Hi all, I just wanted to thank everyone here for the info you've provided. I've wanted a mini truck, mainly for plowing, for several years (making due in the mean time with a Polaris RZR - note, not the same at all!) and finally got an awesome Subaru today. Pleased as punch! I stumbled across this website on the 150km drive home after the purchase when the Sambar decided to overheat. I thought it might be the thermostat, so I googled Sambar thermostat and landed here - good (?) to see that lots of others have this problem too! Simple problem with a simple fix. I just ordered a service manual from lulu.com (note to others - they have the lowest price I could find for the Sambar manual and it's 25% off today with coupon code MEMORIAL) and I'm buzzing with excitement to tear into this sucker! Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks.
Hey JoeBean, I'm new to this site as well. We just got our 1994 sambar from Japan a couple of weeks ago. Very excited as well as it came in with only 8000 KM's on it. Hard to believe I know but it's totally looks like a new truck. Still in the process of getting it ready for a provincial inspection here in Alberta. Actually just picked up rim and tires for it from Canuck tire this evening. Now to get at some of the lighting requirements here, DRL's and side marker lights etc. Just wondering how your service manual turned out? Was it worth ordering? Thx Bill
It's...better than nothing. I'm guessing the actual Japanese manual is much larger/more detailed and/or in Japan there's something else available, something akin to an assembly manual, because a lot of info you might actually want is missing. Also, although the translation seems OK the spelling and grammar leave alot to be desired. As an example of the shortfalls, one of the first problems with my Sambar that I had, as mentioned above, was with overheating. Seemed like a simple thermostat problem or airlock issue. Nope, it was much worse - there are 3 large steel coolant tubes running from in front of the engine to behind the radiator that were rusted out. So that first required removing the pan - a fairly simple job but there is little to no info in the manual on it. Then to remove the pipes, another job with almost no info. In fact, the bit of info in there covers a multitude of vehicles - carbureted/FI, supercharged/NA, etc, each with a different layout of tees on the ends of the tubes, and the coolant diagrams are tiny making it almost impossible to pick out how things are ran. And because the pipes end under the cab it meant feeling around to find where the hoses connected - up, down, forward, etc. - and disconnecting them. After a frustrating hour or so I went online to a Japanese minitruck parts store and found an actual Subaru parts diagram which made it clear. Anyway, after recreating them in copper (the actual parts cost a mint) I reconnected them and went to bleed the system. Turns out the manual has no info on how to do that or, as mentioned, the routing/location of coolant lines, and there being such a long distance between engine and radiator it is a very difficult engine to bleed. I vacuum bled the system but couldn't get heat from the heater no matter how I tried. I finally ended up removing the heater core only to find that, unlike most vehicles that block off airflow over the heater core to control heat in the cab, this (and apparently this is common to most/all mini trucks as I learned it here from a Suzuki or Honda owner) vehicle uses a valve to shut off coolant flow. Someone at some time tried to fix the lack of heat in the cabin by removing the dash - a process also not covered in the manual - and tinkering with the cables to the heater core. Long story short, to repair previous repairs and doing some other modifications that I want I've ended up stripping the truck to the frame. In all of that, the manual has 90% of it's usefulness associated with the engine/drivetrain. I'd still buy it again (what other option is there?), but I wish I knew how little info is actually in there. If you have mechanical experience it's a help, if you don't you'll want to make sure to give it to your mechanic - trying to do serious repairs with it as your only guide would frustrate the life out of you. P.S. - Two things I've learned in this experience that you should definitely think about are, 1. drain the coolant and replace with fresh ASAP. The rust preventative additive in mine broke down and the pipes rusted from inside out. Definitely not something you want to deal with. And, 2. there are a grand total of 4 tiny (8mm/12mm head) bolts that hold the entire cab on. Yes, that's all. On mine although there is hardly any rust on the rest of the vehicle, save the coolant system, these bolts were rusted badly. So I'd suggest removing them and replacing them. They are located at the four corners, with the front 2 easiest to find after removing the plastic front bumper. They thread up from below into a welded nut. The other 2 are in front of the pan and behind the mudflap area. They're actually bolts & nuts. The hole they mount through is larger than the bolt diameter by a good bit so I'm going to replace with slightly larger bolts to slow the effect of rusting. I might install some sort of other mounting system too as it's terrifying to think of getting into an accident with those 4 tiny bolts keeping you on the frame.
hey Joebean, well it sounds like a painful experience. I'm not much of a mechanic, but like us all I think if we have the a decent diagram and proper instructions 'somethings' are doable. Otherwise your right take it to a mechanic and pay him to be frustrated I'm thinking so far at this point I am lucky with this one. The dealer I bought it from said their mechanic go thru each unit before it leave Japan and makes sure they are in proper mechanical working order. But as this was my first time buying from someone over there I didn't know to believe them or not until it arrived. Now I'm very satisfied that it is in perfect mechanical order and doesn't look like its been 'Gerry rigged' anywhere and is free of rust. I checked out the coolant as soon as it arrived, looks like new green stuff and tests to -40. It does get good het out of it in the little bit I've driven it around the subdivision in my area. I will check out those bolts on the cab to make sure they are in good shape. Are you able to get yours back on the road soon? Saying all that though, these sites are a great source of help when it comes to problems and sourcing items, thankfully!
Found another example just today - no indications that the rear axle nut needs to be removed to remove the rear drum, and no torque spec for the nut anywhere to be found... Most of the Japanese resellers seem honest, and I think Japan must be really strict on maintenance for vehicles because all of the "fresh off the boat" Japanese imports I've seen (mini trucks or not) have been in great shape. I'd trust buying direct sooner than I'd trust most provincial resellers here in Newfoundland. You should still think about swapping the coolant. It'll still be green and specific gravity won't change even though the rust inhibition is gone. That's why all new vehicles say swap it at X kms. There's no way to test for the rust inhibitor additives, and they're just used over time. Changing it is a headache, though. You need to get under the vehicle at the driver's side near roughly above the axles and open a drain on the radiator. Once it's drained close the valve and fill it back up with water, run the engine, then drain again. Rinse/repeat till it's running clear. Then drain the rad and the engine block and refill with mixed coolant. At home raising the front way up will help prevent air blocks, but frankly it's about a billion times easier to do it under vacuum with the proper equipment that most garages should have. Before letting your mechanic do it, though, make sure he fully understands this vehicle is a b*tch for getting airlocked. If you someone experienced with mini trucks get them to do it. I'm basically picking at mine over the course of the winter. I had hoped to have it done by the start of winter so I could plow but I've had too much other work that had to get done. I may actually pick up a Honda Acty to tide me over that's being sold locally with plow, winch, camo wrap and full sets of street and ATV tires for $5k OBO. But the Subaru is (IMO) sooooo much nicer. Something that I thought of after my last post that you might want to keep in mind - if you have the supercharged Subaru check/change the supercharger oil. The supercharger unbolts easily and mine was bone dry on oil - some always leaks past the seals on these, and almost nobody replaces the oil. I tore mine down to find that it's the same unit used on a number of Japanese motorcycles, and a motorcycle mechanic friend said they're built like tanks and seldom fail (the bearings in mine were perfect despite the lack of oil - putting it back together in proper alignment was a pain though so don't tear yours apart unless you have to!). For oil you can buy the crazy expensive GM or Toyota supercharger oil, but Mobil 1 5W30 works just as well (if you google supercharger oil and read about it you'll see everyone has their own spec, which they won't release details on, and so basically say "you must mortgage your house and buy our magic oil or your engine will explode!", but Mobil 1 has been used by many for years with no problems).
