Seeking advice RE: mods to stock '89 Sierra SWB (leaf)

Post by **Braden.Compton** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 3:53 pm

Hi guys,

I currently own an '89 model Sierra (1.3, SWB, leaf springs), and I'm after some advice about doing her up. I know very little about these things, and worse I live in Tasmania where there are few 4wd shops and PRECIOUS few that won't suck your bank balance dry. I have a few mechanic friends (who own Land Rovers for weekend trips) who are more than willing and able to help (I have NO mechanical experience or skills). I just need to work out what to do with the beast!

What I do with the vehicle:

What I'd like to get out of the mods:

My thoughts at the moment are:

here.

this.

Can anyone advise? Specifically, what parts I need and where I can get them cheaply.

I don't have much money to throw at this project (maybe $6K-$7K)... and I really need this machine to last another 4yrs with as little maintenance as possible. Oh yeah, and most importantly, this is going to be my wife's car during the week, so it needs to be SMOOOOOOOTH ride with as much stability as physically possible.

Thanks for your time guys! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

Post by **bigsteve** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:16 pm

I think if you spend the mony on
~ Air lockers front and rear
~ Some OME lifted springs
~ A body Lift
~ Some 31 inch tyres
~ A Rock hopper
You should get a well mannered (on road) vehicle that can mix it up amongst the cruisers and patrols.

Do a search on here, quite a few budget zooks have been built with threads covering everything.

Steve

P.S. Welcome and great structured question

Post by **sierrajim** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:19 pm

I'm no expert on zooks (building my first sierra now) but have a fair amount of expirence with other vehicles.

1. You're looking to tow with a Sierra?
2. Coils will give you a smoother ride but do cost
3. 3" lifted springs will reduce articulation as they have more of a curve. Think OME do a 2" spring that works pretty well. Probably will find that this will lift 3" due to your currently sagged suspension
4. VW engine would be costly (but cool) maybe the 1.6 Vitara EFI
5. for ride quality maybe look at rancho adjustable shocks

I don't think $7k will cover coils, VW eng conversion, tank, bar, rack etc etc.

Maybe make a list and prioritize and start from there.

Post by **grimbo** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:19 pm

Ok don't worry about the VW swap as you won't find one in Aus. Stick with your 1.3 or if it is stuffed go with a vitara 1.6.

Old Man Emu lifted springs for a Zuk make a huge difference

Towing in a zuk :shock:

Might want to give that a miss

Don't get a roof rack as it will make the centre of gravity even worse plus you will really notice the increased wind resistance on thew road.

Your best is to check out any number of the buildups in here

Post by **bigsteve** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:21 pm

bigsteve wrote:I think if you spend the mony on
~ Air lockers front and rear
~ Some OME lifted springs
~ A body Lift
~ Some 31 inch tyres
~ A Rock hopper
You should get a well mannered (on road) vehicle that can mix it up amongst the cruisers and patrols.

Do a search on here, quite a few budget zooks have been built with threads covering everything.

Steve

P.S. Welcome and great structured question

Here's mine
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... econd+zook

Post by **stumped** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:07 pm

welcome mate!

my zook's similar age to yours, i've gone with lifted springs (OME only do 40mm lift now, but they're pretty soft for zook leaves), 2" bodylift, 31" tyres, and gearing... all of which i've been able to do myself with some help from mechanical mates (i'm a puter tech by trade :oops:

).

springs cost me 'bout $600-700 i think, rubber i got second hand for $900, bodylift u can get made up for less than $100. gearing is expensive, series 3 rockhopper is $1300 just for parts http://www.bigballsoffroad.com/category9_1.htm and i don't think they make series 1 anymore (tried the states, got told it'd cost heaps more :cry:

).

you might find the s3 revs a bit high for on road work if you go to 31s, but the gearing would help towing ( :shock:

at that idea

).

overkill engineering do a coil conversion, cost $2500 installed i think, which isn't bad if u wanna go that way.. smooth ride and flexes nice. u'd have to bring the zook to sydney tho

have a bit of a search/browse around the thread, there's heaps of info on gearing and tyres and stuff. overkill's got a few threads with stuff that he does. check out the thread at the top for some of the zooks we drive, and look thru the members section.

