1989 Isuzu Trooper

I actually saw a 1st gen Trooper the other day ago - but it was nowhere as nice as yours.

Isuzu was weird back then - Japanese built but they also hit up GM’s parts bin thanks to that corporate affiliation. I think the V6 option was the same 2.8L used in the S-10 or Chevy Celebrity/Corsica/Beretta of that time before their in-house 3.2L V6?
Yeah I saw a couple of this era with the GM 2.8 when I worked at Saturn (they used to be izuzu before I was there). I never saw issues with the GM 2.8 but the later 3.2 izuzu would burn a lot of oil and a couple of our customers ran them dry and spun bearings.
 
Yeah I saw a couple of this era with the GM 2.8 when I worked at Saturn (they used to be izuzu before I was there). I never saw issues with the GM 2.8 but the later 3.2 izuzu would burn a lot of oil and a couple of our customers ran them dry and spun bearings.
If i recall the 3.2 was the engine in the rodeo, The trooper got the 3.5
Both would drink oil in the last model years they were offered. I saw plenty of spun bearings on those engines when i worked at a gmc, Pontiac, buick, isuzu dealer. The isuzu customers tended to be fanatics.The last few model years of isuzu made vehicles were sold with 10 year 120k powertrain warranties from the factory.
Some of the last isuzu vehicles offered were rebadged gmc envoys 2005-2006? I don’t remember l what those were even called.
 
I had a 95 Rodeo with the 3.2 that I bought at about 70k. It used about a quart of oil every 1000 miles or so as long as I owned it. The oil pressure gauge also read low, so I used Delo 15w40 in it. I never put a mechanical gauge on it to check the actual oil pressure, but it didn't seem to cause any problems and had lasted close to 200K miles when I gave it away to a family member who drove it for several years after that.

At one point I had to pull the upper intake manifold to replace an o-ring in a coolant tube, so while I was in there that far I decided to pull the heads to mike the valves and guides and put in new valve stem seals to see if I could stem the oil burning. The valve guides clearances were fine and the new valve stem seals did bupkis to slow the oil consumption. The cylinders all still had beautiful crosshatching, too, north of 150k miles.
 
If i recall the 3.2 was the engine in the rodeo, The trooper got the 3.5
Both would drink oil in the last model years they were offered. I saw plenty of spun bearings on those engines when i worked at a gmc, Pontiac, buick, isuzu dealer. The isuzu customers tended to be fanatics.The last few model years of isuzu made vehicles were sold with 10 year 120k powertrain warranties from the factory.
Some of the last isuzu vehicles offered were rebadged gmc envoys 2005-2006? I don’t remember l what those were even called.
I think you're right about the engine sizes. We actually saw mostly rodeos and then a couple of the older troopers with GM engines....
We had one customer who was a fanatic and he never let his run out of oil (one of our mechanics made sure he knew to check it). I remember we did intake manifold gaskets on it which was a common issue.
I remember someone brought in a Honda passport (which was an izuzu rodeo rebadged) and the Honda dealer and our techs were fighting over who had to work on it. Lol.
I don't think we got the rebadged envoy here in Canada. I was working there in 2005/6 and I never saw one ever.
 
I had a 95 Rodeo with the 3.2 that I bought at about 70k. It used about a quart of oil every 1000 miles or so as long as I owned it. The oil pressure gauge also read low, so I used Delo 15w40 in it. I never put a mechanical gauge on it to check the actual oil pressure, but it didn't seem to cause any problems and had lasted close to 200K miles when I gave it away to a family member who drove it for several years after that.

At one point I had to pull the upper intake manifold to replace an o-ring in a coolant tube, so while I was in there that far I decided to pull the heads to mike the valves and guides and put in new valve stem seals to see if I could stem the oil burning. The valve guides clearances were fine and the new valve stem seals did bupkis to slow the oil consumption. The cylinders all still had beautiful crosshatching, too, north of 150k miles.
I can still here the voice of our polish technician saying "customer needs check ze oil frequently!"
 
If i recall the 3.2 was the engine in the rodeo, The trooper got the 3.5
Both would drink oil in the last model years they were offered. I saw plenty of spun bearings on those engines when i worked at a gmc, Pontiac, buick, isuzu dealer. The isuzu customers tended to be fanatics.The last few model years of isuzu made vehicles were sold with 10 year 120k powertrain warranties from the factory.
Some of the last isuzu vehicles offered were rebadged gmc envoys 2005-2006? I don’t remember l what those were even called.
Isuzu branding from memory
Hombre = S10/Sonoma (GMT325)
Ascender = Trailblazer/Envoy/9⁷x (GMT360)
i Series pick-up = Canyon/Colorado (GMT355)
They shut the door January of '09, so some MY08 models were being sold in 2009/2010
With a 10 year warranty, the last one probably expired sometime in 2020 😳
Enjoy this painfully 1990s dealer training video for the Vehicross
 
Isuzu branding from memory
Hombre = S10/Sonoma (GMT325)
Ascender = Trailblazer/Envoy/9⁷x (GMT360)
i Series pick-up = Canyon/Colorado (GMT355)
They shut the door January of '09, so some MY08 models were being sold in 2009/2010
With a 10 year warranty, the last one probably expired sometime in 2020 😳
Enjoy this painfully 1990s dealer training video for the Vehicross

Don't forget that the Trooper was sold as the Acura SLX and the Honda Passport / Isuzu Rodeo.
 
Don't forget that the Trooper was sold as the Acura SLX and the Honda Passport / Isuzu Rodeo.
So a weird little quirk the rodeo/passport had some hydraulic valve lash adjusters that looked like a 357 sig bullet. They had some mechanism inside that would collapse like a bad lifter causing a ticking noise. There wasn’t a option to purchase them in the isuzu catalog. But curiously honda had a pn and we the isuzu dealer would buy from the honda dealer to get that part. We the isuzu dealer many times would get sublet passports and slxs.
 
So a weird little quirk the rodeo/passport had some hydraulic valve lash adjusters that looked like a 357 sig bullet. They had some mechanism inside that would collapse like a bad lifter causing a ticking noise. There wasn’t a option to purchase them in the isuzu catalog. But curiously honda had a pn and we the isuzu dealer would buy from the honda dealer to get that part. We the isuzu dealer many times would get sublet passports and slxs.

I had a 97 Rodeo I bought brand new, that developed the HLA tick. At the time I remember being scared of the factory bulletin that was released at the time that advised to use Mobil1 0W30. I remember thinking it was going to blow up, how little did I know back then. Otherwise, it seemed to be a good motor. Always ran fine, didn't use oil.

I traded it in the summer of 03 for the Accord, when that pile of crap 4L30 started refusing to lock up its converter even though I'd had it serviced by the book.
 
Isuzu branding from memory
Hombre = S10/Sonoma (GMT325)
Ascender = Trailblazer/Envoy/9⁷x (GMT360)
i Series pick-up = Canyon/Colorado (GMT355)
They shut the door January of '09, so some MY08 models were being sold in 2009/2010
With a 10 year warranty, the last one probably expired sometime in 2020 😳
Enjoy this painfully 1990s dealer training video for the Vehicross

I believe it was long gone even sooner here in Canada, because I was working at the former Saturn/izuzu dealership in 2005/2006 and izuzu had been gone a few years already.
 
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