Isuzu Trooper

paisan

Power mode doesn't make the shifts any "faster" all it does is move the shift points to a higher RPM, closer to or at redline. This will lead to worse milage around town. However on the highway Power Mode will have no effect on your milage because your TC will be locked up in 4th on the highway anyway.

-mike

cwmoser

I visited the local Isuzu dealer in our town yesterday and they only have a couple of Troopers there. Are the 2002's going to come out or have we seen the last of the Trooper here in the USA?

paisan

-mike

tkevinblanc

I checked my 98 Trooper in Park at 2500 RPM - no vibration to speak of. Some exhaust system vibration, but nothing in the engine.

I also switched it into power mode for a few minutes. It didnt' seem to change the shift points much at all - certainly not any place near redline. I did not have TOD on... I'll have to read the manual on that one.

paisan

Well you need to also punch the gas a bit to get the power mode to engage. Basically if you nail the gas in non-power mode it will shift earlier than in power mode. Heck mine usually shifts @ 6500+ rpms in power mode.

-mike

tkevinblanc

That makes sense. I was the one that started the recent mileage thread. I'm driving gently to try to get better mileage. I never punch it. :0)

Is there such a thing as driving too gently? Nah, that's a stupid idea.

paisan

I don't think so, but why would you want to Then again, you are talking to someone who takes his troopa up to 115 on ocassion.

-mike

i30g20

I'm the one who posted the improved mileage in power mode statement. The truck is new and since then I've done a few more test of on and off power mode and tank mileage. If I punch it frequently, then my mileage goes down slightly. BUT, power mode is great -- gives the truck much power. I've decided to leave it on always (btw: I do >75% highway anyway). This is my 3rd (and sadly last new) Trooper and my only gripe has been power in both my 92 and 86 models I had. That gripe is now history. I'm amazed just how much get up and go this 4500 pound truck has. Mileage has run from 18.5 to a low of 16.5 per tank. Not as good as my older troopers, which were both lighter and had manual transmission (the 2001's an automatic). -- Ted.

paisan

Yeah I like the powermode too, but I burn way too much gas in the city as it is, so with that I'd get even worse milage!

-mike

cobbo

Well, I'm still getting 15/16 local/long-hauls and the Troop maxes out at 107 (109 w/the mirrors folded)...the first numbers I can accept b/c I've got a heavy foot (literally), and I've decided that I must carry a heck of a lot of extra crap in the back of the truck that Paisan is consistantly able to squeeze a few more mph out of his baby...Hope ya'll are doing well...I passed 15K this week (not bad for 6mo 1wk)...Happy Troopin' -Cobbo

paisan

Cobbo,
It's not uncommon to see 2 of the same car be wound up differently, could be my K&N? Altitude? Tire Pressure? Just about anything I'd imagine.

-mike

cobbo

I actually wasn't kidding about carrying a whole mess of stuff in the back...with all the scuba gear, hiking crap, tools, and misc. sporting equip, I probably have a few hundred pounds of extra weight there on a daily basis...*lol*...but I agree w/ya' on the other potential factors as well...Hope you're havin' a good one.
-Cobbo

paisan

I carry a bunch of stuff myself.

Trailer Hitch
Rear bumper protector
assorted hitch balls and tounges
floor jack (small one)
tent, sleeping bag, camping gear
socket set, toolbox
And these are just the things that are statically in my truck

-mike

stever

You tow a lot. Want to come over to this post and "educate" me a bit? Thanks!

steve_ "Towing tips for SUVs" Nov 14, 2001 8:14am

Steve
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bolearczyk

Anyone gotten good deals on the 2001 Trooper S. I'm looking to buy and want to see how flexible they've been with pricing?

paisan

Cool topic Steve.

-mike

stever

and I thank you for the support (but you didn't help my paranoia any) :-)

Steve
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gpm5

Posts indicate that people have purchased at around 22.5-23 K for a new truck.

tuckeg

We picked up our new 2001 S 5-sp for just under $20,000 (+tax) in August. I did not want an auto, but if I had I am sure I could have gotten one for about the same price with a little more searching.

sbcooke

2 years ago. 4wd S w/auto. I was happy with the price then, probably even now. Great truck.

richdeb

I paid 15800 for my '98 a month ago.
Trooper S/at/pw/pl/moonroof/reg 4 wheel drive, with 38K. The new ones were 23500, or 0% financing.
I bought an aftermarket cd player off e-bay that plugged right in and worked, but the volume was not balanced with the radio - to me it was noticeably lower. (I am a musician, and picky.)It was a company called usa-spec. They said their new model is adjustable in terms of the gain. I returned it and got a refund. I paid $192 plus $11 shipping for a total of $203 - which beats $416 from the dealer, had it worked to my satisfaction.

sdavito

I paid $22,283 OTD in late October 2000. Mine is 2wd, auto, 6 CD changer, bug shield & cargo mat.

