Isuzu Trooper

bluedevils · January 2002

I don't visit itog.com very often, but I thought the site was still up and running. A quick check today, and I cannot access the discussion forums - hmmm. The site has some helpful information, but most of it is pretty old. The only new stuff is current postings to the discussion boards.

I have a soft spot in my heart for ITOG. It was the first Trooper site I ever came across and the first one that I contributed to as a discussion board participant. Also, the people there are some of the most helpful and knowledgeable I have ever seen in an automotive discussion forum.

bluedevils · January 2002

My basic schedule for our 98 Trooper is changing oil and filter at about 6,000 miles, with an additional filter change at the midway point (about 3,000 miles). Our Trooper just passed 60,000 miles yesterday. I used regular petrol-based oil for the first 10,000 miles, then synthetic blend for about 30,000 miles, and Mobil1 5W30 for the past 10-15,000 miles.

boxtrooper, are you changing your synthetic oil every 3,000 miles? If so, that's a pretty expensive schedule. I also wonder whether that helps your lifter noise problem any more than changing the filter at 3,000 and oil/filter both at 6,000 or so.

bluedevils · January 2002

Our 98 Trooper has the factory cargo mat, which does not protect the carpet on the wheel wells from our rowdy, 70-pound chocolate labrador retriever. I've seen a pretty serious cargo area liner at www.drsfostersmith.com. It's pretty pricey - $200, IIRC - but looks like a pretty nice unit. It's soft-sided and I think attaches via velcro to the cargo area.

bluedevils · January 2002

The hard-shell spare tire cover on our Red Rock Mica (dark red) 98 Trooper has 3 deep areas of scratches down the full length of the cover (from not pulling into garage far enough and scraping it on the garage door). I have touched up some little rock chips on the body with moderate success, but I do NOT recommend attempting to touch up the tire cover. Ours now looks horrible, with very noticeable, different-colored lines down the cover.

Bottom line: If you scratch up your hard-shell cover, just leave it alone.

bluedevils · January 2002

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - buying a slightly used Trooper is a great way to get an even better deal than the great deals available on brand-new Troopers. Our 98 with Performance Package (equivalent to current LS) was a one-year old Isuzu corporate service vehicle with 7,000 miles. We paid $21,000, which was about $3-4k less than a new '99 would have cost us.

I'd be comfortable buying any used Trooper, but I would look for something with some factory warranty left (less than 3 years in service and less than 50,000 miles), just to give myself a chance to get anything fixed that might crop up or that the previous owner neglected/overlooked.

sbcooke · January 2002

I use my brothers old explorer husky liners. I had to cut the drivers side mat a little. The rear one I have to squish in a because one corner has a different shape, but overall it is great. Winter time they sop up a lot of snow/water, and in summer, they catch tons on sand when we are on the beach.

It doesn't cover the wheel wells however.

sdc2 · January 2002

Moab ZuZoo V is May 16-19, 2002. It is the biggest Isuzu event in the country, in the best place to go off-road IMHO.

I think the website is zuzoo.org, not sure. Registration for trail rides should begin soon.

For more info on the unbelievably gorgeous off-road Mecca that is Moab, try moab-utah.com.

These web pages are from memory, so I could be wrong.

sdc2 · January 2002

I have decided to head out there a couple of days early this year, as there is a TON of places to go out there before the ZuZoo event starts...Arches National Park and Canyonland National Park are near, just to name a couple. And it only costs me one more day of vacation.

So I will be driving to Denver on Sunday, and on to Moab Monday. Unless your schedule somehow coincides with this, caravan won't happen for me.

And you might decide to go through St. Louis instead of Chicago, in which case our paths won't coincide until Denver anyway. I head west on I-80 from Des Moines.

paisan · January 2002

Yeah I may wind up driving out the friday before and going to SF before heading down to Moab. Details are sketchy as of now.

-mike

keepontroopin · January 2002

Is this an Isuzu exclusive trip or do they let other vehicles participate?

serpico1 · January 2002

is this a scam or real..please offer insights..i would be looking at a trooper..they selll them there for 21,000 to 24,000 grand...can this be real? thanks in advance..

jimmyp1 · January 2002

I know you're not to blame for the Moab schedule, but our baby is due May 20th. Looks like I won't be meeting you in Denver as once hoped.

