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Isuzu Trooper

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Comments

  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    I had the 1995 3.2L SOHC lifter ticking come back with only around 2000 miles on the latest oil change. Then it went away. The only thing different while it was lifter ticking (at all speeds and loads)is that I was half way through a tank of lower octane fuel. When the tank gage was on "E" I refueled with 93 octane and after about 50 miles the lifter ticking was gone completely.

    Please tell me why.

    Thank You
    BoxTrooper
  • utrooperutrooper Member Posts: 2
    Hi, I have a 95 Trooper LS. About six months ago it started making that ticking sound. I thought it might be because it's at about 130k miles, but the mechanic said I just needed to use some type of heavier duty Chevron oil for my next change. I went to a superlube and had them put in a 15w40 but it still ticks... I was not aware of the fuel type making a difference. What do you know about this "problem"? My car still runs the same, but I am getting ready to sell and don't want buyers to be scared away by the extra noise.

    Appreciate your input!
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    If anything, you should have opted for a lighter oil, preferably Mobil1 0W30 or 5W30. Apparently the oil galleys are tiny and get clogged easily. Synthetic oil should penetrate through and increase the oil flow. Isuzu had a TSB that suggested this "treatment" before any mechanical repairs.
  • serranoserrano Member Posts: 107
    I can think of no reason why fuel type or octane would affect lifter operation. It's a coincidence.

    Tom
  • wildbucwildbuc Member Posts: 88
    I'm thinking of adding a luggage rack to my 99 Trooper but I am concerned that doing so might affect gas mileage and increase wind noise. Has anyone done this and noticed a difference? (My goal is to carry 2 recreational kayaks.) By the way, my trip gas mileage is around 18.6 to 19 mpg.)
  • skill123skill123 Member Posts: 1
    Help!
    I just drove home last night in a new 2002 LS and having the typical second thoughts. Hoping its just the jitters and not a got a "got screwed" feeling. It was a green 2002LS with tube sides, hood thing, heated seats, roof, changer etc... Was a dealer demo with about 3k. Paid 23,500+taxes.. It looks like that was way under invoice for brand new and tried haggling to account for Demo "used" status. Payments ended up around 400/mo from my credit union. Someone please let me know I didn't get completely hosed!!!! (although not like I could really do anything if I did)
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I don't know about the Trooper, but my mpg goes down about a mile per gallon when I haul canoes on my van. Hard to guess about wind noise, but your boats are curvy - it's not like carrying bricks up there.

    You could always get some inflatables and stow them inside :-)

    Steve, Host
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Congrats on your Trooper purchase. As for the price, is it 2WD or 4WD? When pricing a demo, I don't compare it to what new Troopers cost but to what 2002 models with very low miles cost. The two advantages in getting a demo in this case would be the 10year/120k warranty and Isuzu financing. AFAIK, Isuzu has $4500 dealer incentive on the Troopers so if I were buying a new Trooper I would deduct that from the invoice price. For a demo, I would try to match the price on a comparable used vehicle. I don't understand why you decided to go with your credit union since Isuzu currently offers 0% financing for 72 months.
  • wildbucwildbuc Member Posts: 88
    Some of you may remember that I recently had a blowout on the road after hitting a metal object which cut my rear tire. Now I have a question for you. Is the spare tire useable as an everyday road tire? I had my spare tire mounted on the alloy rim and have been using it for speeds up to 70 mph. I figured that would be okay since the numbers on the spare matched the other tires. HOWEVER, when washing the Trooper today I noticed that whereas the regular tires have a smooth finish on the tire walls, the spare has a ribbed finish. What gives?
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Hi all,

    Back from 3 weeks vacation. Did a bit of trail driving and sand driving. Should get the photos soon.

