looking at buying a MU tips/things to look for??

[ozza]

I am looking a buying a MU and apart from finding them rare as rocking horse poo i would like some advice on what mods are available for them and what are the things to look out for. any help here would be much appreciated

[Westoztroopa]

Gday Ozza!

There are a few threads on buying MU's in the FAQ/Tech sticky so maybe have a look there first. More mods available than you would think... If you are interested in some reasonably serious mods then there are ARB lockers front/rear, front lokka lockright, Calmini suspension kits, Tera low range and diff gears and more. Some of the stuff is a little difficult to get hold of in Oz (Tera products) but you can get it if you try hard enough.
Anyway Im sure one of the resident MU people will give more details but I reckon they're great little diesel trucks...

Cheers,

Noel

[caffa]

There are quite a few in Springwood atm. Both sides of the highway between Ikea and Paradise Rd at Chatswood Hills. If you're coming from Brisbane, do the left side first and come back under the highway at Chatswood Hills and do that side. That'll save any backtracking ... Southbound, just past Mazda theres an import yard with 3 or 4 in it, and a couple of other yards in the vicinity as well. Northbound, past Hyundai there is a couple, then a couple more scattered in the yards up to Moss Street. Havent looked at any of them closely.
When looking for a MU, power steering gear is usually substandard. Make sure there are no leaks, they can be costly. Make sure the handbrake is free. The cables are a pain in the ass to get made as you cant buy genuine. There are 3 different types of handbrake assembly's for MU's. A dodgy handbrake shouldnt stop you from buying a vehicle but it can give you some bargaining power. If you test drive one, make sure you take it off road and engage 4wd. Listen for the usual growles and rumbles. Alot of the imports I am guessing do low miles, stop start stuff cause I havent found one yet that doesnt sound terrible at low revs it 1st cog. Sound like the gearbox is going to fall out from under you. My first MU had 80/90 in the gearbox to try and quieten it down. when i put 15/40 in it, it was alot easier to change gears obviously but it was louder too. Above 2000 rpm. it is fine.
I havent found anything other than power steering that they have as a common fault. Oil filters want to spin off regularly if you dont get them super tight. Drivers window usually cops a flogging so if its electric windows you can expect to replace one mechanism not long after you purchase the truck. As Noel says, they're a great little truck. You can get parts for them most anywhere nowadays. You can insure them without a problem. I think the 2.8 and 3.1 are close in comparison on performance. The 3.1 is obviously a bit torqueier. The 2.8 has a rebuildable turbo whereas the 3.1 doesnt. You can intercool a 2.8 much easier than you can a 3.1.
Always remember this forum but have a look at http://clubisuzu.proboards29.com to get some more answers.