Faults:

Replaced front brake calipers at 88K miles -- both seized.

Replaced rear brake calipers at 90K miles -- both seized.

Replaced emergency brake cable at 100K miles -- seized.

Replaced gas tank at 95K miles due to rust. Vents and lines at top of tank completely corroded and fell off.

Had to replace heater core -- located behind the dash. This was a very major and expensive repair. First noticed leak and odor of antifreeze in cab.

Frame has rusted immediately forward of the drivers side rear wheel. Easy to patch, but Isuzu should have put drains in the frame rails.

Rear bumper (the only part made in USA) has rusted off the truck. Replaced with a Japanese bumper at 45K miles. Still looks new.

Exhaust flex-pipe replaced twice in 18 months due to corrosion.

General Comments:

Overall I've been happy with this no-frills truck, but I have been nickle-and dimed for repairs lately. Unfortunately, I think the frame is going to fail long before the body or drivetrain. Still looks good with just minimal rust bubbles appearing on the tail gate and hood.

My only real complaints are a very poorly designed emergency brake system (which allow the cable and calipers to seize very quickly) and the exhaust system. The flex pipe fails within 6-8 months. Luckily, NAPA offers a replacement for about $20 (vs nearly $250 for the dealer replacement)

Faults:

Exhaust Flex Pipe off the header has gone twice. (Replaced at ~55000 and ~171000) Replaced with a solid pipe at 171000.

Blower Motor Resistor blew at 90000.

Head Gasket Blew at ~171000 (Apparently this is a well known problem for the 4ZD1 engine.

Replaced radiator at ~171000.

Rear shocks replaced.

Have had three front calipers go bad.

Parking brake cable seized.

Rear bumper and tailgate severely rusted. (Living in New England... not surprising.)

Fittings on top of gas tank severely rusted and require repairing. (My current project.) ~191000.

ECM ground bolts needed replacing. (Real pain to track down. Had the dealer do it. The truck would start bucking and/or hesitating severely.)

General rust on all frame components.

General Comments:

As can be seen from the things that have gone wrong this truck has given me plenty of headaches. But when the cost is factored in (5500) and the truck is still running after 10 years; I think it might be all right.

Found that you have to be creative when getting parts now-a-days. The junk yards here in S. New England have very little. One should note that sometimes the dealer has cheaper parts than the auto parts chains. This I found surprising, but I like to check both places before getting a part.

Apart from the repairs that I have made the truck has been of good utility to me. Nobody raves about the interior, but it is fine for a no-frills truck.

Faults:

Almost nothing!

Front brakes, rotor and pads.

Muffler- Tailpipe, through to down tube, not including manifolds. But has been driven in snow since I owned it and before.

Radiator-!!! This is important, mine was a 95' from Japan. Found other parts OK, meaning not from dealer because then they are very $$$. Dealer will charge you $700 and local muffler shops will tell you the same. Aftermarket radiator is just available as of 2005 on-line, don't try to get it locally.

Water pump- I think blew the radiator, due to running hot, and not pumping, under pressure and that many miles its bound to go.

Shocks- I have a cap and an over-engineered DIY rack that must weigh 100 lbs. Runs so skippy without the cap and rack, it must have caused wear.

General Comments:

It is what your getting. Understand that it is a mini pickup, it won't be the most comfortable or powerful vehicle in the world. But I am 6' 5" and it ain't bad, I am about to buy a full size. It put me through grad school 750 miles from home and did the trip 8 times. Never fails. Most reliable thing I can imagine.

Faults:

Minor problems with vehicle with such high mileage.

When I bought the truck:

Replaced Starter.

Brakes.

Exhaust recirculation valve.

All hoses and belts except the timing belt due to it being replaced before I bought it and one bolt is impossible to remove.

Replaced steel wheels with aluminum.

Rear leaf spring bushings.

Headlights.

Battery.

Driver's side door skin. The truck came with a large rust hole in the door. No other rust anywhere on the vehicle.

Cat back exhaust replacement.

Repaired missing exhaust manifold bolt.

Replaced Radiator at 180,000 due to overheating. Replaced with a thicker radiator meant for automatics and have had no problems since.

Recently been having bizarre intermittent power loss problems and have not yet found out the cause.

General Comments:

This truck has been super reliable.

I purchased it extremely used. I think it was a contractor's truck previously. It needed a lot of basic stuff as listed above, which I did and the truck has been running perfectly ever since.

The truck is underpowered with the 2.6L 4 cylinder only making 120hp and with almost 190,000 miles on my truck, it probably isn't even that much.

Ride is a little rough, but it is a truck.

Handles alright for what it is. Could benefit from less body roll.

4 wheel drive works great and the truck goes anywhere.