Hello everyone, I stumbled upon your fine web site & forum while trying to do some research. I'm am old guy and barely know how to use a computer so if I ask anything that is old hat that is why. Help me out with a link rather than "do a search knucklehead" please. I participate in a couple Motorcycle, ATV & OHV related forums and I know that sometimes things get repetitive.
I worked in that industry most of my life as a mechanic and teaching at a technical school until being forced into retirement earlier than I had hoped after a bad accident. No longer able to ride on 2 wheels or find anyone to hire me in my current form I have been keeping myself occupied with a Yamaha Rhino and modifying it. When I was a much younger man I had a couple of Suzuki LJ's and I am wanting to relive some of those good times from my youth.
I have a very limited income and looking to buy a budget priced 4x4 with extraordinary capabilities. I preferred a manual transmission before but now it must be an automatic as I lost my left leg and arm so power steering would be welcome now as well. Here is another desire where I may lose a few of you, I would like to have air conditioning and finally power windows even.
LJ's are all but extinct and they never came with automatic that I don't think. Samurai's got more civilized before the lawyers killed them but I don't recall them ever getting automatics either. I think the Samurai is still sold in other countries fully loaded with automatic, at least I have been told so. A pity we can't get such things here in the states. My dream machine I guess would be a new Samurai 4x4 fully loaded with automatic.

So the Sidekick and X90 are what I'm guessing would be easiest to get but would they suit my needs for very serious 4x4 use? Do they have a full frame and true 4wd? Any positive input would be very much appreciated. Any chance anyone on here happen to have just what I'm looking for at a price I can afford?

Thanks,
Curley

So the Sidekick and X90 are what I'm guessing would be easiest to get but would they suit my needs for very serious 4x4 use? Do they have a full frame and true 4wd? Any positive input would be very much appreciated. Any chance anyone on here happen to have just what I'm looking for at a price I can afford?

Thanks,
Curley

Welcome aboard ProWrench
Yes the SideKicks and X-90 have full frames and are true 4x4s with a 2 speed t-case.
Yes you can find one with your requirements.
there are also budget lifts to get you where you need to go
here is one link that works best
http://www.granitepath.com/~irving/suzuki/budgetbodylift/index.htm

With what HotRod said, I would add that the X-90 would have a little more creature comforts, but overall less serious off-road ability. This is due primarily to the X-90's small-ish wheel well openings. They require more lift and more trimming to fit tires that would fit a Track/Kick with much less work. As an example, my silver Tracker fits 31-10.50x15" tires with a 2" body lift and 2" suspension lift, along with slight trimming. The X-90 would need a lot more trimming and possibly more lift to fit the same tires without rubbing.

One possible good thing to the auto requirement, the autos came with 4.30's or 4.62's in the diffs, the sticks all had 5.13's(Except X-90's, they ALL have 4.62's). So if you took an auto tracker and swapped in the thirds from a stick, you have a ready-to-go gearing change capable of running up to 31's with close to the same rpm range as the stock setup with stock tires...

I have a question along these lines. what's the largest tire you can run on a stock set of gears in a manual tracker without taking a huge hit in power.

Just curious since I saw your post Digger.
not trying to hijack the thread.
ProWrench
where are you located you should be able to pick up a tracker or sidekick for under a grand.
or a little bit more if you want a nicer one.

I have a question along these lines. what's the largest tire you can run on a stock set of gears in a manual tracker without taking a huge hit in power.

I've ran 31s on a 5spd 97 Kick with Okay power.
32's made it a little doggie tho.

I live a little north of Kansas City, MO. farmland USA. So the automatics have a lower final drive ratio, or the manual does? As I mentioned before I have the Rhino to get me around out in the rural areas now but would like something more civilized that I can drive into town etc. My Brother bought it for me late in 05 to get me around anywhere I need to get to that's not paved, I had pretty much given up on life before getting it. Now I'm getting greedy I suppose, wanting more. Should be happy with what I have!

If I'm lucky enough to find something I can afford I will have to pass on the body lift kit, they are cool but being in a wheelchair it's tough or impossible to get into something setting up real high. I would like a larger tire than stock but nothing huge because of the effect on the gear ratio and height.
I'm thinking a loaded X90 4x4 automatic with the biggest tire I can get without lifting it would be ideal for my needs. But the X90 is kind of hard to come by right? A Sidekick or Tracker would be great and more likely in my price range. I'll take what I can get but reliability is the most important factor for me as I can't get out and walk if I break down so wanna do all I can to avoid such things.
I started out wanting one of these mini trucks that are becoming popular with the 660cc 3 cylinder engine. But prices are high and it's tough to find automatics unless they are near new and even more $$$ with air conditioning. Missouri is passing a law soon allowing them on the streets but not the interstate of course. I thought about putting an arm on the back of one to pick up my 250lb chair and put it into the bed... Yeah I know now I'm getting carried away.

Here is the info for those interested,
http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/bills/HB1010.htm

You would probably be better off with a Track/Kick with a mild lift and 30s or 31s. The X90 doesn't have much storage space so you might not get the chair in. 16V track/Kicks can cope with the bigger rubber better than the earlier 8Vs.

