Project Nuggie, Misc Changes and Fixes

Alongside all the big work I have been doing, there have been a few little jobs that don’t really fit into their own post, so I’ll throw a few together here

Starting with repairing the oxygen sensor wiring. I don’t quite know what happened here; maybe it got jammed into the crank pulley at some point? It was badly damaged, though

This was a reasonably quick fix. I started by depinning the plugs, so I didn’t waste a lot of wire, and then cut and crimped a new weatherproof connector on

Next was a similar fix on the coolant fan switch, which had been bodged before (surprise surprise)

This is the switch I removed from the housing. At some point, it had soldered on wiring, no plug in sight.

Whilst this is the new switch

The good news is that after some digging, I found it’s a Sumitomo 6189-0033 connector, which was easily available with a tail on Aliexpress

This is the butchered wiring, hacked into the original harness to solder onto the switch. The original wiring stops before the green sleeve, the rest is all just… garbage. This is after I removed the insulation tape that the soldered wires were wrapped in

I cut the extension off, cleaned the wires up, stripped them and soldered on the new plug

A quick wrap in fabric tape, and jobs a goodun

Next, the new leads went on. I grabbed some nice NGK performance leads, which fit well, instead of the crappy universal ones that had been fitted

Annoyingly, for some reason, despite getting a kit suitable for an Alto with the DOHC F6A, the lead from the coil was too short

The original lead had to be patched up for now and will be reused until a genuine replacement lead arrives

Moving along, since the driveline was now fitted, I could finally refit the shifter assembly. This is fairly straightforward, although make sure all the slotted bolts on the top and bottom are loose when fitting, otherwise you won’t be able to fit the fixed rod onto the gearbox.

Bolted in place with the new, correct rubber boot

I never had the shift boot, though, as the car was missing it and had some weird rubber thing instead

So with calipers in hand, Fusion installed, and a 3D printer, I made a little bracket

Which screws into the underside of the console, sandwiching a universal “leather” boot in place

I’m not in love with the cheap knob, but I’m pretty happy with how the boot looks and works. Much better than the stock floppy rubber boot that is meant to be fitted, too

Next on the hit list was to replace the right front fog/indicator lamp, as a stone had hit it at some point and damaged it

It turns out there was actually a chunk of glass floating around inside the light

I grabbed a cheap replacement off Yahoo Japan. It was listed cheaply as “damaged” since the park light connector was damaged. The light itself is perfect

I swapped the wiring, including my less-damaged connector from the damaged lamp to the new one

And fit it to the bumper

Finally, in preparation for the first start, I refit the exhaust.

I started by removing the old rear muffler, as it was patched multiple times, filled with rust and just not going to cut it. It’s a shame, I quite like the twin pipe outlet (there is a nice stainless Suzuki Sport muffler with twin outlets, but they are rare and expensive now)

I then moved forward and began fitting the center pipe. Thankfully, the previous owner managed to save this, as when I got the car, it was missing, and turns out it was left with the engine builder who was looking at it, going “wtf does this go to?”. I wasn’t looking forward to forking out the cash on a new one.

It also appears someone has previously cut out the cat, which is a good thing, given it would be nothing but a restriction these days

I cleaned up the flanges, fitted a new hanger rubber and hung the pipe from it.

Right up the front, I bolted it to the downpipe with a new sealing doughnut and bolts/springs. This was quite fiddly as the genuine bolt was short and hard to get started. I ended up leaving one bolt loose, pulling the pipe to the opposite side, using a jack to hold it there and then installing the other bolt.

Finally, I could move to the back and install this glorious piece of stainless steel

A Monster Sport Type SP-X muffler. This is one of the few mufflers that doesn’t compromise ground clearance and goes over the rear beam, instead of under it.

Before fitting, I gave the main muffler and the tip a quick rub down

Being a quality JDM product, it bolted up first time, perfectly

I really look forward to hearing what it sounds like. I have heard some examples online, but it won’t be the same as hearing it in person.

I think that’s pretty much it for now. I’m waiting on a new radiator to arrive from Japan, and then we’ll be going for a first start and run up to temp. Shouldn’t be long now.

Parts Used

Fan Switch Plug – Sumitomo 6189-0033
Ignition Lead Set – NGK RC-SE41 (Coil Lead too short)
Ignition Lead Separator – Suzuki 33881-82011 and 09408-00104

Please note these parts are specific to my car and may vary. Please check before ordering.