Jan 2016

PAGE 7  Putting it all back together:

Everything worked it’s way up to the painting…  Now that’s done.  So time to reassemble the Tracker.  I made sure to let the paint cure for a day or so before messing with it.  Now we need the door handles back.. And some of the other bits..  Oh did I forget to mention that blue is my favorite color !  This is “techno blue” from late 90’s VWs.  The more I look at it the more I really like it.

The Blue & Black color scheme I’ve gone with looks very good. You can start to see that once I put stuff back on.. Like the tail light and spare holder.  And don’t forget that nice handle..  So this almost completes the tailgate.

Once the inner panel was installed..  with the proper push pins that I sourced out of China.. we are done.

Check one thing now off the list.  The weather stripping and door gaskets are done.  The sill covers are on.  And the door switches are in and tested.. Working!  and I bet that’s the first time they worked for a long time.

Jan 12 2016

A bit of a snag.. the carpet … of which I spent a few hours vacuuming.  Still has crap coming out and stinks.  I’m at the point where I need to install the carpet or do exterior stuff.  At one point I thought of buying new carpet.  But it is over $300.  And it’s still has to be cut and fitted.   I’m trying to keep costs down.  So I’m going to pressure wash the carpet and strip all the stinky old padding off the back.  That means I would have to go get some underlay for carpet to replace the padding.. but at least it all would be clean.  Soooo while the carpet dries I’ll turn my attention to the bumpers, grill and the  bush guard.  I can flip back and forth.. and Git R Done.

While I was washing the carpet , I gave the seats a shampoo. Here they are back in the basement drying out.  Notice the seat bolsters are black and the uppers are grey.  We could not match that grey.  So had to use black.  I could not afford to change the backs too, so that’s a compromise.

I removed the front  plastic from the bumper.  And found that the metal was in great shape.

It makes it easier to design and modify the bush guard I have from a big truck to fit the tiny Tracker.   I also want strong steel ears coming off the frame for attaching a tow bar..  or maybe even a plow.  Got to think it over..  In the meantime I painted the rear bumper cover and mounted it back in place.

The back of the Tracker is now finished.  That roll you see is the under felt for the interior. Yet to do is cutting and fitting it into place.

Done !  Got the carpet back in today.  And the dash, center consoles and seats.

Left the horn cover off.. cause I may have to adjust the wheel.

The Bush Guard:

If you look back you will see that whom ever installed the winch just cut away enough of the bumper cover to bolt the winch to the steel part.  That worked ok..   just ok.  I had this bush guard from a full size truck.   Fairly fancy one too.

Way too heavy for the little Tracker though.  So I’ve removed the headlight guards,  trimmed 6 inches out of the middle and shortened the height by 8 inches.  That removed the bottom tube and about half the weight.  Now I have a great flat surface for the new winch. (mounting plate in photo).  Brackets to hold the guard and winch are welded to the bumper.

The bumper is quite strong, so this will work good.  I’ve painted the guard and set it aside.  Also today I set to work welding and fabricating the ears for attachments.

These are 3/4 solid steel , welded to the frame and braced.  I moved the tow hook to the center to free up the end of the left side frame.  And of coarse everything got a satin black paint job.   Time now to cut and fit the bumper cover..

There !  The covers come right up to the bush guard.  looks great.  And as my very special added bonus..  LED running lights. !

Fitted right into the bumper !  These even light up orange with the turn lights.   Cool !  Now for the paint and install.

Jan 24 2016:

Yesterday I painted all the front grill / bumper parts…  Today I got everything installed and the wiring done.

I love it when a plan comes together…  Everything fit and worked out great.  The winch loves it’s new home.. the wires are neatly run .. I couldn’t be more pleased.

The control box is under this plate.. hiding.  There is two wireless remotes for the winch.. all working great.

Time for another page..  most likely the last..  Cause there’s not much left to do.

Page 8

November 24 2015

Page 3  Driving & Tweaking:

Drive … fix … drive …fix…. fix … drive

Well the purpose of driving the Tracker is to find other things “mechanical”  that need fixing.  There’s a few!  It’s interesting to drive something that hasn’t seen the road for an unknown time.  And you don’t get much for what I paid… So it’s expected.   The first thing was the auto trans.. not shifting into the higher gears.  Then that settled down and started to do things properly.  The weather out was cold,  -2 c  and the streets had icy bumps and lumps.  I forgot just how rough the suspension on a Tracker was..  Or maybe some new shocks are needed.  And then the brakes made a lot of noise.. and it felt like something came apart on the left front ?  And the brake light came on, and that shows low fluid..  which I just filled ?  Not wanting to drive much further I was close to Peter’s shop so I parked the Tracker there.. thinking that in a few days I would use the hoist to fix up stuff.  The temperature outside fell to minus 15 c  overnight.  and the Tracker had mostly water with a little antifreeze in the rad.  So I’m freaked out thinking I may have done damage.  not wanting to start it last night we pushed it into the shop to Hopefully thaw out.   Yup it was frozen..

