Hi everyone.  I'm new to the forum.  Just wanted to Know what y'all think about my situation.  I found a 86 sami in pretty good shape for $1500. I don't really know the engine size but it runs pretty good.  The inside is in good shape, just a wore out driver seat.  It has a spoa, new 32s, soft top, off road bumpers, power steering. The bad stuff is it has a little rust in places but not to bad has a can tell, I think it needs a ring and pinion gears in the rear end( it roars like crazy), temp gauge doesn't work, the heater doesn't work, might be just a thermostat, sometime the starter grinds when trying to start it, it also gets stuck in 4wlow so I hope it just the shift sheet. All in all its in pretty good shape to be 25 26 years old.  The reason was wondering if it is worth the money is because 5 year ago I bought 2 88s (one in alright shape and other for parts) for $500 but needed lot of work.  Just let me know what y'all think about.  Thanks

FWIW,I have a '86 tintop thats all original and you would have to pay twice that to get mine. yours has a lot of extras my does'nt have. If you can fix the rear end your self I would think it is worth that. BUT, that thing will nickel and dime you to death.

Nickel & Dime....? I wish it were that cheap! LOL... Awwww just kiddin! If you don't mind working on it and you like what you see then it should be a good deal. I gave more for mine and really have only spent money on all of the I wants. From the Zuks standpoint it has asked very little of me and I drive it daily.

Post up a pic or two when you get a chance. 

Thanks for the replies.  I bought friday it for 1000.  Very happy with it.  Just a few things I want to fix.  The heater and temp gauge doesn't work, It don't have a thermostat so that may be my problem.  Took out mudding yesterday and don't think the right tire is pulling, got to jack it up a see.  The other thing so far is the 4x4 light on the dash doesn't come on when locked in.  Could be a fuse or a bulb, if y'all know what it could be please let me know. But I think got a pretty good deal. Will try to post so picks later.  Thanks again everyone.

Congrats on your purchase! For the items not working lets hope for these simple items to be your problems:
Heater -  thermostat / check for loose or unhooked gauge sensor wire.
Right wheel not pulling - Lockout not properly enguaging (no grease / bad spring / sheered gear.)
4X4 light - unhooked bulb / bad bulb / sensor not engaging.

Hey ya'll, just wanted to update y'all on the 86 sami and maybe get some more advice. These are some things I had time to fix, the heater, it was a comb. of the needing a thermostat and the selector lever was broke.  The 4x4 light in the dash, the wire was cut.  I also fixed the wiring mess under the dash for the radio.(surprise the thing didn't catch on fire. The temp gauge was unhook also.  The brakeline brackets was cut to gain more clearance for the spoa lift.  got new extended brakelines just haven't put them on yet.  Was wondering the best way to remount them.  I mostly fixed the small stuff.

The stuff I need to fix but haven't did yet. The roaring in the rearend or the TC.  and the right wheel not pulling.  I got some great ideas on what to check for these problem on this forum and other websites.     

Here are some pic of the sami and some pic of the cut brakeline mounts






Here's another pic of my pass. side spring.  The bolts are tight but the spring is not sitting on the perch level.  Was wondering if these will cause any trouble and need to be fixed right away.  Could this caused it to be all over the road at 45-50 mph

That spring photo looks REAL SPOOKY!!
I diffidently get some new spring U-bolts, the photo shows the one side's U-bolt is bent, too!!

CAPT

I would fix that right away! It doesn't appear to be sitting on the perch crooked. It looks more like the spring plate is damaged or the u bolts are bent badly. maybe its just the picture angle. It could also be the the pin is not centered in the spring plate or the perch correctly. No matter what it should be addressed pronto.

Could this be a steering problem at 45-50 MPH? You bet!

I like your front bumper but I would consider guarding the open area showing your radiator. Out in th open you are likely to receive damage from anything that gets flung up into that area.

Thanks for the input.  I thought it looked kind of shifty, the other side is like that too but not has bad.  The U bolts are bent bad on both side but the driver side spring don't look crooked,it is sitting flat. Going to get all new ubolts tomorrow.

Has for the roaring goes, I just checked the gear oil in the RE and the TC and they look fine.  Tomorrow I don't have to work so I'm going to take the rear drivedraft off and run it down the road in 4wd hi to see if it is the RE.  Either one I have a 88 to use parts off of.  Kind of hoping it is the TC, I've 2 more of them . One is already laying on the shop floor just waiting to be put in.

 There a couple of thing I don't like about the sami .The bumper came on the sami when I bought it.  I like it too but wish it was solid all the way across.  Was thinking about taking off the 2in tubing and welding more metal in that spot or at least some metal mesh. Was going to put a winch in the hole and it would somewhat protect the radiator but the 2in tubing needs some more support, and I need to buy another winch. Was thinking about cutting off the 2in tubing and cut a hole and rewelding it in mid bumper.   Wouldn't that give me more support?

The other thing I don't like about it is the back lights.  Can't use the spare tire mount.  Was talking to others about putting a roof rack on it for the spare tire and other goodies.  Or redoing the lights, putting them in/on the bumper someway.  I guess since I have no back seat i could just throw the spare in the back. , but if I get the same size spare (32s) it will take up the whole back

The other thing is that I need wheel spacers because the 32s scrub the springs and the power steering.  What size do yall think I need,

Thank ya'll for the concerns about the spring issue.  I'm not going drive it on the highways until I get the roaring and the springs fixed.

fix those brake lines while you down there too. the lines need to be affixed to something so any movement is done by the hose. over time the steel line will fatigue and break. .

Yea Jluck.  Was planning on that for sure. Already have the brakelines and tomorrow is a good time to fix that issue.  Was thinking of cleaning the brackets that was cut and JB weld them back together.   Thanks for the concern man

I think I would put it on blocks with tires off ground, run it and see it it makes the roaring noise.  If it does, take off the drive shaft and see if it stops.  Had an s-10 that had a broken ubolt on spring. it would sway side to side as you would take off and slow down. Thought it was a brake issue until one day I happened to kick rear tire and whole axle moved.
  By the way, like your sammi, I think you got a good deal..

It doesn't look like the SPOA perch is welded onto the axle right above the stock SPUA perch.  It needs to be directly above it, so the spring will sit properly on the perch and not be twisted sideways.
It also could be that the one ubolt is tightened too much and the other one not enough.  Or maybe the one ubolt just needs to be tightened more.

Removing the rear driveshaft and driving it down the road isn't going to make the rear end stop roaring (if that is where the noise is coming from).  If it is roaring, then the noise is probably from the bearings; and the bearings will still be spinning, when driving down the road, no matter if the driveshaft is attached or not.

JB welding the brackets back together probably will not work.  At the very least, get a piece of flat metal and bolt the 2 pieces back together.  Or better yet, weld them back together.

And about the right front tire not pulling.  Unless you have a locker in the front, the right front might not pull (only 1 tire will have actual "power" to it, in an open axle....and it can be either tire...depending on the traction situation).  If you don't have a locker, or spool (and the gears aren't welded), and you think that one tire isn't pulling, then the front end won't pull at all....since the power is always sent to the tire with the LEAST amount of traction...and if an axle or hub is broken, then that side will be the one that always gets all the power, since there is no "traction" on that side.

Thanks for the info Fireman and Skyhiranger.  Yall are right,  I don't know what I was thinking about the unhooking the DS and running down the road,  the axles and the gears will still be turning.  Got to jack it up and put on jack stands, then unhook the DS.  BrainFarts I guess    I had to work today so didn't have time to do it.  Try tomorrow.  Thanks again