Isuzu Owners Maintenance and Repair

beer47

Hey gang,

My 2000S w/67K is going to need a few preventive things in the near future. I use MB1/Isuzu filter every 10k. I changed all trans/diffy/TOD fluids at 45K. Tires at 50k. Air filters as needed (2 so far). I think it will be time soon for brakes and bearing repack. I may do the brakes even if they have a little life left in them just so they can repack the bearings on the same trip to save a little on labor. I think I need the "propeller shaft lube" front and and back. That is probably way over due. Coolant should probably be changed out, it is original. Do we have regular coolant or Dexcool? Can any body suggest anything else? What am I missing? My miles are mostly hwy with some NYC/Philly/DC thrown in. I am trying to "hit" the important things while avoiding the smorgasbord approach of the matinence schedule. Thanks in advance for anyones suggestions! Cheers to all.

breakor

My dealer quoted my 50.00 to repack the front bearings as long as they didn't rip the rubber boots inside.

I have no idea what you would get for $50. There are no rubber boots involved with a front wheel bearing repack. Like already noted, that is about a 3 hour job and no shop will do that amount of work for that amount of money.

If you DIY just be prepared to have to use quite a bit of force to remove the large allen head hub bolts. No big deal just have exactly the right size wrench so when you apply the force you don't strip anything. Also, the 3 brass screws holding on the hub nuts are very easy to strip especially if installed very tightly from the factory.

sdc2

The coolant is the standard green stuff. I would definitely change that out, I did mine at 30K.

Propeller (drive) shaft lube takes 10 seconds with a grease gun, just hit the zerc on the u-joint.

You might have a lot of life left in your brakes, I would have them looked at for expected life remaining. The rear brakes typically go first on Troopers.

Wheel bearings probably need repack. I would swap out the tranny fluid also, and change the sparkplugs so they don't weld themselves into the block.

breakor

Any plug mentioned in the owners manual should be fine. My Champion double platinums are giving me very good service.

I have read nothing but bad reports about using Bosch multi-tip plugs in Isuzu service.

Lastly, most long service plugs come pre-coated with an antisieze compound. I know Champions do. I have also read that using too much of the wrong antisieze (ones for low temperature service?) can cause problems. I guess the point is that at most you should only need to add a little bit of a proper antisieze.

breakor

Did you change the SOTF (the reservoir on the drivers side of the front axle) fluid? This one can probably go a little longer depending on 4wd use.

What about your power steering fluid. You can get all the old fluid out by popping off a hose. Or, just remove the reservoir basket and turkey baster out some old fluid and add new fluid every other oil change or so.

Presumably you will replace the brake fluid with your brake work.

bluedevils

How much labor savings would there be if doing a front brake job (probably new pads but not rotors, assuming rotors are still okay) and the wheel bearing repack in the same visit?

calf1

Both the rotors and brake calipers need to come off when I repacked my front bearing. There is really no additional work needed.

breakor

If you have a bearing repack they have to take the brake calipers and rotors off.
Case 1: You only need new pads. In this case having the calipers off for the bearing work saves the time needed to take off the wheels and the 2 bolts holding each caliper. How much credit would a shop give you for this? As a point of reference, most any shop will pull your tires to check your brakes (or fix a flat) for free. At that point they are only 4 bolts away from having the calipers off. So how much "credit" do you think they will give you for those 4 bolts? I suspect than answer is not much.

Case2: You need rotor work. In this case having the rotors already off probably saves an hour of labor. They can either give you that credit or consider it a lucky break for them.

I suggest you first call the shop and get a brakes only price. Call back a day later and get the bearing repack price. Then ask for a package price and see what they say. (FWIW, I would use their response as a gauge of how "honest" the shop is. IMO the more of the package savings they keep the more likely they are going to try and sell you unneeded brake and/or bearing work. Again, this is just my .02$ but if they tried to tell me there was no cost savings I wouldn't argue with them. I would use it as my cue to go to another shop.)

paisan

They were on the border of being dead. Glad I swapped em out. Easy job considering I've done several sets of pads on various vehicles before.

-mike

sbcooke

How many miles did you get out of them?

paisan

I got about 39K out of the rears and 40K out of the fronts. Don't forget each of my miles is about 1.5x a normal mile

-mike

sbcooke

I went to autozone...we looked up replacement spark plugs and checked the size. If the guy got the right plug out of the back...I wasn't too confident of his abilities...then the Trooper requires a 5/8" socket for the plugs? Does this sound accurate?

Another thing I noticed is that the 2002's are listed as coming with a tire wrench and spark plug wrench? That would mean the lugs and plugs are the same size? and not 5/8"?

paisan

That the lug-wrench has 2 ends. I know on my subaru there is a little toolkit that has the lug wrench and a sparkplug wrench in it.

-mike

breakor

I cannot find my 5/8" wrench. However I can tell you that a 17mm wrench is too loose and a 16mm won't fit on the spark plug from my 99 Trooper. So it sounds like 5/8" must be the right size.

sdc2

The smaller of the two standard plug sizes fits, which is indeed the 5/8" size. That's about the ONLY thing on a Trooper that isn't metric.