    We also "initiated" a friend's 3 week old Jackaroo Equipe during these trips. Only 800km's on the clock and getting its first scratches on a forest trails. A beautiful thing!
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    My 1995 also has 130K miles, just turned that over this weekend. I have been dealing with the lifter tick off and on for over a year. Mine started after a 600 mile towing trip with a 4000 lb. trailer at the end of 4000 miles on the Mobil1 10W30 oil and Mobil1 filter. What I figure happenned is that the heavy load on the engine with the gas pedal to the floor sometimes for several minutes at a time caused more piston ring blow by and therefore more engine byproducts in the oil. The Mobil1 filter catches smaller stuff than the regular filter and that might have generated enough backpressure to cause the oil filter bypass relief function to occur, which may have dumped a bunch of the filtered out stuff back into the oil flow. Then some of those particles got stuck in the small oil passages that make the lifters noisy for lack of oil flow. I changed oil and filter and it took a couple hundred miles to get the lifters silent again. Ever since I listen to my engine closely, any hint of a lifter tick and I get ready to do an oil change. Resently, I had the lifter tick return, and before I had a chance to do an oil change, the lifter ticking was gone. I guess the advertisement on some gas staions of "premium gas - drive your engine clean" or similar might actually be true for my Trooper.

    My experiments:

    1.) RedLine Oil - expensive but on the internet it looks like the best oil made. This seemed to help the lifter tick go away, but cannot go extended intervals unless the oil filter is changed 2/3 of the interval which is a pain to do, I prefer to change the oil and filter at the same time. Too expensive for regular use.

    2.) Purolator Pure One 24458 filter fits exactly, had the same relief valve pressure spec. and has probably 50% more filter volume plus the added amount of filter pleats that the Pure One line offers. This seems to make easy work of keeping the oil clean and lifters quiet for 3000 to 4000 miles between changes. I highly recommend this larger filter. Look the specs up in the back of the Purolator reference book at the auto parts store. There is one even larger filter that would work even better, but that is for diesel engines not sold in the USA, so the filter is hard to get.

    3.) Trasko oil filter, like a toilet paper roll the oil goes parallel to the paper not through it and the dirt is wiped off. The model that fits the Trooper does not have the capacity to last 3000 miles, it would be good for half that.

    4.) Valvoline 5W30 Synpower works well, but $4 /qt.

    5.) Valvoline 5W30 oil for older motors. Read the label carefully, it claims to have a lot more detergent cleaning power. Since my Trooper seems very sensitive to dirty oil, I thought I'd try it. $1.77 / qt. I actually put in 1qt of 10W30 Synpower full synthetic and five qt. of the Valvoline for older engines and this has worked very well, no more lifter noise. Until my wife filled up with low octane fuel. I have been getting the 93 octane stuff at the local BJ's discount store because they don't have a midgrade and the premium is nearly a dime less than elsewhere per gallon. The 93 Octane has been the norm for at least six months, and no lifter ticking. Then one tank of low octane and ticking returns. And back to 93 octane drive 50 miles, and the lifter ticking is again solidly gone. I don't fully understand why, unless the computer has learned timing for high octane and slightly pre-ignits the lower octane causing blow by dirt in the oil.

    For me what works now is 93 octane gas and Valvoline oil for older engines 5W30 weight. As long as that cambination works I can avoid the $3000+ head rebuilding project that supposedly would make this issue go away because they have improved parts for the replacements.

    Good Luck and Infinate patience to you and your 1995.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    The subject of oil filters came up recently over on the outdoorwire. The recommended Purolator filter is L14459. It has a bypass pressure setting of 12-15psi. The larger, non-recommended L24458 filter has a different relief valve as it bypasses at 8-10psi.


    The unanswered question is what is the setting in the factory Filtech filters? See - http://www.outdoorwire.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=86;t=000293#000000


    One other point, there is always a sweet spot in filter design. That is the point where the larger particles trapped on the filter work to filter out the smaller particles. One potential downside of a larger filter is that it could be so big that it might take too long to get in this state. Thus, bigger is not always better. Then again if you start with a larger, finer filtering filter such as Mobil 1 (assuming they make a larger one) this would not be an issue.

  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    L24458 larger vs L14459 smaller I looked them both up in the Purolator book and the pressure relief was identical on both. In fact every spec on them is the same except the height and therefore the capacity to hold dirt before lifting the bypass.

    I think the PurOne version has the ability to pick out the finer particles just like the Mobil1, just not as expensive a name on it.
  • beer47beer47 Member Posts: 185
    What do you guys think about the Isuzu oil filter. I have been using them in case of a warranty situation. I can always say, "Hey. I've been using (and paying extra) your oil filters". I am hoping they spec'd out a good one. In the old days it was easy. We were a Ford family; (Fram) PH-8A's for everyone!
    Cheers to all.
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    It's made by Fil-Tech. I think it says 'made in USA.' Apparently, some Fil-Techs are good and some are not good at all. If I remember from the Edmunds oil filter topic, it depends on the country of filter manufacture. E.g., some of the Fil-Tech-made Honda brand filters are good, and some are crap. I don't remember where the good ones and crap ones are made, but I think the U.S.-made ones are the good ones.

