[GeckoXL7]

Hi Guys.

I have two issues which have been issues since I bought the xl-7 and is realy the only issue.

First, the gear box has always been stiff to get in gear but i know thats just how XL-7s are people say its like trying to shift through marbles.
But a few years ago I tried selling the suzuki at the dealer and when they only offered me 6500 i said are you joking! its worth 18,000 (at the time) and they said yeah clutch is gone, gona have to take of the snorkel, bull bar, put on new panel and standard springs and wheels, as people dont want to buy them how you have it. I was thinking WTF! how many raised fully modded to go of road XL-7s are out there and for sale? ive had people come up to me and ask what have i done to it several times and where impressed acting all mucho like there standing next to a Lambo and getting turned on just being around it lol.

Anyways got a bit of the point there. Since that ramble I have changed the clutch to a heavy duty one, took it into a mcanic to do it as didnt have the space and a bung shoulder, after it and 3 bent tools he said i never want to see your car again! But driving it the gears where still stiff as hell to get in and when the engine was hot esp in summer it was near to impossible to get it into first, i had to switch off then back on in gear to get moving. Changed the oil to Full Syn Sin penrite oil and that was fixed, but still occasionally it sticks and sometimes it goes in effortlessly.

I have read that sometimes the clutch bearing where the clutch plate sits on wasnt greased properly so it seizes from time to time. Could be the case as have squeaky clutch syndrome. Also had the snapped clutch peddle bolt too, which shows how stiff it is. So wondering what else it could be eg the Teflon thing on the Gear select shaft, or trans isnt lubing its self properly.

Well second problem, also from day dot, the Low Range doesnt stay in overly well, it has progressively got worse over the years and have recently changed trans mount. As the last trip to the finders wasn't very nice as Low Range was pretty much useless as going up steep terrain it had to be held in and held in with alot of force otherwise it would pop out with a loud clunk and bruised hand. I am wondering if this would be the similar thing as transmission eg a little ball that sits on the end of the selector shaft and or locator pin.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this as for the trans, mechanics say its the clutch but everything clutch wise has been replaced including slave and master cyl, selector fork etc etc. And transfer case, no one has any ideas, but did find someone selling the little ball bearing thing for the selector shaft, which i am trying to find again. Usually the ball pops out of place which prevents it from going into gear, or popping out, but it stays in High range fine its just the low range. Its at the point if i have a brick under my front wheel low range would pop out before it attempts to go over it.


Will be working on it this long weekend as preparing for another trip that will need low range alot..

Thanks

[GeckoXL7]

Just wondering how much pedal play i am meant to have too, seems like i only have to move my foot a few mm before the clutch engages and this is with the clutch pedal fully adjusted to the max (if go any further the adjustment bolt will fall out)

I would of imagined there would be at least 2cm of play before the clutch starts grabbing.

[ninjamoses]

Is it the clutch pedal which is stiff as all hell mate, or the gear shift itself? You say the clutch pedal bolt snapped which makes me think the clutch is stiff? The fact you would need to turn the car off to be able to get it in gear also suggests the clutch is dragging rather than an issue with the gearbox?

Does the gear shift change gears smoothly with the engine off/clutch out?

Did the mechanic replace the throwout and spigot bearing when he put in the h/d clutch?

[GeckoXL7]

The gears are fine when engine is off, just a tiny bit stiffer than it should be, but will be redoing the lube again this weekend.

The clutch pedal feels ok, but clutch does drag at times eg when press the clutch down and put into first car can sometimes move very slowly.

I gave him the full kit, clutch plate, pressure plate, bearings, fork, pivot point etc etc. Before i took it in was stuck in first gear as clutch gave way.

He also replaced the master Cyl at same time as was leaking.

Something is preventing the clutch fork fully disengaging the clutch. eg not enough hydrolic pressure, Wrong Master cyl, etc

When i adjusted the clutch all the way out gear changes where perfect could put it in with my pinky but then progressively got worse again and now at the point i swear at the car when the traffic lights go green

[scorpydude]

GeckoXL7 wrote:

When i adjusted the clutch all the way out gear changes where perfect could put it in with my pinky....

How are you adjusting the clutch exactly?

[GeckoXL7]

at the Master Cyl Shaft adjustment bolt on the clutch pedal, it wasnt orignally adjusted to specifications but corrected that which helped for a little while.

On way home yesterday for 20min the gears where as smooth as butter then all of a suddon they had to be forced in or clutch had to be pumped 2 or 3 times before it went into gear.

Im just wondering why its soo intermittent now, its like the clutch cyls loose pressure so the clutch isnt fully depressed and drags but at times its ok.

Im thinking of replacing the slave cylinder and maybe the master again as possibly faulty, i cant see any leaks or anything either. other thing i will check on weekend is if the slave cyl is actually joined properly to the clutch fork not sure if its possible to over tighten it so there isnt as much movement.

[Built4thrashing]

Id be replacing the master and slave cly and giving the whole system a bleed.

