I'm running 31's and stock gears in the axles. 

In a prior samurai, I had 4:16 gears in the tcase with the rock block.  I felt that was really the ideal setup...3 low ranges to choose from.  TT doesn't carry the rock block anymore, so that isn't really an option anymore. 

In this current Samurai, I felt that the 6.5's were almost necessary just for the high range reduction.  Now that I'm running the 1.6 in there, I don't think that reduction is necessary.  I'm always pushing the tach in high range, and low range is often too low.  Sometimes that super low gearing is nice for big boulders, but even then I find myself starting off in 2nd gear and jumping right to 5th. 

I'm glad to hear you're planning on a diesel swap!  I've run 3 different diesels in Samurais; if I could give you some advice, I would avoid doing the 1.6NA swap, unless you are strictly looking for great fuel economy.  I ran 2 of them, including 1 fresh rebuild, and I felt like I gave up too much power over the 1.3L.  If I was going to do it again, I would consider the 1.6L TD and be willing to mod it (minimum mods being an intercooler, EGT gauge, and cranking the fuel up a bit).  The 1.9TD is an even better option...just more expensive and harder to locate.  The 1.6NA just doesn't have enough seat of the pants power to make it worth the effort. 

Thanks for the great response!

I was going to hold out for a 1.9TD.  I figured it would have the power I require to get over the mountains on the road if I have to drive it over the Continetal Divide.

I sent you a PM with some more specific questions about the engine swap.  I do have a question about tire size.  I have talked to Jonny Rash about running 33s.  He says that 31s on a Sami that is locked and protected would be a better option.  With this one in your thread on 31s, have you done a 33" Sami and what are your thoughts?  My family goes to Moab and does the steep slick rock trails.  I'm good with either way at this point.  31s are going to be a cheaper route and easier to work with, but a little extra clearance would be handy too.

Thanks,

Rob

Thanks for the great response!

I was going to hold out for a 1.9TD.  I figured it would have the power I require to get over the mountains on the road if I have to drive it over the Continetal Divide.

I sent you a PM with some more specific questions about the engine swap.  I do have a question about tire size.  I have talked to Jonny Rash about running 33s.  He says that 31s on a Sami that is locked and protected would be a better option.  With this one in your thread on 31s, have you done a 33" Sami and what are your thoughts?  My family goes to Moab and does the steep slick rock trails.  I'm good with either way at this point.  31s are going to be a cheaper route and easier to work with, but a little extra clearance would be handy too.

Thanks,

Rob

I have had 33's on 2 different Samurais; I really feel like 31's or MAYBE 32's are the limit of the stock axles, unless the vehicle is unlocked and is not driven through any real obstacles (even steep hillclimbs with no rocks are enough to break a rear axle).  I have broken stock front birfield cups, front inner axle shafts (newfield shafts only) and multiple rear axleshafts  all on 33's.  I was NEVER going fast, or abusing the vehicle; every break happened in low range, 1st or 2nd gear.  Throw in the torque and weight of your diesel, and eventually you'll break an axle if you're on 33's. 
I have yet to break an axle on 31's; not saying it won't happen, but I've been pretty hard on stock axles with 31's and they seem to hold up fine. 

I agree with you on the 6.5:1 sometimes being a bit to low, I was looking at doing a dual t-case setup using the Kicker 3 or Shogun conversion before I sold the SJ.  That way you get that nice middle range for idling around on trails when you don't need the extra power or control.

For the issue with the rear axle twisting, why not go with a traction bar setup?  It would also help with hill climbs.

For the issue with the rear axle twisting, why not go with a traction bar setup?  It would also help with hill climbs.

I have considered it...but I don't think a conventional ladder bar would help much.  The movement I am experiencing is not the same as axle wrap...in fact, being sprung-under with 2.5" wide springs and 6 leaves, I experience little or no axle wrap during hill climbs.  The movement I need to eliminate is when one tire moves forward relative to the other...that motion would be exactly in the ladder bar's weakest plane, and I doubt that it would reduce that motion by much. 
I also considered going with a 4 link setup (which is probably the ideal solution) but I didn't want to go through that effort and expense. 
I am betting that, with the outboarded shocks (30 min of work, and $0), a selectable locker (easy project but a bit expensive...but with quite a few other benefits), and an additional leaf in the rear spring pack (20 min of work and $0) that my issue will be eliminated. 
The other thing that I was hoping to address is the tendency to "push" through the corners on the trail.  Having the spool reduces my turning radius on those tight corners, especially with the extra traction I am now getting with the cage weight and sticky tires.  It will be nice to be able to wheel with an open diff and cut those tight corners again. 

Thanks guys!

I'm looking at 31" tires right now.  Finding some that I like shouldn't be an issue, there are so many good tires out there these days.  I would like to run a 15 x 10 inch wheel, so that may cause some issues finding a tire that is wider than a normal 31x10.5 15.  I see a couple Interco tires are wider ranging from 11.5-13.5".

