superdave
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- NW Tennessee
Found one for sale for <$1000. Looks pretty clean for an 89 with 125K on the clock. How do these things do off road? Worth taking a shot on buying? I know nothing about these things.
Isuzu Trooper?
- Thread starter superdave
- Start date
If it's an '89, it could be one of the ultra-rare SWB models - I believe that was the only year they were brought in for the US market. Having said that: they're not terribly powerful, but basically do OK in the dirt. Aftermarket isn't all that great for them.
Not that that negates any of what CherBear said.
Not that that negates any of what CherBear said.
chpmnsws6
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Springfield IL
What manche said. Our 84 rusted in two back in 96 or so. Before that, it was a fun little buggy.
stlswagger
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Seattle (area)
I actually dumped my 1986 LWB (long wheel based 2 door) for my XJ. Honestly, I wouldn't have parted ways with it but parts are just too hard to come by and the aftermarket leaves a lot to be desired. It was a great truck and I'm not here to start any back and forth arguments but mine stock, had lockers on the front hubs which was great.
If you do get one, I'd stay away from the auto. Find yourself a 5 speed and most people on the forum, planetisuzoo.com, prefer the 2.6L inline 4 banger. If the one you're looking at has the chevy 2.8 V-6, I'd swap to a 3.4L from a 90's camero. I love my Jeep, it's my 3rd and the first one I'm actually going to do anything to but, that Trooper was a cool vehicle all around. Round headlights, brush guard and reclining rear seats. HUGE storage compared and 24mpg average in my old 2.3. It had 184K original miles and I paid $600 for it in need of work. I had a pretty good oil leak, power steering leak and heater core problem again so I just gave up and got rid of it. I love the power in my Jeep and knowing there's support in the form of OEM and aftermarket. You'll spend a lot of time trying to find parts in general for that vehicle.
If you do get one, I'd stay away from the auto. Find yourself a 5 speed and most people on the forum, planetisuzoo.com, prefer the 2.6L inline 4 banger. If the one you're looking at has the chevy 2.8 V-6, I'd swap to a 3.4L from a 90's camero. I love my Jeep, it's my 3rd and the first one I'm actually going to do anything to but, that Trooper was a cool vehicle all around. Round headlights, brush guard and reclining rear seats. HUGE storage compared and 24mpg average in my old 2.3. It had 184K original miles and I paid $600 for it in need of work. I had a pretty good oil leak, power steering leak and heater core problem again so I just gave up and got rid of it. I love the power in my Jeep and knowing there's support in the form of OEM and aftermarket. You'll spend a lot of time trying to find parts in general for that vehicle.
coldoath
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- West Texas
Meh, seems like a pretty chill rig but I would still say XJ for numerous reasons; large after market, huge production run, interchangeable parts with other Jeeps, 4.0L is a proven well trusted motor, and it's made in the USA 
atriot: Same price range as well.
atriot: Same price range as well.it's made in the USA
True - it's as American as its French designers, Japanese or French transmission manufacturers, German and Japanese electrical suppliers, and folks from your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine who screwed it all together in Ohio could make it
My one overwhelming memory of that generation Trooper was when we started getting them in Ireland as secondhand Japanese exports; it was there that I learned that they were apparently called the 'Bighorn' in the Japanese market. So it's got that going for it, which is nice.
coldoath
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- West Texas
True - it's as American as its French designers, Japanese or French transmission manufacturers, German and Japanese electrical suppliers, and folks from your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine who screwed it all together in Ohio could make it
Provided heck of a lot more American jobs than ISUZU. Would like to know where you got all your information.
- Location
- Rainy side of Washington
easy. It's a well known fact that Renault and AMC collaborated on the body design, it uses Peugeot or Aisin Warner transmissions, Nippon Denso / Bosch GmbH / Renault-Bendix (so add English to the list) / Phillips (so add the Netherlands to the list) electronics.
I'll go with quality and parts availability every day on used vehicles. Sounds like the Isuzu and the XJ have the same rust issues, but there are a whole hell of a lot more parts hulks available for the XJ.
In whom GM had a substantial financial interest at the time - much as Ford had with Mazda. Not entirely certain how much of GM's financial interest remains at this point, but that was the case at the time.
Well, let's see.
When the XJ was being designed in the late '70s/early '80s, Jeep was under AMC ownership, who had Renault (French) as a majority shareholder. It's well-documented (ref. Evan Boberg's Common Sense Not Required amongst others) that Renault's engineers were heavily-involved in the XJ's overall design (particularly the body and suspension) as a result.
If the transmission is an AW4, AX4, AX5, or AX15, it's Japanese; the 'A' stands for 'Aisin'. If it's a Peugeot BA10/5, it's French. The NVG3550 used in the 2000 & '01 XJs is presumably American given that it's a New Venture product, but it could have been built anywhere; given the way things usually work within NAFTA, I'd take a stab at 'Mexico' being the answer to that one but could be wrong.
Opening up the PDC, I can see relays made by Siemens, a German company. The instrument cluster was (IIRC) a Nippondenso product. Similar findings have been made in other places.
As for the folks who worked in the factory in Ohio that built it, I can't speak for them, but given that the US has a strong tradition of welcoming immigrants from other countries, I'd bet that more than one person on the line was from <insert other country here>.
