Isuzu Owners Maintenance and Repair

paisan

My dealer didn't even reccomend that I do that at all. I just did my tire rotation and oil change. I'm gonna do most of that stuff @ 30K service.

-mike

gpm5

Got my trooper leveled and aligned and all is well there. The TOD unit leak, which does not actually drip down, will need some time to fix and some seals as well. The mechanic is being careful and wants to order new seals at the front and back on opening it. The seal around the middle is actually some sort of rubberized cement material and not actually a gasket. Even though it will last without the fix I'm going to get it done now since it could only get worse. Also, I'll get a free fluid change.

I looked at the Axiom. A little tight for me near my right leg after being in the trooper. The TOD unit does not have the large skid plate attached to the frame/body on the Axiom. Instead its a small plate much like the one on our sequoia.

gpm5

I did not see anything about the TOD unit fluid in the manual but did note that auto trans fluid should be changed. I think I'll wait to 30k for that. Fuel filter--didn't see anything in the manual.

Differential fluid is suggested to be changed. Has anyone actually done that themselves? There is as far as I can tell only one plug on the diffs. How do you get the fluid back in there?

Thanks for any info. GPM

gpm5

BTW, I indicated I changed to Mobile 1 when at the dealer to slow down the consumption. He immediately showed me the Isuzu info on a qt up to every 1000 miles as being acceptable and assured me this does not affect engine life. He gave me a couple of free copper O-rings for the oil plug as well. Also, he said that they routinely remove the splash guard (2-bolts) two prevent oil dripping onto it and off of it after the change. He said people come in thinking they have an oil leak if changed at a place that let oil lay in that pan.

armtdm

If you are going to change your own oil and frequently I suggest installing the fuoto valve, I have them in several vehicles, a simple flip of the spring loaded lever and the oil flows out, no more plugs, no more copper rings/gaskets etc.

www.fumotovalve.com

sdc2

Dave, the TOD unit does not have a recommended change on the schedule. I am guessing you were looking at the regular transfer case listing which is for 5-speed Troopers. The TOD transfer case replaces the regular part-time transfer case.

Having said that, I don't think it is a bad thing to change the TOD fluid, either.

Same with the auto tranny, no change listed on the regular schedule. However, the "severe condition" schedule says change every 20K! I plan to take mine to Jiffy Lube for a complete fluid swap at 30K.

I would definitely replace the fuel filter annually. It is much more important on high pressure fuel injected vehicles than it was on the old carbuerated jobs.

BTW I am basing these intervals on my 99 Trooper manual, others may be different.

sdc2

My manual (99 Troop) says diffs should be changed at 15K, 30K, and every 30K thereafter, so if you can do it yourself you can save some coin. However, it is a stinky, nasty job so maybe you want to take it in - your call.

You have a Trooper, right? Well, both diffs have drain and fill plugs. The drain plug on the front diff is disguised as one of the cover plugs. It is at about 5 o'clock on the cover, facing rearward.

Just remove both plugs to drain, replace drain plug, and fill till it runs out the fill hole.

Don't forget the limited slip additive for the rear diff. It is a 4 oz. tube, available at any auto parts store.

You will definitely need a pump to fill, get one for a few bucks along with the fluid.

Have lots of rags and stuff handy to catch drips, as that fluid STINKS for a long time if it gets on the floor - I know!

gpm5

Yes I have a '99 black trooper S. Thanks for the info on the diff fluids. Sounds like a nasty job. May better done by a shop.

Karen_S

Go to the nearest pet shop/super store and pick up a bottle of Nature's Miracle. This stuff removes just about any organic stain and/or odor, and it won't hurt the carpet.

Great to see you back, arktrooper1!

KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs

radman6

I had the same problem (spilled milk) with our Trooper. Wife spilled some milk on the front seat passenger side rug. Before we realized it the milk had worked around the edge of the carpet and into the mat underneath. What a smell - and that was in the dead of winter.

It took a couple tries to get rid of the smell. First I took the molding off the edge of the carpet, lifted the edge and cleaned up the standing milk on the floorboard. Hardly any had soaked into the pad so I cleaned / lightly shampooed it and left it propped up to dry. Also shampooed the carpet.

