Going to Mongolia and back !!!

I have a 2003 Jimny with 32,000 miles on the clock, which I will be taking to Mongolia and back (I hope !) next year.

I need to prepare it to the very best of my ability and I've been very impressed with the Technical Topics on Bigjimny. It will need to do 18,000 miles in total with spares / support non existent, once we are east of Moscow. I accept I will need to do running repairs / service and I need to ensure I know the weak elements which will struggle to do 18,000 over some very bad tracks / roads without intervention.

As I am new to Jimny's I am seeking advice on the the following:-

1. What are the weak points of the car?
2.What should I replace / beef up? I plan to do the obvious stuff e.g. King pin bearings, knuckle seals and calliper seals etc. But your advice would be welcome.
3. Recommended spares. I'm very aware some parts are unique to the model and I'm unlikely to be able to cannibal other non Suzuki cars to get us home.
4. I'm looking for sump and axle guards, can anyone recommend a reasonable priced supplier?
5. I will need to carry 2 x spare wheels and 2 x 25 litre Jerry cans and water. Space will be at a premium and I do not want to have (fuel) jerry cans inside the vehicle. Nor do I want to use a roof rack as I will need to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. I was considering an external roll cage with additional attachment points for the cans and the 2 nd spare wheel. I'm open to any ideas or suggestions so please 'think out of the box'.

I'm thinking a small trailer might be the solution, but that brings it's own problems. e.g. security / parking, extra tyres and wheels for the trail and the simply awful terrain.

This is possibly the first of many requests, so please be patient with me. Kind regards Teafortwo0789

It may be worth googling for Land Rover expedition trucks and see what general prep they have done and the sort of spares they carry then modify to suit the Jimny.
I would keep the Jimny as standard as possible so that if you need parts it keeps things simple. Perhaps upgrade the suspension with heavier duty springs - standard height - I cant see you managing without putting lightweight stuff on a roofrack - are you camping too? Gerry cans of fuel on the outside of the truck are illegal in Europe water would be Ok though.
General stuff to consider
Fuel
Water
Engine oil (enough for an oil change)
Other vehicle oils
Anti freeze
Spares
Tools - research any special tools you may need
Camping kit and bedding/wash kit
Food/Storing/Prepping/cooking/cleaning up
Clothes
First aid kit

Take the Jimny to a garage you trust - tell em what you intend to do and get them to do a Full service bearing the journey in mind. If it has a Cam belt - change it whether its due or not.

There will be loads more! You can see why the Land Rover 110 is popular for expedition - and they can be quite full of kit!

A trailer may be your only option...........and that also brings a whole host of potential issues.

You have a real challenge on your hands with such limited space - good luck!!

Paul

Keep it bog standard.
All you need is a credit card and full european and Asin Breakdown Cover.
Then enjoy the trip.

No seriously, no idea what to do to prep it apart from the obvious. I wouldn't know where to begin with all the visa's/papers etc that will be needed. A big file might come in handy for them?
I didn't know they'd made it illegal for jerry cans on the outside of vehicles in europe!
Best get the one on the Pajero in Cyprus taken off!

When you do make a start, get/take plenty of pictures of the prep/set up as well as the drive. Makes for very interesting reading.
Good luck with it, hope all goes well.

If you have a spare day to read up on stuff, try this:-

www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34358&highlight=

The last few pages have pictures of what he's had done.
Fair enough, it is a tiny bit bigger than a Jim but it might give you some ideas?

Keith

i went to croatia and back in mine last year.

from that I learnt the key is to travel as light as posible.
check the cooling system, mine wasn't right and i kept having to stop on dificult trails. keep wheel bearings, kingpin bearings, universal joins and a full tool kit. also keep a set of inner tubes incase all your tyres get punctures. beef up the rear springs & shocks to compensate for the added weight. a snorkel is probably a good idea too. dont go too agressive on the tyres with all that extra load you could snap a cv or halfshaft.

keep to 60mph or she will drink fuel. if you can get a diesel model.

have fun.


Greg

I've never done anything like this but below is my idea of stuff i'd take.

I would imagine all your usual service items would be sensible to carry. Plugs, leads, belts, filters, all fluids, bulbs, fuses and brake pads/shoes. Also a few lengths of hose and wire that can be cut to size. Some of these may be easily obtained but at least if you already carry them it eliminates the need to waste time sourcing them in an emergency.

On top of that a pair of spare wheels and tyres as well as the inner tubes mentioned above.
I would also look at carrying a pair of front shafts including cv's and a pair or rears with new bearings already on.

Reduce as much weight as you can from the car to allow for the extra stuff you'll be carrying.

Carry some ratchet straps, tape and heavy duty cable ties. They may help with a temporary repair.

I'd make some sort of bulkhead or cage inside to protect you from the stuff behind - you never know!

In terms of the vehicle itself i'd keep it standard as others have said but go over it top to bottom, replace all fluids, all wheel bearings and kingpin bearings just so you know everything is new and ready to go. One area i'd modify would be the washer bottle theres enough room in the engine bay for a much bigger one.
I'd also look at some extra lighting.

I may be way off the mark but these are areas i would consider sensible.

Hi do you have a soft top or a hard top? i.e can you store stuff on the roof or do you have a roof tent??