OK, so to pick your brains for a minute; what is the minimum lift to run a 31" tire?  I also need it to ride decent so a well thought out lift starting from stock would be the parameters.  I found another Sami in my area that fits the bill and is totally stock.

Rob

You might be able to get by with a 3" spring lift or a YJ SPUA to fit 31" tire. It will likely require some inner fender seam massaging with a BFH though.

I would not go with a 15x10 wheel on a Samurai. A 7-8" width works really well and you can really air the tires down without popping a bead.

As far as t-case gearing and grunt, I have one Samurai on 31" tires with the 1600 8-valve and a 4:1 case.  I think it's a great ratio match for that tire/engine combo.

I have the 6.5 gears in another rig with the 1600 16-valve and that engine needs lower gearing than the 8-valve version.  The 8-valve has great torque off the idle and likes to lug. The 16-valve doesn't really start cooking until 2000 rpm or so.

I also don't like those shock-tilt setups. Everybody I've known that has one, has had a lot of excessive body roll.

Thanks Jonny.  I know I need to listen up to you and sewerezuk since you both have been there and done the Sami so many times.  For some reason I had all of these great ideas and I'm realizing that they just arent' so great.   

First, I wanted to fit 33" tires.  Second I wanted a good SPOA lift with the Jeep Eater YJ type of lift, maybe lookinga t 6-7" of total lift.  Then I wanted the 6.5:1 t-case gears.  I also wanted to have 15 x 10 wheels for all of the glorious deep dish that people love. 

Pretty soon I will be driving a stock, teal Samurai with 27" tires on 15 x5.5 steel wheels with a furry steering wheel and Hello Kitty seat covers...

OK, here is what I have landed on for sure based on this thread and others where advice has been given:  ARB lockers front and rear, chromoly axels, 4.5:1 t-case gears, Shrockworks front/rear bumpers and tank skid, 1.9TD engine swap, Viair on-board air tank and compresor, full roll cage, new Truck-lites LED head lights, 31" tires, Rocky Road HIROCK slider kit, Bushwacker 6" fender flares.  Fold down windshield, door hinge mod, Safari top, Tuffy security console ans some other goodies are on the list too, but can wait.

I still need to nail down a suspension, under armor/skid plates wheels and what actual tires I want.

Rob

crewcabrob; its always good to do your research!  But...keep in mind, although I've built about a dozen samurais this doesn't mean that what I like, or what worked for me, will be the same for you.  Take the suggestions you read here with a grain of salt...your wheeling style won't be the same as everybody else's, and what you like under your hood might not be the same as what I like! 
Shoot...every rig I have built has come out differently; what worked in one didn't seem to work so well with the different combination of parts in the other (the spool is a great example; I have preferred a rear spool in every samurai I built, until my latest one...the combination of weight, springs, and tires have made it undesirable in my current rig).  I'd say to build what you want to build, and wheel it!  You'll find out what you like and don't like, and it might not be the same as the rest of us...

Picked up a stock tcase from a craigslist seller yesterday, and heated up the credit card again! 
4.9:1 gears, a 26 spline ARB air locker, and a few other parts are on their way to my shop. 
And, yet again, I'll be stripping a bunch of parts out of it in a mad scramble to "make it right" before the next Zukiworld event.  Powerfest is my deadline! 
My Dodge is up on the lift right now minus one NV4500 transmission; if I can get that back together this weekend, then the Samurai will go under the knife next week. 

Good points SZ.  Did you get the recently revised locker?  I know that the price jumped up about $200.   

As far as Samurais, I like the Keep It Simple Stupid type of builds that use many Suzuki components and do not drastically alter the vehicle.  There were a lot of good write-ups on these types of build 10+ years ago on the Off Road.com and Izook pages, so you might want to dig around there. 
http://www2.izook.com/?page_id=31

I am not really a technical wheeler by any means, much more of an explorer type, although I do like many of the Moab trails.  Out of all of my Samurais, I think the ones that are most fun to drive and offroad are the stockish ones or the ones that are slighlty modified (a small spring lift, slightly larger tires, and some t-case gearing.) I have actually removed YJ SPOA lifts and downsized the tires on rigs, because I didn't like how they performed on/off road.  That is excessive body lean, axle wrap, and too high of a COG.  Of course, all the reviews were glowing online, but reality was a lot different.  IMHO, bigger is not neccearily better on a Samurai.

I would see if you could go wheeling with a group of Samurais to see what works and what doesn't.  Then maybe you can drive one or two of them as well.

I would hate for you to spend a lot of money on a build up, just to find out it doesn't perform anything like you thought it would.  I've seen more than a few guys do that: read up on the internet for their buildup, spend several thousand on it, build it up, hate how it drives/handles, just to turn around and sell their built up Samurai for a big financial loss. 

Good points SZ.  Did you get the recently revised locker?  I know that the price jumped up about $200.   

I didn't know there was a revision to the ARB...I'm not sure what will be showing up!  I paid about $820 including shipping...

That's a great deal!  Where from may I ask?

I would like to know also, I will need to buy a front a rear ARB when I get my Sami picked out.

JR, what changes did they make to the lockers?

Rob