[Maml]

Hi All,

I'm considering buying a 2009/10 Jimny, but have quite a few questions building up; some of which I've found answers to - others not. Feel free to link me to info, i don't expect you to repeat info already explained 1000times.

I'm in the building industry, and generally do between 2 & 4000kms a month, on surfaces from tar to bad gravel roads and obviously muddy construction sites.

I've had my Defender 90 for alomst 3 years now, which will give you an idea of what I'm used to. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love the 90, but if I get the right price etc etc; I might have to let it go...which leaves me with a few options; one of which being the Jimny.

- Is there anything wrong / unrealistic about using the Jimny for my work (not forgetting the weekend trails of course! )?
- How does the Jimny fair in water crossings? how necessary are breather extentions and a snorkle? How deep before electronic/other car-stopping damage occurs?
- How strong are the sills? i.e. importance of rock-sliders?
- What difference do MT tyres make to TAR handling/fuel cons etc etc (currently have KM2's which have only increased fuel cons & noise, in every other dept they're a better buy)?
- 2" OME susp lift...anything negatively affected, apart from CoG? Heard conflicting stories.
- Recovery points? I see there's a front one, but didn't notice a rear one...what do you guys do for strong, snatch-able rec-points?
- What sort of lifespan can one expect from these little engines?
- What NB 'protection' mods to make? steering? tx case? fuel tank? attachment points of 'locating-arms' look pretty weak - true??

Plenty more, but for later...

Thanks in advance.

[vermin]

I have a 2009 Jimny so I will answer what I can:

1. There is nothing wrong with a Jimny Although they are not a very good touring vehicle generally speaking.

2. Water crossings are fine although a bit of lift and the right tyres would be ideal. Diff breathers and a snorkel are essential as they are with any other 4WD.

3. Not sure about sills..

4. With regard to tyres. I have KM2's, but only recently had them so not sure about fuel or handling, but they are certainly louder than my previous BFG A/T's. The pros definitely outweight the cons as the Jimny is not a very quiet vehicle in the cabin anyway.

5. I have 40mm TD lift on mine - would have been better with the 60mm (2 inch). Definitely does affect the CoG, but not dangerously so.

5. I have an ARB winch bar that has recovery points on the front and my Jimny came out of the factory with rear ones. It's a very light car so just make sure whoever is yanking you out goes easy...

6. Not sure about lifespan, but there are plenty of old Zooks that have had a pretty hard life and are still going hard.

7. Outdoor Auto sell transfer case protection plates - DEFINITELY GET THEM! I have already had my transfer case dragged over mud and ithe wiring hangs out of the transfer case and is easily broken.

Overall I absolutely love my Jimny. It is so much fun offroad and the more experienced I get the more I realize just how capable a 4WD it is!

[Maml]

Great stuff, thanks Vermin.

Jimny's are pretty new here in South Africa, so there aren't many accessories yet...looks like I might have to measure up and get some plates made.

What did Suzuki say about the mods vs. warranty?

One of the reasons I'm thinking of a new vehicle, is for the warranty and service plan etc. Might have to have a nice chat with the local 'powers that be' & see if they can't do a partial warranty etc.

Looking forward to more info

[vermin]

Generally speaking if you modify your suspension whilst under warranty then you lost your suspension warranty and so on and so forth.

I believe if you make a claim against something that has been modified from the factory then you are not covered.

For example: If you modify your suspension, but your clutch fails there has to be evidence that the suspension caused the clutch to fail...

At the end of the day...best to check with Suzuki to be 100% sure though.

I just couldn't be arsed waiting 3 years to mod my Jimny!

[zukenutter]

Welcome to Auszookers, below is based on my own experience over the last 8 years in my Jimny which I have owned from new

Maml wrote:

- Is there anything wrong / unrealistic about using the Jimny for my work (not forgetting the weekend trails of course! )?

1000km per week on gravel etc may be tough going. Depends how tough you are.

Maml wrote:

- How does the Jimny fair in water crossings? how necessary are breather extentions and a snorkle? How deep before electronic/other car-stopping damage occurs?

