Forum:
hello there! im new to this site. i own a sportrak been into 4x4's for a while and always drove suzuki's sj's and vitara's! alrite maybe these words are swear words on this site! been reading the sportrak is a better drive than the vitara! and they was rite the sportrak is miles better and a lot more refined! I payed £300 for her. its not in bad nick but willing to spend some time on it! first of all the rear shock is in to bits and needs to be unbolted from the top. I cannot work out how it comes off to replace it! anyone know?? 2nd problem is the rear arch all the way along is rotton and needs re-doing i have a pro welder who is going to attempt to sort it out! but there is a bit of damp in the cill and dont want to lock it in and rot the cill! just wondering if there is anyone with some advice to help me on my way!!
I think the top of the rear
I think the top of the rear shocks unbolt from under a pair of covering plates found behind the rear seats, at the front of the rear floor pan. Hiden under carpet in most wagons.
As for the water problem. Just leave a deliberat drilled hole underneath, at each end of the sill. As long as this is not a rot hole, there should be no problem for the MOT. It's better to let water in and back out again easily, than have it fight it's way in (as it inveriably does) then be traped there. Another option is to fill them with expanding foam. but this couses all sorts of problems if / when you do need to do welding in the future.
Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.
Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.
yes thanks for that! great
yes thanks for that! great help! i will have a look under the carpets its smt that needs to be done for the MOT! to be onist having the rear damper in 2 bits has not affected the drive really! just when my partner drives me 4x4 the rear axel is bouncing like a drumers drum stick!
Arched
Rear wheel arch corrosion is a common problem, as are sills on any vehicle used heavily off road. Sills are designed and fitted in such a way as to allow water to run out, look under the botton flange and you will see where.
At the front edge of the rear wheel arch, behind the sill is a rubber bung, this is to allow access to the sill from the rear, this may be covered in underbody protection, pull this and you will be able to see inside with a torch. Place the vehicle with its front end raised in the air, push a hosepipe in the hole, set onto a jet, and flush out, most of the debris will run to the rear, and water should run out of the botton sill drain holes. Put your finger in the hole and fetch all the debris out, this is time consuming, but worth it.
Rear wheel arches are best refabricated, and the old rusty pieces cut out, I use a template, and have formers to fold the new arches into shape, this takes a lot of time, and body hammers to get the profile correct. This time and effort is worth it, make the inner arch floor from 2mm steel, and weld in, fit the new arch and spot the two together. Remove the two rear side trim panels to gain access to the inner side of the arches, spray the entire inner with industrial primer, and industrial paint, allow this to dry thoroughly. Using brush on seam sealer, seam seal the inner and outer wheel arch joints where they are spot welded, allow to dry and apply liberal amounts of Waxoyl to the inside of the wheel arch, and the inside of the sills, ensure they are both liberally covered, refit the bungs, and the inner panels.
SHOCKS
Hi
Welcome. Yes there are two plates beneath the rear seat and carpet that when removed give access to the chocks . If you have theadjustibels then remove them and replace with normal shocks. Teh adjuster will probably come off in bits and may well be ceased. They ere never that good anyway.
Rusty wheel arches is a problem although both of my Spotraks seem fine. Those with the plastic extensions encourage rust because of theior attaching manner and I replace these with nut and bolt and plenty of copper grease. If you catch them early then ythe cover hide any repairs and I coat the panel beneath with waxoyl. Check the rear seat belt mounts as they rust and then the MOT is a no no. The wheel arch joint with the floor is also a problem area because of the lack of sufficient sealant. Unfortunately repair is a case of fabrication as I am unaware of any panels being available for the arches.
The sill on mine are fine, I must be very lucky, but I do waxoyl every few years. I will look at thr rubber bung areas on mine as that is a better way of doing that anyway. Remember that the car is on a pretty strong chassis but the areas of rear sprin attachment shackles do rot and it is well worth checking the whole chassis regular to repair and signs of surface rust and to liberally spray it with wax via the good number of holes along the rails to avoid problems. The cross tube at the rear should also be watched and sprayed. Generally speaking the Daihatsu's are not that bad for rust although I think cost cutting was done on the later models and they do tend to rust a bit more that say the 90/93 models.
Good Luck
OLDMINIMAn
M J Young