1993 Suzuki Carry 4WD Difflock Kei Truck

This is an overview of my 1993 Suzuki Carry 4WD Difflock (DD51T) in all its glory - an exterior walk around, a quick on-road test drive, and an explanation of the 4WD system too. This Carry is slightly different to a lot of other imported kei trucks in that it has a 6-speed gearbox (5+EL) and matching difflock, but the run-down of how to use the 4WD system is basically the same for the 4-speed models too. Sadly now sold (this was a video to show potential buyers what it was like) it was an absolutely amazing little truck that I'm really glad I got to experience :)
00:00 - Exterior walkaround
04:05 - On-road test drive
12:14 - 4WD system overview
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www.methinksperchance.net/cars

[@jaimoh6739]

Great video! I am about to buy one so just scoping out what they are truly like. Even 2 years later and this is very helpful, thank you!!

[@methinksperchance]

Great stuff - that's exactly what I uploaded it for 🙂 Enjoy the truck, they're brilliant little things!

[@terryhites1]

This is a great mini truck! I just got mine yesterday and love playing with it,

[@methinksperchance]

Congratulations on your new truck - they're great fun, enjoy! :D

[@Antique803]

I just bought one. Do you know the largest wheel/ tire combination aggressive mud traction dot approved that will work without a lift kit? If wheel size changes, to accommodate a better tire, of course an adapter will need to be available..mine has stock LT145 R12

[@methinksperchance]

I don't know a lot about tyre & wheel sizes I'm afraid - when I replaced mine I kept them standard size and went with the Yokohama Y828 Super Diggers (even then I had to import them as it's such a strange size here in the UK!). In the US I've seen ATV tyres being used but I'd guess they'd be for off-road only as technically I doubt they'd be approved for the weight/speed of a kei truck. Perhaps a bit of Google translate would throw something up in Japan - スズキキャリッドDD51Tタイヤ [Suzuki Carry DD51T tyre] might be a good start (I usually look at the images and home in from there!). Sorry I can't be more helpful!

[@JimsEquipmentShed]

I had my data plates translated, but as my truck was missing the OEM shift knob, I wasn’t getting that EL was a position in the gear box, and nothing to to do with the switch on the dash. I kept waiting for something to happen, like a shift in the fly kinda thing. ;-) Eventually, I saw a picture of the original shift knob, and discovered gear 6.

[@methinksperchance]

Yeah, I'd read a few (conflicting!) accounts on the web about what all the buttons & levers did to the 4WD system but it was only once I sat down in the car and went through it - and knowing how my Jimny worked - that it all started to make sense, hence why I tried to help others out with the explanation in the video! Not having the OEM gear knob would have thrown me out properly though, especially when EL is locked out in 2WD - how would you know where it was?! (>_

[@JimsEquipmentShed]

@@methinksperchance Thanks to my Japanese co-worker, at least I knew I was looking for something. I started searching how to use “EL on a super carry”, and your video explained it. The shift on the fly thing was new for me, as my US version samurai just had a good old fashioned two speed transfer case with a lever. It makes perfect sense now though. Thanks again.

[@Feeshgmod]

Haha nice, im near cannock chase, and i was thinking of importing one of these and offroading in it, but dont think i have the knowledge to do it

[@methinksperchance]

The 4x4 in the Forest day at the Chase was really good - I'd done a very small amount of greenlaning in my first Jimny and my aunty tagged along in her Evoque(!) with very little off-road experience other than a Land Rover Experience day and we both got on just fine. It was certainly really good to have a proper leader and with plenty of other experienced people around for advice etc. Sadly I have a feeling the Chase events have stopped now :( What I would say is that a Carry is quite restrictive in the UK as far as off-roading goes - the usual pay-and-play sites would make mincemeat out of them, just because literally everything that uses them has miles bigger tyres and ground clearance and the ground is rutted and dug out to suit them. Stuff like the Carrys make the most sense doing forestry tracks and mild greenlaning but I think both of those are a lot harder to come by in the UK.

[@davesurfsandskates7498]

Wait are the vans like without the ute back 4wd?