The standard air intake is directly behind the right hand headlight, so once it's under water you'll come to a halt. Trust me! If you plan to cross water over bumper height you should install a snorkel. Jimnys don't come with any diff breather extension so you'll definitely need to install them but it's pretty easy to make and install them yourself. Water in the electronics doesn't seem to be an issue.

Maml wrote:

- How strong are the sills? i.e. importance of rock-sliders?

The plastic on the sills is flexible but the fasteners break easily. The metal behind them bends fairly easily. Do yourself a favour and install sliders.

Maml wrote:

- What difference do MT tyres make to TAR handling/fuel cons etc etc (currently have KM2's which have only increased fuel cons & noise, in every other dept they're a better buy)?

BFG MTs were quite good and if you don't go bigger than 215/75R15 the fuel consumption and engine response won't be adversely affected. I'm running a more aggressive MT now which is much noisier than the BFGs were

Maml wrote:

- 2" OME susp lift...anything negatively affected, apart from CoG? Heard conflicting stories.

Caster angle will be affected which will cause lack of return to centre when exiting a corner. Caster correction bushes will fix this.

Maml wrote:

- Recovery points? I see there's a front one, but didn't notice a rear one...what do you guys do for strong, snatch-able rec-points?

Standard front and rear are quite strong but a bit hard to get to.

Maml wrote:

- What sort of lifespan can one expect from these little engines?

My old 1.3 Sierra had 230,000kms on it when I sold it and it had been totally trouble free. It had always been warmed before driving and regularly serviced. Current Jimny 1.3 has 140,000kms and so far no problems. Touch wood!

Maml wrote:

- What NB 'protection' mods to make? steering? tx case? fuel tank? attachment points of 'locating-arms' look pretty weak - true??

Fuel tank is well out of harms way as is steering. Unless you are constantly pounding the Control arm mounts on rocks they'll be fine but worth protecting. Transfer case can handle knocks fairly well but worth protecting

[Maml]

@Vermin - yup, will have to check again with the h/o...not too keen to wait either.

@zukenutter - Fantastic! Thank you for the response; much appreciated! Pretty much nail on the head.

Well, got someone looking at my 90 this weekend, then got a test Jimny next weekend...so we'll see.

Prob more questions betw. now and then though...

zukenutter wrote:

1000km per week on gravel etc may be tough going. Depends how tough you are.

hehe, I like that one
Nope, not that much gravel; unfortunately.

[zukenutter]

Glad to help. Hope all goes well with the sale of your 90. Good luck

[Maml]

zukenutter wrote:

Glad to help. Hope all goes well with the sale of your 90. Good luck

thanks man, me too.


Didn't want to hi-jack dm90's thread, so thought i'd continue with some more q's on here...

- with diffs being lower than std 4x4's, and obviously now prone to dragging along the centre-mound (or middle-mannetjie as we'd put it ), how strong is the casing? Coming from a Defender, a diffguard was very high on the list of mods...is it safe to assume the same with Zuk's?

- The question of increasing power obviously gets asked all the time...haven't found a 'concrete' answer yet though: what effect will a different airfilter and 'freeflow' type exhaust have (talking Kw or Hp etc)? Not sure what this will do to the warranty though.

Thanks again.

[zukenutter]

Diff centres in Jimnys are much smaller than large 4WDs so not as low as you'd think. Once you get larger tyres they'll be higher from the ground. Front diff protection is not a bad idea, but you'll only need it if you're rock crawling.

A freer flowing exhaust won't hurt but don't go too large as you'll lose back pressure (and power)

[Gwagensteve]

I have absolutely no idea why you'd sell a 90 for a jimny.

A jimny is a light duty vehicle. Whilst they are quite pleasant to drive and have a better driving position than the 90, and will be quieter, there aren't any other advantages. It's unlikely to even to use less fuel. Sure, they quite good fun, but nowhere near as much fun as a sierra because they aren't as strong, are more vulnerable to damage, and have to run a smaller tyre.

You'll be pushing the jimny harder to do the same job than the 90. 2-4000km per month, dirt, weekend 4WD use, and I assume some payload at all times will result in a fairly short life in my opinion.

I base this opinion on club members cars here in Victoria. Once the km's mount, long distance dirt road travel in introduced, and payload increases, reliability drops away markedly.

