I wanted to swap a Sidekick
1600cc engine into my 1987 Sammy for the extra
power, but didn't want to use a commercial weld-on or bolt
on kit. I decided to use the Sidekick 2WD transmission. This
transmission can accept the 215mm Sidekick flywheel and
clutch-- a much stronger setup than the Sammy 190mm clutch. Also
the Sidekick transmission is stronger, with bigger gears and
shafts. The only possible drawback I've come up with is that it
uses a lower fifth rear ratio than the pre-88.5 Sammy. This
would only be of concern to those whose rigs are geared really
low, and need the tall fifth for the highway.
Even though my Sammy is SPOA,
I used the Sammy oil pan and modified it instead of using the
Sidekick pan as some others do. I figured if I hit a big enough
bump, such as a water bar, I could still have contact between
the front axle and oil pan (not good).
The
modifications to the pan are quite easy. First you need to
break all the spot welds that hold the baffles in place and
remove them. You can just use a beater screwdriver and a hammer
for this, they (the spot-welds) break off quite easily. Make
sure you take out the big baffle, and the little one underneath
it. Next you need to use a torch (even a propane type will
suffice) and heat up and hammer (lightly) flat the two indented
areas at the rear of the pan over the rearmost two bolt holes.
These get in the way of the 1600's rear main cap and stud
girdle. You can bend a little, then do a test fit. Repeat until
you get it right. As for the oil pickup tube, you'll need to use
pieces of both the 1300 and the 1600 tubes. Use the oil pump end
of the 1600 tube and cut it off a little past where the support
bracket is, then cut the strainer end off the 1300 tube and
slide it in the cut off end of the 1600 tube. Position it where
it needs to be by installing the pan and looking through the
drain plug hole, then weld it up. Alternatively, Hawk Suzuki
(1-888-SAMURAI) sells the tube already made up for $35.
Next I
had to modify (read bend and cut) the transmission tunnel
for the Sidekick transmission to fit. Here a 2" or so body
lift would have been really nice, but I'm not a body lift kinda
guy. I had to cut a section from the bottom of the stock shifter
hole down to about .5" forward of the transfer case boot
front edge. The cut out section was the same width as the
existing shifter hole. Also I needed to cut a round section out
at the rear of this cut out and on the driver's side to make
room for the 'Frankenstein' bolt on the Sidekick transmission.
Then I had to bend (BF hammer or scissors jack) the tunnel on
the driver's side a little to make room for the wider Sidekick
transmission. Note that the hole and the widening of the tunnel
would be greatly reduced if a body lift was done. Also It would
be easier to refit the stock shifter boot. Even a 1" lift
would help. As for a shifter boot, I put the stock one on
backwards, and it works fairly well. Since I have no body lift,
I also shortened (by about 4") and straightened the shifter
a little.
For engine mount brackets, I
used the Sammy left-side mount
bracket with Sammy rubber mount. However the Sammy
right-side mount bracket interferes with the clutch cable
bracket, so I used a Sidekick right
side bracket -- allowing the Sammy clutch bracket to be
used. I used the Sammy rubber mount for the right side too. Next
I cut the Sammy right side motor mount frame bracket from the
frame, as it sits too far forward for the 1600 engine.
I put the engine/transmission
assembly into place, with the Sidekick transmission mount
sitting on the Sammy crossmember, and installed the bolts for
the left engine mount. I made sure the transmission mount was
centered on the crossmember, and Vise-Gripped it in place. After
making sure the engine was sitting at the correct angle, I
bolted the previously cut off right side frame bracket to the
mount. This jigged the bracket in the correct place. Then I
welded the frame bracket on in its new position, approximately
1" rearward of its original position. I suppose one could
also use the Calmini right side engine bracket if they didn't
want to cut and weld, but I'm not sure it is sold separately.
Now for
the transmission mount! Luckily the Sammy crossmember is the
right height, and has enough room to drill holes for the
Sidekick mount. The Sammy crossmember has a tab that sticks
forward from the crossmember. It has two holes drilled in it for
the Sammy transmission mount, and a big hole centered in between
them. The first new hole needs to be drilled between the front
edge of the tab, and the front edge of the big hole. This needs
to be a 1/2" hole. Rearward of this tab, there is another
big hole through the crossmember's lower panel (the crossmember
is double-wall with a space in between). The new rear hole (also
1/2") for the Sidekick transmission needs to be drilled in
the center of this big hole, through the top panel. You may need
to elongate this hole (fore and aft) to make up for
manufacturing differences in the motor mount etc.
Almost
done! The driveshaft is all that's left! This may be the
toughest part for those without lots of fabricating tools and
experience. Luckily you can buy one from Hawk Suzuki for about
$100. For those who want to make their own, follow along!
Cut your Sammy driveshaft tube
off the front driveshaft yoke without cutting through the yoke.
I used a cut off saw, and cut right through the weld where the
yoke was joined to the tube. Cut about 1/8" down all the
way around, then tap the yoke off the tube. Next, cut the tube
off about 1" from the weld on the other yoke. Try to get a
very straight cut. You should now have the rear yoke with about
1/2" of tube sticking out past the end of the yoke center
(inside the tube). Now deburr the edge of the tube, and very
carefully line up the previously cut off front yoke and press or
tap it into the end of the tube 'till it's all the way in. The
yokes should be lined up the same way, and the distanced from
the 'U' joint holes should be the same on each side. When it's
all ready, get out the electric glue gun (MIG welder)! Now
install the 'U' joints and the mounting flange from the Sammy,
and the output flange from the Sidekick transmission -- it fits
on the Sammy 'U' joint. You will need to unbolt the transfer
case mounts and move the case back to get enough room to
install the newly shortened driveshaft.
I know that some of this is
less than clear without pictures. I'll try to get some later. If
anyone needs additional explanation on any part of this swap,
email me at tourette@accessone.com and I'll try and help out.
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