Top tip of the day. Assume the PO is an idiot.

I was spending a little quality time with the Samurai today. I did the oil, water, belts, hoses, etc, routine, just checking everything. I decided to pull the distributor cap to take a look under it. Figured I might as well check the timing so I pulled the light out and hooked it up.

6 ATDC. WTF!?? Dug out my book to make sure Suzuki didn't time the engine that way. Checked the timing light connections, put a dab of silver paint on the timing marks and checked it again. 6 ATDC. ????

I dug out my tools and set it to the 8* BTDC like it's supposed to be, and took the Sammy for a spin. Wow, what a difference. I bet it shaved 25% off the 0-60 time. That pushed the engine swap/turbo add to the back burner. It actually has fairly respectable power now.

Lesson learned, never assume the PO is anything other than an idiot. Even if he is capable of an engine swap.

How did you not notice that by driving it? 14 degrees retarded will make that thing a slug

Always, always, always assume this. I bought a cheap Volvo once that ran really weird, and often didn't want to. Vacuum line to he dizzy was disconnected from the box and the timing was maxed. I guess that was his solution to the vacuum advance not working because of the unplugged vacuum line? Plugged in the line and set the timing right, damn thing drove like a dream....until the fuel pump went out.

The wires to the fuel pump were rotted and missing their terminals. PO just had exposed copper wrapped around the terminals on a leaking fuel pump....

In reply to Zomby Woof:

It's a Samurai on 33" tires. Everyone says they are slow as molasses. All everyone says is swap to a TDI, V6, turbo. Samurais are SLOW. It wasn't running bad, just slow. I assumed it was normal slow.

In reply to Toyman01:

Swap to a 3TC, my man.

On a side note: If you want me to ask, a guy I know has a newly rebuilt Samurai head sitting on a shelf that a customer never paid for.

glad you found the free power, but i have to admit, the only reason I clicked here is because I couldn't tell if you meant Police Officer or Parole Officer.

The timing was probably set "sounds about right"

Oh man... That sounds late enough to be pretty hard on exhaust valves, no? I wonder how long it was like that.

Toyman01 wrote: Lesson learned, never assume anyone is anything other than an idiot until they prove otherwise.

FTFY

After I got my latest Impreza, I was like "Self, the previous owner gave you a binder full of maintenance notes. I'm sure they replaced the air filter, but let's check before winter falls and you won't want to do anything."

Yeah, those are dead bugs.

Also found out this weekend the transmission was a liter down on gear oil. Never buy a car maintained exclusively at brake shops.

Huh. Bought my car at 266k, it's at 375k now, and I just realized that I've never seen the air filter. I don't even know if it has one or not.

I guess I could replace it, but that's fourteen bucks that I could spend on not buying an air filter.

In reply to Knurled:

Thats like 14 spicy chicken sandwiches at Hardees

BRB, gonna annoy my neighbors by checking timing on all three cars.

SnowMongoose wrote: BRB, gonna annoy my neighbors by checking timing on all three cars.

It only just occurred to me that I would have been a good (okay, marginally better) neighbor had I given my truck the Seafoam treatment in the alley during windows-closed season. Maybe I should seize the opportunity tomorrow, possibly the last day of winter around here.

Rule of thumb, if you bought it cheap and/or not from an enthusiast and it requires specialized tools, knowledge, or a soft/steady hand to properly service, the PO berkeleyed it up.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

That's what gets me. He was an enthusiast. It wasn't dirt cheap. It can be fixed with a hammer and a set of Vice Grips. The guy did an engine swap from a carbed 1.3 to a EFI 1.6. How do you do that and not at least throw a timing light on it? That should be step three after setting an engine. Start the engine, check for major leaks, set base timing.

This afternoons project will be to throw a timing light on everything else I own.

My first car ran like crap. I was an idiot, so I didn't think anything of it. It turns out I had a giant hole in the fuel line and two spark plug wires switched. That made a difference!

I bet that thing was slow! Honestly, I never found my Samurai needed a ton more power. Sure more power is a universal good, but it's a tiny tin can off-roader, I don't really want to go 100mph.

I would warn the next owners, "I am nothing other than an idiot", but I figure the alternator that isn't bolted in would basically say that for me.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Just make up some stickers that say "Sorry" and paste them on everything you've serviced.

If he did a successful swap to a 1.6 EFI, then he's no idiot, and probably made an honest mistake. That thing would probably go down the road a lot better on 31's.

Understandable. The difference in speed between a well-tuned Samurai and a barely-running Samurai is hardly more than an academic issue

The replacement engine in mine chirps tires in 2nd and 3rd...feels like it has a bit less power up top, but who needs that for an offroad vehicle?

ssswitch wrote: In reply to N Sperlo: Just make up some stickers that say "Sorry" and paste them on everything you've serviced.

I need a lot of stickers...

PO? Hell, I expect the dude working on it (read: me) to be an idiot.

Bobzilla wrote: PO? Hell, I expect the dude working on it (read: me) to be an idiot.

That's what I have been feeling lately... damn near everything I've touched has turned the crap recently. I'm sure blaz86vic was doing a bunch of "WTF's" after buying my E30...

I'm still trying to figure out HOW to check the timing on my Mini since it doesn't seem to have conventional timing marks. Fortunately, the little engine runs like a raped ape once it gets up into its "happy place" in the rev range (no tach, but I'm guessing around 4K+).