Team MightyBoy

Hi all i have just bought a cheap 89 super carry van for a daily driver to save some fuel, i have only really owned Alfa Romeos since i got my licence so i know little about these vans.

I have a few problems with the car i want to fix, as follows

I want to know whats a good alternator upgrade on the van ? 40amp isnt even enough while driving at night with a keenwood deck cheap 6x9s and 6"s- the power keeps cutting out sometimes.

Is there a carbie upgrade ? or where can i buy a new one? The car has a flat spot through 1st and 2nd gear sometimes, feels like something stuck in the carbie. I do have some 40 and 45mm side draft webers here but i want to keep it stockish for cheap fuel.

Whats the go with the heaters on these things ? My Alfas heater works a treat in this Adelaide tempiture at the moment, allmost 0deg in the mornings. The heater on the carry van does not work it just blows out cold air, is this normal for these vans? of does the lines need a clean out ?

Thats some off the issues i have at the moment, and some of the questions i want to ask.

Thanks Chris

The standard alternator should work fine. I have a massive system (including 3x 12" subs) running off the standard alternator with an upgraded battery and it doesn't cause any hassles. Sounds like the wiring might be your problem, or the alternator is clagged. Best bet is to run a multimeter across a few things and see what result you get.

Engine flat-spotting might be the carby, or could also be an issue with the ignition (coil/plugs/leads/points), so that's worth checking out too. Carby kits are cheap (around $70) and they're super simple in terms of construction, so rebuilding is a breeze if you suspect the carby is at fault. If you can't be bothered with a rebuild you can buy brand new units off ebay for around $350.

The Super Carry heater isn't brilliant, but I have to make the obvious point that it only pumps heat out through the foot vents and windscreen demister - so if you're hoping for heat out of the dash vents then you'll be disappointed! If you can't get warm air out of any vents then it usually means one of two things: Either the heater core is blocked/disconnected, or the thermostat has been removed from the cooling system.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the reply.

With the alternator I couldn't believe the wires comming from it are thinner then the speaker wires. I will check it all out but I still want tO upgrade the alternator to at least 60amp.

I Might a well just get a new carby, but $350 for a small carby seems a little steep to me.

And with the heater I will just have to pull it all apart and check everything as I go.

Ok now the car barely starts, the power to the deck shuts off when I down shit and or brake , the parkers do not work and dash board lights and the worst thing is the pOwer to the motor keeps citing out while driving completely, the car comes to a complete stop so I have to restart it up again.

I really want to pull the motor out and put a new carby, alternator , gaskets, clean it up and a few more things. But the I came across cheap brand new F10A motors from china, they come with everything brand new to bolt straight in and it even comes in EFI witch I'm kind of leaning towards that idea. Just in sure what needs to be done to connect the comPuter syster up etc, I hope it's just a matter Of some power wires.

Has anyone heard anything about these brand new Chinese F10A motors ?

If you want to upgrade from carby to EFI then you'll need an aftermarket computer to run it. (Haltech/Microtech/Adaptronic/Megasquirt,etc)

As I said though, the best way to find the source of your electrical gremlins is to start testing with a multimeter. Obviously there's a problem in the charging system, which usually points to a fault with the battery, wiring, or alternator. FWIW I had the same problem with my Carry and it turned out that the alternator bracket had broken and the belt was loose, meaning the alternator wasn't charging the battery.

FYI you only really need to remove the engine to replace the head gasket - all other maintenance (replacing the carby/alternator/seals can be done with the motor in situ.

The EFI from china comes with a ecu and everything to bolt straight in. Plus the motor has so much gunk on it I would rather take it out and clean it properly.

Not doing the motor anymore. Keeping it simple.

So far I have put in brand new head lights with a HID kit and the lighting is very good.
Next is a sound decent system cadence splits in the front doors, 6x9s in the rear running of a amp and a JL audio sub and mono block , all amps and wiring i want hidden either in the rear tail gate if behind the rear side trims. Also a alarm system and central locking in front doors and rear sliding doors.

Just a few questions has anyone down a similar setup in there carry van ? Also the standard seats in the carry are shit house and are doing no good for my back, has anyone done a seat upgrade ?

Fixed the wire problem. And I have ditched the old seats and installed some BA/BF xr6/xr8 seats witch are much better.
Haven't had any problems over the months until now, I need to pull all the radiator gear out and clean/ replace stuff. Why can't I find radiator hoses for carry after the year 1985 ? I've looked at around 5 places now witch only have ones for the 1980-85 and I believe mine is a 89 1000cc super carry.

Any Suzuki specialist should be able to get you the hoses.

And now the head gasket is blown I guess as there is oil in radiator and and water in the oil also with a massive leak under the car from the radiator leaving a oily water stain on the ground. I'm not sure if it worth fixing it or not.

Depends how much you want to spend. Pretty sure someone on the forum found that you can import brand new motors for about $1200, which is cheaper than a rebuild.

Yes I can get the Chinese engines for around $1000 but in unsure how well they go or how long tey will last. Oh we'll I will just have to spend 3/$400 and change the head gasket, water pump, radiator hoses etc etc my self.