On a lighter note, I originally typed this as "I know you're not to blame, but our baby is due May 20th." I thought I better change that so that nobody thought of you as a gigolo. Paisano, male gigolo.

Jim

ryanendres · January 2002

Yup, your seeing right! most of the 21-22K are S models. Most 1yr old Trooper with 10-15K on the ticker have been going for 17-18K in my area. Mind you if you buy a used 2000 on up you only get 1/2 the factory warranty 5yr/60K.
-Ryan

paisan · January 2002

It's not exclusively Isuzu, just mostly isuzu. I'll be caravanning out with a guy from one of the Zu boards that I hang with a lot who has a Mitsu Pajero er Montero.

-mike

tkevinblanc · January 2002

I've seen a couple posts where folks state that changing the bushings on the sway bars over to poly helps the handling of the vehicle noticeably. Sounds good, and it doesn't look difficult or expensive to do.

Can anyone offer an explanation as to why the handling would be improved?

dielectric7bb · January 2002

Basic bushings are usually someform of rubber. Rubber has a tendencey of becoming softer/harder/cracking/decaying/...over time. Polyurethane bushings are typically stiffer, than rubber, so they don't let a vehicle flex as much in the turns. That's the basics of it.

paisan · January 2002

Basically the idea behind an anti-sway bar is that when the vehicle begins to tip let's say on a right hand turn it tips to the left, this bar that is attached to the suspension and the body is forced down my the dip on the left side and up on the right side against the vehicle. This pushing on the right side helps prop up the left side from falling over.

A stiffer or thicker bar causes this action/reaction to transfer to the right side more and thus prop up the left more, and therefore less body roll.

Where the bar attaches to the frame, there are bushings. Normally they are rubber and quite soft. During a turn they compress therefore allowing more movement of the anti-sway bar, the poly bushings are stiffer, and give less, leading to less compression-> less movement of the bar->less body roll.

-mike

sdc2 · January 2002

Yep, we allow "honorary Isuzus" too ;-). There was a handful of other makes there last year.

boxtrooper · January 2002

Yep, oil + filter + synthetic at 3000 miles. My Trooper is 1995.5 SOHC 3.2L and it is the one with the tendancy to get noisy lifters. I hate that noise. I drive mt Troopers at least 200K miles. Replacement of lifter parts is $3000+ for my mechanic shop to do it. Therefore, to keep the lifters quiet for 200K miles changing oil + filter + synthetic at 3000 miles is the most cost effective thing to do. I have 90K miles to go till 200K, that's 30 more oil changes at about $30 each if I do it myself. $900 is less than $3000. Regular oil changes and letting the shop do it is $24 each time so my net out of pocket could be as low as $6 * 30 = $180. I think dinosour oil and 3000 mile oil+filter changes would be better than synthetic changes every 6000 miles because the oil would be cleaner at 3000 miles and it is clean that counts most of all.

I tried the poly bushings. They make the steering wheel very sensitive to front wheel balance. Check out the http://www.gsp9700.com balancing machine. I tried going back to new rubber bushings and they are a lot better than the rubber ones I took out that had 115K on them. I might try puting just the rear poly bushings back on since the rear bushings have a lot more rubber thickness to flex than the front ones. OME springs help a lot too.

BoxTrooper

montanabill2 · January 2002

On my 01 TOD LS I installed the polybushings at 6000 miles. The improvement was significant. The polybushing is mush thinner and more dense than the rubber. It allows the sway bars to kick in earlier rather than have the roll /body motion absorbed by the thick rubber. Polybushing should not be impact tire balance - it may help you detect an out of balance tire but in my experience tire balance has not been an issue. Its just an out-of-balance tire. Added the Rancho 5000 shocks after x-mas @ 10,000 miles. They further improved the ride and roll/pitch stability - no harshness - in fact less going over sharp edged road irregularities. This vehicle is a jewel to drive compared to the original factory underpinnings. 13000 miles and I love it. Rear set of OME springs would be my next addition - just to boost the cargo capacity. I have owned a scattfull of 4X4's and other vehicles but this has to rank right up there with my 280Z that I bought new back in 75. The dealer is replacing the barometric/altitude temp device - I had this installed by the dealer and the barometric reading is always way off. The dealer here has only three 02 troopers on the lot - he sold a stack full of 01's at years end. Spent a summer in Moab - beautiful country - wish I could go.

