Found cousin Casey a car.

Pterostylis said:
Was it actually a substantially higher problem than other similar sized vehicles or was it along the lines of what was alleged with the Samurai in the U.S.?
https://www.bigjimny.com/forum/6-ji...88-samurai-sj413-stability-test-rigged-to-tip
Click to expand...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Motor_Corp._v._Consumers_Union_of_the_U.S.,_Inc.

Settlement​

In the settlement, CR agreed that it "never intended to imply that the Samurai easily rolls over in routine driving conditions." A joint announcement of the settlement stated that "CU and Suzuki disagree with respect to the validity" of CU's tests. "Suzuki disputes the validity" of the tests, and "CU stands by its test protocol and findings."

According to CU, Suzuki internal documents indicate that the company was aware of the Samurai’s rollover problem. A Suzuki memorandum dated July 14, 1985, stated: "It is imperative that we develop a crisis plan that will primarily deal with the ‘roll’ factor. Because of the narrow wheelbase, similar to the Jeep, the car is bound to turn over." Over the years, over 200 Suzuki Samurai rollover lawsuits have been settled, and Suzuki's own expert witnesses testified the automaker was aware of 213 deaths and 8,200 injuries involving Suzuki Samurai rollovers
 
Nice find, they rusted away years ago up here. Looks solid with no major issues, just minor maintenance touch-ups.
I think engine is a bit ‘rough’ on oil; synthetic HDEO in any grade would be my choice for this engine.
 
addyguy said:
Nice find, they rusted away years ago up here. Looks solid with no major issues, just minor maintenance touch-ups.
I think engine is a bit ‘rough’ on oil; synthetic HDEO in any grade would be my choice for this engine.
Click to expand...
I will put some 15w40 in it next time. I was going to use some but I didn't have enough. I thought maybe the maxlife would seal any small leaks. I'll run it 3-4 k and change it again.
 
That’s an awesome deal. Looks to be in good shape too. New brand name tires is a plus, and 7k miles in a short amount of time like that means it’s probably reliable, hasn’t been sitting around.
 
The 3.5L was a good engine. DOHC with bucket valve actuation. Like said, keep an eye on the oil level as they can consume some and running low wipes out the #4 con rod bearing IIRC.

They are listed as an interference engine, but timing belt problems are rare. I had the 3.2l version in my 2002 Isuzu rodeo.

The 4L30E GM trans in them is a bit of an oddity, but not a terrible unit.

Clogged EGR ports was a common problem with the 3.2/3.5, but easy to DIY remedy.
 
JTK said:
The 3.5L was a good engine. DOHC with bucket valve actuation. Like said, keep an eye on the oil level as they can consume some and running low wipes out the #4 con rod bearing IIRC.
Click to expand...
I have been watching the oil level. It's consuming about 1/2 qt in 600 miles.... Sounds like this is normal for this engine + it has 230000+ miles on it.

Definitely going to go to a thicker oil at the next change before summer.

I had to replace the TPS on it as it threw a code and made the transmission shift bad. Put a NTK part on it this morning to replace the Amazon one that was on it

Other than that she has been running the wheels off it going to school and doing errands for us.

I figure that with the currant cost per month of financing a vehicle if it lasts 4 months I break even and any longer a bonus.

IMG_20250208_110933703.webp


IMG_20250208_114152130_HDR.webp
 
Chris142 said:
I have been watching the oil level. It's consuming about 1/2 qt in 600 miles.... Sounds like this is normal for this engine + it has 230000+ miles on it.

Definitely going to go to a thicker oil at the next change before summer...
Click to expand...

They'll run happily on 15w40 diesel oil if you wanted to. Main thing is to keep it topped up.

They're a cool truck. Back when I owned my 2002 Rodeo, my cousin owned a 2001 Trooper. I had to unclog the EGR jet/pipe for him once. If you open the throttle plate, you'll see it behind the plate in the intake plenum towards the 12 O'clock position if I recall correctly. You can shove a piece of wire down the tube to break up the carbon. You can also remove the EGR valve (rear left of engine IIRC) and clean the ports from the EGR mount base, to the end of the pipe. Shoot intake cleaner down it, etc.

Intake plenum gasket leaks are also a common issue on the 3.2/3.5. You'll get lean codes an hear the vac leak should that happen.

Front brake rotors are a bit of a PITA on the Trooper, but not too big a deal. They're old style captive rotors, where you have to take the hub apart to remove the rotors.
 
She’s a young lady, running around, doing life…she won’t check it, it will run low and have problems…seen it soooo many times…
You know I speak the truth.
 
JTK said:
I had to unclog the EGR jet/pipe for him once. If you open the throttle plate, you'll see it behind the plate in the intake plenum towards the 12 O'clock position if I recall correctly. You can shove a piece of wire down the tube to break up the carbon. You can also remove the EGR valve (rear left of engine IIRC) and clean the ports from the EGR mount base, to the end of the pipe. Shoot intake cleaner down it, etc.
Click to expand...
I had a bike brake cable from a junk bike I shortened to about 15" then chucked it in a drill and stuffed it down a passage. Could not believe how well that worked, it's like it sucked itself through. Follow up with a shop vac narrowed down to some 3/8 clear tubing to suck out what you can-- a little isn't bad to ingest, but why tempt fate?
 
JTK said:
They'll run happily on 15w40 diesel oil if you wanted to. Main thing is to keep it topped up.

They're a cool truck. Back when I owned my 2002 Rodeo, my cousin owned a 2001 Trooper. I had to unclog the EGR jet/pipe for him once. If you open the throttle plate, you'll see it behind the plate in the intake plenum towards the 12 O'clock position if I recall correctly. You can shove a piece of wire down the tube to break up the carbon. You can also remove the EGR valve (rear left of engine IIRC) and clean the ports from the EGR mount base, to the end of the pipe. Shoot intake cleaner down it, etc.

Intake plenum gasket leaks are also a common issue on the 3.2/3.5. You'll get lean codes an hear the vac leak should that happen.

Front brake rotors are a bit of a PITA on the Trooper, but not too big a deal. They're old style captive rotors, where you have to take the hub apart to remove the rotors.
Click to expand...
I saw a video on cleaning the egr pipe. I took the egr and throttle body off and did not find it. It was not where it showed in the video. I even brought home some brushes to do the job.
 
Updates: Thing is still running! The egr code stems from an electrical issue with the Amazon sourced egr valve someone put on it. Not real worried about that right now.

No other codes have came up.

It's made 2 trips to Barstow,Ca family court. 50 miles each direction. Yesterday they went and were running late so they kicked it up to 75 mph and it drove just fine.

It's using 1qt of oil every 1000 miles using 5w-30 which seems normal for these due to not enough oil drain holes in the pistons. In fact it's better than many I have read about. Add the fact that it has 230000 miles on it and I don't consider it all that bad. Tolerable anyway.

I put a bottle of rislone in it hoping that will open up the oil drain holes in the pistons.

I also picked up some 15w-40 super tech for the next oil change. Maybe that will slow the oil usage .
 
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