Wow! Little did I know what this would involve when I started. Previously I have changed the clutch on my SJ410 which was not simple, but was a reasonably acheivable task. However the Jimny is a different matter. All in all it has take nearly 3 weeks of various evenings (probably about 16 working hours in all) to do. Everything is against you, basically the bolts are all hidden and very stiiff and there is no space to work in. The Suzuki workshop manual was clearly written by someone sitting in a nice clean, air-conditioned office which was nowhere near a real vehicle.
This is a modification that will be very popular in years to come. just like Clint's front bumper winch modification.
People like to toughen up their vehicles without radically modifying their vehicles look. This mod retains the classic look whilst adding the benefit of strong steel in the right place.
First he created a dual tube bumper from steel tubing, mounted to the standard bumper points.......
Richard has sent in a couple of pictures of his standard Jimny, he is a hardened off-roader who claims he has "retired" and will keep this one year old shiney Jimny completely standard - we will see!
It was good to finally get back off-roading after a couple of months rebuilding the car. TV4x4's monthly event was at Avon Dassett, a quarry located just south of Warwick. Following a couple of days heavy rain the normally dry and rocky quarry was transformed into a mud-fest.
After our previous visit to Avon Dassett I found I had trashed the wheel bearings, brakes and Kingpin bearings driving the 80 miles home with the mud and water jammed in the wheels and axles. This time I borrowed a trailer so that I could strip and wash the car at home without destroying everything on the long journey. The trailer provided the first excitement of the day as the car tried to slide off the side of the trailer as I attempted to unload it, this was because the trailer was a tilting type with a plywood platform, very slippery in the pouring rain and mud.
These are the pictures that many of you have been waiting for! My Jimny has a dedicated winch bumper but many owners want a more discrete and tidy installation.
Clinton has installed a winch within his bumper and it looks fantastic. Kevant has sent in copies of the pictures and I hope Clinton does not mind them being published here as this is one of the most popular questions in the Jimny world.