[@methinksperchance]

There are model codes for 2WD pickups (DC51T), 4WD pickups (DD51T, like this one), 2WD vans (DE51V) and 4WD vans (DF51V) - there's also the Suzuki Every, which is basically a passenger version of the Carry van, which can be had in 4WD too. I think you generally just see more pickups than any other variant, but doesn't mean 4WD vans don't exist :)

[@matthewwheeler9037]

Hi, I am looking at getting a mini truck and was wondering if you would be willing to reflect on your experience of owning one of these little trucks in the UK and answer a few questions that i have regarding owning one of these as there are very few people in the UK who have owned a truck of this nature. All I wanted to ask it what it is like getting parts as these were never sold in the UK and how much you had to pay to insure it for road use. Any insight will be appreciated. Many thanks, Matthew

[@methinksperchance]

Hi Matthew, no problem! Parts are relatively straightforward - there's a site called megazip.net which has the full OEM parts catalogue for loads of Japanese vehicles, including the Carry. There's also people like Jesse Streeter who can help you with used parts from places like UpGarage and Yahoo Auctions Japan (the Japanese eBay equivalent). In both cases you'll pay import duty as the parts are from overseas. Insurance-wise I was with Adrian Flux, SD&P for around £400 (I'm in my 30s) but I think the person who bought mine got his cheaper than that. Hope that helps!

[@methinksperchance]

P.S. I ran a JDM Jimny, Wagon R & the Carry using a combination of MegaZip & Jesse Streeter - see methinksperchance.net for my ownership experiences if that'll help :)

[@matthewwheeler9037]

@@methinksperchance awesome thank you for your reply

[@matthewwheeler9037]

Last question (i think) wrt to moving it on did it take long to sell and if you don't mind me asking how much did you end up getting for it?

[@methinksperchance]

@@matthewwheeler9037 It didn't take too long to sell - maybe 2 or 3 weeks? - but the guy who bought it valued the fact that I'd fixed all the off-the-boat niggles in the year I owned it, so perhaps that helped. I didn't lose too much if you look purely at the purchase & sale price but those niggles cost me a lot of shipping & import duty - not something you have to factor when buying parts for a UK car :)

[@JuanLima05]

Is it fine to engage 4wd all the time? Even just driving on the road?

[@methinksperchance]

It's not recommended for systems like this where there's no centre differential - on loose surfaces the drivetrain can naturally equalise any rotational differences between the front and back axles whenever the tyres slip a little, but on the road that's not really possible and so it causes the drivetrain "binds up". This can cause parts to break in the extreme but there are also other tell-tale signs (for example if you forgot to disengage 4WD by accident after joining a road) like steering that feels tighter than usual, or maybe even gearchanges that are getting a bit sticky. tl;dr - just apply whatever you read about when/where to use 4WD on a Suzuki Jimny to this vehicle too :)

[@kylereese4822]

@@methinksperchance It would make an interesting EV conversion :)

[@raptorfeet]

Does it have Hi/Low transfer case?

[@methinksperchance]

This model doesn't have the 4H/4L option in the transfer case, the TC just controls 2WD/4WD and you get a really low 1st gear instead. As far as I understand it the configurations for the 4WD models were: 4 speed + 2H/4H/4L 5 speed + 2WD/4WD (& diff lock) Pretty sure that's how the TC lever in the cabin is marked up too - in mine the label was simply "2WD--4WD" whereas in the 4 speeds I think it reads "2H--4H--4L". Hope that helps :)

[@raptorfeet]

Yeah that helps. I just got a 4speed with H/L and difflock. But your offroad vid shows how capable the carry is with the 5speed. @@methinksperchance

[@shareefudeen4731]

What is Engine kind f6a or k6a

[@methinksperchance]

F6A, just the 6-valve SOHC with no turbo - rated at a mighty 42PS 😁

[@shareefudeen4731]

@@methinksperchance I have Suzuki carry I buy the engine which is tha best k6a or f6a

[@methinksperchance]

@@shareefudeen4731 I think there are quite a few differences between the F6A & K6A but even within each engine series there were lots of differences - different numbers of valves, naturally aspirated or turbo etc. It's difficult to say which is the "best" because there were just so many variants! Hope that helps...

[@shareefudeen4731]

Engine kind