In the future, when talking price, can we list what the bottom line out-the-door price is. Some people don't distinguish, & this could be misleading to a potential buyer.

David

sbcooke

was before Tax, Title, and registration. But it did include the destination. I think it was around 26K OTD for my '99 4WD Auto. Good point, I was not clear about OTD.

One nice thing about the the Trooper buying experience, and something I insist upon when buying a car from now on...Floor mats were included in the price. My nissan, when I got to the last of 3 rooms they made you sit through to buy a car, the sales guy then pulls out, it will be $100 for floor mats please. I was enraged, almost enough to cancel the deal, we ended up compromising for $50, but I will never buy another car in which the price (or I negotiate for) doesn't include floor mats.

paisan

The best way to quote cars is Total Price less Tax Title and Registration, commonly called TTL, since this depends on the registration state and will vary.

-mike

sdavito

Sure TTL is a more accurate price comparison, but when we use OTD, we can laugh at buyers in Taxachutetts for getting screwed :-)

I'm sort of curious what other areas charge for sales tax. In the county that I live in Florida, tax is 7% for the 1st 5k, & 6% over 5k.

David

zutrooper

Guys, 01 trrop S w/ auto & 4wd are much lower in TN. I paid $18400 +ttl on a used 01 w/ 11k miles. I got a rental unit w/ armrests, tinted glass, and glass antenna. I could have gotten new delaer spec model for $21800. Manuf dat can make about a $900 diff in price. Mark P

paisan

NYC is 8.25%

-mike

bluedevils

Mich. state sales tax is 6.25%. I don't believe any counties or cities do, or allowed to, charge additional sales tax.

TTL is a better comparison than OTD, for reasons paisan explained.

tidester

Then there is the personal property tax in Virginia where they hit you with a bill if you leave the state and take your car with you!

tidester
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jayboreed

3.3% in Alabama. When I bought my trooper, I bought it in Georgia. However, because it was going to be registered in Alabama, they charged me AL Tax. I was told that is the way that it is done nowadays in Georgia because other states got ticked at not getting the sales tax. Anyway, paid 23K for my 2000 Trooper S 4wd. OTD - 24100. Wish I would have waited till now to buy, I would have gotten an LS at a similar price as the S. Oh well. Also, found some really cool brush bars, nerf bars, and other stuff for the Trooper at Autoanything.com. They have did something to the site and you can't see a picture of it on a Trooper. At this link http://waag.com/showroom/17.php you can see a picture of it, but far as I know you can't buy it at this link. The Brush bar really looks good, but it does seem expensive. I would buy it but don't really need it and hey my wife drives the thing most of the time anyway. Well, hate to see the Trooper laid to rest. I have been tempted to buy another at the prices they are going for. As it has been said on this board, they really are the best deal out there. You just can't beat the price for the vehicle. -- JR

paisan

I've been doing some group buys on bars from http://www.ecb.com.au and http://www.ecb-usa.com I have a nudge bar on my truck and they are quite good. Also Matt at http://indpendent4x.com makes rear protectors that go into your hitch. Contact me off-line for more details. mike@iace.com

-mike

PS: welcome to the crew JR!

basketballkid

sales tax in Massachusetts in 5%, but there is an annual excise tax similar to Connecticut

robbierocket

Hi Folks i was offered a 91 trooper -, but the engine crankshaft pulley was leaking oil and the
engine was running unevenly- ,when still it would idle up and down consinstantly- but ran like a charm at all speeds--the seller said it was a new remanufactured motor installed w/ 20k on it. still under warranty-but my mechanic said -beware -without a full diagnostic -this could be a missing cylinder. it is a 4cyl- 2.6 liter engine.MT, are these red flags or what? -- or perhaps simple problems? please give me some input. everything else on the truck is sound, the price is 2K, thanks --Troopers

paisan

I'd tell the person to have it fixed under warranty and then call you up. I'm always warray of someone selling a car with a problem, that supposedly has a warranty. I feel if they want to sell it and it will be covered under warranty, then they should just fix it first.

-mike

richdeb

Where I live in New York the tax is 6.75%. My '98 trooper was 16800 OTD. There is no "luxury tax" like in CT.

tidester

I feel if they want to sell it and it will be covered under warranty, then they should just fix it first.

