New JB74 from Brazil (replacement for my 3rd gen)

Thanks Soeley and DrRobin, yes it all ended up well, which was the good news. After 7 months and some pressure from my girlfriend and I the dealership finally finished the repairs. The body work was pretty good, excellent paintjob and reassembly of the affected panels. What let me down was that the dealership also let the third party body shop reinstall the radiator and they did not carry out a detailed inspection afterwards. When I went to get my Jimny back I asked them to lift it so I could have a look under the radiator. I noticed the oil line from the gearbox to the gearbox radiator was left unchecked and it had a crack through which oil was seeping. I pointed it to them and they had it fixed.
My paranoia about the quality of the repair on the oil/cooling system led me to have the car inspected in another, independent shop. On the bright side I was amazed by the knowledge/experience of the shop owner, Fernando Kfouri, and their available resources (Kfouri has been tuning race cars for over 30 years). Now it is my go-to place for Wasabi's regular maintenance and upgrades.

 
Cracked oil line found under my Jimny after dealership repair. It was fixed before taking it home.

 
Getting the front PPF redone after the body work.

 
My JB74 among a bunch of Mitsubishi Evos in my current go-to maintenance shop (Fernando's Racer, @racerpreparacoes). Now my trips to the dealership are just to buy spares.

The last and most important event I had with my JB74 "Wasabi" was a long trip I took with my girlfriend Giselle passing through Brazil's country towns and national/state parks in April. The car had just been repaired and we did the whole trip of almost 7,000 km - many of which on dirt roads, sometimes soft sand - without a single issue.
We crossed a vast region of Cerrado (Brazil's Savannah-like biome I had previously been to) taking turns at the wheel as Giselle is as eager to drive through dirt tracks as I am.
First we went all the way up North to Brazil's capital Brasilia. Then we spent some time further Northeast at Terra Ronca, a land known for its huge caves (some of them with over 20 km). We stayed at the house of a local guide with an important role in the institution of the Terra Ronca State Park, Mr. Ramiro.
From there we travelled further North, to Jalapão State Park, where three towns can be found (Ponte Alta do Tocantins, Mateiros and São Félix do Tocantins) scattered across a huge swath of Cerrado with little human intervention. Over there natural pools from emerging underground water (called "fervedouros") and sand dunes can be visited, as well as very traditional local communities such as the Mumbuca , which provided us with an outstanding cultural experience.[/justify]
 
A sketch of our 7,000 km April trip.


Staying at the house of Mr. Ramiro, Terra Ronca's guide.


One of the huge caves at Terra Ronca.


Morning at Terra Ronca.


Stopping for ice cream at one of the few villages in Jalapão.


Dunes formed by earth from the wind erosion of a mesa in Jalapão.


Camping at one of many Jalapão's fervedouros - most of them are inside private land, whose owners make spaces available (with minimal infrastrutucture) for camping.

 
Meeting one of the fervedouro's inhabitants.

 
Taking a break from the heat at a proper Jalapão fervedouro.

 
Camping at the Mumbuca community in Jalapão.

 
 
Very few go by themselves to Jalapão. Driving through long stretches of dirt road we would normally only see a few tourism agencies' Pajeros. But going by ourselves allowed us to see Jalapão in our own time, whereas most travel agencies stick to a fast paced schedule.

After Jalapão we drove to the Viana canyons in the city of Bom Jesus, the farthest Northeast point of our travel. It is an amazing place to see and we also had the opportunity to chat with locals from one of the few villages placed within the canyon walls.

Then, for the last stop we drove West to the Chapada das Mesas National Park, taking the first kms of the Transamazonica highway to visit some of the park's waterfalls and to have a view of the mesas that compose the landscape.

 
Stopping by the Baliza Stone for a quick photo before leaving the land of Jalapão.

   
 
The Viana canyons.

 
Wasabi parked next to the Transamazonica highway, which cuts through the mesas of the Chapada das Mesas National Park.

 
One of the cool places you can go for a swim in the Chapada das Mesas region.

Wow, that looks like an amazing trip you had there. Thanks for sharing, great pictures as well 

Hello folks!
I have some updates for 2024. In September, after months of waiting on the import of a Long Ranger TR87 fuel tank for my Jimny, I have finally got it installed. I bought it from West Coast Offroaders in Canada and had it shipped to Brazil through a US freight forwarder. Brazil has an ARB reseller, but for some reason the Long Ranger tank is not being made available to Latin American stores.

 

Before installing it I had it coated with an extra layer or protection (polymer coating to protect it against chipping by small debris). It is worth noting the original external coating seems to be of pretty good quality, but it had worn off on some corners, probably due to handling during transportation. The tank as a whole is very sturdy, it seems nearly impossible to get dented. Installment took a full day at the shop I usually go for maintenance. We had a bit of difficulty due to the Brazilian JB74 specific fuel filter setup. The fuel filter is located exactly where the extra fuel canister would go, so we had to find a new place for it, right above the canister (as a future upgrade, since Suzuki in Brazil makes this replaceable fuel filter quite expensive, I plan on getting a serviceable ID F750 fuel filter imported from U.S.).

 

 

The exhaust had to be rerouted around the new tank. The kit comes with a new middle muffler and the piping, but the piping was not so high quality and the suggestion for joining the pipe sections would leave protruding edges on the inside that would not help with the smooth flow of exhaust gases. In the end I decided to have the piping past the second catalyzer flange to be done by an exhaust shop. It was manufactured in 304 stainless steel, with a diameter of 2 inches (slightly larger than the factory one and the thickest I could go with the room left around the tank). I left on the factory muffler close to the exhaust tip. I plan on replacing it in the future by a less restrictive Argentinian SilenPro muffler (they are pretty good mufflers).
Regarding the exhaust, removing the middle muffler had a very small effect on the sound, noticeable to me only when I start the car or rev the engine (I can hear it when I am outside, but not from inside with windows closed). As I read on an Australian webpage that sells a 2 inch piping cat back kit to the JB74 , I believe the modified exhaust might have slightly improved acceleration in lower RPMs, but it is barely noticeable and in the end it is subjective - I have not dyno tested it before and after to have a factual conclusion.
I checked the load per wheel after the tank was installed, with it being full of petrol. The results are as it follows. I have forgotten to do the same before, but I think the tank made the weight distribution get closer to 50-50. It also has certainly lowered the CG.

 
 

PabloAzH wrote:

Brazil has an ARB reseller, but for some reason the Long Ranger tank is not being made available to Latin American stores.
 

This is NOT good news - I was hoping to have my local ARB reseller get me a Long Ranger TR104 tank for my five door Jimny - I haven't approached them yet, was planning on doing that in January.