    I've always thought the Isuzu-brand filter was a good choice and have alternated between them and the Pure One (usually the larger 24458) depending on my mood.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    I was wrong, the PL24458 does have a lower bypass pressure than the PL14459. I went at lunch to buy one, and I looked it up again to make sure. Lower bypass is on the canservative side so the engine will not be oil starved because of it. Both are rated for the same flow rate. Maybe with larger area the pressure is lower so the lower bypass pressure is OK. In any case, I am going to keep using the PL24458. There was another 20x1.5mm threaded filter with 3.1" diameter (Isuzu Trooper filter is 3.15" diameter) and 5.45" height that which would give it lots of capacity, but it has a bypass pressure of 25-27 psi. So I thought I better stick with the PL24458 since it has been working good for me.

    I think the Isuzu filter is probably just fine and so is the regular size filter. I use the PL24458 for the extra capacity and the PurOne is the premium Purolator filter for max performance.
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    bypass pressure and relief valves? I'm clueless. Over the past 3 years I've used the Pure One PL24458 several times, thinking the specs were the same as the PL14459. I still have a few in my garage but won't use them if it's unwise.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    If the filter gets glogged or the oil is too cold and the pressure across the filter gets above the bypass pressure, a spring loaded valve opens and the oil goes around the filter. The engine runs without the filter until the presure across the filter goes bak below the bypass pressure. The bypass feature is intended to make sure oil can get to the engine parts that need it, unfiltered oil is much much better than no oil.

    I think it is safe to run a lower bypass presure. It has worked great for a long time now so it is proven to me. My 1995 is very sensitive to dirty oil and I have had the best luck with the larger filter to not get the lifter ticking noise.
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Boxtrooper ...

    Have you investigated what the improved parts are to eliminate the ticking? I'm not that familiar with the 3.2V6. But if it's something like adjustable rocker arms or some other parts that can be replaced without removing the camshaft, you should be able to get them done without removing the heads. There will be some expense in it but the need for a head rebuild I think is questionable.

    IIRC, the camshafts on the 3.2 V6 don't drive the valves directly as on the 3.5V6. I may be wrong, but I think they are driven by rockers which should be adjustable.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    The author of an oft quoted oil filter study (http://www.ntpog.org/reviews/filters/filters.shtml)has a less than favorable impression of Filtech. To quote "While I don't know what the internal design is, I'm familiar enough with FILTECH's stuff that I don't care to put it in my truck" - http://www.outdoorwire.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=86;t=000487#000003
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    I have heard that the parts are a shaft and the rocker arms themselves and that the whole thing costs $3200 for both sides and half of that is parts cost. Extremely expensive for a maintenance item. Trying every possible oil filter and oil combination is way less expensive. If the Trooper could hold a 5.7L Chevy V8 (like the chop top Trooper in the Holden web page of a week or two ago) it would be less expensive to drop in a complete rebuilt V8.

    I expect to make it well past 200K while preventing the lifter ticking using careful oil changes and high octane fuel for a cleaner running engine. At least my 1995 3.2L SOHC does not consume oil, well it will consume some oil during heavy towing, but not during regular driving.
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    I called a local dealer to ask for the auto tranny fluid replacement and the SM proceeded to tell me that I need to have the 30k service performed or it will void my warranty. I explained to him that I spent the last weekend doing everything myself, including oil&filter change, fuel filter, air filter, power steering fluid, coolant, rear driveshaft and chassis lubrication, front and rear diff and transfer case fluid replacement and the tires were just rotated last month. He proceeded to tell me that having receipts is not enough for Isuzu and I have to be actually a qualified mechanic to do it. He started questioning me on how I performed the rear diff change and said that I couldn't have possibly got all the fluid out. This really ticked me off so I am thinking of calling Isuzu about this. Are they allowed to make such statements?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    SM = Service Salesman

    Basically they are paid on commission based on how much service they sell. And that is mostly profit to the dealership.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    I don't know how many manufacturers actually offer a WRITTEN policy regarding the acceptability, for warranty purposes, of doing maintenance work yourself. I've never heard a service advisor take such a hard line and flat-out claim that you MUST do the 30k service or that doing maintenance work yourself and having receipts is NOT sufficient to maintain warranty coverage.