I'll come back to the point that the balance of your use seems to require a commercial vehicle. A Jimny is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a commercial vehicle.

If you persist with the idea of a jimny, In my opinion you'll want to upgrade to a sierra gear driven transfer case as soon as possible. The gearing is marginal in the chain drive case and aftermarket gearing options are quite expensive. The gear drive sierra case is stronger, more reliable, and more gearable. Have a look at DGtuning's conversion kit. 2009 Jimny's have a push button transfer cas, so you'll need to cut a hole in the floor for the lever.

You'll need to ditch the terrible vacuum operated hubs and replace them with sierra AISIN hubs.

I agree that a 2" OME suspension kit would be a wise move, along with breathers on diff, transfer and gearbox. (from what I've seen of South African 4WDing, the water seems to be quite deep) You'll also want an ARB air locker for at least the rear diff.

For a number of reasons, I'd buy an automatic, not a manual. The big reason is that autos are more tolerant of gearing changes, so a small increase in tyre size

As for underbody protection - they're not terribly vulnerable to impact - pretty much everything is tucked up out of the way. I'm not a big fan of bolting heaps of junk under a car and I've not seen a jimny sustain impact damage that's ever been a problem.

Whilst I like suzukis and I know this is a suzuki forum, It's more important that you get the right vehicle for the job. I'm still going to say that you're going to be asking too much of a jimny, which is predominantly an urban, light duty vehicle.

Just my 2C.

Steve.

[vermin]

I agree with most of what you say Gwagensteve apart from your comments regarding Jimny's not being as much fun as a Sierra?

I believe a Jimny (Sierra) is just as fun and capable as a Sierra. It's just that Jimny owners are a little more careful with their later model rigs (mine is still worth a fair bit of money) than most people are with their old Sierras that many don't give a rat's arse about damaging/rolling.

If fun = damage then yes you are correct.

From the driving conditions he is describing a Jimny is more than capable, but the distance each week and the commercial factor is where issues might arise.

[Maml]

Gwagensteve wrote:

I have absolutely no idea why you'd sell a 90 for a jimny.

It comes down to affordability. My 90 is out of warranty, 4 years old in 2010, 105kkms on the clock. Aftermarket warranties don't cover full amounts, and are specific to mechanical only...they also require the agents to do services. I won't be able to sell the 90 again at a reasonable price, and if I keep it 'forever' there are other factors which are (let's say) 'limiting'. Planning to have kids sometime soon as well & the 90 only has 2 seats...

Gwagensteve wrote:

You'll be pushing the jimny harder to do the same job than the 90. 2-4000km per month, dirt, weekend 4WD use, and I assume some payload at all times will result in a fairly short life in my opinion.

No payload. Mostly tar driving. The gravel is once on site, or the 30kms or so before it...taken at lowish speeds. I realse my 4wd weekend adventures will have to be notched down (quite) a bit - I wouldn't expect a std Jimny to do what my 90 does.

Gwagensteve wrote:

I base this opinion on club members cars here in Victoria. Once the km's mount, long distance dirt road travel in introduced, and payload increases, reliability drops away markedly.
I'll come back to the point that the balance of your use seems to require a commercial vehicle. A Jimny is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a commercial vehicle.

Perhaps I wasn't as clear as I should've been ? Hope this new info helps?

Gwagensteve wrote:

For a number of reasons, I'd buy an automatic, not a manual. The big reason is that autos are more tolerant of gearing changes, so a small increase in tyre size

As for underbody protection - they're not terribly vulnerable to impact - pretty much everything is tucked up out of the way. I'm not a big fan of bolting heaps of junk under a car and I've not seen a jimny sustain impact damage that's ever been a problem.

Whilst I like suzukis and I know this is a suzuki forum, It's more important that you get the right vehicle for the job. I'm still going to say that you're going to be asking too much of a jimny, which is predominantly an urban, light duty vehicle.

Just my 2C.

Steve.

Thank you Steve for your honesty, it is appreciated, and taken from where it came

No autoboxes here unfortunately, most other kit you mention will have to be imported, apart from run-of-the-mill ARB or OME type stuff.

