[Kahlua_khan]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and new to Suzuki's, having just picked up a swb jlx Vitara.

It's a great little car and I have been doing a bit of work bringing it up to scratch over the past few weeks. The question I want to ask you ask are thoughts on the g16a motor. The one in it at the moment has relatively low kilometres, and runs ok. Can anyone comment on their reliability if for example I'm going to head out bush for a while or any thoughts on what I can do to improve reliability or longevity?
Thanks

[MrRocky]

There fine just do the regular servicing stuff
Once you start fiddling with the carby will have you hating life

[sideways]

I think the number one thing you can do is keep the cooling system up to scratch. I'd include a low coolant/high temperature alarm.

The big weakness of these motors is that they crack blocks. This is extremely common and well documented. I'd let it warm up before you really lean on it and also let it warm down a little before you shut it off.

There doesn't seem to be any real reason for them cracking blocks, overheating certainly contributes.

In the U.S they're famous for doing rods when over revved so don't go chasing the far end of the redline. It's not something I've heard of in Aus, maybe we got better rods or maybe we just don't thrash them like they do.

Maybe check the torque of your crank pulley bolt, a few members have killed the keyways on their cranks.

Other than that, they're pretty bullet proof. You could carry a spare dizzy, coil, fuel pump and timing belt (as well as the other usual spares) if you were paranoid.

[Gwagensteve]

Other than the provisos above, they seem to wear out slowly rather than catastrophically fail, so you'll have warning.

I would replace the fuel pump with a new, genuine pump. I'd also check the condition or replace the viscous clutch on the cooling fan.

These are a long stroke motor and aren't designed to spin like the G13. I'd avoid exceeding 5500rpm, above which they start to get doughy anyway.

Wear will show first in valve stem seals, then in rings. Obviously valve stem seals won't really effect anything other than smoke on startup. Once the rings are shot, I'd personally throw the motor away - the cost of proper machining isn't feasible.

[Kahlua_khan]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, some great tips and a few things to get working on.
Thanks