Nov 28 2015:   Driving temporary  halted…

After a night in Peter’s shop I drove the Tracker back to my shop..  Need to fix a few things before more test driving.  Not sure if there is any leaks or damage done to the cooling system.. will find out when I go for another drive.. But first I need to drain the water out of the cooling system.  And pull the left front wheel off to see what’s making all the noise.  Just as I suspected one of the brake pads has broken and is resting at the bottom between the brake rotor and the dust cover.  That means when you use the brakes the brake piston comes way out and hits the rotor.   Not Good!  If I’m taking things apart I might as well install new rotors and pads, grease the bearings and replace the CV boots on the right side axle.  These are all things I have never done.  So learning curve here is a day or so.

Everything is apart and cleaned up.   Not easy when stuff is rusted in place.  Tracker should be happier with all this love..

I took the greasy messed up axle over to Peter’s and brought back a clean re- greased, re- booted axle.  Plus all the new brake parts came..  So it’s time to put things back together.

And we are done..   So it’s nice to have brakes again 🙂 .  Took the Tracker for another drive over to Peter’s and topped up the transmission fluid.  Now it shifts even better.  Also put some premium gas in the tank to add some octane to the stale gas that was in there..  No leaks from the cooling system !  That’s a big relief.  And it runs good..  Still some things to do though..  Now we need to pull the rear wheels and have a look at those brakes.

Thoughts:

It seems I’m building a new Tracker !  And this is just the mechanical stuff.  But this is for me to drive..  So I want it to be reliable and safe.   After that I want it to look good with the body work and new paint.  There are Trackers and Sidekicks out there for sale that perhaps don’t need this much work.  Most of those are standard shifts, and most would still need the body work done.   I believe I have a rare one.  With the auto trans , power steering ( which works great) and the removable hard top.  When I’m done I’ll have a great run-around buggy that can also go explore the back roads..  all using less gas.  Very appealing INDEED.

Fix , Fix , Fix..

Today I took the Tracker over to Peters shop and changed the oil.   And fixed the rattle in the muffler, installed the new tail pipe.  We also inspected the rear brakes and bled them as well.  The rear brakes still have lots left on the shoes.  But that darn brake light is still on.  So there must be something wrong with the switch.  Tracker is totally safe to drive now..   Turns out the wire is broken off the anti lock  speed sensor on the rear axle.  And that’s why the light is on.

Here it is in the shop.. I keep it there cause I want to tinker.. Fixing things like rattles..  loose stuff,  The horn not working… and on.  but now I’m starting to think about making the Tracker look good… I did not drive it as long as I planed to..  but enough to know it’s good to go.

On to Page 4 The Body Work..

Dec 27 2015

Page 6 The Exterior Body Work:

Things are going to get dusty.  As I start to work my way around.  Lots of sanding and filling and grinding.  I started with the rear quarter panels and working my way forward..  Can’t avoid those rocker panels any more..

So I made up my mind to use 3 inch pipe. It works !  Very well .  Once I cut out all the rusty stuff there’s not much left..  Pipe was the answer.  It’s very strong too..  And it will take a lot of abuse.  Any one who goes off road will tell you that stuff you drive over flips up and smacks this part of and 4×4..  Quad or buggy.

I’ve been busy for a few days , and I’m happy that the pipe thing worked so well..  Filling and sanding till it looks good.

Nice transition.. I won’t have to hide this..  And look the holes for the interior light button are there..  Plus I managed to rebuild both buttons so I have it all original.  Need to paint the inner door frames and clean up ALOT.

Alright..  Dave & I got the hood and doors installed. Even adjusted them to close nice.  I also got the seats back from the upholsterer.  They look great.   I spent the day cutting the cardboard to fit over the rear and the sun roof..  getting ready for painting.. Still got a few touch ups so I’ll be a few days.

Or maybe just one.  Jan 7 2016..  And I’m ready for paint

The whole body has been sanded and all the boo boo’s fixed.

Everything is masked off.  Hey that’s a cool way to do a top..  I’ve seen a newer Tracker around with a top like that.   Don’t need a back seat !  Also good is the weather.  It’s warmed up to above freezing.. That means I can vent without sucking in -10 air.

Painting Day:

I thought I’d take a photo between the color and the clear coat.   Other than the color swatch and taking the lid off the can.. This is my first time seeing the color I chose.  Works for me.   As close to my quad as I could get.  It has silver metallic in it .. If it had green metallic it would be a perfect match.

I waited an hour then stripped the masking off.  Never leave the tape on longer than a few days.  All sorts of dents and other imperfections can be seen now that it’s shiny.  Oh well it’s not a show car.  I already spent a lot of time on the body.  So it’s time to put things back together..  I like this part  🙂

Here’s a list of the things I’ve yet to do:

Or need to do..  Let’s see if I get R done..

