Giving new life to my little Chevy Tracker (Vitara)

BigBamBoo

Observer
Hi folks.
New to posting here on the forums. Long time lurker. Just thought I would share my mini-expedition rig that I have been breathing new life into after deciding to keep it and not buy a new (to me) off road rig.

The back story on the Tracker. I bought it for my wife (then my girlfriend) about 10 years ago from the original owners who used it to run their grand kids around in and most of the time sat in the garage. When I bought it it had the soft top on it and had about 30,000 miles.
My wife used it for to go to and from college and work and we would take it up into the hills from time to time.

Fast forward a few years. My wife graduated college so I decided she should get a new vehicle. Having never owned a new off the lot car, I let he pick her own car and I instantly inherited the Tracker to use as a hunting/exploring/around town daily driver rig.
Outside of oil changes, and general maintenance, little was done to the little Tracker (did add the hard top). And now with around 120,000 miles on it, it needed some love.

To start with the transmission was growling and making scary noises. So off to the shop for a rebuild.

Next was the tired original suspension. I replaced it with OME springs and shocks and added Warn hubs. And new AT tires.

Then there was the issue of the seats. And while they where in okay shape cosmetically...the foam has broken down and they were not fun to sit in for extended periods. So I had them rebuilt with heavy duty materials and the are MUCH improved.

And just today the FedEX Santa delivered a nice, new, skid plate. As soon as the rain stops, I will paint it and install it to help keep things up front from getting beat up too bad.



It now runs and drives like a whole new(er) rig! I still have a few things I want to do to it. Like repaint or replace the bumper covers and trim. Try and find a snorkel for it. And maybe some off road lights. But other then that, it should be good to go for a few more years now. All it took was putting about the total value of it, into it!




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Wirebrush

Observer
Cool little rigs. I'd like to find one in good shape to replace my commuter and use for some solo exploring some day. That pic looks like Alturas area. I spent many years between Lakeview, Oregon and Yreka, California.
 

BigBamBoo

Observer
Yes, I wish Suzuki still had a presence in the USA. The Grand Vitara and the Jimny still come with low range.

That picture was north of Lakeview, OR. I spend quite a bit of time in south east OR, and Northern NV. I live in Redding, so only a few hours away for me.

I do a lot of solo exploring and hunting and the Tracker makes a great little rig for one person.
 

Thirty-Nine

Explorer
Good stuff. Our Suzuki took us all over the place. Fun rigs. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go with a '99+ Vitara 2.0 in a four door.
 

BigBamBoo

Observer
Norcal + bigbamboo = that thing has to run on hempseed oil:costumed-smiley-007

LOL....someone knows BigBamBoo! When I was younger, I would listen to that record (yes...the vinyl kind that spun at 33rpm) and laugh my @ss off. Then when I got into CB, I used that as my handle....it has stuck with me since.
 

mezmochill

Is outside
The original album had a huge rolling paper in it haha!

Cool vehicle, looks clean! Nice job on the skid plate too.
 

BigBamBoo

Observer
Thank you. I spent some time cleaning, washing, polishing, and waxing the little rig since the rain stopped. Came out pretty good as you can see in the pics.

And Big BamBu still makes rolling papers...that is where they got the title for their album.

Cheers

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JCMatthews

Tour Guide
I've been thinking about a tracker for my oldest when she gets a license. That way I can borrow it for some desert exploring.
 

Happykamper

Explorer
Just got a 1997 geo tracker, replaced the tranny put a calmini rack on it for the kayaks and tow it behind our chinook. There very impressive little 4x4's stock. I think I'll do the shocks as you did and possibly a small winch ...tho the way this little critter climbs I don't know if it's needed . What are the part numbers for the warn hubs if you don't mind me asking ?

I can't believe how much I enjoy this lil critter.
 
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BigBamBoo

Observer
I've been thinking about a tracker for my oldest when she gets a license. That way I can borrow it for some desert exploring.

If you can find a clean one with maintenance records, they are good rigs. If the oil has not been changed regularly, or wrong weight of oil used. The timing chain tensioner can go out.
And if you live in an area that uses salt on the roads in winter time, the front cross member can rust out and fail. They had a recall for that issue. The cross member can still be found and not that big of a deal to replace.
Other then that, they generally are pretty solid vehicles that can be had for a pretty fair price.

Just got a 1997 geo tracker, replaced the tranny put a calmini rack on it for the kayaks and tow it behind our chinook. There very impressive little 4x4's stock. I think I'll do the shocks as you did and possibly a small winch ...tho the way this little critter climbs I don't know if it's needed . What are the part numbers for the warn hubs if you don't mind me asking ?

I can't believe how much I enjoy this lil critter.

The Warn hubs I used for my 2000 Tracker is part number 34581. Not sure if they will fit the earlier models. The 1999-2005 Tracker/Vitara is different then the older ones.

Yes, they are pretty capable off road rigs and very nimble due to their small size. The only thing to watch out for is the low ground clearance. I added a front skid plate to mine just for a little added insurance. That and paying attention to what your driving over and you can take these things a lot of places.
 

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