A mate has just bought an SJ 410 for some off-road fun.
[img=http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7404/dsc00358md5.th.jpg]
He has no mechanical knowledge so I offered to help out were I could. Its already had a few things done to it like shackles lift, Competition Pro dampers and chunky off-road tyres. It ran like a dog so I replaced most of the ignition system (coil, rotor and dizzy cap , new spark plugs and new throttle cable and its now running sweet as a nut. There is one outstanding issue and its to do with the handbrake in that it doesnt hold the vehicle at all with loads of movement in the lever. Ive looked underneath and found the mechanism under the lever but there appears to be no way to adjust it by taking up the slack in the cable. Ive looked here Suzuki Club UK - Mechanical Solutions but the mechanism looks nothing like the graphic with certainly no adjuster on the end of the cable. Does anyone know how to adjust the handbrake on a SJ410?

Cheers

 

Does it have a transmission brake,Which would look like a brake drum on the end of the gearbox,If so you can Adjust the handbrake there if not it would be adjusted on the rear shoes

 

The handbrake is on the propshaft.
You can only adjust the cable, which iirc is under the handbrake gater.

I'll double check later.

 

Yes, it looks like a brake drum attached to the transmission. The end of the cable that attaches to the drum has no adjuster. The other end under the handbrake lever mechanism has no adjustment either. The end of the cable is encased in the bracket that attaches to the base of the handbrake mechanism. I will try and get a pic and post tomorrow.

 

Is there not a hole for adjustment on the drum?If not take the drum off and adjust it that way

 

Bit of a hijack I have an sj413 and the thing NEVER heats up, ie. no hot air from dash vents. Are they all like this?

 

Amazon.co.uk: Suzuki SJ: The Enthusiast's Companion (The Enthusiast's Companion Series): Books: Ray Hutton

and

Amazon.co.uk: Suzuki SJ410/SJ413 (82-97) and Vitara Service and Repair Manual (Haynes Service & Repair Manuals): Books: Bob Henderson,A.K. Legg

 

yes mate. the heaters are rubbish. if you put it so the air comes out the windscreen or at your feet some times they work. think it maybe the cable come off the levers behind dash panel??

 

I have the Enthusiasts companion book, very useful. It does deal with a valve or a cable for the heating, I've checked it and looks in the correct position. There's hardly anything coming put of the bloody thing!

It's the only car I've driven where the revs go up if the lighs or heater is on!

 

Right, this is what the mechanism looks likes from underneath:

I can't figure out where the adjustment is.

 

early inside on the cable or on prop.

To adjust it you need a long thin flatblade, and have both wheels jacked up. On the drum brake looking thing, on the prop there is a rubber grom, take it out and shine a torch in. You should see an adjuster that is a cylinder with pips on it, it needs rotating. Its a fun job!.
If you've not got any adjuster on the cable, in the car, under the handbrake cable, you have to adjust the one on the prop. This normallaly also means you have an early type jap one, the best in the case of the SJ, and your chassis number will start with JS, on the vin tag, in the drivers footwell.

late type are on rear drum brakes.

 

Oh dear, not an easy fix then!?! Looks like he's going to have to spend some more money on a high-lift trolley track.

 

lol, or try and replace the cable and hope its the cable stretched, not the brake?.

 

Here's hoping mate. A new hand-brake cable is on the shopping list in the new year. For those with nothing better to do the things replaced so far are:

Throttle cable, spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm.

The things we need to replace before it gets used properly are as follows:

All fuel lines, fan belt, cam belt, HT and coil leads, all fluids changed.

The things we want to do to make it a bit better are as follows:

Roll cage, Front and roof mount spot lamps, Rear spot lamp, Snorkle, Over axle conversion, 1.3 Samurai engine.

Its all good fun (aside from the handbrake problem).

 

Look at webcon, weber car conversion kits too.
And for suspension a good company called pro comp.

 

Update.

It's now running really good and starts first turn of the key. The only thing is we still havent figured out the handbrake problem so its been unused since before Christmas

This weekend we'll be getting it in the garage again to have another go at figuring out the handbrake so we can start using it on those green-lanes!