As far as lugs, IIRC mine are 19mm, don't know if that is close to 5/8" or not.

sbcooke

19mm, mine too. I took out the lug wrench to look after I read about the 02's having the spark plug wrench? There is a place to snap a 3rd bar in the jack compartment. No spark plug wrench in mine.

sdavito

FWIW, 16mm is larger than 5/8

savvas_e

My Monterey came with some weird, hinged, box wrench which I haven't worked out its purpose in life. It would be about a 5/8, has a slot at the top that looks like it might be for the jack handle to fit into and be used as a lever.

There is no mention of it in the manual, but I guess that it's for the spark plugs. It doesn't fit the wheel nuts, and it is separate to the wheel nut wrench.

bluedevils

Is there a theory on which model year Troopers take the 5/8" spark plug socket size? I'd assume at least all of the 3.5L Troopers (1998 to 2002).

By the way, my calculator converted 5/8" to 15.875 millimeters.

mkaye

A friend of mine with a 97 took his 4wd Trooper in for the 60K service. They repacked the wheel bearings. Now, every 10K or so, the grease starts to leak out from the bearings onto the wheels. He has taken it to two different dealers and no luck in getting the leakage to stop. They've even repacked, sealed, etc.. It is minimal drippage, but it drips after driving and getting hot.

Anyone else with a similar experience?

troop2shos

It sounds from your post that both front wheel bearing seals were leaking? Not trying to assume anything but were new grease seals used & seated properly both times? If so, maybe too much grease was just carelessly packed into the hub - not allowing for any thermal expansion & increasing the heat...although waiting until 10k to start leaking is rather strange. What explanations did both dealers give?

mkaye

What is interesting here is that the leaking is from under the 'bolted-on' hub cover, NOT from the spindle seal. It seems that there is no gasket or seal under the bolt-on hub cover. Apparently, on the Rodeos there is a seal. Not on the Troopers. They used the seal from the Rodeo as it fits the same bolt pattern. Didn't work, started leaking within a week after their third repair attempt. This time, the dealer is going to try and use a thin RTV sealant as a gasket and see how that works.
The dealer's explanation is that a little leakage is 'normal' and to be expected after the bearings are repacked (???). I can't believe that TWO dealers said this. The charge by the dealer was $100 for the repack and included replacing the spindle grease seals. The second dealer said that the bearings looked fine.

breakor

There could be too much grease in there. Filling the hub cavity completely with grease is certainly a common rookie mistake. However with 2 dealers doing the job that seems unlikely.

It sounds like they might be using a cheap grease that is prematurely failing and running after 10k mis. A good grease designed for the higher heat loads of disc brake cars should stay thick and in place for many, many miles. You might ask the current dealer what they are using.

troop2shos

I agree w/ Breakor on checking the quality of grease being used in that it could be thinning under high heat loads to the spindle & bearing. It's still possible that too much grease was just packed into the hub by inexperienced shop personnel - both times.

mkaye

Thanks, the thought we had was also poor quality grease. We'll see how it goes this time. Certainly the second dealer is motivated at this time tod o it right or give it their best effort. My friend picked it up and drove about 200 miles, no leak. We'll have to wait a few months and see.

bluedevils

If I were to take my Trooper to a shop, what kind of checklist should I have for making sure the job gets done right?

breakor

You would think any shop would know what to do. For example they should know which and how much grease to use. Also, they should always use new grease seals. However based on the previous discussion I guess you never know what the shops do.

FWIW I would have 2 concerns about having a shop do the work. First given Isuzu's reputation for easily stripped lugs I would be sure they properly retorqued the lug nuts. Second, the hub nut is held on by three brass set-screws. The heads on these are easy to strip. The concern being that the next time you have to get at the bearings you have to first deal with a stripped screw head or two. I guess the only way to know the shop didn't mess them up is to check as the hub nuts are reinstalled. Either that or go back with a hardened stainless screw, but good luck finding the right one.

paisan

Subaru had a problem in the mid-late 90s where they were over-torqued at the factory and the manuals were wrongly printed to reflect the higher torque. So ever 10K miles the rear bearings failed. Finally they fixed em so that it doesn't happen.

-mike

calf1

The Isuzu dealer finally received the replacement rear drive shaft and installed it, now that car is pretty smooth all the way up to 90 mph. Since the repair is under the warranty, I did not make a big deal about thier mistake on putting in the drive shaft out of phase on my previous visit.
Does anyone know if the middle grease fitting on the DS is for lubing the slip yolk ? thanks a bunch.

keepontroopin

Has anyone else had problems with there drivers side window. Mine is so slow that I can put up the other three windows one at a time before I can get the drivers side window up. Any one have a suggestion?

breakor

My driver's side window had a rattle that gradually got worse. When I took the door panel off and checked, the 2 bolts holding the window operator in the track had just about come off. You might try removing your door panel and seeing if you have a loosened bolt or something misaligned causing binding.

sdc2

I had my 99 Trooper in to the dealer today. I am reporting on this so you can recognize the problem if it occurs to you.

Last week it started not starting like it used to. It always fired up almost instantly, but last week it would crank for like 5 seconds before even popping, and then it would sometimes die a few seconds after starting. Sometimes I could smell raw gas after starting. Driveability was fine once it was running.