Well, that didn't do it, the smell was still there if not worse. Next I cut a section of the pad out and went around to a couple carpet shops until I found a matching piece to replace it with.

The new pad and a little more shampooing did the trick. I wasn't too excited about cutting out the pad and replacing it (our Trooper only had 3000 miles at the time) but it was worth it to get rid of that horrid smell.

beer47

On Troopers w/Auto Trans. There is A/T fluid, Rear diffy fluid, & transfer case fluid? Is that three? Am I counting right? I thought there was only two. I must be missing something basic here.

paisan

Front Diffy, Rear Diffy, A/T Fluid, TOD Fluid

-mike

gpm5

After being at the dealer, the TOD leak is gone so far. The mechanic wiped it off and must have tightened the bolts around the center. He has ordered seals for it at the drive shafts to replace when working on it. The seal at the center, where the leak was, uses some sort of sealing material and not a gasket. I am thinking now to wait, and see if I get a drip again first.

sdc2

Well, just to be nit-picky, there is also the 4WD actuator which has a small amount of fluid in it...even though the 4WD actuator, TOD transfer case, and AT are not recommended for replacement, my "personal opinion" schedule is to change the AT every 30K, and the TOD at 50K, maybe the actuator too.

bluedevils

Folks, our 98 Trooper w/Performance Pkg. is nearing 50k miles. It's been pretty damn trouble-free so far, and I can't think of much that needs fixing before the bumper-to-bumper warranty runs out. What I'd like are suggestions of things I might have the dealer take a look at, so that I can get it "on the record" in case a problem develops down the road.

I haven't been terribly diligent about scoping for fluid leaks, but I do change the engine oil myself and I haven't noticed anything unusual underneath or in the engine compartment.

Your suggestions are appreciated.

raydahs

Blue - I'm in the same boat as you, I'm at 49,820 miles on my 99'. I started looking around at 45K, the only thing I could find was the weather stripping on the back doors needed to be replaced. I suggest you look at Mike's site, the 99' warranty is posted as a pdf.file. See what's covered, then look over your truck...Good Luck!

paisan

Site should be back up tonight. Got hit with the Code-Red Worm.

-mike

arktrooper1

had the 15K checkup done yesterday at Superior Cadillac/Pontiac/Isuzu/Kia in fayetteville, ar yesterday - its the third time ive been to that dealer and i'll have to say, so far i've been very pleased with the experience - i had the oil and filter changed (valvoline all-climate 10-30W) - rotated (x-pattern)and balanced the wheels and tires - front wheel alignment - front and rear diff fluids changed - i talked to the mechanic (Superior has two mechanics that work on Isuzus and are factory certified) and he recommended that i have the TOD fluid changed at 30K - he also recommended that i wait to have the fuel filter changed until then as well - i also got the intermittent surging of the engine at start-up checked and as i was told, the fix was a reprogramming of the computer (error code #29), done under the warranty, of course - out the door it came to $161.55 /w/ tax which i think is reasonable - i called AIM and talked to a customer rep there and found out that neither of the recalls (heat shield & fuel line location) had been done to my truck although i had only received one notification from the dealer and isuzu (the fuel line location), so im going to have that done in a week or two - i was told that allowing time for the engine to cool it would take about 4-5 hours which sounded reasonable as well - still haven't decided whether to use Mobil 1, but if i do it will be at the next oil change when the truck will have about 20K on it - dave

sdc2

Tell 'em your timing belt is bad ;-)

breakor

What about changing coolant, power steering and brake fluids? I change mine out at about the 20month mark For the cost of the fluids this seems like very cheap insurance to me. If I was trading in cars every 2 or 3 years instead of keeping them for 10+ years, or if I was paying to have this done, I might take a different approach.

armtdm

Wow, balance and alignment at 15,000, did they really need it??

Consider synthetic fluids in all components, differentials etc and double the change intervals. Power steering, well, most people never change it, I recently did this but simply syphoned it out and replaced with synthetic.

