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Does anyone remember the discussion awhile back where someone installed some manual locking front hubs for the Trooper? I'd like to know the brand and where to call for them.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Con
Isuzu making cutbacks
Associated Press
TOKYO - Isuzu Motors, a Japanese automaker affiliated with General Motors Corp., reported a second straight year of losses and announced Monday it would cut a quarter of its global work force.
Isuzu, which is 48 percent owned by General Motors, said it would trim 9,700 jobs by 2004, close a truck plant in Kawasaki near Tokyo by 2005 and sell its headquarters building in Tokyo to raise cash.
The job cuts making up about 25.5 percent of Isuzu's 38,000 global work force will be carried out by attrition, a hiring freeze and voluntary early retirement, the automaker said. Isuzu will cut 3,300 jobs at the parent company, 2,000 at domestic dealers and 4,400 at subsidiaries and affiliates.
Isuzu President Yoshinori Ida told reporters Isuzu will grow leaner, especially in Japan, by cutting down sales networks and costs. Isuzu will reduce models by 70 percent and halve the types of parts it uses.">www.isuzu.co.jp
http://braden.infi.net/content/bradenton/2001/05/29/local/0529isuzu_3b.htm
-mike
Paisan: AWESOME website!!! I will keep you posted of the results. My shop is recommending Bilstiens although I'm not sure if they know what Rancho 9000's are. BTW, how difficult are shocks (& Sway bar bushings, etc.) to install?
emiura: Thanks for the heads up. I tried the site www.isuzusuv.com, but it kept telling me "a connection with the server could not be established". Do you happen to know his e-mail address? I greatly appreciate it.
ALL: Some engineers at my company and I were debating what the effects would be if stickier tires were used with a vehicle with such a tall center of gravity. One argued the fact that b/c my current tires slide, they give way against possible rollover effect (whipping back and forth, sudden hop/skip/and roll). I believe paisan is correct in widening the track as much as possible. The change from stock to 255/55VR18 would mean an overall diameter drop from 29.50 in. to 29.04 in. What will I experience from the effects to gearing?
Here is a site to calculate how off your gearing will be with different tires
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
stickier tires: Well 2 weekends ago, there was a guy doing auto-x in camden NJ with a stock Jetta that he put racing tires (very stickie tires) on and wound up flipping it as you described. Most people felt it was due to the stock suspension combined with the stickier tires. I'd say that the lowering of the suspension, the widening of the track, stiffer Torsen bars (cranked down to lower the vehicle, try sway-away bars) combined with stiffer sway bars front and rear, should make the stickier tires a good combination. Heck throw a blower or a turbo on the truck and you'll have one hell of a Typhoon with the TOD system
-mike
PS: e-mail me any pics you want in the Gallery mike@iace.com
Andreasen's Japanese Car and SUV Center
Keith Andreasen
email: isuzusuv@community.net
Keep trying on his webpage. I got connected w/o problem tonight.
...Eiji...
1. Remove the driver's headrest.
2. Move the driver's seat all the way forward.
3. Recline both front and back seats all the way down.
4. Extend the reat headrest.
5. Put folded blanket on the back seat to reduce height difference between front backrest and the back seat.
I'd been camping in a pickup truck before I got the Trooper, but this setup was much more comfortable. Somehow the contour of the seat was perfect for my body, and I didn't get sore back at all. With the moonroof open, I got view all way around me. I'm about 5'9", so it may not work for taller person.
...Eiji...
Con
I did not see the extreme bike rack at Walmart online. Not sure of the "real" Walmart.
Also, why do you replace bushings?
-mike
This spring, i.e., around April, my gas mileage suddenly shot up to 17.5-18, and in some cases more. It appears to be increasing; this Memorial Day weekend I drove home from a rafting/camping trip in PA and it looks like I got almost 20 MPG this tank!
Has anyone experienced this? I wondered about several issues:
1) is it possible that we did not receive non-oxygenated gas in this area last year, so that I never saw the 20% increase in MPG I usually see in the spring? BUT, this is the DC area, (i.e., high volume fuel turnover) and I have bought gas all over VA, MD, DC, DE, and PA.
2) Is there some adaptive strategy that the Trooper engine or transmission management system has in its programming that would optimize the running of the Trooper after all these miles? (33K now).
3) Is the Trooper THAT sensitive to driving habits? I have slowed down my driving slightly; instead of fighting with traffic I have been 'going with the flow,' coasting instead of keeping on the gas approaching known slowdowns, staying below 80, etc.
I'm enjoying this phenomenon immensely and I am not complaining. I am simply curious if anyone in this or any other area has seen anything similar.
-Ken
Keeping it below 80 with a moving brick wall wouldn't hurt. Also, the coasting instead of gassing right up to a slowdown must help. Also, check your tire pressure. Higher usually equals better gas mileage (but harder ride).
2003 will debut the new Trooper. No concepts for it yet. Last time I spoke to an insider @ Isuzu said:
V8
3Rows of seats
More curves (hopefully not too many)
Produced in Japan (doesn't look likely now)
Hopefully it will still be an Isuzu based truck. If it isn't an Isuzu based truck 2 rumors are floating around:
1) Rebadged Yukon with 4.8l Engine
2) Re-styled Re-badged Extended Wheelbase Envoy, sporting the 4.8 V8 or the I6 Engine.
Only time will tell. We should find out next spring sometime what the 2003 Trooper will be, and look for it in showrooms late spring 2002/early summer 2002
-mike
I was under the impression that the 02' model would have the v8 and 3rd seat.
