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Isuzu Trooper

1160161163165166233

Comments

  • raydahsraydahs Member Posts: 449
    and cheap if you want Black, most shops shoot it alot and can put small pieces in with other orders. http://www.powdercoatfinishes.com/process.htm
  • cwmosercwmoser Member Posts: 227
    I read the posts about oil consumption and went out and checked mine. At 3,500 miles, I am down about 1/3 quart. There certainly is a wide variation in oil consumption with these engines. Be interesting if we can determine the reason for this - whether it is design, when manufactured, breakin, driving style, etc. Anyone know got any theories?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Is not likely. My buddy has the same truck produced @ the same time as mine, but he doesn't burn a stitch of oil.

    -mike
  • raydahsraydahs Member Posts: 449
    Isuzu short blocks are assembled only on Fridays after lunch and Monday mornings. Paisans buddy got one assembled by Friday's designated driver:)
  • bawbcatbawbcat Member Posts: 118
    Dumb question, but where is the EGR and how do you clean it? Thanks.
  • ostazostaz Member Posts: 80
    I am still trying to find a good set of fog lights that will fit in the factory cut-outs of my 99 Trooper. I looked at the Hella 550, but they have the mounting stud that I couldn't figure a way to remove it.

    Your thought are greatly appreciated.

    Sam
  • cwmosercwmoser Member Posts: 227
    Well, if it is not *when* a vehicle was manufactured then perhaps its not the quality or particular version of the part that determines whether a Trooper burns oil or not.

    Then, perhaps its the way the Trooper is broken in, or maybe its the frequency of oil change, or maybe even type of oil used. I use ordinary 10W30 and mostly Havoline or Quaker State. Never had a drop of Synthetic in my Trooper and my engine uses little oil.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    IMHO the path for oil consumption in Isuzu engines is piston blow by resulting in high crank case pressure resulting in a high flow rate of oily crank case air back to the enine air intake. This would explain why my 1995 burned more oil under heavy load and nearly no oil burning at light load. My 1984 Trooper had high crankcase pressure and used 0.5 to 1.5 qt. / 1000 miles from 30K miles to 200K miles, then I sold it still running great.
    ..
    Experiment: drive really light on engine demand and see if your oil burning rate reduces.
  • troop2shostroop2shos Member Posts: 235
    IMO, the best auxiliary lights I've ever installed & used were Cibie & Hella (driving & fog). A good quality reflector & lens makes all the difference & will brighten your day - regardless of the bulb output.
  • cracoviancracovian Member Posts: 337
    Not to screw up anybody's "theory" or anything but my one-year old has been burning oil on and off since new (17 miles). We baby it all the time (never go over 2800RPMs) but that's not good either 'cause someone here has already told me that not driving it *hard* enough is the reason for oil burning :-)
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I took today off. I went to a mini cooper dealership and got to take one for a test drive. The salesperson really let me get on it through some twisty hilly roads. A lot of fun. It is a much different drving experience from a truck.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Well I'll find out how my trooper did on it's new oil. I changed over to 10-40 Castrol Synthetic from 5-30 Mobil 1.

    -mike
  • cwmosercwmoser Member Posts: 227
    Regarding oil consumption, I have a suspicion that the reason that one uses more oil than the other is the way it was broke in - those first 2,000 miles. I bought mine when it had about 20 miles on it and it was babied - well it still is.