And really, even if he does buy the Isuzu, it's not like it's putting someone out of a job or hurting the economy. It's already built, and that vehicle - even if it was built in Japan - provided jobs in America right down the chain to the showroom floor and service departments.
Consider this: is a Chevy built in Mexico more or less American than a Subaru made in Indiana?
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Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
Renault assisted in the design of the XJ, the AW4 is the same transmission as the A340 used in Toyota Supras, the Peugeot trannies are French, Renault (I think) also supplied the diesel for its short run here. Isuzu is in large part owned/controlled by GM since at least the 90's. But yes, the XJ is still more American than Isuzu.
I had a 92 Trooper, first year of the new body. Loved it except it was a lemon. The aluminum block V6 spit out or snapped all 5 bolts holding the accessories to the front 7 hrs away from base while driving to a concert, the transmission crapped out 2 hrs from base trying to take a buddy's girlfriend to the LAX. That was the last straw. It got impounded 2 days later and I just let it go. 5 months of ownership and it spent at least half that time in the shop or dead. Would I buy another? Yes. While running, it drove great, was comfortable, roomy enough for my 6'2" frame to be comfortable sleeping in the back, did reasonably well off-road (except sand, but this gen was considerably larger and heavier than the previous generation), and I know mine was just a lemon. That style wouldn't have lasted so long if all of them sucked as hard as mine.
EDIT: Wow, beaten twice!
I had a 92 Trooper, first year of the new body. Loved it except it was a lemon. The aluminum block V6 spit out or snapped all 5 bolts holding the accessories to the front 7 hrs away from base while driving to a concert, the transmission crapped out 2 hrs from base trying to take a buddy's girlfriend to the LAX. That was the last straw. It got impounded 2 days later and I just let it go. 5 months of ownership and it spent at least half that time in the shop or dead. Would I buy another? Yes. While running, it drove great, was comfortable, roomy enough for my 6'2" frame to be comfortable sleeping in the back, did reasonably well off-road (except sand, but this gen was considerably larger and heavier than the previous generation), and I know mine was just a lemon. That style wouldn't have lasted so long if all of them sucked as hard as mine.
EDIT: Wow, beaten twice!
and I suppose you'd buy a Ford over a Honda because of all those American jobs.
Here's a tip, Honda employs a shit ton more people in Ohio than Ford does now.
Oh, yeah. Forgot about the diesels. You are correct in that Renault supplied the 2.1TD; later 2.5TDs were a VM Motori design, so we can add Italy into the mix.
And given everything I've had to replace on mine over the years, China also gets a look-in.
coldoath
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- West Texas
I read that the original XJ design came from AMC and then François Castaing was then in turn hired to help with the design.
Siemens is a Germany. However, they are not only based in Germany. There is a Siemens campus based out of Oklahoma and I'm sure numerous other places around the United States.
Not too sure why everybody got so bent out of shape after I just listed facts, but whatever floats your boat I suppose.
Siemens is a Germany. However, they are not only based in Germany. There is a Siemens campus based out of Oklahoma and I'm sure numerous other places around the United States.
Not too sure why everybody got so bent out of shape after I just listed facts, but whatever floats your boat I suppose.
For the record, nobody appears "bent out of shape" here as you put it. But allow me to refresh your memory regarding an earlier statement of yours:
Emphasis mine, but you clearly asked for our sources on this. We provided them.
coldoath
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- West Texas
My bent out of shape comment wasn't directed towards you. You're info was useful. JW if there are any online documentation or anything? Don't trust WIKI any further than I can throw it. If you got some good links to XJ history or origins hit me up, I'm curious.
Now back on topic......
Suppose it depends what you are going to do with the Isuzu. I'm sure it would make a fine DD, but just personally not a fan of Isuzu. However, like several people have mentioned, the after market is lacking at best. Obviously it's your money and your taste of vehicle so I would say do research and Google it up.
- Location
- Rainy side of Washington
Why do you need online documentation? The names say it all, an Aisin Warner transmission is a Japanese product just as a Bosch oxygen sensor is a German product. If you want to claim that they are cool because they are possibly made in the US, well, that applies just as much to a foreign branded car (Nissan and Honda come to mind) that is assembled in the US.
coldoath
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- West Texas
Sorry to the OP, trying to get it back on track here...
Also Ebay would be a good place to look to see how they have weathered over the years, maybe get an idea at how long the engine last by seeing if there are very many with high mileage. GL!
Also Ebay would be a good place to look to see how they have weathered over the years, maybe get an idea at how long the engine last by seeing if there are very many with high mileage. GL!
http://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Not-Required-Designing/dp/product-description/1414040784
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Jeep-Patrick-R-Foster/dp/0873415647
http://www.amazon.com/AMC-Cars-1954-1987-Illustrated-History/dp/1583881123
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0873412400/chryslerplymouth
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/081333327X/chryslerplymouth
http://www.amazon.com/50-Years-American-Automobiles-1939-1989/dp/0881765929
In all honesty, you're going to have to spend some time at the library or invest in books. Stuff like this doesn't tend to end up online; given the amount of research and effort that goes into it, it's understandable that this is usually the case.
