isuzu trooper 3.1 diesel

[john_5061587]

Has anyone towed with a isuzu trooper, good or bad ?

john

 

[Lutz]

I've had a 3.5 petrol for 5 years now and don't want to part with it. Apart from being a bit heavy on juice, which is only to be expected, it's been a most reliable towcar and more than adequate for my 1300kg van.

From what I've heard, the 3.1 diesel is more reliable than the later 3.0 model which suffered from an appetite for turbochargers.

 

[DavidW1]

I have a 3.1TD SWB and it is the best T/C Iv'e ever used - had a Shogun petrol which was good but thirsty and a Vectra 2.0 which was useless on wet grass and slippery slopes. The Trooper will pull "anything" at legal speeds plus and is rock steady - clutch action in particular is superb. Tips - open the rear door(watch the van handbrake) when hitching to avoid a clash with the spare wheel and the Alko handle - temp gauge goes towards hot if you maintain high speed up gradients (towing or solo) specially if you have the single row rad, solution is to slip into 4th gear to reduce turbo boost or do What I did and fit a Kenlow fan.

I currently tow a Bailey Oklahoma at 1.5T and get about 30 mpg towing.

Get one - you won't be sorry!

Wicksy

 

[CliveV]

There have been some reports about the 3.0 L Diesel engine being prone to catastophic failure. I have a clientb that this happened to just outside of warrenty and Isuzu were distinctly unhelpful.

Have a look at one of the Isuzu clubs that can be viewed on the web - a great deal of interesting and useful info available.

I did a search via Google on behalf of my client some time ago.

 

[DavidW1]

There have been some reports about the 3.0 L Diesel engine being prone to catastophic failure. I have a clientb that this happened to just outside of warrenty and Isuzu were distinctly unhelpful.

Have a look at one of the Isuzu clubs that can be viewed on the web - a great deal of interesting and useful info available.

I did a search via Google on behalf of my client some time ago.

Yes apparently it's true, the later 3.0 is a dog - but the original Question was about the 3.1TD ( the old model) which has no reliability issues as far as I am aware. Quite the contrary I think as many owners see 200K plus before any problems - the engines in particular being bullet proof as long as regular maintenance is carried out. I belong to the Isuzu Owners Club UK which is, as you say, very helpful - the technical forum is scattered with tales of woe on the 3.0 engine which likes to destroy itself in a spectacular way! I must reiterate though that the 3.1 is a different beast, not common rail and "hi-tech" and having an excellent reputation.

Wicksy