Post by **Braden.Compton** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:37 pm

Wow guys - quick response! Thanks

My highest priorities are smoother ride on and off road, and more power. So I don't mind putting a bit of money towards coils, if they're worth the cash. I'd prefer to buy parts and do any chassis modification with help (provided it will pass D.O.T. assessment... it needs to be street legal!).

What (realistic) options exist for increased power? I know that some crazy cootes go as far as GM Vortec V6's (can't see myself finding one of those nearby), while most settle for a Vitara swap. I need something inbetween... preferably a turbo diesel (lots of torque, low maintenance, good fuel economy). The Vitara engine is just too weak.

Or should I be looking to dump the Zook altogether? I'm rather fond of the little thing...

Thanks for your help. You guys rock!

Post by **nicbeer** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:42 pm

Look at the finances and have both, Buy a hilux / 2wd car or similar for the towing and cartage and use the zook offroad. Put a couple of $$$$ into the zook to make it a bit better.

cheers

Post by **grimbo** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:45 pm

Braden.Compton wrote:Wow guys - quick response! Thanks

My highest priorities are smoother ride on and off road, and more power. So I don't mind putting a bit of money towards coils, if they're worth the cash. I'd prefer to buy parts and do any chassis modification with help (provided it will pass D.O.T. assessment... it needs to be street legal!).

What (realistic) options exist for increased power? I know that some crazy cootes go as far as GM Vortec V6's (can't see myself finding one of those nearby), while most settle for a Vitara swap. I need something inbetween... preferably a turbo diesel (lots of torque, low maintenance, good fuel economy). The Vitara engine is just too weak.

Or should I be looking to dump the Zook altogether? I'm rather fond of the little thing...

Thanks for your help. You guys rock!

Old Man Emu springs will give youy a much better ride. Coils would be nice i suppose but you still can't get away from the fact it is a very short wheelbase car and they will always be somewhat choppy.

As to Vitara motors being weak, what do you mean? A turbo diesel will be very nose heavy which will be detremental to an otherwise stock car. The Vitara is a proven swap thhat yields great results is engineerable and parts are readily available. If you go the turbo diesel route you have to worry about sourcing an engine (hard to do and $$$), get it registered and engineered (hard to do and $$$) and then also upgrade all the other driveline components to handle the added weight and torque.

Maybe don't concentrate on what Rocky Road do and start checking out this site and some of the Australian mods, things that will work here. There is a huge differenece between what works and is possible here compared to the US

Post by **-Mick-** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 6:00 pm

Sounds to me like the zook doesn't really do what you need

The are pretty average for towing and a a leafy swb WILL ALWAYS BE A ROUGHISH RIDE

If the budget stretches keep the zook and buy a 2wd tow car like suggested for the run around

You can improve on the shortcomings but the ride quality will never be really good

A diesel swap will wind up quite expensive with initial purchase and engineering costs and the vitara swap is a much better option. Why do you say it is too weak :?:

Post by **moose** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 7:39 am

I towed a loaded trailer ...
from Melbourne to Adelaide
to Marree
to Cooper Pedy
to Ayers Rock
to Alice Springs
to Mt Isa
to Mossman
& back to melbourne !!!

Um , still the same lil' f@rker I got now !!!! :armsup:

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 11:22 am

Doesn't mean it was a good idea Moose.

Likewise, trying to turn a Sierra into a landcruiser (coils TD, towing) is more trouble than what it is worth. There are a host of reasons why a sierra with a TD will be 1/2 the car of a sierra with a 1.6 Vit or similar. Likewise, fitting coils is very unlikely to make for a better on road car than a stock car with a set of OME's in it. Most people going to coils are doing so to run the same height as a SPOA without all of the other issues.