• Install the power lock control
• wire in the two new power plugs
• Install all the weather stripping
• Clean the seats
• Put the carpet and interior back
• Paint the grill and bumpers
• Modify the bush guard

There is lots of little details as well..  but that’s the big stuff.

Time to start a new page with all this putting back together..

PAGE 7 HERE

Dec 6 2015

Page 5 : The Body Work  ..  Interior

Well as planned I need to remove the dash AGAIN, the seats and carpet.  One of the reasons for not driving the Tracker more was the heater.  The fan was not blowing much air, therefore my defrost was lame at best. It’s winter I need the heater.  It is suspected that the heater core is plugged, and that would not be a surprise given the amount of dust I’ve found.  So out comes the heater..  I’m still deciding how to fix the seats up.  But they will be out and easy to do something with once I’ve made a decision.  I’m really hoping the eight seat bolts come out easily.  Doing the interior will be easier without the doors in the way.. and no top to make it dark.

Dec 9 2015

I took just the blower half of the heater out.  That allowed good access to the heater core.  There was crap in there for sure.. So I took the shop vac and the air gun to it and cleaned the crap out.  In fact all the air passages are clean now.  The heater fan blows lots of air through the core now too.  Just like new !   Now for those holes in the floor.  Once the seats and carpet were out we can assess the extent of the patching.

The worst hole is the drivers side . The piece of heavy gauge metal I cut and laid in there earlier is not quite big enough.  I have lots of good new metal to make up the rest.

I will have to rebuild these rear foot wells.   This is a bit of structure here..  so welding is a must.  Don’t have to be pretty cause the carpet covers all this.

Dec 10 2015

Here’s the front floor all fixed.  Heavy gauge metal  glued and riveted in.  Very strong fix.   No more wearing out shoes on the road !

Today I took the two front seats to the upholstery shop.  I decided to have both the seats redone… seats only , not the backs.  I brought the  drivers bottom frame back to my shop.

It needed a little fixing.  So I lubed the sliders and gave it a quick paint job.  I’ll take it back tomorrow.

Dec 12 2015

Got a lot done today ..  Despite wanting to just be lazy.

I cut out all the bad rust and made a plan.  One of the eight body mounts is right there not holding much.  So I first made and installed a new floor piece that would cover and weld to the mount.  I glued and screwed the new floor to the existing floor.

Then I made a new wall that welds to the floor making it all strong again.  Now the body mount is doing something once again.  Holding up the corner of the rear foot well.

Then I did the same thing on the passenger side.  Just not as extensive.   Now to clean and spray with primer.  That’s all the interior repairs done.  The rest is just cleaning , painting and replacing.  I’m not putting the interior back together till all the body work is done because of the dust..  Some of the exterior body work requires access from the inside as well.  I’ve cleaned out the body cavities of all the mud and dust.  Now I’m turning my attention to the rear of the Tracker.

The Exterior:

One thing leads to another..  I don’t want to do all this rust repair and leave a rusty bumper hiding under the plastic cover. So I removed the cover and the metal bumper under for a cleaning and paint job.  Also some of the metal is GONE under the tail lights and the lower rear of the fenders.  And there’s holes in the sill under the tailgate.  It’s all hidden under the plastic bumper cover, but I need to treat and paint this so it does not get worse.

This whole panel is missing on both sides.  I need to replace it cause the bumper is held in place here.  How fortunate that the lower bumper frames on both sides are still intact.  Usually they are the first to rust away.  And other then one side a little bent up, the metal bumper is in good shape.

Here it is after an acid wash.  I then took the big wire wheel to it and sprayed it with rust converter.  All painted up and ready to install… But need a good place to install it..  And without the bumper in the way it’s easier for me to fix the missing metal under the tail lights.  I’ve not the tools or the skill to shape metal like the factory.. or even a good body shop.   But I will do my best.  The metal I have is twice the thickness of the body panels, which makes it a bit harder too.

So here’s my new piece.  Welded in place with extra braces.  Then I use expanding foam to fill all behind and give it the proper shape.  And it all gets fiberglassed over with resin and cloth.  It’s not perfect but it’s strong, seals the holes and mostly replaces what was gone.

Before the whole bottom of the tail light socket was gone with no place for the screws that hold the light in.  Now I have good mounting and a re-shape of what’s visible above the bumper cover.

Looks good to me..  I’ll install the metal bumper and the tail gate, but not the cover till after painting.

Putting some things back together,  The bumper and the tail gate.  I’m happy with the fit. You don’t have to slam it.  The power lock is installed, and that’s why the key hole and handle is too.   Normally I would leave those two things off till after the painting.  But the hook up required them installed.

Here’s the inner side with the sound proofing .   I now need to turn my attention to the rocker panels…  moochoo work to do there… So let’s start a new page.

