I just got an '87 samurai recently and I have noticed that it is burning oil. I couldn't pass inspection because there was visible smoke in the exhaust. Also, there seems to be oil burning somewhere under the hood. The underside of the hood has a lot of sooty lookin black junk on it and the spark plug cables are the same. Any ideas on what might need to be fixed and how much it would cost to fix (by a mechanic and if I did it myself.)

Thanks,
Sam

Sounds like Pan Gasket, Valve Cover Gasket
and valve stem seals, but if the valve stem seals
don't fix the problem, it's rebuild time, check
Hawks for a rebuild kit, figure $600-700 if you do it
yourself, might be more depending on machine work.

If there is no ridge ring in the cylinders, you can
hone the cylinders and use the old pistons with
new rings, the head will be about $150-200 to redo
and that depends on parts cost and any problems
the shop finds, I got Stainless steel Exhaust valves
that cost $20 each so I spent $300 on the head.

It really depends on how much of this you can/want to
do yourself, and time available, if this is not your DD
then take some time, do it right, and do some mods
to the truck while you have it down.

Good Luck
Wild

Sorry it took so long for me to reply, anybody have an idea what this would cost to have a mechanic do? I'm beginning to think I won't ever have the time. I'm not really sure if it's even worth fixing any more as I'm a little low on funds :-(

Anybody got any experience with the rocky-road rebuild kit here http://www.rocky-road.com/zukengine.html

I had a Sami just like that. Murph Blue with white top and smoke out the pipe. Nicknamed it Smokey. Drove fine, just smoked the oil and leaked just like yours. As a matter of fact, it was an 87 also. I had it roughly for over 1.5 yrs in northern VA. Emissions require every 2 yrs. There is a minimal you have to spend to 'try' to pass the emissions portion. IIRC VA had it at $75 or $100. Just get yourself the necessities of filters (air, fuel, oil), change the timing belt, get a new cover for it, get new seals for the crank and camshaft, get new o-ring seal for the distributor, get tune-up parts (plugs, cap, rotor, wires), get new o-sensor, may even check into a replacement cat from JC Whippy, power spray clean the engine bay, make everything look new and you should at least pass the minimal effort. Check to see if there is such a cost for you to attempt to get your vehicle to pass emissions. The state really can't make you stop driving the car without showing you are trying.

If that doesn't work, I'd be interested in buying it. I'm looking for a running Sami now (one located in KC for $1300 at a dealership looking at tomorrow), others on Izook (missed out on a 88 for $1000 in St. Louis).

Does anybody know what the differences would be between the petroworks rebuild kit http://www.petroworks.com/engine.htm and the rocky road rebuild kit? http://www.rocky-road.com/zukengine.html
(both are a ways down the pages that I linked to)
The prices are pretty different and I'd like to know whether one is better than the other.

Two suggestions: First, clean the engine to see where the biggest leaks are so you can take care of them first. Second, change the oil and use one of the new oils made for high mileage engines. I use Valvoline Max Life. It's a little expensive, but it may be good enough to clean sticking oil rings and swell the valve stem seals enough to at least slow down the oil burning so you can pass inspection. Drive it at least 1000 miles with the new oil to give it a little time to work. Keep an eye on it to see how quick it gets dirty.

Paw-paw Don, y'all
.

I would go through about 20+ quarts of oil in a thousand miles. (It's burning quite a bit)