I have a 1996 Suzuki Every, which like most mini trucks, was never imported to North America. I have had a lot of work done to the van, and it just needs a front wheel bearing replaced to complete the repairs it has required. My original plan was to convert the van into a micro camper, and travel in it. However, since virtually all the parts for the van have to be imported from Japan, I have some concerns. It takes a minimum of two weeks to get the parts, sometimes longer. If I wander far from home and have a break down, I will be spending two to three weeks in a motel waiting for parts to repair it. That would be expensive, and not very practical. The van gets excellent mileage, which was one of the primary reasons I purchased it. It has the F6A engine, which has a reliable reputation, from what I have read. I replaced the clutch (which failed 50 miles from the port, on the drive home), as well as the valve cover gasket, front disc brakes (pads and rotors), rear inner CV boots, right inner tie rod, and the air filter. It has been aligned, and the oil/filter changed, too. I was planning to get an AC belt, a timing belt, an alternator/fan belt, as well as a fuel pump for spare parts. I was thinking that maybe an alternator and a distributor might be a good idea, as well? My van has 71,500 miles on it. Even though it's 25 years old, mileage-wise, it's still fairly young. The van is rust free, and it seems to have been cared for fairly well. Have I missed anything, with regard to spare parts? I am on the fence about traveling in it. I may end up selling it and getting a vehicle that can be more easily (and quickly) repaired. Thanks in advance for your feedback.
When venturing out into the wilderness, I carry a coil, points, fuel pump, and a set of belts. Most everything else I can figure out how to bypass.
So to avoid most issues on the road make sure you do the following for a 26 year old vehicle. Replace all rubber parts (vacuum, fuel, water, air, tires, timing, alt/AC belts), do a full tune up, replace the water pump while doing the timing belt. By pass charcoal canister if you get a lot of pressure in the tank and it won't idle reliably. What you have done so far is reactive maintenance but what you want to do is proactive maintenance by ruling out the most obvious failures. Also if you replace something on one side of a system (steering, suspension etc) do both sides. If one side was bad the other is following along shortly. I'm on this journey as well and have done most of what I listed but I have left todo radiator hoses and fuel lines on the tank along with replacing whats needed to stop the front steering wobble (which almost disappeared with new tires but its still there). Oh and another thing to do is replace all lights with LEDs (except headlights) which will help the old wiring harness deal with load issues. On the road I would take with me any removed parts that are still servicable to use as emergency replacements, so save old belts and pumps if still a few miles left in them. Take a bag'o tools with duct tape, zip ties and assorted hoses that fit your vehicle. Might want to include some premixed antifreeze or at least a gallon of distilled water and an empty gallon jug. My tool kit would also include a DVM and some scrap wire in case I need to jump something. Heres another piece of advise, start out with small trips and work your way up to multi hour trips as you do this journey. In the first few you will start to notice issues and resolve them and as the time frames expand you will gain confidence in the prep of you van. For instance I had only taken my fan in the first month on trips around my neighborhood, partly because I still was waiting on title/tags but also because my trires were shiit. Then I took the van to the tire store which was about a 10 mile round trip. On that trip was when I discovered severe death wobble going over 60 kph. Once the new tires were on it pretty much disappeared or was very mild. So now I know I just need to look at the front end parts and see whats loose and order the replacements. I then took it on a 2 hour round trip to a C&C event last Sat. No surprises because I was pretty confident the van was stable. Easily did 100 kph and probably averaged about 65 kph. Do the work up front, be methodical and you won't regret it. Too many folks are doing minimal maintenance on these things and then having a fits as various things break that could have been prevented from the git go. I have the exact same van as you, same color as well. I love this van. Its so much fun both to work on and drive around.
Considering the challenges of getting parts imported, concerns are understandable. You've already taken some proactive steps by replacing essential components and planning to carry spare parts. AC, timing, alternator/fan belts, and fuel pumps sound like good choices. An alternator and distributor could be handy too. If you decide to sell and get a vehicle with easier repairs, that's totally valid too. And if you're interested in business class flights for your future travels, you can check out travelbusinessclass for more info. Good luck with your decision, and have a fantastic trip!
Pro tip: checkout some of my posts on sourcing local parts for these vans. In the 1.5 years since my last post I have discovered a number of parts that work from RockAuto for other Suzuki vehicles that were sold in the USA. I've since take 2 1000 mile round trips to Florida with no major issues (or minor actually). I hope your van is still holding up well.
> I was planning to get an AC belt, a timing belt, an alternator/fan belt, as well as a fuel pump for spare parts. I was thinking that maybe an alternator and a distributor might be a good idea, as well? When going on long trips with my trucks, I like to have: full tool box two spare tires tire repair kit tire air pump extra fluids if only plain water (coolant can be dangerous in an accident) spare belts spare radiator hoses spare fuel line spare fuel filter alternator starter fuel pump ignition coil spare cell phone and either a CB or family radio battery charger for AAA/AA batteries head LED lamp (I carry a light on me anyway) change of clothes including boots extra fuses and relays (which I normally carry anyway) floor jack (which I normally carry anyway) road side assistance program(which I normally carry anyway) I have only had a distributor go out on me once (actually the hall effect sensor inside) during 40+ years of driving and leaving me stranded. So, I would count that as very unlikely to fail. Though I do have spares for some of my Fords, just in case. On a mini-truck, I would question where you can put all of this stuff. I ditched AAA after 20+ years and I am trying Good Sam.
