You found the perfect truck Things to think about , who’s going to work on it ? If your looking about putting on the road it’s at least 25 years old here in the states ( 15 for the GWN) Is it you, How mechanical are you? or are you going to farm it out ? If your going to take it somewhere make sure you find someone willing to work on it , most shops around will not touch anything they can’t plug in to a scanner. Others may work on it but for an hourly rate but you are paying for their learning curve. Parts Availability are really not a big issue as there’s enough sellers here in the states and ones in Japan willing to ship but also comes back as to who’s working on it . A shop doesn’t want it sitting maybe for a couple of weeks clogging up a bay while waiting for overseas parts . Only real thing with parts is buy quality parts , There’s a big difference between “inexpensive“ OEM suppler parts and “cheap” Aftermarket and I’ve been burned buying “cheap“ parts . Next is unless you “ know for sure” the timing belt was changed , Then it’s original and is a old piece of “instant boat anchor “ rubber. Doesn’t matter how low KMs it’s old it’s been puttering around Japan at 40km for at least a couple of decades and your now asking it to 100+ all of a sudden. Yeah not good Replace it with the water pump and any seals under there . The parts are inexpensive, your in there already so the labor is almost already done and you’ll never have to revisit anything there again for a long time Check the rest of the rubber in the engine compartment, change the V / drive belt , vacuum hoses get cooked and end up hard as a rock , crack and cause all kinds of running issues . 75% of running issues are simple vacuum leaks . go to your favorite parts supplier or online and buy a roll of vacuum hose. Take a ton of pictures Before you start and then replace one hose at a time . That’s no longer a issue you’ll need to deal with for years . Radiator hoses are something you can sort of just keep an eye on but look at the ends where they are hose clamped on , do they look crusty? Like they might have leaked ? They are probably going bad on the inside and coolant is getting onto the fabric reinforcement cords and wicking to the ends where it drys leaving the crusty residue could be green ,white or pink . Give them a squeeze, they crunchy like you just squeezed a bag of crackers ? Most likely if they are the cooling system needs a serious flushing as your actually feeling the rust stuck on the inside of the hoses breaking off . Plugged up wet carburetor choke coolant will keep the idle high and poor running Poor coolant / plain water with help eat the metal hoses on the inside and at the joints the hoses hook to . Use a very good coolant that’s plays well with the steel , aluminum keeping the internal corrosion at bay .
Check and replace the fuel filter , most likely its original , seen then have dry rot crazing plus by replacing it you’ll have an idea of the rubber fuel line condition plus dumping it out you can get an idea of the possible crud in the tank/fuel system Change the drivetrain fluid transmission, transfer ,axle plus while under there look at the CV joint boots for splits and rips . Most times the joint will be good and just need a good cleaning grease replaced and a new boot before you go trail ,off-road, or out in the pastures riding and it now will need to be replaced . Check and do a Oil change , look at the cap , what’s it look like ? Normal ( a bit dirty but ok ) dipstick residue dirty as in you wipe it on a paper towel and it leaves a stain that looks like a sharpie pen wrote on it . If it’s the former just change the oil with a good oil and filter ( Pick your poison your happy with ) If it’s black and the cap/inside of the valve cover looks really bad and black buy the cheapest oil and filter , change it and then change in again with in maybe 100kms to help clean out the crud . I don’t recommend putting in a cleaner as you maybe playing with fire and knocking stuff off all at once and clogging the pickup screen in the oil pan . You may want to do his a couple times , just look at the oil and it will tell you if it needs it more then just once . Then put a decent filter and oil check the brakes , some need the axle nut removed from the rear hub to pull the drum , some don’t . If they aren’t pulling , pulsating and the rotors and drums are not all pitted you can most of the time get away with a cleaning up the pins and hardware and do a simple pad / shoe swap . Yeah it’s not 100% the right way to do a brake job but your also not driving a triaxle dump truck ether . Check and replace the brake fluid if needed Pull all the lenses off the tail lights and marker lights , wash the housings out as they are most of the time loaded with dirt and crud since most have no seals in them and just road grime and crap get into them causing poor light thru the lens and off the reflector which is almost just the white plastic housing . And because of this the socket most likely a bit corroded so clean and toss some electrical grease on it keeping it from happening again and aids in bulb replacement with out a pair of needle nose plyers And screw driver after the glass is been twisted from the metal base full tuneup plugs, wires cap and rotor ( points if it’s that old )air filter Check and replace the tires , my dump had 7k on it the tires looked brand new but were from 2007 Last thing is adjust the valve lash and you now have a well maintained ready for the road Will stuff break , yep but with the $300 you spent in parts you now have a vehicle that’s probably more road ready then 70% of the cars on the road .
Well that was a real “buzz kill”. Enough to keep any sane person from buying a mini. Times like this I’m glad to be insane!
I I just picked up a late 80s very low mileage truck yesterday to fix that broke a timing belt where the person just changed the tires and was doing 60+mph to work for a few weeks and snapped the timing belt bent at least 4 of the 6 valves Inside of the valve cover is completely clean but now I got to see how bad it is once I pull the head
The reason I’m posting this list is now as these are getting more popular and are “ cheap” you end up with people who think they can just drive it like a normal car and these are the same people who will lose their poo when it breaks down , bad mouth everyone who’s ever been near it or anything like it . These things are fun great little vehicles and I love them but I’m fully aware that if it breaks , I’m fixing it . The stuff above is more of a idea of what people need to realize of what they are getting into .
