Hey all. New member here.

I just traded my 2WD 1995 Jeep XJ for this 88 yesterday.

Yes, I am not insane, haha. I just thought Samurais were cool and you don't see too many around. That, and I wanted a 4x4 vehicle.

So I'm posting this basically just because I know too little about these things and I thought I'd learn from the gurus.

All I know about this thing is that it leaks oil like crazy from the front timing cover/crank cover and that it also burns it like crazy too.

It's got a new Weber 2-barrel on it, as well as 31" tires on roughly 1.5-2" of body lift. No idea on the gear ratios, nor the condition of the Xfer case, but the transmission will slip out of 2nd and 4th occasionally.

Previous owner said the engine had been out to work on the piston rings, but he thinks they were done poorly and that may be the cause of the burning oil.

Also said the transmission leaks a little gear oil, but he hadn't needed to fill it since he owned it... which according to the title, was only ~700 miles, since he needed a family car.

What the heck do I need to do to get this thing road-worthy? I've heard 1.6 8v swaps are super popular.

Oh, and two other things of note:

1. It has a bit of a shimmy right around 45 mph. Not sure I'd call it death wobble, but it does shake enough that the hood wobbles visibly with it.

2. I forgot to mention my intentions for this thing.

My daily driver is a motorcycle. Bikes will always be my passion.

With that in mind, I want this thing to be built for the road with some light to light-intermediate trail ability. However, it will be on the road 99% of the time.

That said, I love the way Sammys look on 30"s - 35"s. I'm perfectly happy with the current stance, but I really don't like the idea of body lift. Once I can get all the engine (and, if necessary, gearing work) sorted out, then I'll focus on getting it lifted via suspension.

Thanks all!

The 1.6l conversion is probably the easiest and will give you power to turn the 30" tires.  If your willing to spend the money a call to Trail Tough will set you up with everything you need. 

I would loose the body lift and switch to an OME lift springs, keeps it low enough to stay stable and gets rid of the body lift. Put new spring bushings all around at the same time and some new tie rod ends.

An ARB in the back and that thing will get just about anywhere.