Isuzu Troopers (old ones)

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Anyone have experience with the first generation Isuzu Troopers?  I've always kind of wanted one, they are attractive, in a boxy, ugly, sort of way.

[toro]

We had a 1988 Trooper Isuzu with over 100,000 miles and then had head gastet trouble.  Loved until we figured we got our use out of it and sold it to a friend who worked on it and resold it.

It was trouble free for ten years:)


                                            Mrs. Toro


===
John 11:18
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,

[Scott]

RUN AWAY! The 2.6 liter 4 cylinders are fragile.  They absolutely won't tolerate overheating, timing belts break very near their recommended service interval and most have been badly maintained. They are underpowered, slow and the brakes are only marginal. Other than that they are fine. Personally if I was in the market for an SUV I would be buy a Chevy Blazer. Parts are cheap (sort of), most mechanics are familiar with them and the engine management systems and they are pretty durable from the few ( a couple hundred or so) I've worked on. I have seen a couple in the last year since I started working at my current shop with 250- 300,000 miles and most are in the mid to high 100k's.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Do you mean the fullsize Blazer, or the S-10 Blazer?

[garrettwc]

Do you mean the fullsize Blazer, or the S-10 Blazer?

I want to know that too. I would think he means the full size K5 Blazer. I don't think the little 4cyl/V6 ones are built that strong.

[Scott]

I meant the S-10. THe 4.3 V-6 is a small block chevy engine with two cylinders loped off. Blackburn maybe it's the area I live in, most of the Troopers I have worked on in the last 15 years have been neglected and poorly maintained and owned by people with no mechanical empathy. If you treat them badly I have found they tend to bite the wallet with cracked heads, blown headgaskets, bent valves if the timing belt breaks, etc.  Another small SUV option would be a Toyota or Nissan. I prefer the Toyotas.

[cfabe]

I've been around a number of s-series trucks. The 4.3L is a very solid durable engine. I don't know what your price/year range is but the older TBI (throttle body injection) trucks with the 4.3L should be very reliable and cheap to repair if anything should fail and the engine management system is as simple as they come. And any corner garage mechanic can do the work. The later models with the 4.3L Vortec engine have a common problem with the fuel injector assembly leaking. It's hundreds of dollars to replace, but the real problem is that many people run with it leaking for a while, which dilutes the oil with fuel and ultimately causes excessive engine wear. I've seen more than one of these trucks for sale cheap with "needs an engine" in the ad. The 4x4s have a few weak areas in the front, but in San Diego you could probably find a 2wd one easily.

[garrettwc]

crashm1 and cfabe, you now have my undivided attention. I had no idea the 4.3 was that stout. I have found myself suddenly without a vehicle and older suits my budget better. What years were the TBIs and what year did the Vortec with the problems start?

[Iain]

Purely anecdotal, but my farming uncle has just retired his to solely offroad duties. If I remember it is early nineties, done near 200,000 miles and an awful lot of that was in fields, steep wet English fields.

[Azrael256]

The later models with the 4.3L Vortec engine have a common problem with the fuel injector assembly leaking. It's hundreds of dollars to replace

Nope, not anymore.  Motormite makes a new regulator for $30.  I did one over Christmas break  It's a real easy fix if you're careful, and it gives you the chance to clean out the intake plenum.  

You're right on the whole assembly, though.  $312 for a Borg-Warner.

[Scott]

cfabe,
 That was exactly my point, any reasonably competent shop can fix them. The fuel injector thing on the CFI is a bit of a problem but it is really easy to tell when they fail fuel mileage drops like a rock. We won't install anything but AC Delco replacement parts Azrael256 because we (The shop I work at) don't need the warranty headache aftermarket parts tend to bring. I know they are cheaper, I've just gotten bit too often by junk NIB parts. I would rather do it once for a bit more dollars and not have my customers come back mad because I was too cheap to do the job in a professional manner.
garrett,
 I have to check my shop info to be certain but I think 94 was the first year of CFI so anything earlier would be throttle body injection. A little evil side note, GM has a high performance catalog that lists some very nice aluminum heads and cam for the 4.3 or you could without a whole lot of work stick a 350 ci smallblock in an S-10 depending on just how serious your local area is about emissions testing. Just remember to upgrade the brakes.

[telewinz]

Yea but it ain't a Tracker

[garrettwc]

Thanks crashm1. It sounds like the S-series may be what I'm looking for. Cheap, economical daily driver that can double as my weekend camping, going to the range, going fishing, vehicle.

The GM performance thing sounds interesting, but my primary concern is reliable, and economical [I have a 45-min commute].

[mfree]

I have an '03 GMC sonoma LS 2wd with the 2.2L and 5 speed, and I regularly get around 26mpg on the highway.

IIRC you can find Blazers with that combo and the mileage ought to be around the same, I'm not sure if the weight or the better aerodynamics would take over

[Gewehr98]

I'm rather tickled with my GSA-fleet purchase '01 S-10.  No carpet, manual windows, cloth bench seat, 5-speed, 2.2L, 28mpg highway.  

Plus, it's kinda cute.  



Late-model Corvette rims and tires added later, the cheapo Uniroyals sucked...

[Azrael256]

we (The shop I work at) don't need the warranty headache aftermarket parts tend to bring. I know they are cheaper, I've just gotten bit too often by junk NIB parts.

Now, that I can see.  Had I been doing it for a customer and not a friend, I would have done the $300 injector assembly.  I checked around with a few mechanic friends, and those blasted regulators were leaky right from the factory.  IIRC, GM only used the CPFI system for a year or two before going to the more reliable SPFI for just that reason.  'Course the insanely rich condition ate the EGR valve, too, and that's another $150 part.  That model engine is just fine if you don't mind working on it, but it's a real hassle if you don't have the time to fix everything that the crappy injector system tears up.

[cfabe]

The TBI trucks you're looking for will be I think 1988 or 1989 to about 1993. There were some years in the early 90s that offered both the 4.3 TBI and the 4.3 Vortec. The TBI motor can be identified by a large circular air filter on top of the engine, like an older carburated car, while the Vortec (CPI) motors used a square cartridge filter in an housing seperate from the engine.

I've done the v8 swap in these trucks twice, and it's definately not "without a lot of work."

If you're going to look to pick one up, pay attention to any odd front end noises or behaviors. At this age, there are many parts in the front end that could be worn if the truck was used hard. Check things out by driving at slow speeds in a parking lot doing tight turns both ways, note any noises or clunks. Failures I've seen on these trucks are CV joints, lower ball joints, front wheel hubs, and torsion bar mounts. 3 of those 4 parts don't exist on 2 wheel drive trucks.

[garrettwc]

Thanks for the update cfabe.

2WD is fine with me. 60% of what most people use 4WD for is to make up for their lack of off pavement driving skills.

[Otherguy Overby]

Yeah I know this thread has morphed into an S10 thread...

But regarding Isuzu Troopers, one other thing to consider is the transfer case has no neutral.   IOW you can't tow one without making some modifications.   FYI, of course.