vitara rear trailing arms + other stuff.

[SiKiD_01]

well, at the moment, i have my back diff out ready for a locker.

so, while its out, i was wondering if there is anything else i can do to the rear suspension components? mainly the rear trailing arms, i think that the rubber things are really worn out, and was wondering what i should change to? maybe just OEM parts, i've heard use rubber instead of the poly stuff. lets it flex and move better? what about johnny joints? are these expensive?

i also need a rear A arm spacer for on top of the diff carrier. it supposed to stop the ball joint from binding. what should i make this out of, and does anyone have any measurements? i know this joint holds the diff in place and stops lateral movement, so will the spacer need to be real solid? can i use thick thick walled box section? i think i saw a brazilian website which had the measurements on there, but i cant remember what the site address is.

and my rear drums are really faarked. its all rusted big time. i can fix it all up, and put new components and stuff in, but i wish i could get a rear disc brake bracket to hold a caliper. i was thinking i could move the front rotors to the back, and get new rotors for the front. but i still need calipers and a hand brake.

i want to also get some plugs and leads, but in the shop manual, it says to also replace the dizzy cap and rotor. is this hard, or should i get a mech to do it for me? more worried about the position of the dizzy with the pistons and the rotor in the dizzy. what about ignition, is it worth up grading the ignition?

thanks for any help and/or advice.

ps.

i think i need to do the uni joints in my rear tail shaft too, should i be getting greasable ones? how much more are these roughly, and when i pull the tail shaft out of the gear box, do i have to mark where it is? or shouldnt it matter? i know on the sierras your supposed to mark the slip joint.

and can i use the same oil for the transfer and the gearbox? if so, what grade should i use?

[Gonzo]

have a look here for the A arm spacer

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfis ... shbone.htm

[SiKiD_01]

just had a look around for replacement parts to do my drum brakes.

drum shoes: $28/side
drum cylinder: $39 each

and the thing i was surprised, the spring kits aren't available as an after market item. i was told it had to be Genuine. what the...?

so can i get an after market spring kit for the rear drums? from where and how much?

thanks

[Andrew81]

That A arm spacer looks like it might be a good idea.

Looks like you might have to go to suzuki for the parts. I found the same problem with the heater hoses from the fire wall. None of the local stores have a listing for them.

Sometimes i wish i had a falcon or a comonwhore

[SiKiD_01]

another thing about the rear A arm spacer, some people have just fitted a spacer equal to the lift they have. this is a good point, as the proportional valve will work normally again, but also to reduce/stop binding of the ball joint.

others i have seen, are designed so that it will angle the pinion up towards the gearbox output to ruduce strain and binding of the uni joints.

does anyone have any experience/knowledge on this? we all agree on having a good and ideal pinion angle, but with this, there is a lot more designing and machining for the spacer. how do you know how much to tilt the pinion up?

i've also been told that any spacer for the rear diff helps a lot to letting the back end free up when flexing.

[Charlie]

This is covered on zukiworld.com, seems like a lot of work unless you have a three inch lift .Relocating the coil cups looks like a lot of fun

Regards Charlie