On another subject... has anyone experienced there brake pads lasting longer than suggested? I have a 96' LS I/81K and the dealer says the pads are still in good shape, still replacing in June.
Point being, if everything in your brake system is working properly and your pads still have adequate thickness, there is no reason to replace the pads...
-mike
I was disappointed. I am a loyal Isuzu Trooper owner (91 with 133k miles) and have been everywhere in it. I'm in the market for a new SUV now to replace another vehicle and would love to see a new, larger Trooper with 3rd row seats, but it's not going to be anytime soon enough for me.
I then remembered seeing an article some time ago that the re designed Trooper was going to be a re-badge GM Jimmy/Envoy. That really dissapoints me. I hope it is not the case. I can understand how that with a controlling stake in Isuzu now, GM will not allow a new, real competitor to its own models.
So, I am now seriously looking at the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero instead.
I installed a set several months ago & it improved my mileage by about 0.4 mpg. I now routinely get more than 18 mpg on the highway. Most importantly, the front CVs & boots no longer turn when the hubs are unlocked (99% of the time), saving wear-n-tear on these expensive parts. Do it - you won't regret it. It took me a 3-4 hours & was well worth it.
I recently went on a trip to the local mountains. There were two adults, two 10 year old kids, & all sorts of picnic gear (ice chest, chairs, bar-b-q, etc.). The total trip was 230 miles, 50-60 miles of which were very steep and winding mountain (paved) roads. No offroading. A/C on 50% of the time. Freeway speeds 70-75 mph. We got 17.8 mpg overall. That's acceptable for what this vehicle is capable of.
offroader
I drive in Power mode all the time, and I think that may be telling the truck to downshift too low when I punch it on the highway. When I try to push it hard at 70+, the RPM's jump near redline, and there is NO power to give at that high of an RPM. Just a lot of noise.
Should I even ask the dealer about it, or do I need to turn OFF "power mode" after reaching 60 mph? I am going to try to experiment by turning off the power switch, but I wanted to know if anyone had similar experiences.
Previous car was a Civic Coupe EX with Honda's VTECH, which would still give you good power at high RPM's. I might just be living in the past to think that an engine like the Troop would offer good power at high RPMs.
Thanks-
Andy
Thanks, I did have a look at the Superwinch site but they only list for older, manual transmission Troopers.
I have the '99 with Auto and TOD. What was the exact part number you used to order the hubs for your Trooper? What model Trooper do you have?
Thanks.
-mike
Thanks.
My Trooper is a 1999 w/TOD. They work great on mine. Perhaps the front end parts haven't changed much in 10+ years. Isuzu is known for that - keeping a design for a long time if it works.
-mike
So, your problem might just be the battery. Good luck.
Did you have the Troop in Power Mode for this trip you took?
I've been turning power mode off once I've merged on the interstate, and I haven't had the 6k + RPM problems. It will downshift, but only one gear which puts the RPMs in the low 4's, and offers good power.
Anyone willing to experiment - put the trooper in Power mode at 70+, then give it some gas as if you were pulling into faster traffice, etc? I wanted to see if the power mode sends the RPM's through the roof.
Thanks-
Andy
-mike
When on power, slight tap on the gas will unlock the torque converter and keep the engine in the sweet rev range. It feels like in the middle of third and fourth gear. When I gas it some more it shifts down to third gear and the rev rises some more.
Besides delaying upshifts and providing quicker downshifts, I guess the power mode often prevents Torque Converter lock-up when accelerating.
Any of these types of thing exist for Troopers?
I also know Superchips makes a chip which increases the top end cutoff (I think). In any event, Superchips claims that the Trooper is their most successful application as far as performance gains.
I found that turning off power after merging has been a help - no problems since starting that.
-mike
-mike
Why do you want more than one pair of shoes?
Also increased power can = less power range
For example...
If you add a K&N cone filter and a borla exhaust, it increase peak HP by 25hp. The problem is that it robs low end torque and hp below 4K rpms.
If you must have the most power, gotta go with a big diesel GMC or V10 Excursion!
-mike
Con
He said it might have made a difference, but the car is so heavy, you can't notice it anyhow.
It sounds like the shift kit you are talking about is electronic. There are also mechanical ones. There is also the computer chip (like Superchips one I mentioned) which increases your rev limiter, and maybe changes shift points. This is as much a question as a statement. Dig it! ?
Since the Trooper tranny seems fairly tight-shifting anyway, I don't think a shift kit would have much of a benefit on this tranny...
variable timing
5-speed AT which would translate to more MPG
etc. etc.
I'm saying that simple bolt on accessories are not going to necessarily add power in all rpm ranges, especially without changing the internals.
-mike
Ask any kid, mechanic, or professional what single change they would make to add more power. They will tell you "add a free flowing exhaust". This almost ALWAYS makes more power along the entire range, and improves efficiency (MPG) as well.
Similar applies to all cars, but in varying doses. Usually, the smaller the engine, the less improvement you'll see. Some are already at or near maximum efficiency, and a bigger exhaust does not necessarily flow better. Maybe that is what you meant. (?)
1) Free-er flowing exhausts will give you more power on the top end. The lack of backpressure on most non-v8 engines will cause the engine to loose low end torque and punch off the line. The same goes for intakes as well. If you car (most V8s) is being restricted significantly, then you will gain more power by doing an exhaust.
2)Bigger exhausts *may* not flow as smoothly as a smaller one.
The bottom line is that you can't just throw an exhaust or intake at a car and expect it to have more power over the whole rpm range. It's not that simple.
-mike