The service rep said it was probably the fuel pressure regulator, which made sense (except for the raw gas smell). If the regulator doesn't maintain pressure in the fuel rail while the vehicle is off, then the fuel pump has to re-pressurize the system while you crank to start.

Anyway it did turn out to be the fuel pressure regulator as suspected. It was leaking into a vacuum line somehow, which accounted for the raw gas smell.

Hope this is helpful, don't know how common this problem is.

paisan

any CELs?

Cause mine is like that too but I don't get the gas smell.

-mike

ilit

My 99 Trooper failed with the same syntoms.
The dealer replaced the "fuel sending unit", that was listed on the work order, and reprogrammed the computer. It works fine now.

troop2shos

A short-term solution is to turn your ignition to run for a few seconds before cranking. This will allow the fuel pump to pressurize the fuel rail properly as noted in sdc2's post.
This is a standard procedure for my Gen II SHO & this condition is not uncommon in other FI engines, AFAIK.

paisan

That's exactly correct troop2shos, some subies have that problem in the winter.

-mike

troop2shos

Definitely on the initial winter cold starts. Most V-6 SHO's require the pump-up in winter & my '00 Trooper seemed to benefit from this procedure as well, IIRC.
Hmmm, I'm ready for winter right now to beat the heat. Anyone up for a cool run to the Pole for R&R?
Errr...that idea just got shot down by my AWA...disregard.

sdc2

I eventually figured out that it would start and stay running better if I worked the accel pedal a little while starting. Took me back to the days of starting carbureted engines!

Anyway, got it back from the dealer last night, and now it starts immediately again, just like before.

There was not a check engine light, but apparently there was a code that required clearing according to the work order.

The raw gas smell was due to the leaked gas running through the EGR valve.

Also, I asked them about doing a wheel bearing repack, and he recommended waiting until the brakes need work, because it is a relatively small additional cost to do during a brake job, but a large cost to do by itself. Imagine that, a dealer recommending NOT to do maintenance!

bluedevils

Does anyone know what the setup is for the fuel filter on the newer Troopers, specifically a 98? I'd like to have a shop replace the fuel filter (our 98 is at 66k miles) but they weren't exactly sure of the cost to do the job. Guy on phone asked if it was an 'inline' unit, where located, etc.

sib715

My 00 Rodeo just stopped showing fuel. Dealer says sensor bad in tank, they need to drop tank and replace. Just turned 52K mikes and dealer refuses to contact isuzu for waiver. Any thoughts/recommendations. TIA

paisan

Contact them, start a case, and then let Isuzu tell your dealer that it's covered. It's easier for you to get Isuzu to pay for it rather than have your dealer fight Isuzu for it.

-mike

breakor

On my 1999 it is up along the passenger side frame at the rear. It is readily accessible so the labor involved should not be a big deal.

sdc2

Yep, on the inside of the frame rail on the passenger side in front of the rear tire. Easy access.

bluedevils

sib715

I appreciate the info on how to approach Isuzu

acowboyfan

Has anyone else had problems with their 6 disc in-dash changer? Mine just seized up on my 99 Perf Pckg with, you guessed it, 50,600 miles (just over the 50K warranty). I popped in a disc, and it just started "whirring" and finally gave an error message. Tried to play a disc already in place, it couldn't locate it. Very annoying.

Dealer didn't want to touch it (and told me a replacement was over $600), so I contacted American Isuzu and they are starting a case file. Anyone had success with this? I talked to a guy at Al & Ed's (a SoCal stereo dealer) and he said they have heard of lots of problems with these changers. He had an aftermarket replacement (newer model, same size, supposedly less problems) for about $600.

On a happy note, just replaced my stock Duelers (starting to look very worn, and tread depth very shallow) with Michelin Cross-Terrains, 265/70/16 (the biggest you can get while keeping the same rims). Very nice looking and have a very thick tread. Seems quiet on the freeways, and am going to the mountains this weekend, so will see if I notice a difference. Pretty good price too, $134 apiece (which beats Tirerack.com) from America's Tire/Discount Tire.

paisan

I run 275-70 on stock rims and guys are running 275/285-75s

The 6-disc changers are about 50% good and 50% get errors like that. They should replace it w/o a problem even at 600 miles over the limit.

-mike

acowboyfan

Thanks for the info paisan - about the tires, the guy told me that was the biggest size (+zero) they could do with the stock rims. Oh well - no worries - I like the 265s just fine.

The thing about the changer, it has been temperemental before (no skipping though), like not reading certain discs, etc., but always turned out fine. Sure wish I would have had it changed out back then - would've saved me the hassle

paisan

A lot of shops don't like to go more than 20mm wider than stock for liability reasons. I run pirelli Scorpion ATs in 275-70-16 they are awsome. may go with Yoko Geolander AT II+ next time.

-mike

cmuniz

I remember several people having problems with their changer in the first models that had them installed. The major complaint was skipping on rough surfaces. I had a 2000 Trooper with the 6 CD changer and never had problems with it. The stereo shop is probably correct in that later models are ok.