Page 6 Exterior Body Work:

November 30 2015

Page 4  The Body Work:

Well not quite sure when to start this part of the Tracker.  There’s a part of me that is really wanting to get at this..  and there is the little voice that says drive it around a bit more.  But lets talk about the plans anyway.

The Interior…  The top half is perfect..  floor not so good..  so most of the interior says untouched.  On the 89 Tracker (years back) I had to strip the whole interior in order to paint it black.  That was the color scheme ( green & black) and all the metal was white.  Lucky me ! This one is black already.  However the doors I’ll be using are not..  But they will be pre-painted on the bench.  I will have to remove the rear side panels to get at the wiring and install new speakers.  I have repaired the rear floor already, so that’s done.   I will have to remove the dash again to wire in the power locks & remote transmitter.  The seats need to come out, and the carpet too.  There’s a bit of patching to do.  All the center console bits need to come out.  They need to be painted to match the dash..  and the light fixed in the PRNDL.  Also I’m very fortunate to have good carpet with no holes..  So clean it while it’s out and back in it goes.   Thus is the interior plan.

The Exterior is another matter.  The rocker panels on both sides need fixing.. and there is big holes on the drivers side.  This will require some tricky reconstruction.   But I like that challenge.  I’m thinking of pipe for new rockers..  stronger.   As far as removing stuff.. that’s a big list.  I would rather remove than mask around stuff.   The paint scheme is simple , SEMI GLOSS BLACK for the bumpers, grill, door handles, mirrors and around the windows of the doors.

It’s called BLUE FIRE METALLIC.. and I think it’s nice and bright.  And contrasts good with the black.  And clear coat will make it pop.

Can’t wait…   I’m going to get the hood and doors and bring them into the shop.. December looks like a good month for doing body work.

This is the hood from the 89 parts Sidekick..  It’s in very good condition.  Only three dings needed filler..  all the rest ( mostly rock chips) sanded out.  I’m only going to medium sand the hood, and spot prime.  the finishing will be done when it’s on the Tracker.  My real goal right now is to clean and paint the underside BLACK.  But get it ready to install.  Same with the doors.

The inner and outer parts of the hood are glued together !  And the middle had come apart.  So I’m using the urethane body glue to fix that..  Here I have some weight on to hold it.   Once the glue was dry (overnight) I painted the ribs gloss black.  Why so much attention to the hood ?  It’s the largest horizontal surface that’s seen.  And the prep work and paint job here reflects on the whole vehicle.

Those labels will not be covered.  There is good info on them.  I need to find something to glue into the inner panels for sound deadening.  It’s my goal to make the tracker quieter and not so “tin can” like.

I set aside the hood and started on the doors.

This is what I’m faced with.  Glued on trim & chrome door bottoms.  The last of the stink bugs where hiding under the chrome.  And I had a lot of glue to remove..  yuk.

Here’s the two doors.  It’s great that I can work on these parts while still driving the Tracker with its original bits still intact.  It’s also amazing that these parts ( off the 89 Sidekick)  are in such good shape. The rest of the body sure wasn’t.  The filler is just a skim to level out the rusty places.  And some scratches need a bit of help too.  I had to spot weld the bottom of the passenger door where the skin was loose from the inner door.  Both doors got new body caulking along the bottom as well as rust converter spray inside and out.  If you are going to fix it …fix it good.   I’m moving right along..  Got the doors all prepped and painted with the gloss black.

And I want to let them cure for a day or so.  Then it’s time to re- assemble them with the power locks and sound deadening.

Not bad for an amateur body guy..   The doors turned out good..

Dec 5 2015:

This morning I really cleaned up the shop..  The plan was to make more room for the Tracker.  So I can work all around it.   The weather warmed up a bit and It was the perfect time to bring the little guy in.  Got right to work removing the doors, hood and top.  Going to take days just to strip the Tracker down for the work.   First I should transfer the door stuff over to the newly prepared doors.  Then the old doors & hood can go for scrap.

Here I’m building a new door.  you can see the sound deadening.  Makes a huge difference to the feel of the door.  And should help with road noise as well.  It’s self adhesive foil backed foam.  Also the power lock actuator is installed.  The windows are tested as well as the power lock.  Doors are ready to install.

Mix & Match

The parts Sidekick had a dark charcoal color to the interior.  Whereas the Tracker is grey.  So I’m mixing things up a bit ..  little of this ..little of that.  The door pockets are Sidekick.  The panels are the Trackers.

Oh I almost forgot .. the new headlight came, and it’s installed.  Looks better than the right side one !  I also decided not to change the park lights for the Suzuki orange yet.  Those screws holding them in place are hard to get out..

One more thing to do before moving to the inside..  Tailgate Time !

The plan was to keep the Tracker’s black tailgate..  Because this one has a rust hole..  But after having a good look at the black one it’s just a bit worse.  So another part of the Sidekick goes on the Tracker.

