Its to be expected that a 1996 vehicle(Sidekick, 4drs, Calmini lift) will begin to show its age. Within the last 2 yrs all brake lines were replaced, shocks & coils replaced with EMU(excellent quality), several welding jobs to reinforce body & frame, & lately its been gaskets & hoses leaks. Driving to my camp(northern Quebec, 200km highway, 60km off-road) I noticed smoke coming from the engine area. Pulled over to check & some fluid was falling(wind blown) on the cc causing the smoke. Stopped at a garage in the village & was told its a main seal/oil pan gasket leak which entails lifting the motor, a labor intensive job. Following week took the truck to my garage & received same diagnosis. Called my friend(former mechanic) to come take a look & he noticed oil coming down the side of the motor. This was a distributor gasket leak, often misdiagnosed as a main seal/oil pan leak. Suzuki does not include these gaskets in their parts list but a company in the states, BlendDoor, sells a kit on Amazon which was an exact fit to my Sidekick. The kit includes an O-ring for the body & a larger thin ring for the housing which should be reinforced with red hi temp. gasket maker. Prior to assembly, sand cap & rotor contact points & spray with contact cleaner. Once you decide to go ahead with the rebuild you should consider replacing the coolant hoses. The 2 heater hoses lie under the dist. & can be accessed once its removed. One of my hoses was found to be soft, porous, & leaking. The radiator hoses should also be looked at. The lower one is in 2 sections & again one section was found to be soft, porous, & leaking. Use new clamps on any hoses you replace. If there's any coolant leak after this repair, usually around the differential area, its the water pump seal. Its time for a timing belt/water pump job.
