12th Sep 2005, 21:17

I just bought an 88 Trooper with 69,000 miles on it. Found it on a camper lot in Iowa. Now I find all these comments on the head cracking, wonder if it was such a great deal... I had one before (91' with a V6) and loved it!! just wasn't a "freeway flier" like I needed at the time. My question is: If the head isn't leaking yet, is there anything I can do to avoid the seemingly unavoidable looming pending problem? The second question is I think the overdrive isn't working on the transmission. I returned from Iowa this weekend, towing a small trailer with a motorcycle. The tach read 3,000rpm at 55 miles per hour. Is this correct for this engine? Operating the O/D switch did not change anything in the trans. I unplugged the switch today on the shifter with no results. I'm looking for some advise on this. Any would be appreciated. RJT11100@hotmail.com.

26th Sep 2005, 09:17

As I understand, the overdrive does not engage until the car is warmed up. I had a temperature sensor out that caused the transmission not to shift into overdrive. Just something to check.

23rd May 2006, 13:06

Mill head flat, mill top of block flat; end of problem. There are holes in the block that are too near the combustion chamber that will develop into problems unless everything is flat enough to seal. Mine blew a head gasket and when I checked the block it was.005 inches out of flat.

5th May 2007, 20:01

What are the symptoms of a blown head gasket? I picked up an '88 Trooper to be a college car for my son, and am in the process of fixing it up. I suspect a burned exhaust valve as there is no compression in #2, and I can hear air coming out the exhaust when I blow in compressed air. I've also noticed a tendency to overheat when driving, but then it does not seem to overheat if I leave it at idle. Finally, when it does overheat, it begins to surge in RPM. Does this sound like a blown head gasket?

15th May 2007, 13:32

I too would like the name of the company in Washington state that did the engine work

My email is greywolf@olympus.net.

23rd May 2007, 14:56

I've owned and 88 Isuzu since new and here is what I know. It is an excellant vehicle and is easy to service yourself. My 88 Trooper has never been in a shop for repair as I sevice it myself. It overheated at 140K because I didn't know there were water cooling hoses under the intake manifold. They basically went bad while my wife was driving. She saw smoke (steam) and when it stopped smoking she continued to drive it thinking it fixed itself. Eventually no more smoke cause there was no more water. Driving the vehicle without water cracked the exhaust valve head seats on #2 & 3 cylinders. I replaced the head with a new one from Alabama Cylinder Head. These guys manufacture the head and install the valves for $450. Bought it on line and installed it 6 years ago and haven't had a problem since. The only other problem I ever had was a bad PCV valve. It cost about $5 but when it goes bad (sticks) the vehicle bucks and stalls like the engine is about to blow.

29th May 2007, 16:58

Re CRACKED & LEAKING CYLINDER HEAD - Purchased my 1991 Trooper with 2.6 4-cyl. Noticed # 2&4 had low compression. Dealer replaced the head on warranty. 50,000 miles later had low compression and feared the worst. But only had burned exhaust valves (2&4 again). Machine shop said my "new" cylinder head looked beefier than OEM; likely Isuzu found defects in the original, and corrected for aftermarket and warranty repair. Shop advised setting exhaust valves at +0.005 (or 0.05 -- hmmmmm...; anyway, "half a thousandth of an inch") wider than spec. Gives the valve more time to cool on each stroke. Works fine. Jim.

29th Jun 2008, 03:35

Has anyone ever had a 2.6l (4ze1) isuzu that's cracked a head twice?

26th Mar 2009, 22:16

Hello, I own a 1988 Isuzu Trooper 4x4 2 cylinder... I love it, so far, but not without some problems... I am not a mechanic but I'm told its heating/cooling/heads problems???

5th Apr 2009, 17:39

Hey People: I have an 88 Trooper. Correct mileage, and it's all mine 550,289. And YES, it's still running.

Bought it brand new, but now it's falling off its frame. Upstate NY winters, man, do we use salt.

Anyways, NEVER had to replace a head or head gasket. Yep, that is correct, it's the way you drive the truck. I never floor the truck, I ease into the pedal, never push the truck beyond its means. And I always give the truck at the least 25 minutes in the morning to warm up; so far, so good...

Cheers

D.

19th Sep 2010, 22:40

OK so tomorrow I'm buying a 1988 Trooper. Engine overheated and stopped running at 175k. Body is good, price is right...

I'll check in later this week with info and may need help.

11th Aug 2011, 21:26

I own a 1991 Isuzu Trooper 2.6 4 cyl, and I'm 21 and have been doing the work myself. I've blown a head gasket, and tried replacing it and got the engine back together, and now water is leaking into the exhaust manifold... what to do? Is it a cracked head? A cracked block? Or head gasket on wrong? I have no experience and no help, I'm all alone in this matter.

4th Sep 2012, 11:59

I'm a owner of an Isuzu Trooper 1988, 2.6L engine, since 1997.

When I bought it, the original head had blown and it had got a new head. I soon found out that the engine became too hot when driving slow in low gear or when idling in warm weather. I think that one reason that the head blows on this engine, is that the aluminium head cannot accept overheating too many times. The cooling system is too small. I bought an extra fan that was placed in front of the radiator. It starts automatically when the engine temperature goes up too much. So now the truck has two fans; one original in front of the engine, and one extra in front of the radiator. Now I have no problems with overheating or blown head.

26th May 2015, 08:31

The overdrive button on my 88 Trooper does not work either. Though it runs about 60 to 65 at 3000 RPM. I wonder if it is stuck in overdrive with what you're saying?

26th May 2015, 08:32

Which sensor?