Sounds like a good dealer but also sounds like over maintenance to me.

arktrooper1

yes, according to tire wear on every vehicle ive ever owned, balancing is a good idea every 8-10K or so to prevent uneven tire wear...this is the first time ive had that done and the tires in front were wearing unevenly but i think this was due to alignment since the inside of the right front tire was wearing unevenly and the outside of the left front tire was wearing unevenly...i still should get at least 40K out of the set though if i keep to the balancing every 10K or so and at least check the alignment every 15K....the diff fluids are recommended to be changed every 15K and if thats what isuzu factory says thats what i'll do...i dont ever want to get into a warranty issue...i normally change the oil and filter every 5K...i think thats reasonable on a modern car...even if i go to synthetics ill still change the fluids at recommended intervals to protect my warranty...invariably car companies do not care whether youre using synthetics if the car did not ship from the factory that way if theres a warranty issue...and if it seems like its over maintainence, i will admit to beliving in "preventative" in a big way!:)...dave

sdc2

Slight correction, diff fluid change is recommended at 15K, 30K, and every 30K thereafter (regular schedule). Not important to you yet, I know...

armtdm

over denying warranty so that most people get their work done there and right on schedule, whether it needs it or not.

To each his own and what one is comfortable with.

arktrooper1

yes, sdc2, you are absolutely right...i was incorrect implying every 15K for the life of the truck

armtdm...im really not "scared" of voiding warranty service but i do think most manufacturers recommend reasonable service intervals...its the dealers you have to be careful of, generally speaking...ie. 3000 mile oil changes!!!???...isuzu says 7500 in normal driving, 3000 severe service...i do it at 5000 and have on the last six cars ive owned...also, as long as you keep service receipts showing you performed the required maintainence, the manufacturer cannot deny warranty whether you do the work or an independent shop does....the manufacturer can only deny the claim if they can prove the work was done improperly or not at all pertaining to the failure of the part(s)...many years ago i didn't believe in maintaining cars per manufacturers recommendations but started doing so in the mid 80's...my experience...i spend less overall maintaining my cars now than i did when i was more lax about maintainence or waited for something to break in addition to driving more dependable vehicles...as far as factory service vs. independent mechanics, in my experence...no contest!...true there are some shady dealers out there and most dealers go far beyond the manufacturer in their service recommendations but you can always say "no" and there are more independents that fall into that catagory, i believe...independents tend to be just as expensive if not more so and have no vested interest in your buying another of the same make of vehicle from the dealership as a dealers service department does...again, my experience...maybe not yours...you are correct when you say "to each his own" and i'll stick with a GOOD dealer and regular maintainence any day:)...dave

armtdm

Hmm. I also do regular maintenance and replacement of parts but stagger the process for cost reasons. Plus, with synthetics I do go way off schedule and completely disregard the manufacturers schedule based upon my own years of experience and oil analysis with the product.

However, dealer's service depts are their true money maker and I have no problem with their hourly rates, about the same as independent. Problem is they will not be reasonable but must always go by the book. If they have empty bays and I want elective surgery (say a timing belt) they still want full price when my independent will glady do it much less. Further, parts can be purchased (genuine OEM parts) for much less at wholesale dealers but when you bring your vehicle in and say fix it they hit you with the highest prices., they also use scare tactics, have high turnover and my experience with Isuzu is that it is not their primary dealership, it is a second line and their service people simply are not way up to speed.

laurelkinsey1

Has anyone ever had the ECM burn out on their Rodeo (or any other vehicle for that matter)? My Rodeo is just 10 months old and it just went out on me last night. This is the third major problem since I have purchased it and wondered if anyone else has experienced the same thing or if this is normal???

Thanks

paisan

But I've heard of ECUs going bad. Subaru currently is replacing a bunch of ECUs on subarus that come out of the same SIA plant as the Rodeos.

-mike

laurelkinsey1

Did I get the initials wrong? ECU--is this the computer portion of the car (rather than ECM)?

Regardless, I have to wait a week for the dealer to find a part...do you know if Isuzu ever budges on covering the cost of a rental car in instances like this?

paisan

Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. YOu could probably push em if you absolutely need a car. ECU = ECM same difference. Unit instead of module.