keepontroopin · January 2002

Paisan I am seriously considering going to Paragon and bringing my brother in law who has a jeep GC. I just want to make sure Jeeps will be allowed and that this is not an Isuzu exclusive event. Let me know and I will work on him to go out with me.

paisan · January 2002

The paragon event is actually their "open weekend" event. Just happens that a bunch of Zus will be going. Any event I go to is always open to other offroaders or I don't attend it. It's great to wheel with others, I like to see what else is out there!

-mike

ramblinon · February 2002

Just heard on the 9:00AM news that a Court has found that the Ford Explorer is "defective in design". Interesting to say the least.
Going out and smile at my Trooper right now.

paisan · February 2002

Got a link?

All along I knew they screwed firestone! At least now it's not just me rambling about it!

-mike

dielectric7bb · February 2002

Of course it was the vehicle. They ran tooooooooo low a pressure. They wanted a more 'compliant' ride and they got it. To bad it backfired. Originally I thought explorers got the above name from their tranny, but now there's a better reason

sdavito · February 2002

FWIW, I am making the switch to Mobil 1 synthetic oil on my next oil change. I hear that Wal-Mart had good prices on Mobil, but at least around here, (Tampa Bay area) Target is $1.00 better per quart. Wal-mart wants $4.47/quart, and Target is $3.54/quart. With my 2 vehicles, over time, this could add up.

Who is a good source for factory filters? I want to order over the net if possible.

David

paisan · February 2002

I don't care how low you run the tires, if you get a blowout, the vehicle shouldn't roll due to a blowout. I know my trooper would not roll if I got a blowout (or at least it won't to my knowledge)

-mike

sdavito · February 2002

FWIW, I am making the switch to Mobil 1 synthetic oil on my next oil change. I hear that Wal-Mart had good prices on Mobil, but at least around here, (Tampa Bay area) Target is $1.00 better per quart. Wal-mart wants $4.47/quart, and Target is $3.54/quart. With my 2 vehicles, over time, this could add up.

Who is a good source for factory filters? I want to order over the net if possible.

David

stever · February 2002

Jury rules against Ford

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

fiveharpers · February 2002

Look up St Charles Isuzu on the net for Isuzu oil filters. They will give you a discount and free shipping. I just ordered 3 of them at just under $5.00 each and recieved them in 3 days.

Our Target in Fredericksburg Va also has the Mobil 1 much cheaper than Walmat, it was $2.94 a quart last time I purchased and $3.64 the time before.

bsmart1 · February 2002

Some weeks back, someone on here talked about installing the Direct Hits ignitions system on their Trooper. I went to their website to look at this upgrade, but found no applications there for a Trooper. How did you get a set for installation, and what results did you get afterward? Note any increase in HP or fuel economy?

As far s Mobil 1 oil and changing it so often, there's a resolution to that. I recently did the engine lifter tapping treatment with Mobil 1 0W-30. It's been in there for about 3500 miles now. I checked the dipstick last night and wiped it across a white towel. The color surprised me. It was mildly amber yellow, instead of the dark brown I expected. I compared it to the oil in my 01' which is Mobil 1 5W-30 at about 4000 miles which was considerably darker in color.
I believe you could run Mobil 1 5000 miles between changes and do the 0W-30 treatment every 15000 miles and keep the engine clean as a whistle!! I was really amazed that the 97' engine is running that clean with 61000 plus miles on it.
One caveat on this... be aware that when the lifter tapping started, I used a 1 quart Rislone engine cleaning treatment (10 minutes) before draining and installing Mobil 1 5W-30. Then a week or so later, I took it to the Dealer shop where they proceeded to drain my fresh 5W-30 and install the 0-30. Each time a new filter was installed so this engine might not be exactly indicative of a typical situation.