Taking one for a long drive this week, which I'm sure will give a good idea of what I may be in for...

[zukenutter]

Maml wrote:

I wouldn't expect a std Jimny to do what my 90 does.

You'll be surprised.

[Maml]

zukenutter wrote:

Maml wrote:

I wouldn't expect a std Jimny to do what my 90 does.

You'll be surprised.

Hehe, I sincerely hope I am.

Landy-nutters this side giving me a hard time...anyway, too late she cried...new owner taking delivery of my 90 on Friday, assuming the registration docs have come through.

[Maml]

So Excited, taking delivery of my Zook on Wednesday avi...pics to follow

[zukenutter]

Cool. Let the modifications begin.

[Maml]

Drove it off the showroom floor on Wednesday...loving it!
Thanks for all the help so far.

[gman]

awesome love the 2 tone colours I'm sur it will do you well.

[kenn]

Hi Maml, welcome .
I had a 2000 Jimny with Arb lift , bull bar and 30" Bfg muddys. I bought the car brand new when i was a courier,it did its first 60,000 k's as a courier car and it got hammered!Every gear change was at 5000 rpm (average 1500 times a day) every brake application was full on (changed pads every 30,000 k's)It went around corners on 2 wheels often. It was almost like driving Bathurst for 13 hours a day 5 days a week in traffic as i rarely got more than 10 k's from the city of Melbourne. ( The boss thought of me as "a 4 wheeled motorbike" not a car)As for pay load , the most i got in it was 35 cases of long neck stubbies (beer) still with the back seat's in folded down of course and a few in the front seat, and yes that was a slow trip.

Then on weekends i often went 4wheeling in it . In my opinion an old Sierra's got f$#k all on a Jimny! They are very capable, with muddies and lift mine would drive about 80 % of the stuff I'd do in my slightly modified LJ.

I then went back to tiling and carried all my tools around in it until i got a tool trailer, and it towed that around for a year before up dating to a GV(They tow a little better)

In all my Jimny did 150,000 hard k's (I only ever used Mobil 1 oil and BP premium unleaded fuel ) before i lent it to my sister who promptly killed a Volvo with it , consequently bending the chassis and braking the radius arms (no one got hurt) and so ended my Jimny (I had plan's for it).

So I think your on a winner .And it's good to see another Land Cow owner see the light
Kenn.

[greenzook89]

Nice Jim, yes my last Jimny was a example of how awesome they are stock, went wheeling out at ormeau on some of the tricky tracks with my mates wrangler on 35's and kept up without needing a tow the whole day!

Jimny's RULE!

[greenzook89]

Just saw, is that leather trim?

[steak_knife]

gman wrote:

awesome love the 2 tone colours I'm sur it will do you well.

We have 2 tone!!!

[Maml]

hehe, thanks for the replies guys

Yep, it's got leather - nice! Was going to go with the normal spec, but could only get a black one end of Jan, so went for the ltd instead. We only get black and white with two tone, that blue looks quite nice too.

Took it out into the bush yesterday and was very surprised - will post some piccies some time soon...need to get them from the guy who took them.

Waiting for the new year to start mods...looking at OME 2", ARB replacement bumper, snorkle, bigger takkies & possibly a rear locker...all depends on cost & warranty I guess.

Later.

[BJPK]

that is sweet with leather
we dont get that spec jimny here

[greenzook89]

I WANT LEATHER!!!

[steak_knife]

greenzook89 wrote:

I WANT LEATHER!!!

You should be able to order the cover's & use your frame's & foam, I've had to do it at work, hardest part was unbolting the seat's..

[Maml]

Leather steering wheel makes it!

Some pics from Sunday...not great angles, but wifey was busy; so a mate took them.
Can't really see it too well, but he flexes nicely for std setup!

[Maml]

more pics...

[Joe]

Thats the way to do it straight off the show room floor and into the bush i like it

[bron5on]

Nice work! Good looking bus. Might be pushing the limit for water crossings without a snorkel in that second last pic tho? Not real familiar with the jimnys but I wouldn't wanna risk killing it a week after buying it. A few mods and she'll be a weapon!