[GeckoXL7]

Yeah, def thinking about it, had to go to parafield gardens yesterday and going down main north road was a major pain in the ass!.

Again gears started of good smooth as butter, sometimes its the opisate starts of hard to shift then goes smooth, but latelty starts of easy then goes hard.

Being a hot day had the aircon on, and the start stop traffic didnt help i think the clutch fluid go to hot and i couldn't put it in first as if tried the car would actually jolt forward even though clutch is fully pressed down.

It seems very temperature dependent, hates being hot, Might have to put some racing brake fluid in there as well so heat wont affect it.

[fordem]

GeckoXL7 wrote:

The gears are fine when engine is off,

This is a sure fire symptom of clutch drag - for whatever reason the transmission input shaft is being rotated by the engine with the clutch depressed.

Possible causes are a defective pilot shaft bearing, contaminated clutch linings, or the clutch not disengaging properly - possible causes for the last item are defective clutch hydraulics, a bent or cracked release fork, or a binding release bearing.

One last thing - once you set the clearance at the master cylinder (which is rarely needed) that is it - the clutch is self adjusting as far as wear goes.

[GeckoXL7]

Fordem!!!! gees very familiar name from Suzuki-forrum, Its Jules here

Yeah it has to be two things Hrydo's or i recon when the clutch was put in, the bearings wasnt lubed. But saying that it is almost impossible to change gears when the engine is hot eg aircon going and hot day. So that would be more the hydrolics wouldnt it be?

I looked at the clutch forke movement underneath it seems to be going ok but think it could be pusshed at least 5mm more. You know after going through a laser wash which also cleans under the car, straight after the gears never feel so smooth, but 10min later it starts getting hard again.

[GeckoXL7]

I think i may of discovered the problem for the transmision, transfer case still needs to be diagnosed.

A few years ago i replaced the engine mounts with solid rubber ones, looking at the slave cylinder for the clutch the clutch fork is very close to the Y Exhaust pipe.

The transmision is only around 5mm from the exhaust.

Now is this normal? i have a suspision it should be alot more of a gap than that. if the exhaust is that close to the slave cylinder it would heat up the clutch fluid to such a temprature that the clutch fluid would fail and serve its purpouse.

Also the engine mounts look a fair bit thinner than i remember when i put them in. I though solid engine mounts are ment to last longer than the hydrolic ones as there is no oil in them to leak out.

If the engine mounts are gone it might just as well be the issue with the Transfer case as well eg the shifter hitting the wall and not actualy going all the way in.

Also notice there is a fair bit of oil around the rear engine / transmision mount, cant see it leaking from the transmision or transfer, but weirdly looks like its leaking from the front unijoint that (front side of transfer case).

Also wondering if the 2.5L engine mounts are differnt than the 2.7L? they said they where when i got them last time, but for them to fail in only 3 years is a bit to soon.

[fordem]

Hi Jules - those are "sealed for life" bearings, so no lube is applied when they are installed.

I can't really comment on the space between the clutch fork and the exhaust, I have a 2.0 engined GV, not the V6, so no Y pipe on my car - but - if we're only talking 5mm clearance, what's the possibility that you're boiling the clutch fluid?

Regarding the engine mounts, the EPC shows the same part number form both the 2.5 & 2.7 litre V6s

[GeckoXL7]

Just taken transfer shift selector out. took me a bit to figure out how to remove it, but it was as simple as pushing down and rotatng the outer ring counter clock wise then it poped up with the spring and i could pull out the stick.

It was hell dirty in there, reacon main issue with it had leafs etc stuck in the boot as soon as boot was off there was allready more play with it and went in, but still not that much. Cleaned it all up but i remember reading about a locating pin? is this on the tranfer case or transmision? as dont see no ball or locator pin just the teflon seat that looks ok after cleainging up. Can someone who has removed the stick before see if bellow pics look normal?

Thanks.

Also looking at the rubber boot that seals the hole it had a crack in it.. good way of letting mud in etc etc.

[fordem]

I believe the locating pin we hear about is on the transmission of a Samurai - the closest thing to that on this transfer case is the two bolts visible in your picture.

That rubber boot (the #1 boot) is only supplied with the shift lever, and you do not want to know the price of the lever assembly. I have no idea what the original looks like, all that was left of mine was a rubber ring around the neck of the housing - rather than shell out for a new shifter, I found a steering rack boot where the narrow part of the corrugation closely fit the housing, and cut it to the required length - liquid soap was used to slide the neck of the boot over the shift lever - it's been there about three years now, and I have just gone the same route on the transmission shift lever.

[GeckoXL7]

One of the reasons i do it my self, looks like the mcanic tried plying of the transfer cover with a screw driver making holes in it and bending the bracket. Not impressed! been using a bit of sikaflex to fix them up also gives me a chance to clean up the pile of frencefries that have fullen down the handbrake hole lol. Bummer there is no $100 notes

[GeckoXL7]

LOW Range is now working will see how it goes on rocky inclines, tested it going over a few bolders about 20cm high and no problems what so ever.