    There is a break-in schedule in the owners manual.
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    I have a'98 Trooper S automatic with 105K miles on it. Had the original rear brakes done (pads, rotor cutting) at 88K and the original fronts @ 95K. Here are the questions:
    1)Since the fronts were done I hear a scraping, clicking sound from the right front area when braking at low speed . When maneuvering in a parking lot I hear like "click, click, crunch, crunch" whenever I put the brakes on with the wheels turned at an angle. The noise is most common on very hot days - over the winter I don't hear it at all. Sometimes I open the passenger window in a parking lot to hear it but nothing, but then as summer comes, the noise comes too. I had the Isuzu dealer check it out twice, but they say there is nothing loose or wrong with the brakes. I am wondering if it could relate to the rotors being turned down too much and the stock clips or springs holding the pads being little loose since they were designed for a thicker (when new) rotor. When it is cold out the lube firms up and keeps the clips from moving about. When it is hot everything gets more fluid and the clips move - hence noise. Any thoughts on any part of this issue?
    2) I have a very steep hill in my area and every time I drive down this hill and start braking to stop at the bottom I get a loud and very disarming scraping noise from the rear of the vehicle. I sounds like I picked up a tree branch and it is dragging. The noise is kind of cyclical like it is related to something rotating. The first time it happened (almost 2 years ago) I got out and checked the whole underneath, then when I went home I went underneath and tapped and shook anything I could find - but nothing loose. Once I stop at the bottom of that hill and take off again the noise is forever gone until the next time I come down that one very steep hill. I can drive around for 6-7 months and hear nothing back there, then the once I have to go that route, as sure as anything I know, the noise happens again - yesterday was one of those times.
    It just occurred to me that it could be the emergency brakes. I thing they are drums, and if neglected and the shoes and/or linings disintegrate maybe there's a lot of loose lining material floating around inside of the drum unit that only starts acting up when the vehicle assumes this really severe down hill angle. Again, any thoughts, etc. would be appreciated.
    Thanks,

    Bob
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    On the troopers. They are all discs. The rears have special drum-in-discs for the parking brake. It could be that they heat up more?

    -mike
  • cwmosercwmoser Member Posts: 227
    Regarding oil consumption, I have a suspicion that the reason that one uses more oil than the other is the way it was broke in - those first 2,000 miles. I bought mine when it had about 20 miles on it and it was babied - well it still is.

    There is a break-in schedule in the owners manual.
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    Thanks for the reply.
    From my earlier post: "Had the original rear brakes done (pads, rotor cutting) at 88K.." Yeah, I know the rear service brakes are disc. You say the rear emergency brake is a drum-in-disc.
    This is what I meant (though not probably clearly expressed) in my comment: "It just occurred to me that it could be the emergency brakes. I think they are drums..."
    Any thoughts how I can access the drum part of the disc-in-drum unit?

    Thank you
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    ah ha, too much sun for me :)

    I'm not sure how you access them, you think it might be dragging?

    -mike
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Well the results are in... The air-bags help out bigtime for towing. I put them in before towing my 5400lb car-trailer upstate this weekend. They worked out perfectly, no sag anymore!

    Well worth the <$100 for them and 1/2hr. install.

    In 2 weeks I get my 919 OME Coils in the rear, 1" spacers, OME shocks, and front ball-joint spacers :)

    Also looking for opinions on tires, narrowed it down to 285-75-16 Bridgestone Dueler Revos v. BFG ATKOs, any opinions, the price on both are close enough to not matter.

    -mike
  • serranoserrano Member Posts: 107
    Perhaps break-in can affect oil burn, but many here, including me, have followed the procedure to the letter and still the thing burns oil. I find it hard to believe that a sample as large, and as conscientious as this, would burn oil more than some other vehicles. The average Accord or Camry driver has no freakin clue about break-in, yet those cars run flawlessly for the vast majority of operators.

    No, I chalk this one up to a design or manufacturing defect.

    Tom
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I dunno if I'd consider a 3.5L engine in an Isuzu the same as a passenger car like the accord or camry. I bet those would burn out in a minute in the isuzu chassis!

    I'm not sure why the burn, so far I've got close to 1000 miles on my Castrol 10-40 synthetic w/o losing any yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

    -mike

    PS: Most of those miles are towing 5300lbs @ 65-75mph! :)
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I have the Dueler A/T's...before the revo's...good ride and fairly quiet. I have had a very hard time getting them balanced. I got those because they were $70+ cheaper than the BFG's, I have spent that difference with repeated balancing. They are good now, however it was difficult getting the ride right. Offroad? The duelers are competent with a very good road ride. I understand the BFGs are excellent offroad with a worse road ride? There is a little trade-off between the two I believe.

