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Isuzu Trooper

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Comments

  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    My mileage sucks, but that's because I drive 6 miles back and forth to work, and about 4 miles back and forth to Home Depot. In Suburban D.C. you have to stop and go a lot because the moron in the Lexus in front of you (a lawyer/lobbyist probably) is too busy talking on the cell phone to start and stop smoothly.

    Seriously, short stop-and-go trips are much worse than short non-stop-and-go trips, which are worse than long non-stop-and-go trips. If you drive hard, everything is worse.

    I expect about 12-13 MPG with my commute. On the highway, at 65, I expect about 22 MPG. On the other hand, the mileage is only a little better in my wife's Sienna in this kind of driving. It's rated 22/26, I think. Even my old 4 cyl Ford Ranger only got about 17 in these conditions, but over 30 on the highway.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    Some guy named Paisan. Here is the quote -"Don't forget the '99 is the heaviest and biggest engine of them." This was in message #5287 in response to someone having a 99 and an 01 among other vehicles.

    This is how rumors get started by something being slightly mistyped and/or taken out of context.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    By my count the grand total of ALL "verified" #1 cylinder problems to-date is now 2 including tek182's.

    Moody's and freerlove's problems were admittedly caused by having little or no oil in the engine. It could still be that the 2 reported #1 cylinder problems have the same cause. What about it tek182, what did your dealer tell you caused the #1 bearing problem? Did any of the other bearings, or other engine areas for that matter, show unusual wear? Was your engine losing oil and did you properly refill it in a timely manner? Or were you like freerlove and never checked going 6000+ miles between oil changes?

    The conclusion I am still left with is that a high percentage of these engines (Paisan's 25% figure sounds about right to me) use oil. If you don't watch this and replace the lost oil you will be needing a new engine.

    Just my $.02.
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    KYB shocks do not have poly bushings. I put GasAdjusts on my 98 Trooper about 2 years ago (they were rubber); just replaced them with MonoMax's (they are rubber). Just giving information, not intending to be critical.
    Also, with my 98 Trooper S automatic (with 96,000 miles on it - bought new) I have been recording every drop of gas I put in it since day one. Overall average is 17.1 mpg with the 3.5 v-6. During the course of the winter I notice a drop in overall mpg (went down to 16.8 by last April) then it picks up again as the warmer weather comes and now stands at the 17.1. My Excel spreadsheet shows overall lifetime mpg and "since last fill-up" mpg. The latter ocassionally drops to 11 mpg and sometimes hits 22mpg depending on when and what I'm doing.
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    Thanks for straightening me out: I was probably mixing the Bilstein and KYB. Do you like the MonoMax's?

    Your mileage is better than mine by a long shot. Clearly, though, if you've put 96K on it - I put 8K on mine in a year - you drive a lot more than I do. Mostly highway?
  • tle_portaltle_portal Member Posts: 8
    Would you share your excel spreadsheet since I just bought my Trooper and was thinking of tracking the mileage for a while? I could fiddle with Excel, but why re-invent the wheel...

    If you care to, please email to tle_port@hotmail.com

    Thanks.
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    The Mono Max is a tremendous improvement over the KYB Gas Adjust and light years beyond the stock Trooper Tokico shocks. The Gas Adjusts were good for handling on smooth roads but were incredibly stiff on bumps, potholes washboard, etc. The Trooper leaned less into a corner than with the stock shocks, but if you hit anything rough halfway through the turn the vehicle would move sideways. The Mono Max's are much softer riding, absorb almost anything in terms of rough road surface, but at the same time limit the lean or roll even more. I love them!
    Yes, my driving is a lot highway. Mon - Fri I have a suburban highway roundtrip of 25 miles and virtually every weekend I have been putting on 300 miles going up to my weekend house (hence the high odometer mileage in just over 4 years). I recently purchased a 2002 Altima 2.5 S automatic which is relieving the Trooper during the warmer months. But come the snow season the Trooper will probably be back in action quite a bit.

