Im liking my new 88 Sami, but there are a few things i have been wondering about. Hopefully someone can shed some light on these things for me:

1. My catalatic converter seems to be rattling a lot, especially when the choke is on or it is idling up. Nothing seems to be loose though. Am I hearing the excess fuel igniting in there? That would make sense when the choke is on and it is rich. Plugs seem very light and look more lean than rich though which makes me wonder. What do you think may be rattling?

2. When I start my rig in the morning to warm it up, then put it in neutral, then let out the clutch I feel a slight bump forward like something is grabbing slightly. Clutch adjusted right?

3. Do you guys run premium fuel in your sami's? What is stock compression ratio? When I first bought it it needed fuel. So I put premium in it and it ran great. The next tank I put regular in it and slowly I am still retarding it to quit detonating with no end in sight. I plan to keep retarding until I can drive normally with no detonation and then throw a light on it to see where Im at. Im up for ideas....

4. I have a badly leaking oil pan gasket. Can they be changed without yanking the motor?

Thanks Dustin

Im liking my new 88 Sami, but there are a few things i have been wondering about. Hopefully someone can shed some light on these things for me:

1. My catalatic converter seems to be rattling a lot, especially when the choke is on or it is idling up. Nothing seems to be loose though. Am I hearing the excess fuel igniting in there? That would make sense when the choke is on and it is rich. Plugs seem very light and look more lean than rich though which makes me wonder. What do you think may be rattling?

2. When I start my rig in the morning to warm it up, then put it in neutral, then let out the clutch I feel a slight bump forward like something is grabbing slightly. Clutch adjusted right?

3. Do you guys run premium fuel in your sami's? What is stock compression ratio? When I first bought it it needed fuel. So I put premium in it and it ran great. The next tank I put regular in it and slowly I am still retarding it to quit detonating with no end in sight. I plan to keep retarding until I can drive normally with no detonation and then throw a light on it to see where Im at. Im up for ideas....

4. I have a badly leaking oil pan gasket. Can they be changed without yanking the motor?

Thanks Dustin

I take a swing at a couple of these. #1 The 'rattling cat' MAY be the double lined down pipe. The Suzuki Samurai has an 'inner liner' if you will on their down pipe sometimes this rusts loose and begins to rattle when you let off and then gets so that it rattles all the time. The best way to fix it is to drill a 1/2 hole into the middle of your downpipe somwhere where you can get at it easily. Drill through the first wall and stop. Weld a rosette to connect the two pipes back together again.   #3 Set your timing at 10degrees using the marks on the flywheel and the bellhousing. If you still have pinging, troubleshoot from there. Don't mask the problem by floating the timing. Set it and forget it! #4 Are you sure it is the pan? A very common oil leak is from the bottom of the distributor where it bolts to the head. This can driddle down and look like a pan leak. This is fixed by a simple o-ring that all the vendors carry and sell. If it is the pan, you can pull it with the engine in. It will slip by the axle housing and can be removed.

Hope that helps, -Eric

thanks Eric. Ill check on my distributor. I know its not leaking where the distributor goes into the housing, but Im not sure about where that goes into the head. BTW 10* on 87 Octane?

Keep em coming guys!

If it's a non OEM converter, it could be the internals rattling, the honeycomb converter material sometimes comes loose from the case. Try giving it a wack with your hand ( when it's cold!) and listen for the rattle. If it's the cat, and it's running that lean ( your getting pinging right?) you can just gut it, a nice long piece of pipe thru the inlet end will break up the guts, then shake it out . Don't breathe it! You could always replace it before next inspection if you have to.
Retarding your timing too much can result in other engine problems, such as overheating.You'll also notice a drop off in power.  If you have to go more than 2 degrees retarded beyond stock, Look for the reason and fix it. It could very well be in your carb.  You could just run the premium too, especially if it runs great and likes it. Good Luck.   

Thanks, I think I have it almost where it wants to be on regular fuel. Still pinging just a little bit in 5th under heavy throttle and high load. Ill throw a light on it tonight and see where Im at.

BTW, anybody have ideas on what the deal is with my cold clutch issue? I cant make sense of it in my mind.

When you put the trans in neutral and let out the clutch, the gears are turning in the trans but nothing is engaged.

When its cold your trans oil is thicker.  Eventhough you don't have it in gear, the oil is spinning with the gears and is hydraulically trying to turn the gears.  So when your in neutral and let out the clutch it feels like the truck wants to move.  Very common in a lot of manual trans.

Ok cool, that makes me feel better then. Thanks everyone

I have had my sammy actually move when in neutral because of the temp(friggin cold) and too thick of oil.