In the next like, week I'm picking up an 87 4x4 sammy for a daily driver/work vehicle.   Its been sitting for a few years, so I'm figuring a full on fluid change for everything from differential fluid to coolant, along with most likely re priming the oil pump an getting some oil flowing back into the critical areas before I fire it up.    EDIT: just realized the clutch is cable not hydraulic. 

But thats all basic stuff too that I do on any vehicle thats been sitting.   are there any special areas of intrest to look at?  

I know theres a few common issues that I've read about regarding the ignition relay for the starter, and some stuff with the shifter and a bushing that I have to look at and probably order the parts to be on the safe side,  but really aside from that,  what should I look at?  

thanks for any and all info.  

I can tell you what I went through on the 87 sammy I picked up last year.  It, too, had been sittin for a couple of years when I bought it.

First thing I should have done is drain the gastank.  I had carb trouble from the start, and I think some of it had to do with the little bit of gas that was still in the tank.  I ended up replacing the carb, I found a rebuilt one on craigslist that was far cheaper than having mine rebuilt. 

I replaced the shifter sheets right off, didnt want to have that problem. 

The front wheel bearing were pretty bad, had to replace them.  Wish I had done the axle seals while I had it apart, because I now have one that is leaking and I am going to have to tear it all apart again.

My cat converter was shot, had to replace it to pass smog.

That was about it, other than the routine stuff (oil, plugs, wires, coolant etc).  The $700 I spent on the sammy ended up closer to $2500 by the time I was done.  Still, I love this little truck, and had a blast fixin it.

This info is good to know.   The person I'm buyin it from is a very maintenance intensive person, and likes to take care of his stuff,  but I'm still planning to repack wheel bearings, and do basic stuff.   

I have no excuse to be lazy if I've got time and tools to do the job right do I?    oh and I do all the work myself, since I distrust shops, and would rather know in case it breaks on a trail or out in the middle of bumblescum.

He may be maintenance intensive, as you say.  But if the sammy has sat for a few years, my advice would be to drain the gas, at minimum.  I went as far as dropping the fuel tank out and cleaning it.  Wasnt hard to do at all.  As I said, I wish now I had done it right off.

I also forgot to add, I ended up having to change the fuel pump too.  After sitting for that long, the diaphram tends to dry up I guess.  It ran fine for awhile, then the pump went out.

I use my sammy for a hunting rig, if you plan on using yours for a DD then these are all thing you should look into.  Anything that has sat for that long will probably end up giving you some problems.  I look at mine as a toy so its fun to work on toys, lol.

My brother and cousin both have sammies too, so we have fun workin on them.  Between the 3 of us, we have fixed about everything you could imagine (including the clutch cable you mentioned).

thanks for the heads up on the fuel pump.  I'll definitely pull the tank and see how it looks when I get it home.  as it sits, I dont ASOLUTELY NEED it to run immediately, since I can take public buses pretty much everywhere,  but it'd really be nice to drive instead of be the passenger.