Now that’s better .. only the holes that are needed ..  the rest are gone.

And the black paint for the inside and we are done for now.

Time to get going on the interior…

Page 5

November 2015

Page 2  Almost Free Parts:

The project continues…

The 91 is waiting for space at Linde Auto to continue.  While waiting I’m stripping down this 1989 parts Sidekick in my shop. As well as  studying those wiring diagrams so I know what to look at when I resume. My Sister’s friend Rich found this 89 Sidekick in a field in Proctor, BC.  He just wanted the extra wheels for his Tracker. The rest he said I could have.

1989 Parts Sidekick :

Very sad looking indeed.. but the motor was reported to run and was intact.  And even though it looks bad there is lots of good parts.  So It was worth the 2 hour trip to go and bring this one back.  If you consider the other 89 Tracker I rebuilt back in 2008. I traveled further and paid good money for those body parts .  The doors off this 89 are in fairly good shape.  Especially the drivers door.  The passenger door needs a bit of welding on the very bottom edge.  But that’s better than patching a big rust hole.  Both these doors are better than the ones on the 91.  So I put them aside for later.  The same goes for the dash, hood and a few other bits.. way better shape.

At one time this was a fancy little guy.  Wired for towing ..so it was a “Dingy”   Now it’s trashed in too many ways to be put back on the road..  And a thousand stink bugs and a few dozen wasps came along with this little guy .. Everything I took apart I found more.. So I had the shop vac at the ready to suck them up.   All worth it because  it’s donating good parts for Rich & I.   This is a Sidekick so it has the orange turn signals which I like..

These are in perfect condition..  Once I polish them up they will look like new.

Check out the difference between polished and not.

Even bigger difference in the park / turn lights from the front.  They get sand blasted in the winter..

The other important part..  for me.. is the dash..  again the 89 had a much better one,  seen here.  And if you look on the left side I tried some restore treatment  wow just like new.

So another day or so and I’ll be cutting the body off the frame.  I want to keep the rolling frame and see if I can sell that.   So here’s what’s left..

Not much..  The window goes for recycle..  and so does the body metal.  It’s a lot of work when all you got is a cutoff disc and a saws all.  A plasma cutting rig would have made short work of this.

And this is what is left..  and even though the body is rusted away to nothing this frame  is in amazingly good condition.  If only someone made a fiberglass body that would just bolt right on..  I’m very temped to build my own body ..  for now I’ll just hang on to the chassis.

Now that the parts Sidekick is out of the shop..  I decided not to wait for space at Peter’s shop and bring the 91 Tracker home to get it running.

Damned if it doesn’t just fit on Dave’s landscape trailer.   Quite well to..  So I need to really clean out the shop good and we will have room to work on the Tracker.

Welcome to the my shop .. little friend.   Now to look at the reason for not starting..  Both Dave & I checked all the fuses and they are good..  but no power to the relays.  So I decided that the best way would be to completely remove all the wiring for the stupid remote start. And the way to do that is to remove the dash.. I’ve done this a few times , plus I want to check a few things out anyway.   And that steering wheel has to go..    Sooo  while I was pulling those extra wires out I noticed some ground wires we forgot to attach !

Oh No ! could these be the cause of all the grief..  quite likely.  We’ll see once I get the dash back in..  speaking of..

What a dusty mess..  Air hose & shop vac needed for this.   One very promising thing was that none of the screws holding the dash were rusty or stuck..  This I is a good thing about the hard top vs the soft top..  less moisture gets in.  and the interior stays nice.   A while back when I was taking things apart on the 89 parts Sidekick,  I cleaned the dash and all its bits.  So that one is going back in.. was my plan anyway.   One other thing was to compare wiring harnesses to see if things like a tachometer and the rear window defogger switch were exchangeable.  Yes they are.  Both harnesses have the wires.  I’m thinking of using the Sidekicks instrument cluster because it has a tachometer.

The Sidekick on the left .. and the much more modest Tracker on the right .  But the Sidekick ODO has an extra 90 thousand kms !  So need to think this one through.  In the meantime I got to the cleaning of the dash area..  While doing that I noticed a black box attached to the fire wall hiding behind the ECU..  It’s plugged into the main wiring.. and it says Suzuki on it.. ??  oh well must be important..  Can’t find it on the wiring diagrams though.

Mystery Box..   Looks like it belongs.. and it’s not part of the remote start.. so it stays.   Later I found out that this is the anti lock brake control module.  Another bonus I think !

So I’m in the middle of getting the new dash ready to install..   thinking about adding a clock , USB charge ports.. etc..  And Dave shows up and fixes the  unattached ground wires..  says to me “it will run without the dash” ? right ?  Uh ya I think so..   So I turned the key.. and we could hear the fuel pump !  Wow.  Turned the key more and boom she starts right up..