Good advice!

tidester
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bsmart1

How about a 01' Trooper S, brand new, 2wd, no CD, no tinted glass, automatic transmission, other standard stuff that comes on a Trooper S, OTD price $16,526. Now that does not include ttl because dealers don't do that here. Thats an add on of $865. Now this is a wonderful vehicle, gets about 21.5 hwy. mpg and 18.25 city mpg. Drives like a new Nissan Altima, and doesn't use any oil at all in 1st 3300 miles. Anybody out there got a better testimonial than that? Wouldn't that be great if it were TRUE? Well, lets face the facts, Troopers just aren't cheap, economical, trucks. They are rugged, dependable, reasonably priced trucks though. Nobody on this board would argue with that. Happy Trooping !! ;->

jayboreed

So is it true, that you found one for $16,526?

JR

rwcos

In Md and Del papers I don't see any ad's for 2002 Troopers. Are they out? I know this is the last year for the model and I want to get one before GM ruins the breed , Is this the case nationwide??

katgre

Hi Gang! I'm Luvin my 2001 NEW/Used TROOPER! Taking it in for a oil change today (since it was a demo) and to get my passenger door checked out because it doesn't seem to shut that well other than that no problems.

My question is: DOES ANY ONE KNOW HOW MANY MILES YOU HAVE LEFT TO DRIVE WHEN THE GAS LIGHT COMES ON? ALSO FOR MY NEXT OIL CHANGE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TYPE OF OIL TO USE. Finally, does any one notice a difference in the ride of the Trooper when purchasing 87 octane gas than 89 octane? I tried both and my truck seems to ride better w/89

Thx in Advance

katg

paisan

2002s won't be shipping til Jan or Feb.

Gas light: I've driven as many as 40 miles after the light came on on the highway but at 40 miles if I nailed the gas it would cough and almost stall.

Oil: I switched at 5K miles to Mobil 1 10w20w Oil. Runs like a top on that, smoother, cooler and less oil consumption.

Octane: I tried 93/94, 89, 87 I get the same milage (maybe 1mpg better on 93) and the same performance. Although each vehicle is a little different.

Katg: welcome to the crew. Check out http://isuzu-suvs.com for tons of helpful info.

-mike

sdavito

My 2000 Trooper ran out of gas less than 10 miles after the gas light came on. Luckily I was able to coast into a gas station.

As far as fuel goes, I have found that the octane rating isn't as important as the particular gas station that you purchase it from. I run 87 octane with no pings. I fill up at Race Track, or Hess, and have no problems. If I use Citgo, or a few other brands, I experience a rough idle at startup, and some pinging.

David

sbcooke

I have never seen mine. At 12-15 MPG around town, I am very wary of seeing it. I think the whole octane thing is just a timing issue. If your timing is set at 87 octane it should run best at that. I don't know how that effects electronic timing in newer cars. I run 89 most of the time, without problems.

tntmyth

Yeah, that's weird. I get the pinging sometimes too. But not all the time. I did fill up on Citgo last time and it's pinging. Probably does have something to do with the gas station. I will try Hess to see if it makes a difference.