    I would check to see if you can get weight specifications per tire. the 75 series are LT and may be a lot heavier or less depending on brand. That is one detail I would check.
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    Time for tires for me, too.

    Costco twice a year has good prices on Michelins, and the ones I put on my wife's Sienna have been flawless, smooth, quiet, grippy (add your positive adjective here, can't repeat it too often, they're that good).

    Any reason to believe I'd be unhappy with a Michelin SUV tire?
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    We have Michelin CrossTerrains on our MDX. I like them a lot. Very good road tire and they seem good in the snow.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    People that don't know about their engine's breakin also probably don't change their own oil. A quick lube place is not likely to notice low oil, so many of these perfect never use a drop of oil cars might be using quite a lot of oil, just that their owners have no idea that it is happening.
  • raydahsraydahs Member Posts: 449
    check out post 520 & 521.....interesting, I thought Honda's were perfect;)
    KarenS "CR-V Owners: Problems & Solutions" Sep 2, 2003 9:07am
  • chaser1chaser1 Member Posts: 20
    Haven't put these on the Trooper yet - don't need them but...did put Pirelli Scorpion A/Ts on my Cherokee and was VERY happy with them. MUCH improved wet handling over the stock Goodyear's (RT-S). One report on the Scorps I read said they weren't optimal for snow, but were rated very high in all other categories...

    A thought...
  • viktoria_rviktoria_r Member Posts: 103
    Hi, it's me again (if anyone remembers). The ordeal goes on. our 00 Trooper S 4wd auto now dies on intersections. When shifter in in "D", but the foot is on the brake, the RPM's can fall and car dies. Does not happen on "P" or "N". Was at dealer's 2 times, once they kept it overnight, said cannot replicate, even though it died 2 times that morning on the way there! The dealer changed spark plugs and cleaned 'carbon deposits' somewhere to the tune of $360. Absolutely no effect (I wouldn't have agreed to useless service, because even I understand that it's unlikely that platinum spark plugs would go bad at 51K miles, but hubby did). Tried higher octane fuel and injector cleaner (still no effect). No indicators/lights of any kind. Dealer says no computer readouts either. Maintenance is up to date.
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    It could be the intake manifold gasket. I had a very similar experience. 4 trips with them not finding anything. I even had a check engine light a couple of times and still nothing. It took until it got "really bad" for them to find it. Stalling more than once is "really bad" in my book.

    I had my service guy take it on his lunch break, because running it in the garage didn't yield the desired effects. Sure enough after driving it more than 15 minutes it shutdown on him.

    Good luck.
  • viktoria_rviktoria_r Member Posts: 103
    I presume intake manifold gasket would be under P/T warranty? The problem is that it's been doing it for a long time and still no CEL. I am afraid that P/T warranty will run out and THEN the CEL will come on ... How much can it cost (if it is indeed intake manifold gasket) and what do I need to tell them to make them look into it, as opposed to spark plugs and other BS? also, as I wrote before, we left it with them for a day and overnight, allegedly they drove it and it didn't do anything of a kind....
    here is a link to the beginning of the problem:
    viktoria_r Jun 11, 2003 1:00pm
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    There is a TSB at least for 1999s on the intake manifold gasket.

    My gasket issue would cause the cars idle to bounce a few times and then stall outright after a while. There was no issue while driving, only while stopped.

    www.alldata.com - I believe this is it?
    SB00-01-S005 APR 00 Intake Manifold Gasket - MIL ON/DTC's Set
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I am currently running Scorpion ATs in 275-70-16. Unfortunately they don't come in 33"/ 285-75-16. I've had 45K+ miles on them and they have been great.

