Isuzu Trooper

Reid

Reid

Hasnt Seen Dirt in Years
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Location
Winston Salem
the GF just picked up a 97 trooper. She wants a mild trail vehicle. Someone start schooling us on troopers.

Im thinking toyota front axle, 31-33"s, rock rails, custom winch bumper.

It looks like ARB is the only aftermarket bumper avail.

Ive been to Calmini, not much excitement there.


Good news is that its already got F/R factory limited slip, so until its time for the yota axle up front, shes good to go. And this model is a true 4x4 not an all wheel drive.


Is there anything i need to know as far as weak points, or things that should be upgraded?


what are the axle gearing options?

Do i need to worry about the rear axle, or will it hold up to 33"s?

what gearing is the Tcase, and how strong is it?


Anyone have a source for winch bumpers other than ARB?
Once we start getting these questions squared away she wil start a build thread.
 
Rear axle should be fine... Call PJ at M and M offroad. He can build you a better bumper. Is this thing going to be street driven any? if so dont do the huge heavy front bumper, it will wear parts out fast....
 
i drove a 87 for a while and had 32x12.5 all terrains on it and the axels were stock. never had a problem except for all that no power from the 4banger haha. the gears in the diffs were 4.56 with the 4banger, idk what motor you have. great little trucks, only downside i ever had was that they are kinda top heavy.
 
good point snappy. yeah, its gonna be her daily driver. we may need to rethink some of her bumper ideas.
 
Talk to Joe darlington on here also before you make any plans.He goes by JoeD on the boards.Not only does he build bumpers and such for Isuzus,he also races them . Give him a holler.
 
Well, 2 years later, lost the GF....gained the trooper. i figure i came out ahead in the deal. just wanted to resurect this thread now. throw in some info ive gleaned off the interweb since there isnt much here on the subject. All this is just from reading, and i have yet to impliment any of this in the real world. ill try to keep this thread updated as i begin using this info.

planetisuzu and expeditionportal appear to be the best source of info.

independent4x4 is a source for suspension and bumpers. have SAS kits available
Rocky mount has suspension options
ARB/Old Man Emu has suspension and bumper options
Calmini has suspension options.

It seems the rear is a 12 bolt and the front is an independent 10 bolt. Both are geared from the factory at 4.56
Wheels are 6.5x6 bolt pattern with 108mm center hub. that means old chevys and jeep wagoneer wheels will fit.

A 3" lift is about all your gonna get out of a trooper with going custom. Flipping the ball joints seem to be a good idea when lifting.

31s will fit with no lift. 33s will fit with a three inch lift

a three inch lift is coil springs in the rear and torsion bar adjustment in the front. Full kits range from $800-1200 depending on the parts you wanna put on. Torsion bar replacement is not a must so money can be saved there.

4l30e transmission. same as BMW 525. medium duty ECM controlled. Dipstickless. Keep full, these are prone to overheat failure. 700r4 non electronic will bolt in with minimal fabrication. i have no info on the tcase yet.

power steering high pressure hose is a common failure $60 bucks. keep one in the go bag when wheeling.
 
JBsTrooper said:
i'm partial to isuzu troopers. 4.56 gears and disc brakes all the way around...stock. get a 5spd, crank the torsion bars up front, 2" lift shackles in the rear 34" ltbs and wheel it. i welded my rear axle and it took a beating...never broke anything on it.

if you get the 2.6L 4cyl just watch your temp gauge...they're bad for warping the heads.
Click to expand...

stolen from an old thread. figured id pull JB into the convo =)
 
I drove an 89? 4 door, 5spd, V6, for several years while surveying and it was remarkable to me in stock form w all terrain tires. The narrow track allowed it to straddle deep, muddy ruts on worn out trails, or drive around bad holes by squeezing through trees in the woods. It could handle steep, slippery red clay hills w ease, decent gas mileage and road manners, and dependable too. It did well offroad even when not in 4wd. I can imagine a modified one would be great.
 
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Im currently trying to find a trooper 2. My father had one he sas'd and although he spent quite a bit putting the solid in he enjoyed every minute. Honestly before going solid axel with a 3in body and cranked torsion bars the trooper would do everything the xjs and 4runners couldn't. No it not a jeep recovery unit but they definitely hold their own and stock 4.56 gears and disc all around, you cant beat it. If anyone has one Id love to scoop one up
 
Just saw this. I've had three Troopers so far. An 89, 90, and a 95. My current one is the 95 with 3" of lift and 33x10.50 BFGKM2s. I still need a decent tire as I DD it (if a 4.7 mile trip to work is DDing it). I did run it on 35x12.50s with the 3", but my power was gone and it rubbed pretty bad. I trimmed the front bumper and the back of the front quarter panel and that helped a lot. If you want to run 35s, just add a one inch body lift and trim.

I have no experience with the LSD in the rear, never fortunate enough buy a trooper with one. With the welded rear in my 89, it was a beast, but it did like doing wheelies.

Your 97 is the last year of the wide trac axle (63" wms) with 4.56s. 98+ (modified 12 bolt is larger and stronger) went to 4.30s and all wheel drive, but did come with a 3.5 V6. As in yours, we have a 3.2 v6. Mine just reached 215k and it's had a slight tick since I bought it two years ago. They are known for this. Not the best oil system. Oil gets clogged around the hydrolic lifters, making the tick sound.

Gearing options: front 10 bolt: 4.30, 4.55, 4.77 (very rare from the factory) , and 5.38 (5.38s no longer sold, but might could find a used set for some real $)

Rear 12 bolt: 4.55, 4.77 (very rare from the factory), and 5.38

Lockers: Aussie, ARB, and your welder

Get a set of manual Aisin hubs from a junkyard. They are much more reliable than the stock auto locking hubs. You can find a clean set on planetisuzoo for around $80 shipped.

The rear linked suspension works really well for a factory set up. IFS is always IFS. Air filter and exhaust are just about your only options for cheap minimal power upgrades.

Hope that helps.
 
join planetisuzu , for a lift you pretty much have to fab it your self. only a couple lift kits i found were typical bracket lifts. Mostly around 600$ + or do a sas .


Btw the trooper and rodeo are like tanks, pretty damn stable on declines and inclines with slopes. First time my wife wheeled her rodeo, Though she was gonna flip it.
 
thanks for the input. ive been trawling through planetisuzoo and expiditionportal as much as possible gleaning as much as i can and reposting here.

I just read that V8 Jeep grand cherokee springs net a 2.5" rear lift, crank the torsion bars to match and can fit 33"s

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MOOG-CC784

and these for a wagoneer, claims are for 3" lift
 
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a lil fender trimming, a 2"bl you can run what ever you want.

lift as much as needed but as little as possible.
rather run big wheels no lift and trim than raise my cog to high.
 
Hey guys - I know this is an old thread but just thought I would see about wheels for a Trooper. I have a 96 and thinking about keeping my curent all season tires on the factory rims, picking up a set of other rims to put all terrains on. Do yall know what years chevy and toyota will fit a trooper?
Thanks!
 
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