Work with the advantages of a Sierra rather than trying to pretend they will go away if you throw enough money at the problem- they are cheap, light weight, have a wide usable rev range and available gearing, and have the ability to run a fair bit of tyre for a stockish car.

Post by **suzukisam** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 11:52 am

braden, i would suggest that you can get what you want from your rig and only spend around $2-3k

i would suggest you get a rockhopper, this will get your revs up and make it a lot better for towing. (about $1-1.5k)

get a spring and shock package, OME seems to get a good word from most. (probably about $1-1.5k also)

and run your tyres at the recommended 20psi and you will get a reasonable ride ($free)

My rockhopper was the best $$ i ever spent on mine, and shocks and springs are something i always replace to maximise travel and increase comfort.

oh and if you take your swaybar off you will get a better ride too.....($free)

Cheers lester ($cheap)

Post by **moose** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 5:26 pm

Steve

If you have a problem with every post I make , take it somewhere else !!

every one is saying "Dont" tow with a zook !
I,m just saying , from experience , it is possible !!
how many people have actually Towed with a zook ??

I did 9000k,s , got reasonable economy & didn,t have 1 drama !!
even going all the way into Palm Valley !!

Post by **sierrajim** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 5:31 pm

I think that would depend on what was being towed.

Most vehicles with cages, bigger tyres (making less efficient brakes), bigger motors, etc will tow less weight than a factory car.

What is the legal tow rating for a sierra?

Post by **grimbo** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 8:52 am

moose wrote:Steve
If you have a problem with every post I make , take it somewhere else !!

every one is saying "Dont" tow with a zook !
I,m just saying , from experience , it is possible !!
how many people have actually Towed with a zook ??

I did 9000k,s , got reasonable economy & didn,t have 1 drama !!
even going all the way into Palm Valley !!

We are saying don't tow with a Sierra because he is already complaining the Zuk is underpowered, wait until he puts a trailer behind with any sort of load. Yes it can be done we know that but it still isn't a Sierras strong point

Post by **Braden.Compton** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:12 am

Thanks for all the input guys. I really appreciate the advise. It sounds to me like I need another vehicle!

I think I'll keep the zook, swap in some OME springs and new shocks, and see how that holds up for my wife. And I'll see about getting a defender or troopie for me. That way she gets a small car for during the week, and something she can take offroad with me. And I get something bigger for the towing and something capable for weekend-ing.

Thanks again guys. You saved me a whole lot of money on a project that, by the sound of it, wouldn't have done terribly well.

Post by **stumped** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:33 am

don't get us wrong, we love zooks and they are awesome lil 4bys :armsup:

but it's always horses for courses, ya wouldn't use a shetland pony for plowing, or a clydesdale for a steeplechase :lol:

while the zook can tow and can do long distance stuff, if ya want comfort, power, reliability, towing capability, it's prolly worth looking at other vehicles cos the zook isn't really built for that kinda thing.

Post by **muppet_man67** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 1:43 pm

vitarajim wrote:I think that would depend on what was being towed.

Most vehicles with cages, bigger tyres (making less efficient brakes), bigger motors, etc will tow less weight than a factory car.

What is the legal tow rating for a sierra?

450kg

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 2:52 pm

I was talking to a guy a month or so ago who towed a trailer across the simpson and through cape york in a stock sierra.

He claims that he ran the trailer "very lightly loaded." He runs with no roof load either., and for one of these trips was running a 1.6 bottom end, but otherwise all stock - even stock tyres.

Whilst he too proved what is possible, it is not something that many would recommend.

Many of us on this board are happy to set things up for our own purposes that we wouldn't recommend to others.

Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Seeking advice RE: mods to stock '89 Sierra SWB (leaf)

Seeking advice RE: mods to stock '89 Sierra SWB (leaf)

Who is online