jayboreed

Octane is not a performance rating. It really has very little to do with the performance side of the fuel. If you do some research you will find that Octane is simply a measurement of resistance to pre-detonation(ping). What is this you ask? Well when the fuel/air content is breathed into a cylinder it is then compressed by upward motion of the piston. Put this combination of air/gas under pressure and it becomes more volatile.(Explosive). The more pressure, the more volatile it is. Add in heat from the motor as it warms up and it gets even more volatile. Now a signal is sent to the spark plugs at a controlled time (timing) to ignite the contents in the cylinder. When this happens a flame from spreads out across the area compressed in the cylinder forcing it down. Pressure is increased and at the same time areas of the cylinder that have not been reached yet by the flame front come under even more pressure as the flame puts pressure on the area. This in turn sometimes makes areas in the cylinder that have not been reached by the flame front to ignite prematurely. I know this happens in milliseconds but hey, that is just the way it is. Anyway, this is what causes ping. There is not a steady push of the flame front igniting the gas and pushing the cylinder down. The pressure changes during this event and causes the ping that you hear. Now, how can this be you ask? Well, timing can be an issue. The spark could be happening to early causing a premature detonation upon pressuresation of the gas/air. In many cases a higher octane gas will help this because it is resitant to pre-detonation. Race cars don't run race fuel for nothing. Race fuel is usually 100 - 104 octane. Race cars run higher compression ratios, turn more RPM's and have much higer advanced timing than reguler cars. When I say advanced, I mean the timing might fire at 35 degrees before TDC(Top Dead Center) rather than 5 degrees like most. Top Dead Center is a measurement taken (Usually on the number 1 piston) when that piston is all the way up. Now, concerning the Troopers... I have read on this board that an ECU upgrade is available to upgrade the PROM in the ECU and this will help out anyone having pinging issues. The 3.5 V6 has no distributor, so therfor you can not adjust the timing via turning the distributor like you can on less advanced motors. It is controlled via the computer and so is timing advance. Many people have said that they have had problems with ping on the Trooper. I for one am one of those people. I have not taken it in yet to get that done but will pretty soon. I have to run 89 Octane or my Trooper will ping. Does not go any faster or any longer on this gas. I have found from my experience you pay for what you get. Buy a cheap gas and you will not go as far as you will on a premium brand. Meaning Cheveron vs No brand name gas, you will go further on the Cheveron gas. Now that is just my observation. I am a cheap person and if I felt that I could go the same distance on cheaper gas then I would. I recommend you try it yourself and see. I would be interested in the results and it would really be a very cheap test. In addition, I also have found that cheaper gas does not perform as well as premium brands. I use Cheveron, and think it is good stuff. And yes, I buy the 87 Ocatane on any vehicle I can get away with on doing so. -- Reed

sdc2

FWIW, I haven't had any pinging on my 99.

Sometimes pinging is made worse long-term by higher octane gas. Although the pinging is alleviated short-term, the higher octane can actually accelerate the rate of carbon deposits, which are often the cause of pinging.

I stick with 87, and a couple times a year I throw in a can of Sea Foam or Techron. Working so far!

beer47

last week I had the re-program on the engine and it has eliminated about 80% of the pinging. Maybe we should use 87 octane for the first 50K, 89 octane for 50K to 100k, and Hi-Test for 100K plus!! Maybe that will do it (I wish). I have always thought that premium brand and octane was the way to go. I have only used 87 so far on the Trooper. In the past when I ran Shell/Sunoco/Amoco Hi-Test I never had any pinging on any vehicle unless there was a serious problem. I have also read that buying a higher octane than is called for is like buying sneakers 2 sizes too big for your foot. They will not make you run any faster than you already do and it is a waste of $. I can't accept (yet) that going to 89 or 93 will increase deposits. I would hope that it would burn cleaner and cause less problems. Maybe, I'm brainwashed by advertising also. Oh well, I'm off to try some 89 octane.

sdc2

I agree that the higher octane increasing carbon deposits sounds a little weird, but I should tell you that I heard this from the head mechanic at a Chevy dealer, (The Blazer 4.3L can have pinging problems too.) back when I had a Blazer. I followed his advice successfully, until I traded the Blazer for my Trooper.

So the question is, does this advice translate to other engines such as the Isuzu 3.5L? I would think it does, but don't really know.

paisan

I've always learned through the years from many sources that you should run the lowest octane possible on your car that does not produce pinging and does not result in power or milage losses. This is because higher octane produces less power per volume. The octane only prevents pre-detonation, so if you aren't having it you don't really need it. I did a test on the Trooper and found if I ran 1K miles on 93 I got 1mpg increase in milage and no performance increase. So I dropped back to 87 and it is happy.

-mike

jayboreed

I really don't think there is much that anyone can do to prevent carbon deposits. Pull the head off of any vehicle and you will see them in the exhaust throats and around the exhaust valves. They don't usually build up mind you, they come and go. The pressurization of the whole ordeal breaks tiny particles of it loose and push it out and some are added back. It is an ongoing thing. Run your finger around the inside of your tailpipe and look what you find on it. Clean the inside of your tailpipe and the next day the carbon will be there. The reason why some cars have more carbon buildup than others, is because they may be running a rich fuel mixture or burning a little oil. Don't put any additives into your system that claim to fix this issue and clean your injectors at the same time. After all, everything dirty behind the fuel filter will break loose and guess what... clog your injectors with the debri broken loose. Just change your fuel filter regulerly and run clean gas. I've been told by more than one mechanic that they love injector cleaner additives, because it clogs the injectors and puts money in there pockets when they have to go in and clean them.

Change of tune. I called one of the local Isuzu dealers here in Bham, Al and they want to charge me $170 dollars to change the transmisson fluid on our Trooper via the power flush. Don't you guys think this is a rip off. I think I am just going to take it to one of the local quickie stops and let them do it for $70 bucks. What do you guys think?