    To tle_port:
    I will be happy to send you the spreadsheet I have been using on the Trooper, but cannot do that until next Tuesday since I'll be away upstate until then (I,m at work now).
  • tek182tek182 Member Posts: 6
    The dealer said the problem was probably due to low oil. The problem with that is I just had the oil changed at the dealership where I live (yes, I did check the oil afterwards and before starting my trip). This was done approx 500mi. before any major problems. As a matter of fact, I had to have all the maintenance records faxed to the dealer for the Isuzu rep. The longest I ever went between oil changes was about 4500mi. and I checked the oil regularly. I still don't see any reason why an engine this young (58000mi) should burn that much oil. When I get the new one back, I am going to run Mobil 1 from the beginning and see if that helps. Paison said it reduced oil consumption in his case and I had heard about the Troopers boiling off oil before. Thanks for the info.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    Thanks for the response and sorry for all your hassles.

    It sounds like you did all you could to properly maintain your vehicle. (Note: I had since reviewed the old posts and found that you started having the oil usage problem at 50k mis. Thus, you no doubt had good reason to be deligently checking for the proper level.) Something must have changed within the last 500mis. causing a dramatic decrease in the oil level and the damaged engine.

    Be sure to continue to save all your maintenace records. While I certainly hope you don't have any future problems, it does make me wonder if the dealer really knows what he is doing (screwed up engine block work, you take it in with engine noises they find a rattling muffler shield and shortly thereafter the engine dies). In fact, once he is done it might not be a bad idea to have another dealer check the work. For example, I might trot it right over to another dealer or at least pay another one to do the next few oil changes and tell them to look for any engine problems while they are at it.

    Good luck.
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    I will be happy to send you the spreadsheet I have been using on the Trooper, but cannot do that until next Tuesday since I'll be away upstate until then (I,m at work now).
  • tle_portaltle_portal Member Posts: 8
    I look forward to receiving it.

    I have had mine for 2 weeks today and it looks like I am at around 16MPG with mostly city driving.

    Is everyone using regular unleaded at 87 octane?

    Anyone getting better results with higher?

    Thanks.
  • beer47beer47 Member Posts: 185
    After a year running 87, I started getting a knock going up hills and I switched to 89 and things have been OK since then. Different horses for different courses. Some may be able to run 87 from stem to stern w/o problems. I had to change and so far so good. Perhaps from 100k to 200k I'll have to run 91/93 to keep running smooth. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. 89 for for now, no problems.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The person I was replying to had a '99, '95 and '89. The '95 while the same body was lighter than the newer models.

    Sorry for the confusion, if there was an '01 in there I was wrong. '98-'02 should be roughly the same weight.

    -mike
  • bsmart1bsmart1 Member Posts: 377
    I'd like to get a copy of the Xcel spreadsheet as well. I'm going to do some 'tinkering' with my 99' and see what happens to the mpg. This spreadsheet will be a good tool to keep track of things.

    Sounds like Trooper users are getting a wide range of mpg numbers. I don't consider myself to be a 'leadfoot' by any means, and I am disappointed in my mileage. I've driven this Trooper much like all other Troopers I've had, it just isn't matching up mpg-wise. It's really a downer to get mileage that you would expect in a Suburban, or Yukon, or Full size truck. Guess ISUZU just missed something in quality control when some engines use oil as much as theirs do, and others seem to use no oil. Oh well, you have to give it to em' on overall durability for the long haul. They do seem to be dependable.
  • beer47beer47 Member Posts: 185
    I bet the power to weight ratio for a trooper is somewhat similar to a Tahoe. My tahoe got alomost exactly the same MPG as my trooper. I too thought that the trooper would have better MPG than the tahoe, seeing how it is quite a bit lighter in weight. But when you consider the smaller engine it could be similar. I bet one of the engineering types on this board could figure this out exactly quicker than Sherman took Atlanta. Cheers to all.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    How many people would run stock size street tires of the lightest available type to get more MPG?

    I think it would be excellent for the Trooper to get 31 MPG like the diesel version does in the UK, but USA diesel fuel has too much sulfur to let the Trooper diesel pass emissions here.

    My 1995.5 Trooper has spark plug wires and benefitted a lot from the www.directhits.com product especially when driven very hard like towing (9.9 vs 11.2 MPG), but it only helps a tiny bit in MPG in light MPG conscious driving.

    There was once a rumor that the Suburban would get the Duramax diesel. That would be one to take a good look at if you have a need for a lot of seats.

