Hey, I've just pick a stock '87 Sammi (immediately re-named to "Salami" by my 6y. old :-). Runs OK and everything, but trying to figure out the mileage I run a compression test on it. It reads 155-165-145-150psi. According to my dumb Hayness book the "good" reading should be 199psi, with anything below 170psi being vitrually a dead engine. Hmmm...my Salami ain't dead yet, so I rather dis-believe Mr. Hayness. What's your experience on that????

Thank you (and my Salami thanks you too :-)

-marker

I believe the Zuke manual also says 199. My engine comes up with about the same #'s as you have and has 62K on it and runs just fine. Jim

http://sites.netscape.net/riodiusa

Check the timing belt for proper alignment. You may be off one notch which would cause a lower compression reading. I had a simular problem when my timing belt pulley broke and allowed the belt to move off some. My old 1.3 engine had 120 lbs. across all cylinders. It could also be correct and the engine needs rebuilt.

87' Samurai/1.6 Tracker/40mm Mikunis/header/2" exhaust/5.5" SPOA/shackle lift/CJ-Sami springs/Cross over steering/4" Pitman arm/31x13.50 TSL-SX/Pumpkin caps/Roll cage and bumpers in progress...

Check your piston rings. A 1.3 will run on about 90 psi or less. Trust me, I know unfortunately. Stock performance can be achieved between 170 and 199 psi, anything less usually denotes a leak somewhere. Since your readings are relatively the same across the pistons, I would say you have worn rings/cylinders and not a blown gasket.

Do you blow smoke when you gun it, hit 70mph, or when yer having to scrap over a steep obstacle or big rock? Thats oil seeping past yer rings. If you take the head off, can you move the pistons side to side with your thumbs? That's worn cylinders.

If it's an '87 Sam with original engine and typical highway miles, it is about time for the cylinders to be rebored.

Neal the Zukiguy

"If it is '...a Jeep thing...' I hope it's not contagious"

Oh, and defintitely go out and get the Chilton book for the Sammy. I use 'em both pretty steady. For $25 you can buy the Samurai parts catalog from the dealer. Saves me about 20 minute per call to a dealer when I call them up with part numbers and diagream numbers. Since no one in the DFW area knows Samurais anymore, I usually have to educate the parts dept on what I am trying to order.

FYI, Suzuki is EXTREMELY proud of their Samurai rings sets:
$220 per set. I about fell over dead. Thank goodness I was only curious and had a more affordable venue for parts.

Neal the Zukiguy

"If it is '...a Jeep thing..." I haope it's not contagious"

Zukiguy wrote:
>>FYI, Suzuki is EXTREMELY proud of their Samurai rings sets:
>>$220 per set.

How 'bout CAD$1000.00 for a 4.88 R&P set from Nissan dealer....$2000.00 for front 'n rear....that was the #1 reason why I sold my Pathfinder. Bloody hell.

Anyway, I rather swap the 1.6 in instead of re-building stock 1300...a bit more $$ I guess, but considering the work and downtime involved, the gains of such a swap are all too obvious me think. Truck runs fine for now (touch the wood) so let it be.
After a massive cleaning session (the previous owner was a pig) I don't need to take a shower after a short ride anymore. Ditching the VERY_sticky carpets helped to get rid of that bad smell too. To my delight there's only very little rust on the floors and almost none in the fender wheels. Should be easy to fix; or perhaps I should just Rhino-line the whole tub and let the rust live underneath :-)

With an immediate effect I'm planning to change the front seats (I wish re-upholstery was cheaper, I really like the stock [JX] buckets), rain_proof the (almost new) rag_top, halt the distributor leak, install the Kick power steering, put some 2" body lift, stronger alt., make tube bumpers, put some tunes in along with the CB, etc.

Long plans: coilovers (considering Toy axles), lobster, 5.12's, lock-rites, roll cage....ouch, that's going to hurt my pockets big time.

OTOH, knowing myself I will probably end up maxing out my VISA and get all that stuff done much sooner than in my wildest dreams...my 33's (leftovers from the Nissan) are getting lonely in my locker...they're calling me...Aaaawwww!!!!

Sorry for the long rant, but I'm REALLY excited with all those opportunities to spend my aftertax $$ :-)

Thx for your input, yours truly Salami rider

-marker

Sorry for my lack of knowladge But How do you measure an engine compression ????

Rui Alberto Sá Freitas
Livramento de Cima
1º Impasse da estrada do garajau n.º 9 e 11
9125-066 Caniço
Ilha da Madeira
PORTUGAL

You can buy a simple analog guage that threads into the spark plug inlet on the block. A tube runs from the hole to a pressure guage on the end. When you crank the motor, as the compression builds and reads on the guage. Do this across all cylinders, letting the motor turn about 7-10 times per cylinder. If your readings are within relative compression of each other, this is a sign of worn cylinders, or rings. If one or two are significantly lower than the others, by say 15%. Then most likely you have a leaky gasket, valve, or cracked/warped block/head.

Neal the Zukiguy

"If it is '...a Jeep thing...' I hope it isn't contagious"

Zukiguy wrote:
>>When you crank the motor, ..snip...snip...

Well said, except remove all spark plugs BEFORE this test....It may be not so obvious for somebody who never done it before. The RPM should be around 400 - and keep the throttle fully open to provide enough air into the cylinders.

Just my .02

-marker

Right, right... just went over the generals... I assumed he would have gotten the rest from the instructions that come with the guage. But then again, if he's anything like me, he tosses those things with the package.

Neal the Zukiguy

"If it is '...a Jeep thing...' I hope it isn't contagious"