I know this is a suzuki website,  and I hope I don't get a bunch of blasphomes hate male for saying this.... here goes... I think that a jeep cherokee might meet your requirements they sit relatively low,  even with a lift,  and 31's,  and they are quite capable,  it's really easy to find an automatic,  with a/c and since theres 10 million of them out there,  there cheep,  the only downfall is the unibody frame,  but the two doors are still pretty rigid off road...  anyway  good luck on your search

  I JUST RECENTLY GOT BITTEN BT YHE SUZUKI VIRUS,AND AT FIRST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INADEQUIT.BOY WAS I WRONG!!I HAD TO TAKE MY DISSABILITY AND 3 KIDS INTO CONSIDERATION ,AND ENDED UP WITH A 1991 4 DOOR SIDEKICK.
 IT HAS AN AUTO TRANS,POWER WINDOWS,POWER DOOR LOCKS,POWER MIRRORS,AIR CONDITIONING,POWER STEERING,POWER BRAKES,AND PLENTY OF ROOM.IT DRIVES AND HANDLES VERY WELL ON ROAD,AND EVEN IN STOCK FORM IT IS VERY CAPABLE OFF ROAD ON THE MORE MODEST TRAILS.
  WITH THE BACK SEAT FOLDED DOWN IT WOULD EASILY HOLD YOUR CHAIR,AND WITH A FULL WIDTH TAILGATE ACCESS WOULD BE NO PROBLEM.
  I HAVE ALSO INCLUDUD A FEW PICS,HOPEFULLY THIS WILL HELP.
  GOD BLESS,GOOD SPEED AND GOOD LUCK FINDING A GOOD RIDE!

With just a 2" lift you'd still be hard pressed to fit even 215-75-15's without rubbing on an X-90 where a Track/kick would fit at least 235's without a lift at all. I've had older 8v Track/kicks with both 31's and 33's and the 33's really sapped my power. The 31's weren't too bad with stock gearing.

While an X-90 has seats that sit at least 2" lower than a Track/kick, the dash and roof also sit propotionately lower as well and as said before the trunk space is really small. It would be really difficult to fit a wheelchair in there, and even if you did, it wouldn't close. Plus the power windows are notorious on X-90's for burning up motors and needing routine maintenance to continue working right.

If it's just you, a 2 door track/kick would be my suggestion. If you have more people to haul than just you, check into a 4 door.

I've had a 4 door XJ Cherokee in the past and I have to say that while it could pretty easily have power windows and AC, the seat height on those stock is higher than my silver Tracker running a total of 4" of combined lift...

Yes, a four door Tracker-Sidekick with just a 1.5" lift and 235's or 30's is formidible machine. With 16V it will drive fine anywhere except on highway uphill it's a dog.  There are lot's of mods to deal with it that you could look into. Your chair would fit great in the back. If you aren't rock crawing and just want to run "jeep" trails and you drive smart you can go almost anywhere with it.

Yeah I won't be doing anything hardcore with it, will keep my Rhino for that. Just Jeep trails and fast fire roads along with a little street driving mostly to get to & from. I can't pick up my chair & stuff it anywhere, weighs about 250 lbs! yeah they are heavy! and I cant use a manual / folding chair with only one arm, yeah it sucks. And I often ride alone or at the most would only have one passenger so I'm thinking the X90 would be perfect for me. I'm sure they are smaller as well, I like small. But I am totally not against a Sidekick / Tracker 2 door or 4, they are cool! Not really interested in a Jeep, to big and use a lot more fuel. But thanks for the idea.
I have considered getting a tiny high clearance trailer made for my chair. With A-arm suspension and good soft coil over shocks.

They have some pretty cool high clearance trailers available these days, should be pretty easy to accomodate your chair with a small hand crane..

An X-90 would be nice, especially with it's luxury edition, leather and power everything.. cool...BUT, plan to spend 3 to 5 grand to just get one, whereas a Kick can be had for $500-2500 everywhere.


I also say 2 door Track/Kick.  VERY VERY capable, even unlifted. If you don't plan to do rough stuff, you don't even need a lift, just a decent set of tires and maybe a locker. You will be VERY VERY surprised. Even with just a 2" lift and some aggressive 235/75R-15's, and a rear locker, you will go places stockish Jeeps will NOT go.  No need for a body lift, just a little spacer lift, or no lift at all.

Get a 89-98 2 door Tracker or Sidekick, Automatic.  Swap in some 5.12:1 gears from a manual trans Kick, get some good tires and a rear locker, maybe a 2" coil spring lift.. and you will just NOT believe where it will go. It will give your Rhino a run for it's money, and isn't much bigger to be honest.

Good luck, Ebay and Craigslist.org have some good deals on Kicks, come on back and we will talk you though it.

  IF YOU HAVE A HITCH IT IS EAST TO BUY OR BUILD A MOUNT FOR YOUR CHAIR AND KEEP IT HIGH ENOUGH.

I love those Sidekicks and if the X90's cost that much more then yeah I will likely get one. I was just thinking the X would be a bit narrower & shorter, both a plus for me. I'm actively searching for both but will likely not be in a position to buy for about 5 weeks, taking my Daughter on a vacation out west and don't want to go with an empty wallet. She wants to see the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam & many other things I have told her about. I'm a converted Arizonan but living in MO until she turns 18, my "wife" took off right after my accident and moved here... long story, but I just can't leave her behind without a Father like so many other kids including myself.
So the manual transmission models do have a lower axle ratio then, yes I will certainly be very interested in the conversion. What are the ratios of the 2? 5.12 for the manual, but what is the auto?
That rear carrier is another idea bouncing around in my empty head... Thanks for the info so far everyone, friendly site!