    -mike
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    will you be getting a set of larger rims for the 285's or just put them on the Trooper's 16x7 rims?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Not gonna be putting on new rims. If I were doing that I'd be going to 15" rims.

    -mike
  • teacherjimteacherjim Member Posts: 52
    I went to turn on the TOD yesterday as it was raining hard, but it didn't come on. I got a check light for about 3 seconds then it went away. The symbol showing if the car is in 4 wd just kept blinking but never engaged. I stopped the car, turned off the engine, and pushed in the button but all it would do is blink with 2 wheel drive showing. I tried it while moving and from a stop, but it would not engage. I used the TOD about a month ago and it worked fine. The Trooper in question is a 2001 LS automatic with 45,000 miles. Any ideas what to check? The dealer is about a hour and a half away so will go there if I need to. Thanks
  • teacherjimteacherjim Member Posts: 52
    I put the new Bridgestone Dueler REVO's on my 2001 and I love them. They are quieter than the Dueler684's and seem to handle better also. They really grip well in the little bit of dirt driving I have done. Has good road manners and a nice look to them. I am very impressed with them. If you look at the reviews on Tirerack for the REVO's you will find many postive remarks.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Sounds like the actuator for the front axle isn't working. I had this problem myself back in the spring after leaving it in TOD all winter it siezed the actuator. You could check the vacum lines down there, one might have popped off.

    -mike
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Thanks for the input, keep the input coming!

    I hear that the Bridgestones also have a 3 year replacement warranty for road hazzard w/o a mileage requirement. That might put me over the edge for those tires.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    We had stock size (245-70-16) Michelin LTX M/S installed on our 98 Trooper @ 52k miles. We are past 91k, which for you non-math majors means the tires have almost 40k on them. Lots of treadwear left - all 4 tires had 10/32" as of 89,951 miles - and the Michelins seem to grip a bit better than the OEM Bridgestone Dueler 684. I love Sam's Club and Costco but would rather have a tire shop install and rotate my tires, so we had Discount Tire match the Sam's price to get the best of both worlds.

    I expect these tires will provide another 40k miles of good life, which will make me a very happy camper. If only I could get our Trooper to stop burning oil...
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    You are a daring young father! I would not ride on 80K tires on my vehicles. At 40K i'm replacing my Scorpions, not cause of lack of tread, but cause I just don't trust tires with that many heat cycles etc. on them.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    Our 98 Trooper now appears to be using a quart in less than 1,000 miles. The rate has been increasing slowly and steadily for years now, and it is at the point where I am really concerned and may actually consider doing something about it besides topping off the oil!

    The break-in history of ours is unknown - we bought truck @ 7k miles; it was a corporate Isuzu vehicle before that. Oil weight and dino/synthetic have all been varied but nothing has slowed the increased consumption rate.

    Our truck is driven pretty gently - rarely above 4,000 RPMs, no towing, no offroading, rarely above 75 MPH, plenty of longer highway trips, etc.

    Consumption rate seems steady regardless of whether current oil is fresh or has 3k miles on it.

    I've never let the truck get more than a quart low, but burning a quart every 800 miles means I must remember to check it every 3-4 days to prevent it getting half a quart low.
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    never thought about the number of 'heat cycles' on a set of tires. That is interesting, but I would need to hear more before that would make me nervous about using a set of tires for 80k miles. Are you talking about the number of times the tires have heated up due to driving on the road?

    My approach to tires is, if there's plenty of tread, wear is even, and everything looks right externally (no bumps, gouges, etc.) then there's no reason to replace 'em. Our minivan tires are starting to show their age at 26k miles, and they will probably be replaced by 35-40k even though they'll probably have some usable tread as defined by the tire manufacturers. I'm definitely NOT somebody who pushes the limit and squeezes every last ounce of usefulness from a set of tires.