After the smoke cleared ( from oil and cleaning the motor)  I took a quick video..   Needs work on the water pump..  there is a noise coming from there..  and a coolant leak.   But !  We have a running Tracker instead of one you push !   That’s progress.  Now I need to get the dash back in.   But I must do a little pimping to the dash..

And bring the 1991 into the 2015’s   A new 12volt plug,  a digital clock, plus a digital volt meter & 2-USB charge ports on a switch.  That’s all the tech you need these days..  for under $50.

Nov 19 2015 :

The dash is all together and in.. everything works fine..

I now have a Trackerkick.. or is that a Sidetracker ?   We ran the motor a bit today as well..  Trying to find exactly where the coolant leak is..   I still think it’s the water pump gasket.  But the motor runs well..  The lights on the dash go out like they are suppose to..

And it was the water pump gasket. We installed a new off the shelf water pump ( cause it was cheap) and no more leak.   Backed it out of the shop.. and let it run to warm up good..  No problems.  Yahooo   So now to put some stuff together again..

and we start with the grill & the top frame.  Notice the blue ?  that’s a piece saved from the 89. It was in better condition.  So I cleaned and painted the backside.  Still looking for a headlight..

Here’s two of the Suzuki Alloy wheels I horse traded for..  I have five. So the spare will look good without a cover.  The plan is to remount the tires that are on the Tracker onto these rims.  Then we are styling!

The plan here is to get the Tracker road worthy enough to drive it around for a few weeks.  I really want to make sure we have fixed all the mechanical things before any body work is done.  So here’s what I need to do:   1 –  Install a tail pipe so the exhaust is going out the back , not under.   2-  I need to repair a few rust holes in some important places where road crap can get inside.   3-  The tailgate handle needs to be cleaned, painted & installed.   4 – And as soon as it’s on the road..  an oil change and the coolant replaced.

I’m trying something new to deal with the small rust holes.  These are holes that aren’t seen because they are covered or under the hood.  I clean them up and treat them with Naval Jelly.  It converts the rust and after 24 hrs hardens to a paintable surface.  Then I’m going to glue & screw a patch over the hole.  We’ll see what I think when done.

This is the tailgate handle from the 89 parts Sidekick.  Even though the metal bits are rusted, they are still strong.   So I’m using the Naval Jelly treatment on this as well.  And yes it seams to work good..  Why rebuild the black one when this will work.

Here in the back seat area I used the rust jelly..  and then I made patches from Galvanized Steel.  Everything is sealed up with urethane sealer.   Later I will paint this area with box liner epoxy or undercoat..  Later.

This is one of the motor compartment patches.  On the other side is a smaller one.  When the inner wheel well is undercoated I think this will last a long time..   With holes here the tires throw water and mud into the motor compartment.. Not good !   Just about ready for the road.  Time for a new page…

Page Three ( Driving the Tracker)

Posted  Oct  2015

Page 1  First Impressions:

There is now 8 pages to this post. Link to the next post will be at the bottom

Once again it looks like I’ve got a collection going..   Once again I’ll show you a photo of what it should look like ..

JUST KIDDING !   but it could look like that..  with a 4 inch lift and some red paint !   More importantly the photo shows the removable hard top.  I like that better than the soft top..   Especially for winter.

Here’s the actual one I picked up..   Needs some work..  they all do..   Now Trackers and Sidekicks come in a few different configurations..   The other two I had were convertibles with soft tops.  I like those.. but this one comes with the much desired removable hard top..  Now I think I like that better.   So we will tick a box.  Another good thing .. for me is the auto transmission..  so lets tick another box..   Oooo  power steering too..  Yes one more box.    Once I install keyless locks.. it’s perfect.  In fact if I was to order a Tracker from the factory, this is the way I would want it..  Just not Black.    Well back to the real world.. got to fix the motor first .. and patch up some rust..   A new paint job would be nice..  The 96 Siidekick will have to go bye bye..  as is or for parts..  All depends on weather ICBC will give me the regi or not..

Now I’m no stranger to fixing these.. check out this old post from 2007.  that’s 8 years ago.. but I remember it well.. and have a look at how nice it looked when I was done.  Well I want to do that again..  But I think I’ll not bother with the power windows.

1989 Tracker Project

So this time what did I get..  ?

Lets have a look..

A winch on the front.. ok it’s only a cheapy 2000 lb one.. but hey it’s there and it works.   A trailer hitch YES.. I can use that .   Tuck tape holding in the right taillight ?  Have to see why.  Good tires.. really !  Oh and the tail gate latch worked !  I’m in shock.

Ahh but the handle is falling off..  I bet the mounting bolt is rusted off.. I fix.

Rusty rocker panels.. this is the good side !

This is the drivers side..  bad..  but common.  some metal working required for this..  The door skin has come loose too.. but I’ve fixed those before..  none of this scares me..  I’m crazy..