    Give me a break - I mean, how often does a manufacturer actually review the service history of a vehicle? I'm guessing not very often. Owners take their vehicles to non-dealer shops all the time; the dealer doesn't have access to this info. I'd think a dealer would press the owner for documentation only if it appeared clear that there was some neglect in a particular area.

    No, you probably didn't get all the fluid out of the rear diffy if you simply drained and filled it. But that's how most shops would do that job. Is the service guy implying that the dealer hooks up some sort of fluid exchange/powerflush machine? I don't think I'd want that. If memory serves, the amount of fluid that drained from the rear diffy on our 98 Troop when I changed the fluid a while back was darn near the factory spec amount. So I'm confident that 95+% of the fluid drained out.

    That dealer you spoke with probably has a giant list of unnecessary items bundled in with each service interval NOT specified by manufacturer. And dealer people wonder why customers can't stand dealerships!
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    just like they can't require genuine Isuzu gasoline or genuine Isuzu wiper fluid. Just keep your records. If you are consistent in the manner that you record maintenance records, like a little book in the glove box, that would go a long way with a judge if it came to that to prove the maintenance was done. Put down dates times and ODO readings and what was done, I don't know if signing it would help.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I keep track of gas and repairs in a little book. I save my receipts. That's a good "contemporaneous business record" or (whatever the buzzword is) to me. At the least it'll shift the burden back on the dealer to show that you did the work wrong in such a way as to cause the failure. Biggest pain is taking the day or whatever to go to small claims court.

    Steve, Host
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    If it is provided for free. :)

    -mike
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Well, I called another Isuzu dealer 30 minutes away and the SM told me that I didn't need to worry about the auto tranny so early. He said he hasn't seen any Troopers with tranny problems and didn't think I need it serviced at least until 60k. He also said to wait for the front wheel bearings repack until I need a brake job.
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    The service advisor I deal with, is the only guy I will talk with at the dealer I go to. He is the only one there that is straight with me and I have a good relationship with him.

    The very fact that my last service (50,000km / 30,000m) only cost me $122AUS with wiper arms and seat rails changed out as well under warranty, gives me some confidence that they are being honest with me. As far as I can tell, everything that was supposed to be done has been done, and amy warranty requests I make are done without question.

    IIRC, Paisan has a good relationship going with his dealer too. Even though Paisan does a lot of work himself, I believe he hasn't had much grief with warranty.

    If you find someone honest, hold on to them and build a relationship!
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I'm very good friends with the sales manager and sales staff, but the service at my local dealer is horrible. I go about an extra 5 miles to the next Isuzu dealer because their service dept is excellent. They took great care of my TOD/Diffy problem, which turned out to be my own fault (spare tire I had put on when I got a flat was 1/4 different in diameter causing the LSD and TOD to get messed up).

    In general if you truck doesn't look abused and you are pretty nice to the service writers warranty work shouldn't be an issue.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    The weight of Mobil 1 synthetic gear lube I used to replace the original fluid @ appx 50k miles was indeed 75W90. Used same both front and rear, although I believe the rear spec is for something slightly heavier than the front.
  • zutrooperzutrooper Member Posts: 66
    MIke: How did the tire mess up TOD? Also, TOD is working in reverse now! I guess I have to say that you were right. damn I hat that. Mark
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    What happens is that if your tires are not within 1/4" circumference it will mess with the speed sensors on each wheel. For instance in my case what happened was that I had a Bridgestone Dueller 684 leftover from my 97 Rodeo. When I blew out a tire shortly after buying my Trooper (actually it was my dad who did it) we put on the Rodeo tire which appeared to have the same wear as the ones on there. This was a rear tire. After that we had problems with engaging/disengaging 4-low and there was a horrible TOD whine. Eventually the shop figured out that the tire we had replaced was 1/4" smaller in diameter than the other 3, even though it was the same size, brand, make, etc. The moral of the story as far as that goes is to make sure to rotate your tires religiously every 5-7K miles so that you don't get excessive front wear on them.