    I have the K&N drop in replacement air filter which made a very noticeable difference compared to the dirty Isuzu filter it replaced. I bought, installed, and removed a Calmini cone filter that replaces the normal airbox. I removed it without even driving the car because I could see that any particles that might hit the fan would be slamed right into the cone filter. The K&N filter material looks like a well worn tee shirt, and IMHO it would not hold up to fan debris.

    I looked into a replacement exhaust system. Found an outfit in the UK that makes them out of stainless. I asked if the engine performance increase would be noticeable, he said the Isuzu exhaust is already optimized, that his new system might be better, but only very slightly. It was expensive and there would also be a large shipping charge.

    The Australian outback racers claim that intake and exhaust are the biggest places for improvement. I think they may be right, but you have to be willing to be as loud as a pack of Harley motorcycles to get the improvment.
  • wildbucwildbuc Member Posts: 88
    Has anyone tried this?
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    In your note, you say "The K&N filter material looks like a well worn tee shirt, and IMHO it would not hold up to fan debris." I think, at this point in the note, you mean the Calmini filter, not the K&N filter. Am I right?
  • silverghostsilverghost Member Posts: 154
    What's the procedure, again, for re-setting the ECU? I seem to recall that you just disconnect the battery cable (neg or pos??) overnight. But, wasn't there something about turning the ignition key on for about 5 mins before starting?

    Sorry for not remembering - I must have killed a few too many brain cells last night.

    Thanks, Dave
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Boxtrooper .... The exhaust upgrade done by Garland Racing has only a mild noise increase. It's actually not that bad unless you drive it hard! Here's the URL ... http://www.grt.au.nu.


    The upgrade is worth about $1800AUS fitted. This includes a completely new exhaust and a modified air box. The extent of modifications done to the air box depend on the trucks's usage. If you are staying on hardtop with little dust, then the most modifications are done and the greatest gains are achieved.


    Also the standard exhaust is far from optimised. I've experienced the results of the upgrade and you can't achieve those increases in power and torque by simply changing the breathing of the motor, if the standard setup is already optimal.


    The only problem is, more performance....more throttle....more fuel! You can get consumption savings with this upgrade if you drive easily. But face it, you've just installed more horses, the temptation will be to use them!

  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Disconnect the battery overnight .... reconnect .... start car and let idle settle down to 750rpm .... drive around for an hour. I also found the pulling out the ECM fuse instead of disconnecting the battery has the same effect.

    How do I know? I was servicing the air filter and forgot to reconnect the air flow sensor afterwards. 15 minutes of driving later the CEL came on. I realised what I did and reconnected the airflow sensor, but the CEL wouldn't go out for the next 30 minutes of driving. This included two stops where the engine was off for more than 10 minutes. So I pulled the fuse for a couple of minutes and away it went.
  • mwwstmwwst Member Posts: 30
    Hello all,

    I'm in the market for a used my2000 trooper and hope someone can help me with the following question: Is the privacy glass standard on all my2000 troopers, S included, or only on the LS and higher models? Edmunds calls out the privacy glass as a standard feature on the LS but makes no note on the S for my2000 yet notes privacy glass as standard on the my2002 S model. I prefer how the Troopers with the privacy glass look over those without but only have the budget for the S. thanks for your help
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    2000 had privacy on:
    LS
    Limited
    S (Fleet Sales ONLY)

    So pretty much the S model does not have Privacy Glass. I believe in 02 the S model does have privacy glass std, but don't quote me on that.

    -mike
  • dmuzykadmuzyka Member Posts: 31
    It seems the MonoMaxs sound pretty good. How about the Monroe Reflex? I have a 2001 LS 2WD, and don't go off road except for a few beach excursions. Since I can't seem to find Trooper listings past 1999, would the shocks for a '99 fit my '01? I assume they would but would like conformation. By the way, I've diven every which way I could and average 15 mpg!! Jeez!! Finally, anyone taking bets Isuzu pulls out of the US light truck market within 15 months? The writing is on the wall with 1) GM targeting their diesel technology; 2) a weak model line up that needs strong incentives to move (especially witht eh Trooper bowing out...).
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    If Isuzu pull out of the light truck market in the US, it could spell the end of Isuzu globally.

    I admit their strength is the medium and heavy truck markets. But I don't believe they can take another hit in any truck segment and survive it. They are cash-strapped and very vulnerable.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The 2nd largest truck maker in Asian/Japan?

