Suzuki 4x4 Club™

[KUDZU]

I just bought a 1988 1/2 Samurai with 118K on it. I plan to keep it mostly stock, to pull behind a motorhome, to use for fun while camping. It seems to be in pretty good shape, with a couple of exceptions: 1- the steering linkage is tight, but the steering box has excessive play. Is there any adjustment for this, or is a new steering box the only fix?   2- The matrix inside the Catalytic converter has mostly disentegrated, causing the converter to rattle badly.  Apparently, as the matrix disentigrated, it migrated to the muffler, causing a serious exhaust restriction and a resulting loss of power. I plan to replace the entire exhaust system, but was wondering if this is a common problem on a Samurai with over 100K miles. Other than these things, is there anything else specifically that I should check, even though everything else seems to be working properly, while I'm giving it a good going over?  Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

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[zocko]

hate to say this but there isnt a cat on it.

also, there should be an adjusting screw with a locking nut on top of the steering box, hope this all helps
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the car in front is a toyota...

the car pulling it out of the mud is a suzuki

[KUDZU]

Zocko - Thanks for the response. I'll definitely try to adjust some of the freeplay out of the steering box. The Samurais in the UK may not have been equipped with catalytic converters, but here in the States, our emission laws have required them on vehicles powered by gasoline engines for about 30 years. The one on my Samurai looks somewhat like a flat muffler, and is located in the exhaust pipe between the exhaust manifold and the muffler.  The honeycomb matrix inside the cat should completely fill, and fit tightly inside its steel shell, but most of the matrix in mine, however, has apparently disentigrated.  On acceleration, my converter rattles like crazy, and when I reach under the vehicle and shake it from side to side with my hand, it sounds like a golf ball banging around in a bucket. When the matrix disentigrates, it looks like coarse grey sand, and the pressure from the exhaust pushes it into the muffler, where it tends to stay, causing a rather nasty restriction. Unfortunately, this is a somewhat common condition with a number of older vehicles here. At least I'm finding that Samurai replacement parts, for the most part, are very affordable.  Thanks again for your assistance !!

[zocko]

my apologies, i didnt realise you were in the states (its what happens when you dont look at someones location lol)

as long as you can get the parts, it isnt hard to change the whole exhaust system as theres only about 6 bolts that hold the entire thing to the car
_________________
the car in front is a toyota...

the car pulling it out of the mud is a suzuki