I am Having similer problems because i am going to the pyrenees in august for 14 day with way point tours (off roading and camping and bbq for 14 days awsome)

and i need to carry similar kit, and i have a soft top so i cant store stuff on the roof.

But i am building two locked boxes in the back one with fuel, tools and spares, and the other tent, clothes and food etc, its to keep my clothes cleaner and the are my tools secure from theft and a accident and on top tie down points for other bits,

The spare people above have suggested are quite sensible and defiantly do the cambelt and oil etc

Rhino ray has built a jimny that went to mongolia and back so ask his advice maybe?

I would love to see your solution

Iain

I think if it was me id get a decent pajero/shogun, landcruiser, or patrol, cheap, reliable and easy to repair. Then sit in comfort all the way and with air con. I will be using a shogun to tow my Jimny when I am to go more than an hour away for play days.

Get a book called
The Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide by Tom Sheppard - my copy is quite old but it has been updated. It is published in conjunction with Land Rover, but the advice is relevant to any vehicle - it is the Overlanders Bible. Amazon have copies and they sometimes come up on ebygumbay.
Be prepared for a shock when you see the price...................

Good Luck

Paul

I think that I would travel as light as possible, keep the vehicle as standard as possible and to some extent rely on local services on the way. The Jimny and earlier SJ series are popular along most of the route and should not come as a surprise to local mechanics and blacksmiths. You should probably look at taking items designed to get you to the next major town. These are probably things like fuel, water, drive belts, tyres etc. Take rad sealant, jam the viscous fan on so that you always get maximum cooling. Fit a sump guard as damaging the sump and loosing the oil can spoil your day.

Broken shocks, springs, kingpin bearings and brakes (take a brake pipe clamp) can all be tolerated until civilisation is reached. As said before, some heavy duty ratchet straps and mega cable ties combined with Molegrips can create some good instant repairs.

Failed rear wheel bearings mean the rear driveshaft and wheel will fall off which can be quite distressing but then changing a rear wheel bearing is not a roadside task due to the bearing retainer ring. I might have tried to find room for a pair of rear driveshafts pre-fitted with new bearings.

Most front drive failures can be coped with by removing the freewheeling hubs, perhaps a conversion to manual hubs would help. A broken trackrod end will stop you steering so a pair of those (left hand and right hand) would keep you going.

Getting ingenious with the 4WD selector and unbolting driveshafts will also help you over come driveline failures.

If you were to promise to submit reports/photos etc. (including all the prep etc.) here then you can have parts from me at cost.

Take the BigJimny phone number with you and if you have trouble then there is a world of Jimny owners out there who will be able to offer some help in some way.

With regards to fuel, how well does the jimny run on rough fuel? The TD5 landy engine is designed to run on poor quality fuels in developing countries.

Possibly taking some sort of additive or octane booster would be an idea?

Thank you, some good food for thought. I'll try to keep the forum informed as I go. The key messages I'm getting are:-

1. Keep it standard.
2. Keep the weight down.
3. A very serious service and then some. My plan is to do this myself and not rely on a garage. SO I will know my way around the car and then take it in for a serious inspection to double check what I have done.
4. Maybe the Jimny is not the correct vehicle for the job! But I do like a challenge.
5. Take comprehensive spares, not sure how that squares with keeping the weight down. Still who needs clean underpants!
6. A very kind offer of spares at cost. For now, advice is far more valuable to me than mere money, but I will bear it in mind. Thank you.
7. No fuel cans on the outside of the vehicle, I won't need to use the jerry cans until I hit Mongolia, where it seems almost anything goes. So I might be OK to take them empty until then. Not sure I will need to make some more inquires.
8. Uprate the springs and shocks.
9. Comprehensive tool kit plus Ratchet straps, mole grips and tie wraps (heavy duty).
10. Do some more reading. A number of books have been suggested so I plan to try the library first and buy if needed. I have almost printed off the entire Jimny Manual, too big and too heavy to take, so I plan to use a KINDLE book reader. It is light and I believe it can handle PDF files plus I will need some other books to read on the journey, so a good compromise.

Thank you all, Kind regards Teafortwo0789

Thank you, some good food for thought. I'll try to keep the forum informed as I go. The key messages I'm getting are:-

1. Keep it standard.
2. Keep the weight down.
3. A very serious service and then some. My plan is to do this myself and not rely on a garage. SO I will know my way around the car and then take it in for a serious inspection to double check what I have done.
4. Maybe the Jimny is not the correct vehicle for the job! But I do like a challenge.
5. Take comprehensive spares, not sure how that squares with keeping the weight down. Still who needs clean underpants!
6. A very kind offer of spares at cost. For now, advice is far more valuable to me than mere money, but I will bear it in mind. Thank you.
7. No fuel cans on the outside of the vehicle, I won't need to use the jerry cans until I hit Mongolia, where it seems almost anything goes. So I might be OK to take them empty until then. Not sure I will need to make some more inquires.
8. Uprate the springs and shocks.
9. Comprehensive tool kit plus Ratchet straps, mole grips and tie wraps (heavy duty).
10. Do some more reading. A number of books have been suggested so I plan to try the library first and buy if needed. I have almost printed off the entire Jimny Manual, too big and too heavy to take, so I plan to use a KINDLE book reader. It is light and I believe it can handle PDF files plus I will need some other books to read on the journey, so a good compromise.

Thank you all, Kind regards Teafortwo0789