-mike

armtdm

Even though warranty was over they covered it under the emissions warranty on a 97 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4, cost would have been $1,000.

raydahs

Here's a link you might want to bookmark

http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

keepontroopin

I just had my computer replaced in my '00 Trooper and Isuzu gave me a rental for the three days I was without my Trooper. Get the Isuzu phone number from the service manager and call Isuzu. Explain to them what the problem is and that you need a car while yours is being repaired. The Isuzu rep will put you on hold and call the dealer where the car is to get the details and then they will come back and tell you whether or not they will give you a rental. In my case they gave me a one day rental, but kept renewing the one day rental until the car was done. Now if your car is out of warranty you may be SOL. Thats my story anyway!

paisan

What were the symptoms of the ECU replacement? I think I may need mine replaced as well.

-mike

raydahs

Would that fall under the 50K B to B or the Powertrian warranty? Last Saturday my 50K EXPIRED!

laurelkinsey1

Mike-
My Rodeo is only 10 months old so I was quite surprised when I found out what was wrong. Basically I was driving down the road and my parking brake light all of a sudden came on, then all of a sudden I slowed way down and couldn't get any more gas...the car just kind of wimped out. I was able to pull over to the side of the road, but was never successful at re-starting it. All of the lights came on in the dashboard, but the gas gauge remained at empty...even thought it was full.

My dealer has told me that it is not very common and the part is hard to locate. It will be 3-4 days before I am able to get it back.

Hopefully you don't need yours replaced!

keepontroopin

Mike the symptoms I was having on my '00 Trooper were the irratic idle at start up when the engine was cold. I was told that this was due to the computer needing reprogrammed. When i took it in for the reprogramming the computer would not accept the reprogramming. The service guy tried it three times and on the third try the ECU died. I would recommend that anyone who is experiencing the irratic idle at start up take their Trooper in to get the reprogamming done. Hopefully though their computers won't get fried.

cwmoser

Regarding Technical Service Bulletins (TSB's) on the Trooper at (http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html ),
I would like to know about this one:
"HVAC System - Unpleasant Odors When In Use "

When I turn on the AC, it stinks now - in the past it was ok.

cwmoser

Regarding reprogramming ECU's in the Trooper, is this something that should be done with or without symptoms? My Trooper is running fine but I wonder if this is like a "Microsoft" undate where other improvements are fixed.

paisan

it's only if symptoms exist type thing. I hope there is no MS code in those ECUs!

-mike

sbcooke

2000 miles after my engine was rebuilt, no problems. I burned maybe a 1/4 of a quart of oil in the first 1000 and nothing since. After a 2 day drive back from the cape, about 13 hours total of highway driving, I didn't burn a drop.

I averaged 15 MPG on the highway, fully loaded 5 people and a lot of gear. TOD off-road was about 10-11 MPG and 4 LO was 8 MPG.

paisan

Sean, you up for Sept 15th for a trip to the barrens? Also if you can make it either the 8th or 9th I'd like to drag you along for the pre-run.

-mike

sbcooke

I am booked the weekend of the 8th and 9th. But am free for the weekend of the 15th and am planning on attending.

I will send some pictures of my truck from vacation as soon as I get organized.

wheels13

Check Engine light came on and stayed on. Code PO1441 was stored which is the Purge Solenoid.
Dealer did not have the part in stock and I am not able to get back to the dealer for 3 months.
What does this solenoid do and will it damage the truck? Otherwise it runs smooth and gets good gas mileage. Thanks

paisan

How could you not be near the dealer for 3 months, or another dealer. I wonder what my CE light will turn up. Only time will tell. Probably bringing it in on the 27th.

-mike

wheels13

The nearest dealer is 200 miles away. I have owned Isuzu's since 1987 and this was only the second time I have had to take the vehicle back for a problem. Just drive them.

cwmoser

How does one access the trouble codes stored in the ECM on the Trooper?

paisan

computer that the dealer owns. You can buy computers that can read the codes but they are about $2K.

-mike

bluedevils

changed the oil recently, just under 50k miles. I ran petro-based oil for about 15k miles, synthetic blend until 45k, a 50-50 blend of Mobil petro-based and Mobil1 synthetic for one change, then Mobil1 3 days ago.

My consumption during the past 3 change intervals was 1 quart every 2000-2500 miles. We'll see if the consumption changes with the full synthetic.

I'm looking forward to running 5-6,000 miles between changes instead of 3,000.

paisan

How's the baby? I know you were expecting one recently (that's why we haven't seen you around), everything go well?

-mike