Advice on an engine rebuild
 

This isn't for the Ranger though, it's for the Samurai. I figured I'd throw it up on here anyways because rebuild procedures are rebuild procedures, regardless of what motor it is.

So here's the deal. The samurai runs pretty well, but it smokes like a chimney and burns oil pretty well too. The spark plugs have oil on them also. The motor's got more than 130k on it (though I haven't a clue as to exactly how much... the speedo cable was ripped out on a rock by the previous owner). I think the piston rings are worn and it's getting blow-by into the cylinders, and the valves might need some work as well.

What would y'all recommend as far as rebuilding the motor? Right now, I'm thinking I might take the head to a machine shop and have them work on it. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should have them look for/do, and how much it might cost? I also think I will try to re-hone the cylinder walls and re-ring the pistons. While I've got the block apart, what should I look into replacing as far as bearings/seals go? Will I be able to get by with just doing rod and crank bearings, front and rear crank seals, and new gaskets? I'm on a bit of a budget and I know engine parts can get expensive really quickly.

I'm not looking for huge performance gains right now... I just want to get the motor back up and running well for as little as I can get away with (but it'd be nice if it lasted for awhile too!). Thanks for everyone's help!

The first thing I would do is a compression, and leak down test to try and determine the health of the rings. Valve guides, and valve guide seals are
known to be a problem, and could be the source of oil consumption.

Blow-by leaves the cylinder going into the crankcase, instead of going into the cylinder.

You problem is more likely warped bores than wore out rings. That is to say.. the rings are worn.. but it's because of a non-round bore. Pull it apart and measure the roundness of the bore before spending a penny on it.

Otherwise.. honing the bores will "work" but you'll have piston slap. One way to help that is to use valvoline VR1 30w oil. It's thicker and has more zinc in it.

As far as the heads go. If you do them yourself check the valve to valve guide fit. If it's sloppy it'll eat through a new set of seal and you'll back in the oil buring business.

Rich

4.3L Chevy swap......??? hint hint, nudge, nudge.

Haha I've got a '91 Chevy S10 with a GREAT running 4.3L, but the problem is that the rest of the truck is in good condition too (and, it's kinda my brother's for the time being).

Is there a special tool to measure the roundness of the cylinders? Or should I just try measuring the cylinder at the top, middle, and bottom and check for discrepancies?