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Post by eldorado on Apr 12, 2004 19:12:17 GMT 11
Hi
I have a 1994 Bighorn Lotus 3.1 Diesel which I purchased at 38000 kms and its now done 250000 kms and still runs well - I service it regularly and dont skimp on preventative maintenance. I am now thinking of upgrading to the 3.0 litre diesel (1998 onwards) model since I have had such a good run. However I have heard the odd comment about these engines not being reliable. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with them or have any info regarding these engines.
Cheers
Eldorado
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Post by geeves on Apr 13, 2004 16:47:15 GMT 11
If you buy new and maintain it properly then it will last forever But second hand the service history can be dodgy and these engines suffer badly to bad maintanance. Even using the wrong oil can kill them
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Post by geeves on Apr 13, 2004 19:20:22 GMT 11
this is off the ausi 4wd forum and may help
G'day John - greetings and salutations for the New Year - may your travels be plentiful and enjoyable. My 2000 SE auto model TD Jack returns consistent figures around 25mpg on the open raod at normal speed limits. Around town stop start is more like 21 /22 mpg mark or around 12/12.5 l/100km. Towing a Windsor Sunchaser up the HUme via Canberra to Batemans Bay & return averaged 22.1 mpg at speeds varying from 90-95kph. I've covered only 30000 km so far and have recorded these sort of fuel consumptions regualrly with obvious variations in high wind with van in tow. As u can see not a major change with or without van - only troubles I've experiences was with lack of power because they put in wrong oil spec at first service which by the book is a 10-30 oil but this clogged the injectors Isuza recommended dealer use 5-30 oil and I've never had a problem since. Apparently the heavier oil is a problem to the computer when its cold and until the oil warm up the wrong mixture goes in - or that's at least how my layman's brain interprets it. Felt like the transmission was slipping or had no power when I first experienced it but the oil was the cause of the problem I had a problem with a dead short in a trailer blowing a 15 amp fuse and shutting down the whole system as brakes and transmission lights are on same fuse - see my comments earlier in this forum 4th Dec. I found this disconcerting and the dealer has taken this up with Isuzu - but no reply as yet. Only other problem is with an intermittent ABS sensor problem which will be replaced tomorrow. Otherwise I'm very happy with the vehicle in all respects. I also upgraded the power of headlights lights which I thought were very average but a fine now. Hope this helps a bit cheers Ron
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Post by namic69 on May 5, 2004 21:43:12 GMT 11
I have spoken to a fuel injection specialist here in Auckland and he told me not to touch one with a barge pole. The common rail injection is prone to blowing o rings. Some shops wont touch them for repairs because they may find themselves liable for a generally bad set up.
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Post by adrian on Jun 4, 2008 9:16:22 GMT 11
I heard they have problems with the valve train, i'm not sure how founded this rumour is, but i'm told its because they have plastic gears instead of a belt.
i was thinking of upgrading to a 3.0L, but here in UK there is company that specialize in putting the 2.8L TD engine into the later Trooper.
If i can find the website, i will post it.
(could always keep the 3.1 and drop it in a later model when that engine plays up?)
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Post by geeves on Jun 4, 2008 10:39:08 GMT 11
It wont be the plastic gears causing the issue. I dont know if they use a gear or belt but plastic gears have been used for a long time on other engines with little trouble. All the problems with this engine are caused by either bad sensors which could hapen to any engine or the o rings in the injectors failing. When this happens diesel contaminates the oil causeing rapid wear on the engine and in severe cases can cause the engine to run away. (Ive heard that haveing a diesel engine suddenly go to full power with no way to stop it while in traffic is a bad thing) All the problems were meant to of been fixed in the 2004 model but would I trust it?  ? There was a post on the uk trooper forum about the 2.8 swap. If you have an auto I would opt for the proffessional swap They already know how to rewire the auto to work correctly. If manual theres not much to go wrong |
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