[ninjamoses]

So what was the problem? Was the boot not seated properly causing it to pop out?

[GeckoXL7]

there was holes in the boots that allowed dirt to get in, once cleaned out and regreased it worked perfect.

I think when i had my clutch done, the mcanic tried to get the boots off etc with a screw driver pocking holes through them.

Now just have to work out the transmision. and just been told by bob jayne that both front wheel bearings are gone so they couldnt allign, i will blame that on the AVM hubs with there crappy cap screws.

[ninjamoses]

Pretty poor form on the mechanics behalf. On the positive side at least it was an easy fix. Probably time for an oil change next if its had dirt and crap in there.

Just did the front bearings on mine. Messy bastard of a job. You'll need a rather hefty press to get the races out if they are the original ones. Changed the bottle jack on mine from a 6000lb up to a 10,000lb and even then it was an effort.

[GeckoXL7]

yeah gona change the oild in trans and transfer, did it not long ago, but will do it again so its clean.

Im just gona change the hub, can get them for 65 each as my wheel studs have seen the day.

Would you need the wheel bearing tool to remove the hub? never tried pulling it off with the disk, circlip etc removed.

Got a trip in two weeks, so cars getting a much needed work over. rear lights are going back to the original as the alteza lights where letting water in, and rewired up new sockets. Aircons even going through strealisation now lol.... wifes all jelouse the suzuki is getting more attention than her hahaha.

[ninjamoses]

$65 is bloody cheap, if you can get em for that price I'd definitely go with that option. Think my bearings costs more than that...

And yeah you will need the bearing tool. The lock ring is held on with 4 phillips heads screws. Once you've taken that off you then need the bearing tool (or a hammer/chisel for bodgepro ) to undo the bearing retainer nut.

[GeckoXL7]

Checked the bearings today, there beyond stuffed about 2mm play on the left wheel and 1mm play on the right wheel.

Just have to try and find a tool quickly, wheel hubs should be here sometime duing the week..

With the transfer looks like the boot does stop it going in all the way as tried a quick brake with pusshing clutch down at same time and the low range poped out.

Thought of making up some locking strap that can go over the transfer stick to hold it down just to be sure as its a pain in the ass when going up a steep rocky hill and the thing pops out.

[DarkHorse]

Wouldn't be easier to trim the boot in the offending area? Or bend the stick a bit?

Can I ask where you're getting hubs from so cheap?

[GeckoXL7]

Im getting them from the US $65 each plus around 50 for postage.

Im thinking of removing the foam insert insde the boot

[GeckoXL7]

check this out. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/030-FRONT-WH ... 3ccb10f300

Repco sells them for around $120 just confirming if they have the ABS ring on them.

[GeckoXL7]

Fixed the cluch issue, was so simple too!, i tried adjusting the pedal height with as around 15mm off! the peddal bolt seemed a little bent so was gona remove it and have a look, but thought i would tighten it, and while tightening it, it sraightend up and the pedal height got better, now the clutch feels completly differnt, no drag at all and much easier to push down and when it almost touches the floor its got around 20 mm where it feels like it gets a little easier.

I kinda liked it the way it was before as you only had to lift the foot a few mm before it engaged which made it easy for quick take offs and for hard hill starts but now i hae to lift the foot up around 30-40mm before it engages, which i guess its how its ment to be..

And all because of the dumb pedal bolt! lol... by the way it has snaped before so this one is around the same age as the clutch, around 2 years old.

[Chop]

I test drove an new XL7 back in the day, the clutch was horrible new!

[GeckoXL7]

Its ok now, i recon when new they could of adjusted it slightly more eg instead of being 20mm bellow brake pedal have it 15 or 10mm, it makes a hole heap of difference, i can change the gears with my pinky now.

Thinking about it as well clutch life probably has suffered since it was installed 3years ago with all the dragging changing gears.

[GeckoXL7]

Transmision is still good clutch wise, went great on the trip to northern flinders, but transfer case on the other hand still pops out in low range.

Doing light stuff it will stay in, but as soon as you need it to do what it was designed for it will pop out, i think a spring or something has poped off inside. Just wondering how hard is the transfer to work on your self on the GV's?


Really wishing i had a pit..

[GeckoXL7]

Has anyone rebuilt their transfer case on a GV and can tell me how hard it is with out a pit? as if do attempt it will be in my drive way laying on my back the full time.

Also saw the rebuild kits on Low range would there need to be any other parts to be purchased, like circlips, springs etc.

Having a dicky low range is really hampering on where i can go lost complete trust in it.

For a start i thought of just opening it up and having a look, im first going to look at the transfer selector shaft and see if there is anything wrong inside, i have the Suzuki manual but how easy is it to get to stuff in there?

Not someone to work on a transmission but then dont have any money to waste either got another kid on the way so house renno's will be taking up most of my little spare cash