    I was cautiously optimistic that these Michelins would yield 80k miles, and after getting halfway there I think it will happen. Pretty decent per-mile cost, figuring $450 for the set of 4. Probably should have traded the unused OEM Dueler 684 for a 5th new Michelin, but didn't.
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    Considering replacing the PCV valve and having EGR valve cleaned. Should these be done at the same time, or one first and then wait a bit (few days to a week) on the other? My concern would be replacing/cleaning one of them but not the other, and thereby mucking up the cleaned/replaced one. This has me thinking both should be done at same time, but I'm looking for educated opinions.
  • leedavidyoungleedavidyoung Member Posts: 102
    Hey Mike,

    I've got a set of LT 285-75 Cooper S/T tires.

    On Road: They are noisy compared to an all terrain tire, but handle great for a mud tire. Gas mileage has suffered (about 3 MPG).

    Off Road: The off road traction is unbelievable. I have a 5-speed (non-TOD) and can run several trails in 2WD that required 4-high with my old Dueller A/T's.

    I have experienced very little tread wear at 10K miles. The coopers have an extremely deep tread depth and a very aggressive tread pattern. I have always used Bridgestones in the past, but went with the Coopers this time based on price. So far I have been pleased.

    Check out the specs below:

    http://www.coopertires.com/us/en/ProductDetails.asp?ProdType=LtTr- - uck&id=190

    Lee
  • sdc2sdc2 Member Posts: 780
    I have the Scorpions, but will look at something else next time for two reasons:

    1) I have had serious trouble keeping them balanced (which may or may not have anything to do with the tires).

    2) They seem to be priced almost $50 more per tire than when I bought them two and a half years ago.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yeah the MTs are cool, but I do way too much highway driving for MTs. I'd probably go for MTRs if I was getting MTs, have seen them in action and they are tough! :)

    -mike

    PS: Are you coming to uwharrie in Oct?
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    Has anyone designed a way for Trooper owners to test their tires to help decide when to replace them? I have stopped buying tires based on tread life and instead buy the best performing tire.
    ..
    I have twice replaced tires that had good looking tread still on them. Once was because the side walls lost their shape and the tires were impossible to balance, they even made the steering wheel vibrate. The other time was when on a very cold morning on dry pavement I hit a jeep in front of me that had done a sudden stop, I had the distinct feeling that the tires did not grip very well at all. I did more sudden stops to prove it to myself then bought the Dueler H/Ls which stopped far better. When the Dueler H/Ls wore down to about 6/32 I changed them to the new at the time Revos which have been great since. The thing I like about the H/Ls and Revos is that the rubber gets softer as it wears and that is supposed to keep the traction better over the life of the tire at the expense of a shorter tread life. Give up some tread life for better performance is a good trade for me. The Revos have some technology that they say makes them rounder, I believe this because my Revos are balanced using the run out measureing balancer and the weights are just the smallest kind and one tire requires no balance weights at all.
  • bstone3bstone3 Member Posts: 97
    Just completed two round trip excersions between Alabama and Ohio - probably 3500 miles total. New tires are Dunlop A20's 265-70-16. Average fuel economy was 17.5 mph - lot of interstate 73-80 mph. The new tires are really an improvement - even though they are P rated they ride very firm -cornering is much improved - its easy to see how the factory 245's were struggling with the size of the Trooper. Tires are quiet - some TOD time during heavy downpoors and had to lock it in 4WD low to get to a family cemetery plot in West Virginia - everybody at the grave site needed 4WD to get there. Oil consumption for entire trip was maybe 1/2 quart. Total mileage now at 42k - I think the battery is going out - have some surging in the morning when first starting the vehicle - last for 30 seconds or so - need to go to dealer for reprogramming - second time to shop in 2 plus years - Trooper is king - The Trooper is now my wifes car since I bought a Nissan 4X4 pickup - Nissan is O.K. - but when you climb in the Trooper everything goes up a notch or two.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Glad to see all the good reports on the Trooper! I guess we'll have a pretty good group on here for about the next 5-10 years! :)

    -mike
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