    As for shock info, yes any shocks that fit on '98-'99 will fit on '00->'02 as well, most parts places haven't updated their books for the Troopers.

    -mike
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    Yes it was a Calmini version, but the material in my drop in K&N looks like an oily tee shirt too. I do think it filters well.
  • mwwstmwwst Member Posts: 30
    Mike,

    Thanks for the info.

    MWWST
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    If I remember right, the material in the K&N filter looks like an oily Tshirt sandwiched between two layers of reinforcement... It does seem to filter well. Crap on one side, none on the other.
  • basketballkidbasketballkid Member Posts: 25
    Hi everyone.

    What's the latest consensus on tires? I have 45K miles on my 99 Trooper. My girlfriend just ran over a nail with my Trooper. The tires were starting to look pretty bad anyway, so I figure I should replace them now. I don't go off-road, just maybe a few dirt roads and one in a blue moon over sand at the beach. I was thinking about something a little "beefer" looking like 265/70. I know the speedometer will be off...and I won't be able to use my spare. Should I consider 75s? Any brands you guys would recommend? Pirelli? Goodyear?

    All comments are appreciated.
    Regards.
    Phil
  • basketballkidbasketballkid Member Posts: 25
    I just read a million posts about tires. Sbcooke, are you still happy with your Dueler 693's? I don't know a lot about tires. Am I correct in assuming that you go off-roading often? Is the 693 an "all terrain" tire? After reading the many posts about tire size - I'm sold on a 265/70. I don't want to lose much power, mileage, etc.

    I have a stock 99 trooper (no lift, std shocks).

    What do you guys recommend for someone that stays on-road except for an annual camping trip with the kids?

    Thanks.
    Phil
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    Goodyear makes some good tires, but they are overpriced, IMO. Pirelli makes some good choices. Some of the Yokohamas are pretty good too, though many of them are not good in snow.

    We replaced the Bridgestone Dueler 684s on our 98 Troop around 52k miles with P245/70R16 Michelin LTX M/S. Got a real good price at Discount Tire (they matched Sam's Club / Costco). You really can't go wrong with Michelins.

    I've read good things about the Cooper Discoverers, which is a pretty attractively priced tire.
  • basketballkidbasketballkid Member Posts: 25
    I like Michelins but they seem to be expensive. Tirerack lists them at $129 each vs. $91 for the Dueler 693 in a 265/70 size. Do you think its worth the price difference?
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    No, I'd say $38 apiece is too much extra to pay for ANY tire. I don't know much about the Dueler 693. It's surprising that the 265/70 Michelin is that expensive. Pretty sure we paid about $100 apiece for the 245/70 LTX M/S.

    Check tires.com (Discount Tire Direct).

    Have you read the tire reviews on tirerack.com?

    Will you be doing any snow driving?
  • basketballkidbasketballkid Member Posts: 25
    I just checked tires.com. $137 for the Michelin M/S but that includes shipping. So its comparable to Tirerack. They don't have Bridgestone on tires.com, so I can't double check the Duelers price. My impression is that Michelin justs runs a bit more. But I think I may be trying to compare apples (highway tire) and oranges (all terrain tire). Not sure though.

    I live in New England, so snow driving will occur often.

    I have a *silly* question. Are the Duelers that came stock on my trooper (684s) an "all terrain" tire?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Pirelli Scorpion ATs or STs
    or
    Yokohama Geolander AT II+

    All are around $100 give or take a few. The ATs might be good for the snow, but the STs will be nice on the pavement.

    -mike
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    not sure what you mean by "all-terrain." Do you mean a tire that's designed with some off-roading in mind? Or do you mean a tire designed for all types of conditions (i.e., all-season)--rain, snow, mud, etc.?

    Sometimes, those designations don't mean much, as there aren't universally accepted definitions for each term. I think the Dueler 684 is meant to be an all-season tire, for primarily on-road use. I thought the 684s were fairly quiet and decent overall, but I don't tend to be very picky when it comes to tires.

    Another source of info/reviews is Consumer Reports. They do SUV tires periodically. If you aren't a subscriber, you can sign up to the web site and access all back issues for $2.95/month, I think.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    They are pretty agressive for an OEM tire. I used em to wheel my '97 rodeo a lot and didn't have problems. They are probably on the mild side of AT. Most AT tires are meant to be dirt and pavement and mud, jack of all trades. All-weather is stricktly on-pavement. Then there is MTs which are off-road and not really meant for pavement.