The interior looks OK..  just OK.. the drivers seat has rips.. that steering wheel is ??  weird..  There is wires hanging out from where the remote start was..  And I’m not a fan of those unless they are factory installed.    Most importantly no dog has chewed or drooled , or even left hair on anything.  In other words it’s normal dirt.

Ok bonus !  There is a newer stereo.. with a key fob remote.. that doesn’t work!  But where’s the vents ?   In the parts Tracker.  I hope.   An Ash tray !  yup they still thought is was a good idea 20 years ago..  Just watch that disappear and a USB charge port in its place.

Bonus #2..  the lowest kms on any of the Trackers I’ve seen..  206,000.   So to me this all adds up to a good Tracker to make nice again..   I found a place to get new body parts to replace the rusted and or missing bits.  If I can’t make my own.  Welding in new metal is the only way to make it right.. and last.   Once the mechanical stuff is fixed up then we’ll see what the budget allows for.   so off to Linde Auto for the motor work.

Bonus #3  A very nice K&N washable filter.

Before it left I washed the motor down.  And some of the dried on mud.  I also removed the back door handle to see what was broken.  Sure nuf one of the mounts was gone..  So it’s strange that the mount rusted away to nothing.. and the latch is still ok.  hmmmm

Here’s the latch..  way better condition than the one on the 96 Sidekick ?  Missing is the handle / license plate cover..  I’m rebuilding the mounts in the shop.  When the body work is being done the latch is removed as well.   On the 1989 Tracker I rebuilt  I painted the handle satin black and installed it after the body was painted.  Same with the door handles..

Pretty nice eh..   I would like the same look but with a blue similar to my Polaris 400.   It looks good blue & black.

Oct 27  2015:

The start of the motor wows..

Today we rolled the 91 into the shop and checked out some things..  First thing was a compression test on the four cylinders.  They were all low.. but consistently low.   Then we removed the valve cover and checked the cam and lifters..   All is good no loose stuff.   However it seams to the trained eye that the valve timing was 180 degrees off.  That would not help the compression at all..  We then went a little deeper and removed the timing belt.  well what we found was a loose drive pulley .. The very important one on the crankshaft..  It had enough play in it to throw the timing out anyway..

Here’s the little bugger..  If you look inside you can see that the keyway is widened.   I read on a forum that this is a common thing.. and that this bolt MUST be torqued properly.   So the hunt is on for one of these..   so far no luck.   Oh and just to be sure there are no other issues.. we ran a pressure bleed down test of the cylinders..  This test tells the truth about the valves..  It showed no problems !  yah !   so no need for a head gasket..  or a valve job..   So I ordered just a few things.  valve cover gasket, timing belt,  fan belt and new plugs.

Oct 30 2015 :

Well I got the 1989 parts sidekick home and removed the motor parts I needed to finish up the 91.   The Timing belt sprocket was in perfect condition.. and fit tightly on the 91’s crankshaft.  And the rest went good to..

Just need to put the rad back..  and the air intake .. and we’ll see how or if the motor runs.

Oct 31  2015:

More motor wows..

So before I got too much put back together.. I decided another compression test would be a good thing to do.  Just to make sure that all the things we thought were bad..  really were.  Well the test was a surprise.  And the compression was no better.  In fact very low.   So out came the air bleed down tester for another try.   And that’s when Peter realized that he had read it wrong..   Instead of a 10 % air loss it was actually  90%  loss.  This means that it is most likely the pistons and rings that are bad.   So that is bad news for the motor.   Fortunately the parts one has a motor too..  and supposedly it ran fine..  So we took the tester to the parts Sidekick and it passed with a real 10% loss in one cylinder and 5% in the rest.  very good..  So   MOTOR SWAP !

Nov 1 2015:

This morning Dave and I pulled the bad motor from the 91 Tracker..  And then went to my shop and pulled the motor from the 89 Sidekick.

I swear by looking at how nice it looks that it was rebuilt.  I gave it a very quick bath.. and loaded it up into the truck and took it over to the Tracker..  We had a close look at the subtle differences and just swapped everything over..  everything but the core motor.   Some things were changed in the two years..  so the 89 motor got an UPGRADE..  so it’s now a 91.. set up for the auto transmission.  We should get the re- install back in the Tracker tomorrow.

Nov 2 2015:

Today we worked half a day, and got the motor back in.  Most stuff is hooked up too.  Lots of cursing over motor mounts and hard to get at bolts..  and wire looms.

Hard to tell from the other motor because the nice bits were used like the blue valve cover.  But believe me this one has good compression.

Not much left on the bad motor.  I may just rebuild it.  But not yet.   The rebuild kit is about $300.   So I’ll keep the motor for now.