    -mike
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    That's an interesting point. Since our spare tire (Dueller 684) is brand new, it will become unuusable in anything but 2WD as the tires wear out, correct? Unfortunately, the spare is not the same alloy wheel as the rest so we can't rotate it.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Not only that but you can't put it on the rear due to the LSD. You would need to put it in the front because the front is an open diffy. 2 different sized tires in the rear will cause the LSD to lockup.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    It must still be safe to use this tire as a temporary spare, in the event of a flat - right? All spare tires will have the same problem - they are a fixed size and won't necessarily match the size of the other tires depending on how worn they are.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    For short-term. You'll get some driveline whine, but I wouldn't do it as a permenant fix, maybe that's why they put em on steel wheels now, so that people won't leave em on for a long duration.

    -mike
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    I've experienced that TOD whine too. I have BFG A/T's on at the moment and had to use the spare once. It was brand new with full tread, and the others had worn out 7mm of the total 13mm tread depth. Making the overall diameter difference between the new and the old tyres about 14mm, or more than 1/2 an inch.

    Got the other one fixed and it's back on the road, and the spare is a spare again.

    Also, the mid and high spec Jackaroos we're getting here still have the alloys as a spare. It's interesting that they are giving you the steel wheel as a spare now. The steel wheels on the base Jackaroo actually use a different wheel nut and the two aren't interchangeable. I wonder if it's a different wheel.

    Hey I missed something here. What's with TOD in reverse? Has someone worked out how to do that?
  • mkayemkaye Member Posts: 184
    But does anyone know of a website where you can review or look up specific makes of vehicles and see what their monthly or yearly sales are? I saw one earlier in the year but I can't find where I saved the link.

    This one you could look up either a specific vehicle (Trooper) or vehicle type (all suv's).
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    It's autosite.com, or at least that's the one I keep seeing references to. They are current through August it appears. I linked to the SUV sales entry page, but you can drill around to sedans, lists by volume, etc.


    Steve, Host

  • mkayemkaye Member Posts: 184
    That's perfect. Thanks Steve, Host
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    @ Uwharrie, Mark thought that TOD didn't work in reverse and we had a discussion about it around the camp fire. He finally agrees with me that it does in fact work in reverse! :)

    -mike
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Does anyone know if the ATF is shared between the TOD transfer case and the auto tranny?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    They both use ATF fluid but it is 2 separate units.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    96_i30_5sp, if you are on a fluid-changing frenzy, it's fairly easy to suck fluid out of the P/S reservoir and replace it. I went that route - didn't want to attempt disconnecting a P/S hose to get all the fluid out of there. Used Mobil 1 ATF. Don't remember for sure, but I think I got 9-10 fluid ounces out. I did that a few separate times on different days, so I figure I got a decent percentage of the fluid changed via this method.

    Scroll back or search through some posts and you should find some discussion of this in the Isuzu Maintenance & Repair or Isuzu Trooper topics.

    Note that the P/S system uses ATF.
  • bawbcatbawbcat Member Posts: 118
    Does the TOD whine occur only when TOD is turned on, or does it also happen in 2WD mode? I currently have 255/70-16 on the vehicle but my spare is the stock one, so I presume that this size difference will induce the problem. It it's only a problem when TOD is turned on though, I won't worry about it. I don't generally use TOD on paved roads. On dirt, the wheels can slip so I presume the side difference is less of a problem.
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Thanks, bluedevils.. Actually, I already changed it but I did drain it from the bottom of the reservoir. Here's what I did: placed a rug underneath the hose to catch any drips and cut in half a plastic yogurt container. I needed something shallow and flexible so I can easily slide underneath the hole once the power steering hose is pulled off. If you do it quickly enough, you will get most of fluid out and any drips will be on the rug. I did several changes within a couple of days and that got most of the old fluid removed.
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    It only occurs with TOD engaged.

    However Mike raised a good point about different tyres sizes on the rear axle. It will lead to increased wear on the LSD as the diff will tend to lock up compensating for the different rotation speed of each tyre.

    I'd get the spare changed to the larger size too. There is a 2% reduction in tyre revs/mile going from a 245/70 to a 255/70. In my mind that's something to worry about.

    Mind you, that's less than the difference between my "new" spare and my well used road tyres, which are all 245/70!
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Just curious ... How did you come to the conclusion that TOD works in reverse?

    I guess you would have to deliberately get the rear wheels to break traction, so as the front wheels can get some torque apportioned to them. Looks like I'll have to head to some dirt soon to test this theory.
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