    -mike
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    Is it time for Ford to admit that their SUVs are damaging the tires? It seems to me that two different tire brands both had trouble only on the Ford SUVs, standard troubleshooting practice would definately lead one to conclude it is not the tires.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Ford has possibly the best PR people out there. They can turn any situation around and get out of it. Hmmm I have a theory...

    The Teflon Don aka John Gotti didn't die in prison, he's been release to the custody of Ford PR!

    -mike
  • beer47beer47 Member Posts: 185
    MY 2K "s" came w/ B-stones. I ran them for 50K and bought the same exact ones. They suited me fine. I do mostly interstate and some city but no offroading. I am not too particular about tires. Maybe if I bought the Michelins or Yokos I would see the difference and be a convert but the B-stones where on sale and I needed tires that day and had the time for the install. timing is everything sometimes.
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I am happy with the 693's. They are an all terrain tire, with a lot of road manners. I do go offroading a fair amount. If you are only going once a year for camping, and want great snow performance, spend a buck and get the Michelin Cross Terrains. I have them on my MDX and they are great handling tires and are rated one of the best all weather tires.

    I had issues getting the 693's balanced, with a less expensive tire, there is more chance that there will be "heavy spots". I had to go to a second place and pay to have them balanced, the firestone place that I got them at could not get the job done.

    I would also get your spare replaced. This will mean losing tire cover. I found a place that gave me full credit for my unused spare dueler 684. I got about $80 towards a new tire. Before you buy anything, I would spend a few Saturdays visiting tire shops, ask a lot of quesitons, sneak a peak at the work area...are the workers paying attention? are they treating the customer's car well, etc.

    Don't worry about size. 265/70 or 265/75 will fit no problem, and will not bottom out. The 265/70 fits so well it looks stock. I had my truck loaded down to the bump stops with 2" to spare to the top of the wheel well. When the suspension is flexed offroading the angle of the tire changes, going into the deepest part of the wheel well, thus providing lots of space for extra tire.
  • tek182tek182 Member Posts: 6
    I bought Kelly Safari tires in the standard 245/70r16 size at around 40k. They were by far the best value I had seen anywhere at the time. I use them off-road and on the beach and they have been great. I got them at Merchants.
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    If I'm interested in a good, quiet, comfortable tire, care about load capacity, will virtually never use the truck off road (maybe very occasionally on the beach or on some dirt double tracks), what would folks recommend?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Pirelli Scorpion STs. They are a Highway tread and are relatively cheap.

    -mike
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    are possibly the best road use SUV tire out there (however more expensive than other options) or the Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693's (IMHO better than the Dueler 684's all around and same price) or the pirelli's (Altough I have no personal experience)...Hey, Mikey likes them, so they have to be decent.
  • bluedevilsbluedevils Member Posts: 2,554
    how quiet are the Pirelli STs?

    Michelin Cross Terrain seems like a great tire, but much more expensive than most other road-purpose tires.

    Michelin LTX M/S is a good choice. Not real cheap, but can be had in stock size for apx $90-100 apiece + balancing/mounting/etc.

    I never had any complaints with the stock Dueler 684s. Got 52k miles out of them. Currently running Mich LTX M/S and hope to get 60-80k miles out of them.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The few times I've been in trucks with the Scorpion STs they were pretty quiet. I like the 684s for on-road use as well. Had 2 sets on my '97 rodeo with good results.

    Michelin just annoys me because they are generally super expensive for no apparent reason.

    -mike
  • bsmart1bsmart1 Member Posts: 377
    I've had good success with the Dueler 684's as well. Really a quiet, road running tire, with decent traction. What about Dunlop tires? Noone has mentioned them.

    OK, now on to another subject, or back to a former subject, actually. Those of you who are using the K/N air filters. Where did you get them, how expensive were they, and did they help you any on your fuel mileage. I'll go 'off air' for the answers. Happy Trooping!!!
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Decrease your gas milage due to increased flow. I noticed .5-1mpg loss. Power increased above 4000 RPMS. I think i got mine at performance parts .com or something check the vendor section of Http://isuzu-suvs.com/ IIRC


    -mike

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