Happy Trooping !! ;->

breakor · February 2002

IIRC this is designed to only work with conventional plug wire layouts. Hence the lack of applications for newer Troopers. Whether it works in any event is a subject with considerable internet debate on both sides (kind of like the Tornado device).

keepontroopin · February 2002

Do people actually think that thing works?

troop2shos · February 2002

Apparently, some people get "sucked" / suckered into it.......

dielectric7bb · February 2002

unfortunately, some do

stever · February 2002

It's not just the Tornado: The accessories to improve mileage and extend engine life.

Tornado used to advertise that the Boise cops use their device. I'm in Boise, so I tracked down the city shop that maintains the police cars. The guy I talked to said that Tornado sent them some units, unrequested, which they promptly threw away. Didn't seem to stop Tornado from claiming that the Boise PD used them.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

breakor · February 2002

Sounds to me like Tornado could rightly claim they successfully provided the Boise police increased trash can ballast and reduced landfill capacity for the County.

flyinlow · February 2002

Re: the comments on Explorer tire failures, blowouts, rollovers, lawsuits etc. I think nobody should get overconfident and think that a Trooper or any other vehicle is immune to what happened to a lot of Explorers. Car and Driver mag did a test a while back in which they bought an old Explorer and rigged the left rear tire to deflate instantly, on command (the left rear was statistically the one that was failing the most). C/D did these high speed "blowouts" many times and found no tendency for the truck to go out of control, much less roll over. BUT, they weren't simulating tread separation, which if I'm not mistaken is what actually happened in a lot of the cases. When the rear tread separated it often wrapped around the axle, locked the wheel, tangled in the wheel well... you get the picture. That's how they could lose control and roll. It wasn't just a simple blowout. The root cause was undoubtedly due at least in part to the low recommended pressure (26 psi), which of course led to a lot of people with much lower pressures than that. It may also be that Explorers are more prone to loss of control and rollover in the case of a tread separation, or that the Firestones in question would separate more easily than most tires; that's for the courts to decide.

What matters now is, make SURE you have enough air in your tires, no matter what you're driving!

wildbuc · February 2002

I've always wondered if the problem with Ford Explorers is that different kinds of people drive them than Troopers. It may be that Explorer drivers are the run of the mill drivers who don't pay much attention to air pressure in their tires, whereas Trooper drivers may be "car guys" who take a greater interest in their vehicle and thus run their tires at a better pressure. We all know that different kinds of people are attracted to different kinds of cars, hence the variation in insurance rates. Any truth to this way of thinking?

boxtrooper · February 2002

I have a 1995 SOHC 175hp Trooper-S. This engine has spark plug wires and three ignition coils on the front of the engine. If you have direct ignition (no visible spark plug wires) DirectHits are not going to help your Trooper.

The DirectHits system works very well. I would definately do it again.

Here's the reason that there is some controversy about Direct Hits performance gain: There is little to gain from just adding the DirectHits units by themselves, low resistance spark plug wires and resistorless spark plugs are needed for best results, and the engine computer needs to be reset so it will learn to advance the timing to take full advantage of the DirectHits. Unsatisfied users may have simply added the DirectHits and assumed that their existing plugs and/or wires would maximize performance. These users saw only slight improvements if any at all.

If you want to try DirectHits buy the complete kit and make use of the online support on their web site. Read some testimonials there also.

http://www.directhits.com

How DirectHits work:

The DirectHits are a capacitive device designed to properly terminate the ignition wire at the plug. The performance improvement is accomplished by delivering much more of the spark energy from the coil to the spark plug. Traditional 5 KOhm resistor plugs and 5 KOhm per foot resistor wires dissipate most of the spark energy before it gets to the spark plug. The DirectHits units allow you to use 0 KOhm resistorless plugs and 0.7 KOhm per foot spark plug wires without radio interference RF noise. The resistorless plugs and low resistance wires without the DirectHits units would improve performance also, but your radio would not be working very well either would your engine computer from all the RF noise.

With DirectHits quietly delivering a lot more spark to the spark plug the fuel lights up quicker and burns more completely. At low engine RPMs there is plenty of time to burn the fuel. As the RPMs go up this quicker burning of fuel is much more important. The result is a wider torque band extending farther into the top RPMs. There is more torque at all RPMs, but it is much more noticeable at higher RPMs. I can drive it like a race car without a trailer ie shift at 5000 RPM+ pedal always to the metal between shifts much easier because the are no more bumps in the torque curve.

