heading to a friends house about 2 weeks ago and after about a mile of up to the door sill mud puddle (the gooey red clay mud) she stopped going forward.. Spun the tires just a little bit. Shrugged my shoulders, put 'er into 4 wheel high lock and crawled the rest of the way there.
I LOVE my Suzuki. And with finding out how rare this particular model is.. Makes me want to just keep going with the re-build. has a new cyl head, complete new front end (except Ball Joints - need. Year old Pirelli scorpions, and all those great save us from the mud stories... So any help getting her to run better is greatly appreciated. Body lift would be good too, but one thing at a time...
Thanks for any help.
Captain John
S/V Stone Age
Belize.