Isuzu pickups
- Thread starter Jarlaxle
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very good little trucks. tough 4 cylinder motor.
I owned two of them in the early 80's. Both had the head crack in the frst 10,000 miles. I put it down on the first one (repaired free under warranty) to a defective head. But in a year, the head gasket started to leak and I traded it off on another. Head cracked on that as well. Both were four cylinder engines with a manual trans. After that one was repaired, I kept it a few years and got rid of it. I knew of others in the area who had the same problem. I never viewed Isuzu as a dependable vehicle after that, at least for gas powered vehicles.
A close friend of mine owned a dealership in the mid 80's. I bought an LS 4X4 and later a bare bones truck for business. Neither of them held a candle to my 1980 Toyota SR5 I would only consider one if it was a diesel. I had more problems with my two trucks than any other vehicles I have owned before or since.
Cylinder head problems and weird wiring problems.
The 2.3 4ZD1 seems to be a pretty good engine otherwise, just don't overheat it. Once overheated, most will require a head.
Wiring problems are just weird. Like harnesses that should be independent of each other somehow wired together. We had one in the shop that the brake lights wouldn't work unless the radio was on.
Factory radio and it didn't appear that anyone had been in the wiring. It was all intact. Best I can figure is that one particular truck is a one off from a bad day on one particular assembly line. Harness manufacturer or Lafayette, Indiana factory? who knows?
Turn signal cams wear out early and often. New combination switch is (or was) about $200.
To me personally, it has more legroom than the S10 or Ranger from that era. The body is a little "tinnier" than either of the small domestics. Sounds cheap when you close the door and sheet metal seems to resonate road noise.
Bench is as board flat and unsupportive as any Japanese truck from that time period. Terrible seats.
They are pretty decent overall. Nothing special. Gotta' be a little more diligent checking the temp gauge than a Mazda/Nissan/Toyota from that era. (oh and make sure everything electrical works
)
The 2.3 4ZD1 seems to be a pretty good engine otherwise, just don't overheat it. Once overheated, most will require a head.
Wiring problems are just weird. Like harnesses that should be independent of each other somehow wired together. We had one in the shop that the brake lights wouldn't work unless the radio was on.
Turn signal cams wear out early and often. New combination switch is (or was) about $200.
To me personally, it has more legroom than the S10 or Ranger from that era. The body is a little "tinnier" than either of the small domestics. Sounds cheap when you close the door and sheet metal seems to resonate road noise.
Bench is as board flat and unsupportive as any Japanese truck from that time period. Terrible seats.
They are pretty decent overall. Nothing special. Gotta' be a little more diligent checking the temp gauge than a Mazda/Nissan/Toyota from that era. (oh and make sure everything electrical works
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Yep, when it came to the pickups, IMO, you're better off with one that's really a true GM product.
Isuzu Troopers and the likes are a different beast.
Isuzu Troopers and the likes are a different beast.
I had a 95 model and for a supposed Japanese made truck, it had a lot of little GM AC/Delco parts under the hood.
In my vehicle, there was some type of vibe problem in the exhaust that would resonate and crack the Catalytic Converter heat shield and then it would make a buzzing sound like you had 10,0000 Mosquitoes inside the truck. Went through 3 Cats under warranty and wound up trading it in. Also, the inside of the doors on the bottom out of eyesight were left unpainted. I made them paint that under warranty also.
In my vehicle, there was some type of vibe problem in the exhaust that would resonate and crack the Catalytic Converter heat shield and then it would make a buzzing sound like you had 10,0000 Mosquitoes inside the truck. Went through 3 Cats under warranty and wound up trading it in. Also, the inside of the doors on the bottom out of eyesight were left unpainted. I made them paint that under warranty also.
I have an '84 P'UP (not the Chevy-Luv version) 1.9L engine w/ 4-speed manual. 2wheel drive. Shortbed. Carburetor. Bought w/out A/C. No problem at all. Odometer stopped at 99,000 miles. Don't know about mileage, but I believe it is more than 400,000 miles. Still have the original engine, no head gasket problem, once in awhile it needs just basic valve adjustment and distributor timing adjustment via a timing light. Manual trans changed oil every 30,000 miles (10w-30) and rear differential (75w-90). Changed oil every 6000miles although the maintenance book says 7500miles. Horn contacts on steering wheel gave out, my only cheap solution is to reconnect horn wiring via old school push button horn switch. Replaced u-joint once, front shocks always at 30,000miles (bought Monroe w/ lifetime warranty), rear shocks replaced once, muffler/tailpipe replaced 3x (bought Midas lifetime warranty), replaced alternator 3x (bought Orielly's lifetime warranty), replaced water pump once (bought replacement w/ lifetime warranty) No leaks at all, oil pan still has the original gasket and I reinstalled the original valve cover gasket after every valve adjustment. There are small bubbles of rust in truck bed. This truck is a sentimental value to me. It had given me "immaculate" service through the years.
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