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with Bill & Amber Johnston
Spring Maintenance
Some folks think automotive maintenance is just making sure the oil level doesn’t get too low… the rest of the vehicle is just too complicated to worry about. Except that any vehicle that isn’t maintained well will suffer a shorter lifespan. When my 13 year old decided she wanted to help dad with the Zook, she didn’t even flinch when I started laying out the components for each part of the project.
The folks at Hawk Strictly Suzuki supplied the components for the project (all but the fluids). They have a Tune Up Kit put together for Samurai and SJ410 owners so that you don’t have to guess at what you need to do the job. This kit includes a new distributor cap and rotor, NGK spark plugs, custom fit plug wires, oil filter, fuel filter and an air filter. This set of hand tools more than takes care of the job. And of course, you have to have a willing mechanic.
Amber started with the air cleaner. Pulling the old filter out showed a good reason why the performance of this 88.5 was in the dumper. The old filter was badly clogged and oily. Cleaning out the filter housing was a chore.
When the new filter was in place, the housing just needed to be put back together and all the hoses had to go back into place. An easily forgotten hose links the carburetor hat (the part that goes back over the carb) to the PCV valve on the intake manifold. Little fingers come in handy sometimes.
Next came the plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. Disassembly isn’t very tough, and replacing the rotor is a simple push-on. The rotor is an often forgotten component that (by its nature) burns away during use, so putting in a new rotor will provide a stronger spark.
08/11/10 15:00:24
