some isuzu MU questions

[jjcarenthusiast]

im new here and i've got some questions regarding our truck:

1. do i need to regear if I put on 32" tires?

2. how is the IFS' articulation? does it do better than an IFS suzuki Vitara?

3. would you recommend transmission conversion from a/t to m/t? i've got an a/t but i prefer m/t over a/t.

4. what is the standard size of the MU sticker on the side and on the back? when i got mine it didn't have the stickers.

5. what adhesive do i have to use to stick in place the rubber linings of the windows? cause while repainting they are removed.

6. sometimes at travel the rear tailgate just opens as if someone did this already happened 4 times. what could this be? this is how the lock looks from the inside:


there might be other i might add..

thank guys!

[jjcarenthusiast]

another thing. what is the curb weight of MU?

[vinceandrobyn]

I can answer some of those:
1) No to re-gearing, you will have no trouble whatsoever running 32" tires.
2) The IFS articulation is OK depending on how hardcore you intend to get. We did OK on most club runs with the IFS system, it's only when you start lifting everything to the max and winding up the torsion bars that it starts to become a problem, breaking CVs etc. You won't need to modify the suspension at all to fit 32" tires, but still could a bit if you choose to providing you don't overdo it it should be fairly reliable and will improve ground clearance further. The rear articulation is good. I don't know much about suzuki's.
3) I too prefer manual, especially offroad. I've seen auto tuff trucks coping fine offroad, a bit of a knack to driving them down steep banks, but it's a personal thing which can be much debated and up to you whether you want to go to the cost of changing your truck over or not.
4) Pretty sure someone here sells stickers if you want them.
5) ??
6) Is the catch seized open?

[jjcarenthusiast]

thanks for your repy, sir

what is the maximum tire size that can be put on without re-gearing?
and yes the tailgate just opened by himself

[jjcarenthusiast]

i mean the glass.

[mulover]

If you are going to put 32" tires on i'd recommend doing either a small suspension lift or body lift just to give a bit of clearance.
If you put on a bigger exhaust and up the boost a bit then you can run 35" tires on them, just as long as your not in a hurry and you don't mind doing you off-roading in low range. I saw in another thread that you can get crawler gears for them, but the mu's have lots of torque.
you will need at least a 2-3" suspension lift and about a 2" body lift to do this though.

The IFS works really well for ifs, if you do a top ball joint fip and add a 6mm spacer (search around in suspension mods), this will give you some more downward travel, then if you still want more you can cut the top and bottom bump stops in half. If you are going to this length then i'd recommend lowering your front diff by 20mm. This is what i have done, i drive rather aggresively and i haven't broke a cv of ages. Before lowering the diff i'd pop one every 3-4 months.

I have the same problem with my rear glass, I've tried spraying the latch with crc, etc, but no joy. Never got the motovation to take it all apart, i suspect it needs adjusted somehow.

The curb weight is about 1750kg's i think??, it all depends on how much gear you have, winch/bull bar etc etc.
Mine weights 1950kg with winch bar, winch, rock sliders, full recovery gear and a full tank.

[vinceandrobyn]

No worries. It's Robyn on here 99% of the time, my husbands probably out in the carport working on our MU ;-) The whole families into 4WDing especially my 3yr old. Here's the thread about stickers, I knew I'd seen it somewhere.
clubisuzu.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sale&action=display&thread=609

[turnturn]

Re question 6.
Mine also used to do this a lot untill I got quite fussy with the adjustment of the tailgate catch to reduce any movement of the tailgate when closed.
The chrome bar/catch screwed to the window can also wear (feel for a small groove). I put a few spots of weld on it and cleaned it up with a file. Has been better since.

[jjcarenthusiast]

^ ok i'll work on it some other time.

i may lift it up 2" or 2.5" depends on what my mood is in that time seriously, its good to know that MU's IFS has good articulation (while reading few threads) because i haven't tried MU yet on offroading. i hope i can

[geeves]

To get reasonable articulation in the Mu you need to undo the front sway bar. This can be by completely removing it or fitting sway bar disconnects. Then its quite good and is still quite good for a 4wd on the road Its ok with no sway bar.
The Vitara would have slightly better articulation with a small lift but the Mu doesnt break. Ive seen several vitaras with the front suspension pushed back and wheels wedged against the body.

[jjcarenthusiast]

oh so you mean, vitara has more articulation and MU is more reliable and indestructible? with the same specs a vitara articulates more than an MU?

[geeves]

Yes but not by much. Both wagons have about the same in the front but the coils in the back of the Vitara do give a little more. Vitara is also less than 3/4 the weight. Overall I would still keep The Mu. Ive had my Isuzu 12 years and 110000km with lots of off road and its only been towed home twice once due to bad fuel once because of a water pipe. The most serious things to fail have been a steering box and a clutch. It would be a challenge to find a Zuke with a better record

[James W]

I've had mine for 120,000km... and never been towed or failed... (sorry, i couldn't resist) ... and it has had a battering

[geeves]

By fail I meant things that needed fixing. A clutch at 160000km could be considered general maintenance, The steering box only leaked due to the input seal. Is the motor rebuild on your website from a different Mu?
The tow for the water pipe only occurred because the 24 hour Shell garage couldnt sell me heater hose at 1130pm on a cold winter night.

Back to the original question
Auto V manual Both are good and its hard to justify the change unless you already have donor parts. I prefer a manual too but autos can be better on climbs. There are techniques to drive them as well on decents

[jjcarenthusiast]

deym it 12 years towed only twice because of small problems, and 120k kms never been told ;D

oh yes the coil gives more articulation, o forgot. but mu is very heavy?? 1,700kgs

i also discovered, it eats oil i have to consult it to my mechanic to know if i have to overhaul the engine or just top overhaul it

[mulover]

Could just need a good flush out and a new top quality oil/filter, some diesels will eat the cheaper oils, so i've been told.

I've had mine for 7 years now, never been towed home, and once did 3/4 of a run in 2wd because a cheap front hub broke. They are a great little truck, and with only basic mods they can handle pretty much any club run. The weight is not bad, nissan safari/patrols and toyota landcrusiers are 2.5 plus. I have seen a acouople of zuks float away from being too light.

[geeves]

For oil use a compression check will tell if there is anything bad wrong. A lot of Isuzus use oil as they tend to have a high blow by. If the compressions are ok the best fix is a catch can. Basicly this is just a chamber in the breather hose with a drain back into the sump. It catches the oil in the blow by and sends it back to the sump instead of into the intacke. Do a search for "catch can"

[jjcarenthusiast]

because somebody told me that the lighter your rig is, the better. but in river crossings a heavier rig is better. thanks for the encouragement ;D

hmm.. before we bought it, we have it checked by our mechanic, he didn't report any loss compression or something. the only think we fixed is the calibration of the injection pump and advancing it cause before we are worried why she eats too much fuel. after those still diesel guzzler then we changed the air filter, now better fuel consumption and better pull im happy now except for that oil eating. we also had the idler arm replaced cause it wiggles in uneven cement.

[geeves]

In some cases the above is true All the competition trucks are as light as possible. But the trade off is a loss of comfort etc and long term strength. Its only going to make a difference on extreme trails which are not places you take cars with leather seats. Even the hard trucks dont always come back from those trips.

[jjcarenthusiast]

yes a heavier rig is more comfortable. before i don't like this isuzu mu i would prefer to have a suzuki vitara. but we already bought it and i can do nothing. the reason why i dont like this before is the curb weight. far from vitara's 1200kg curb weight and LC40's 1400kg curb weight. but after reading on this forum i learned to love the MU ;D ;D