Nov 3 2015…  A work in progress:

Finished all the last of the “hooking up”   and right at the end of the day,  turned the key.. no fuel to motor.  !   Can’t here the pump.. There is no way of knowing just how much is wrong.. till you test it all.   So we had to give up the space for another job Peter had.. alas we pushed the poor little guy out to the healing yard..  will have to leave it there till the bay is free again.   I’ll get the wiring diagrams and do some studying.   I do suspect the wiring for the remote start..  Parts of that have been removed.. but I’ll need to put it back to factory.   This post is getting long.. so it’s time for a second page.

Next Page 2

Re-posted from and old document .. Sept 2007:

Because I am starting to work on a new Tracker project .. the 1991 Tracker .  I thought it would be nice to reference this old post.  This was the second Tracker that I have had, but the first one to need TLC and work.

Introduction:

I couldn’t say no !  The lady accepted my offer of $800 for the 1989 Tracker sitting in her snow bank.  So now I have another project for after I finish the reno’s in the house.  I had one of these before in the fall of 2000.  That one I bought from a co-worker for $3,500.  and I still had to repair some rust plus I bought a new top for it. It was so much fun to drive … cheap on gas, 4×4 and a convertible too!  I felt then that it was worth the money. Unfortunately that little Tracker came to demise in the hands of my Daughter one snowy day. There wasn’t a corner of the Tracker that wasn’t bent & twisted.  She was ok, only shaken up a little. A testament to a good roll-cage design. It was unfixable so I sold it for parts to a guy for $500.  and that was that.   I missed the little guy….

So here I’ve found another one.  And although there is some rust problems , it runs good and the top is new.  These are the things that we found with the first inspection. Please note that we haven’t pulled the wheels off to check the condition of the brakes and other driveline stuff. So this is just the obvious stuff and what I know from driving it home from Christina Lake.

• Driver’s door is bad, it’s rusted and has a dent in it, and the interior latch & panel are broken.
• The gas tank leaks, probably rusted through on the bottom from mud collecting on top of the skid-pan. ( later I find that it is the filter that leaks..not the tank)
• The floor in the back is badly rusted through, and the backseat is missing. This will happen if the top had leaked. And the seat would not have been secured anymore.
• Quite a bit of play coming from the drive shaft. U-joints are worn
• Tailgate latch was so badly rusted that it broke off.
• A few bits & pieces of the interior are missing, glove box latch, ashtray and the dome light.

Well we need some positives here…so

• The motor runs good , does not burn oil and it started right up after sitting for months. There is only 175,000 km on the odo
• All the electrical works good. Heater is good too, Battery looks new
• The tires are fair, about half worn, they are on steel rims that have only a little surface rust. And the spare is good too.
• Top is NEW and works good.
• It drives good, steering was tight, and the brakes seem to be good…no pulling

Gathering the pieces:

So now I’m going to spend some money collecting up all the parts & pieces needed to fix the Tracker up to my standards.  But I’m setting a total budget of $2000 dollars ,and that includes the $800 to buy it.  So away we go to see what we can find.

The price of a new gas tank was $150, so I’m not going to fool around with an old one.. so I bought that and two new u-joints from Lordco, total $220. Later I exchanged the tank!

I phoned around to all the wreckers in the area to see who had Trackers.  A place in Enderby had two in the yard.  So I paid them a visit this weekend.  For $350 I got a complete drivers door, a matching door panel for the other side, a complete tailgate, the back seat, glove box, ashtray and a set of nice floor mats.

From E-Bay I got a shop service manual for $35, and  Keyless entry system for $40 also I splurged and found a power window kit for $200.  That’s a total of $1645 so far… I’m  getting very close to my $2000 dollars so I better wait to see if there are more mechanical issues before I go for those nice alloy rims at the wreckers.

The Ultimate Tracker:

My goal for the Tracker is to have it fixed up so that it’s impressive as well as just running good. So this is my plans and hopefully I stick to the budget:

• Mechanically …running great.. not just good, but A-1 no unsafe stuff
• Fix all the rust and repainted. I may keep it white but all white no black trim and that stripe has to go… My preferred choice is sunset orange and keep the black trim with all the exposed interior painted gray
• Sound proof the body.. give it a more solid feel, quieter and not tinny
• Undercoating , mud flaps and vent shades to keep the rust away
• Power windows and power locks with keyless entry
• Purple neon interior lighting. (just too cool )

March 2015

Let’s not put the cart before the horse..  This truck was important at the time we were selling the Jayco and buying the Challenger fifthwheel.  This is just one of many vehicles that came from ABH car sales while I worked there. It came with the fifthwheel hitch.

You could tow anything …really anything.  The biggest gas engine 8.1 L Workhorse power train.

Such nice condition !  I kept this truck till 2019.

It’s in so many of my “go fetch” photos. Many tips to the coast. And many trips hauling other fifthwheels like the one above.

Or how about the Acorn / Scamp trailer all the way from Sunshine coast.

Sad to see it go… but I wasn’t using as much in 2019.