I don't know how to tell you this, but you have just completely contradicted yourself; "We've had a couple Suzuki Carry's at my work...and now have an APV (plus a couple of Ford and Toyota 4WD's). Rock solid vehicles the Suzuki's...have not had any major problems with any of them." "and those multi-cabs that expats rave about how cheap they are....they must be joking...deathtraps on, at best, four wheels" "Those multi-cabs should be banned...total junk." For the record, a "Carry" as well as an "APV", are both multicabs! Oh, and "cheap" is relative! Larry
my multicab experience and still learning... i have one of these vehicles, a van, and i've been a tad disappointed in it tho i wonder about other ''builds'' i see around town. they sure look nice, fresh paint and all but i can't even find a distributor cap and rotor for it, i even tried japanese online sellers. it'd be easier if a person knew what motor was in the vehicle and i'm gonna find out someday but it's a mystery so far. it's looking like there's a bunch of caps and rotors on ebay in the usa and i have a set coming ems to try. i sure hope they fit. apparently, there's little to no new parts, including shocks, available for them, i had the front end rebuilt with used parts (surplus) and it's way better but still not totally tight cuz some of the parts where/are ''out of stock.'' some parts can be rebuilt but apparently no one is milling bushings. the hundreds of little parts stores in town have a iffy (if your lucky) inventory of used parts and you find parts for your vehicle by taking a ''sample'' with you and visiting the parts stores to see if the part is ''in stock.'' not fun... i use the air-con to avoid road pollution and noise and the engine is under the rear of the vehicle and heats up the inside of the van, especially when parked, and the air-con has a hard time keeping it comfy inside. i've got the windows tinted but need a better grade of tinting. the air-con unit drips water on the passenger floor and has rusted a hole in the floor which acts as a drain : ). according to the air-con man, the under dash unit is a generic unit and wasn't hung properly so it leaks. he said it also was hung in an inaccessible place (center of dashboard) and the dash needs to be pulled to service the failing blower, so look for one with the blower behind the glove box. on my vehicle, a lot of the dash controls don't work and ducting is missing and i have no choices for directing the air-con air (floor, windshield, dash). i rarely drive in the dark but i was in town a few nites ago when it was raining gently and i got wet and i steamed up the windshield when i got inside the vehicle. it looked like the lamination in the windshield was fogging cuz wiping the windshield didn't help. being able to direct the air flow onto the windshield probably would of cleared it up but those ducts are missing on my vehicle. it was very hard to see but thankfully, city traffic was minimal cuz of the rain. actually, the van is overall ok and getting better as i work on it and i *do* like the vehicle for getting around duma and surrounding area tho it's a stiff ride. mine has strong arm steering but it turns on a piso and parks in tight spots and i can roll up the windows and lock the doors and feel like my stuff will be there when i return to the vehicle. i bought the vehicle off a foreigner that was leaving the area and at times i wish i had ordered a ''new'' one that was reassembled by a reputable shop. just might do that yet... my dos pisos... norm : ))~
I know the problems with dist caps, Au was a dumping ground for the jap imports with so they said only 50 - 80,000k, but dist caps were a major problem, firstly the brand Nippon denso or Mitsubishi etc. then try to find a dist catalogue with pretty pictures then match them up, many times the listing will be for some model you have never heard of before.
thanks brian, i found about 20 caps on ebay by matching fotos. i measured my cap and rotor with a micrometer, taking fotos as i measured, and sent them to a seller who replied, ''it's the one.'' the rotors don't look anything like mine but who knows if mine is oem but... evidently the rotor and cap are a matched pair so if the cap fits the distributor body, the rotor should match as long as it fits the dist shaft. i found 55 rotors on ebay. the rotor # is JR-121 and cap # is JH165 - both from Standard ignition. norm : ))~ waiting for my EMS package...
Hi Norm with the JH number you quoted I guess it is a Hitachi, don't worry if the rotor button looks different, like you said they are a matched pair, some caps have lugs or slots be sure to double check these before you get too excited :o btw I am not sure of your mechanical experience but when changing the cap change your leads one by one otherwise you will have to work out the firing order and work out the direction of rotation of the dizzy and where no. one is. good luck Brian
Hey Larry..give me a break...obviously I'm talking about that Japanese import rubbish that has been used and abused and chopped semi or totally incompetently so that the wheels might go round in the Philippines long enough to get it out the door. A Carry or APV that was originally imported and sold by Suzuki Philippines is a different story...a considerably better one usually. Great vehicles...and the new APV's are outstanding. Honestly, there are so many cheap Toyotas around the place that were built in or for the Philippines - why bother with crap. Brian mate....how's Bacolod treating you? Was up there again a few months ago..got a few lots in Town and Country out near Talisay we had to do the usual taxation and community fees paperwork on. Sadly got sick as a dog from food poisoning at one of the....LOL....better restaurants there...I remember asking a relative if those fish were ok...the eyeballs were touching each other....anyway no fun that trip, a lost week, but usually great to visit. Haven't been that sick since eating on the cheap in India...LOL.....Anyway....looking forward to another dose...A fair few Aussies around the place...a couple in T&C...heard an Aussie and his wife run an orphanage in Silay...I heard there are a couple in Ayala as well. More scattered around the place. Anyway all the best...Try 'Living in Bacolod' group in Yahoo if you want more information. I think they are having a group lunch very soon....
Garbonzo; First, the "Carry" ended production in the 90s, and as such was ever imported to the Philippines as a new vehicle. So the "Carry" multicab that you speak of so highly was also imported in pieces from the wrecking yards of Japan. The APV is made in Indonesia, and is the newer version of the Carry, and as such is imported new. All are different versions of Kei vehicles, AKA multicabs; Suzuki Carry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Second, these machines are as individual as the individual Filipino who is responsible for putting them together. They can be a very good, tough, dependable cheap vehicle, or, they can be a pile of crap, like you are feeding us here. You do realize that not everyone can afford a new vehicle? Yes, a good used Toyota may (or may not) be much better. The way most Filipinos maintain their vehicles, unless you buy it from a foreigner, probably not much better than the refurbished Suzuki. A decent second hand Toyota costs 2-3 times or more what a newly refurbished multicab does. Can you point me to a used Toyota 4X4 truck in good condition for less than P300,000? If so, I have a buyer for one. Larry
Well, Larry...thanks for the history of Suzuki in the Philippines. I've seen some good looking Carry's but always assumed they were legitimate vehicles sold by Suzuki, and the crap ones were butchered imports. You've given me a little confidence in the product...but frankly a good used Tamaraw (yes, only 2WD - no Toyota 4WD's under the threshold ..yet) can be found for under P300k - maybe even with AC that works. And likely go just about anywhere a 4WD multicab would. I'm a bit of a 4WD enthusiast myself, currently have a new Jeep (a real American one LOL)...previously had a Subaru Forester...and I've driven 2WD vehicles in amazing places....took an old Volvo 240 on about 50k's of bush track that no one thought was possible....(actually that Volvo was fantastic....I was amazed how well it went...scraped a few times but it just wouldn't stop). Gearing on a Tamaraw tells me it'd do the same with decent tires. Anyway...I await your dissection...LOL...
my Suzuki distributor cap and rotor experience got my EMS package in about a weeks time, installed the cap and rotor and started it up; running a little faster and *much* smoother tho still a little rough; probably needs timing as the plug contact on the rotor is not centered the same as the rotor it replaced and who knows if that was oem? norm : ))~
