Hi,

I had a high idle problem with my Sami.  The thermostat was stuck open and wouldn't let the coolant heat up enough to shut the choke off.  Replaced the thermostat (about $5.00 IIRC), no more problem...

Thanks, I might try that. Did it run hot, too? Mine isnt running hot.

No, the thermostat was stuck open, so it was running cold, thus, no choke shutoff, resulting in high idle.

I would skip putting lower gears in and just go straight for a transfer case.  You are most likely going to want one anyways, and it is a lot cheaper then swapping your diffs out.  Not to mention easier.

Brent at Trail Tough:
http://php.trailtough.com/viewtopic.php?t=3
While doing transfer case gears is probably the biggest bang for the buck and a quick-fix, it is definitely a lousy way to try and create a reliable, trouble-free drivetrain. So think about this for a minute...you put on larger tires, so your pinion now becomes TWICE as hard to turn putting TWICE as much stress on the u-joints, transfer case mounts and the transfer case itself, as well as the brackets on the side of the frame that holds the transfer case in place. It leads to problem chasing such as having to use unnecessary large and heavy driveshafts, having the bolts pull out of the transfer case on the long arm side, having the mounting boss break off of the transfer case or having the short arm side bracket start to tear off of the frame rail. It is because you have given your transfer case up to 3 times as much power by putting in lower gears and now the transfer case wants to do flip-flops in its mount. Many people consider only the POWER issue of this equation as opposed to considering the STRESS LOADING situation as well. You need to change the ring and pinion gears also - relative to your tire size - which will make the driveshaft easy to turn again, taking all of the strain off of these parts - just like it was made from the factory when the smaller tires were on it. It is a mistake to do all of your gear reduction at one point. Especially that far up the mechanical chain. Do yourself a favor....reduce the ratio at the ring and pinions relative to the size tire you want to run, then select the transfer case gears that will best meet your 4-wheeling needs. By going this route, you will have a well thought out and trouble-free drivetrain, working well within the parameters of strain that the parts can and will reliably handle.

True.  I have 5.12 and the 6.5 in my Sj, but one of the guys I run with has a 5.7 and the Rock Block.  In all the times we have run, we have only broken one U-joint and he has taken out 3 birfields.  It was a low quality u-joint and I blame the rock it was riding more then the torque.    If you want a rig that isn't going to have issues turning 33's or higher, you should be looking at upgrading your axels anyway.  The stock Suzuki kit simply won't hold up to a solid beating with that large of a tire unless you are very careful.  No matter what you do, there will always be a weekest point.  I think the axels and birfs will break before you loose driveshafts and diffs.  But everyone has their own opinion on it, so Brent may be right. 

I will agree on the transfer case mounts though, you need to switch over to the bullet proof ones.  But a 4:1 kit alone is enough to cause that upgrade.

Seperate Note - The shifter sheat.  If you aren't having a problem shifting in and out of 2-Hi now I don't think you will when you are done wheeling at the end of the day.  I think Hawk Suzuki sells the parts you are looking for though.  Their kit for fixing the sloppy transmission shifting works great as well.

Thanks, for the info. Looking for some Toy axles now. Will swap the R&P before I put them in.

The Tcase shifts out of 2H fine, just hard to go back into 2H.

Easy out, hard in...   ...Check your clutch adjustment.  I was having a similar problem with my Tracker, and the clutch wasn't disengaging completely.  It was affecting both the trans and t-case (don't know why it affected the t-case) but tightening the clutch adjustment a turn helped...