Where the DirectHits provide the most benefit to me is towing. My 1995 3.2L Trooper with DirectHits towing a 4000# trailer accelerates about as fast as my previous 1984 1.9L Trooper accelerated without a trailer. The reason I looked into DirectHits and synthetic oils was for towing. Before DirectHits I had to shift down from 5th to 4th on even the slightest incline such as an overpass on otherwise flat land. After DirectHits Trooper can pull every incline between here and the coast in 5th, I could actually leave it in cruise all the way for a much more relaxing trip. I also went from 9.9 MPG to 11.2 mpg towing at 70+ mph, these numbers I have checked three times before and three times after DirectHits on a route that I take often.

In addition to more power the engine sounds much smoother when loaded heavily at higher RPMs. Before DirectHits my poor little 3.2L engine was screaming at me with the gas pedal to the floor getting up to 70 mph in 4th and would lug in 5th. After the DirectHits the little 3.2L that could was sounding much more confident, and the gas pedal less often needs to go all the way down. The reason for this smoothness is that the spark energy vs time with DirectHits is much faster allowing better timing accuracy, the sparks happen quicker and with more power causing the fuel to ignite closer to the exact perfect instant saving energy and improving power while also being easier on the engine. The engine computer will advance your timing automatically to take advantage of the DirectHits, that's why the battery needs to be disconnected long enough to reset the computer when you upgrade to DirectHits.

Around town, without the trailer, the DirectHits are still an improvement. I think I am getting 1 mpg better. The quicker throttle response and better availability of power in the top RPM range make the Trooper more fun to drive.

I have been recommending DirectHits ever since I installed them in my Trooper. People have tried DirectHits and have been so happy about it that they email me to say so. I am not connected with DirectHits in any way. I do think that they are very worth while if your ignition has spark plug wires.

boxtrooper · February 2002

I have had DirectHits in for 40K miles so far.
I am sorry about the double spaced paragraphs in the previous post. I only spaced them by one in the editor.
Thank You BoxTrooper

sbcooke · February 2002

That they aren't making any new troopers, is it time we decide what the best year/model ever was? Is the 2002 the best adding the last 10 years of enhancements or is it the earlier models with the 4.55:1 axle ratio?

paisan · February 2002

If you get a chance, jump into the Trailblazer v Rodeo v. mountaineer topic in the SUV section. Lots of Troopa haters in there

-mike

dielectric7bb · February 2002

Those fellars aren't looking for a rig. They're looking for a minivan. They want a 3rd row seat and 0-60 times of a porsche. God for bid they get a scratch in the side paneling from a trail. Leave them to there minivans.

paisan · February 2002

Tis true, but the trooper is the best of both worlds!

We must convert the non-believers!

Haaaaaa

-mike

bsmart1 · February 2002

That's quite at testimonial on the DirectHits system. Too bad it can't be used on the newer Troopers. Looks like they would come up with a version to make it work. All that talk of power boost and better gas mileage has got me itching to buy a set.
Happy Trooping!!

zutrooper · February 2002

I was just told that the borg and warner / TOD unit is the same as unit used int the Explorer sport trac. Ids this true?

sbcooke · February 2002

I don't think so. borg and warner manufacturs a lot of different transfer cases. Many of them use electromagnetic clutches and automatically tranfer power back and forth, etc. The new ford explorer case will route up to 100% of the power to the front, rather than 50% as in the trooper. I think if you look around, you will find that a lot of b/w cases are similar, using the similar components, and having similar function, but not the same.

paisan · February 2002

B&W makes all different T-cases. They make they system in the MDX which is nothing like the TOD unit we get.

-mike

dielectric7bb · February 2002

OK so TOD can split torque between front and rear axles 50/50. So if my rear tires were on ice (virtually zero torque) and the fronts on pavement (can handle loads of torque), how much power does the front get? This is a silly question, but I've been wondering for a while. Is it truly a 50/50 split, or can the TOD go from 0/100 to 99/1?

Isuzu Trooper

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