I have a 88 Samurai.
94 Sidekick 1.6 engine
Check Engine light on and no codes?
What is the problem?
Could a bad PCV have something to do with that?
First - a 94 Sidekick should give you a code 12 if there is nothing wrong, so a Sidekick that really has no codes would be one with a failed ECU.
Having said that, Sidekicks had a "Service Engine Soon" feature, when the odometer clicks over 50,000 mile intervals, it turns the check engine light on, even though there is no fault detected, there's a switch that you flip to turn the light off, but, whether or not that switch/feature made it into your car when the engine was swapped is anybody's guess, and the same thing goes for the location of the switch if it was installed.
I believe when the SES feature is tripped, it's no longer possible to use the jumper method to check for error codes because the check engine light stays on, so that could be the reason you feel there are no codes.
The problem is unlikely to be PCV related, I don't recall any PCV related sensing, and if there was a sensor that was related to the PCV and there was a problem, there would be a code set.
Leaf Springs in Off-road Environment
Reliable?
Flex?
SPOA with Shackles
What really is the question here? Leaf springs have been used off road since the dawn of time - are they reliable, it depends on what you have, for the most part, yes; do they flex, again, it depends on what you have, some will, some won't.
10 Ply Military Tires how good are they in the snow?
I'll pass on this one.
My Samurai has a total of 6” lift. Three suspension and three body.
How difficult is it to drop the lift down to 3” ?
Will I need to change anything?
Sure you realize that something will have to be changed to get rid of three inches of lift.
You can get rid of the body lift by removing the blocks, there may be drive shaft spacers and gear/transfer case shifter modifications that might need to be reversed.
Removing the suspension lift will also be a matter of reversing what was done to lift it, which I hasten to add, we do not know - you mentioned SPOA earlier, so if I assume that's what you have, that is usually done by bolting or welding a set of spring perches to the axles and then moving the axles under the springs, bolt on would be easy to reverse, welded perches would not, also properly done SPOA requires modifications to the steering to at least reduce bump steer, these would also need to be removed, if they were done. It's not unusual for shock mounts to be relocated when an SPOA conversion is done, that's an area that might need attention.
You also mentioned shackles, I would hate to see a three inch shackle lift, but that could be undone by refitting standard shackles, again the shocks will probably need attention.
It's hard to provide definitive answers to your questions without actually seeing the vehicle - maybe if you're willing to share your location (at least the general area), maybe there's someone familiar with Samurais not too far away that could take a look.