Understood. And I agree you should know what you’re getting in to. That’s why I have read this forum every day even before my first mini hit US soil. Knowledge is “gold” when it comes to these vehicles.
Koffer, With your experience and know how, you don't need my endorsement! LOL! You got it anyhow!!! Extremely great info and advice! I agree with all of it! The old saying buyer beware, couldn't be applied more, as with these fun little things. Seriously, were all just trying to help one another! Great Job! Unless you have an endless bank account and just don't care about expenses, Pay Attention!!!! Limestone
Another thing to consider. There is no such thing as a “quick trip to town”. EVERYONE has a million questions about these little beasts. Just went to the store in my wife’s Sambar Dias Classic. I rarely drive it cause I don’t care for all the attention. You’d think I was driving an alien spaceship through town. Even got bombarded with questions at red lights. Be prepared!
Yep I’ve seen posts here thru the years about people who have gotten in over their heads with problems that were totally unprepared for issues or problems that come up with older vehicles . They then come here confused on why there’s no fast, quick answer and when they had it towed to the manufacturer dealer they wanted nothing to do with it ( hell ,they want nothing to do with what they sell most of the time.) Now with the internet, if a question isn’t answered in like 2 seconds after posting it’s asked again 14 times in a hour . Trouble shooting , testing are a bit time consuming while diagnosing the issue but that time will save hours and money very quickly. You find the issue but don’t stop there if it seemed suspicious, ask your self why did it break or stop working ? Somethings are just old , worn out with age and use so taking that extra minute your now comfortable with your repair . If not what made it go bad ? It’s eating drive belts , is the pulleys lined up ? Idler shot? The groves corroded? Is a item it’s turning slowly going bad causing the issue and will become another problem and failure real soon. Any ass can load up the parts cannon and fire it , of course it fixed now as you replaced everything but the driver . I’m just trying to get potential owners to think and new owners to step back and understand the process of ownership of a non US marketed vehicles . The better understanding makes it so much easier for everyone involved and a better community
I was sitting at a red light and had a Subaru van on my car trailer . The NJTransit bus driver waiting to make the left at the same light got out and was asking me about it in the middle of down town . I’m asked about mine everytime at least once no matter where I go . I keep a box of business cards from the dealer in everyone of my JDM vehicles as I know I’ll be asked .
Re replacing the vacuum hoses: Buy the “high performance” silicone hose, not for all the high performance reasons, but because its lots easier to tell what ones you have replaced when teh new stuff is a bright color. I might color code mine, one for emissions lines, and one color for basic engine functions, and another for the 4wd system.
I like that idea Jigs! I might do the same thing, mainly for my own convenience, but I know that it will help the next owner, with everything documented in a ledger! I guess I can understand all the curiosity, but by keeping mine off road, and kinda out of the lime light, so to speak, I avoid most of that!
Great information however I wished I found this forum before we got our mini. We have an Asia Kia towner. I cannot find that much information on this model so any help would be appreciated. We think it is a 1998 with a CD800. So far we have replaced the manual fuel pump with an 5-9 psi electric one. Replaced the rear brakes and cylinders, cleaned the front brakes, replaced the started (drive was bad and can't find just he drive, rebuilt the carburetor with a diahatsu hijet kit. We couldn't get it running and then my neighbor came over and adjusted the timing. It runs now but he is concerned because we had to turn the distributor more than usual. Now we are wondering if the timing belt has jumped a tooth. We would appreciate any insight anyone might have on the timing belt and if we can work on it while the engine is still in the car. Better yet, is there a way to check if the belt did slip without taking the engine apart? All we want to do is use this around the yard , not main road. Thanks
Thanks for the help. I was told 5 psi so I purchased a 5-9 psi pump. Now I am looking for a adjustable fuel regulator to adjust it down. Do you know where I can buy a fuel pump that has 2-2.5 psi ? I have googled and can't find one.
Typically you run the higher pressure to just before the carburetor, and install a regulator just before the inlet to the carb.
Love this thread and spot on about what to do with these things when you fist get them. All the rubber bits will need replacing, all the filters and fluids changed, brakes gone through etc. Just got an Every Joypop van and starting to work my way through it. It has cold start issues and also has idle issues when the AC kicks in. Had the cover off the back and could see the idle up kick in when the AC was engaged and along with the rough running I could here a large vacuum leak. So mystery solved, AC idle up works (Yeah!) and causes large vacuum leak (Boo!). First step is to replace all the vac lines, then revisit any issues that remain.
vacuum leaks are 85% of carb and idling problems, use a vacuum gauge or carb cleaner, carb cleaner will send the engine to high idle if you have a vacuum leak, make sure the vacuum port in the air cleaner canister is working properly, also check that your vacuum advance hose isn’t cracked coming off the distributor to the vacuum manifold tree. The vacuum manifold tree is brass on the bottom to go in to the block and plastic on top. Plastic wears out with time and will break or leak, which causes a vacuum leak. Some manifold vacuum trees are 3 or 4 port, make sure to replace it with a new one. When I buy parts I buy 3 at a time that way I have them on hand or in case they can’t get them any more. The vacuum manifold tree is located behind the carb. If you looking at the carb from the right side of the bed, it will be to your 1 O’clock tucked down inside. Remember to use a marker or different colored tape to mark the vacuum lines so you know where everything goes back too! Good luck!’
