New to me 2001 Isuzu Rodeo. What do?

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Alright, so on Friday I will be receiving a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo V6 manual 4wd for free.

Not much info on the car besides it runs and drives well, 4wd works fine, trans shifts well. AC does not work but heat does. Needs tires. Dead battery but runs fine after jump started.

135k miles on the car. Clean exterior and interior. Silver color. 4 door.

I intend for this to be a reliable daily driver to pile miles on. Plan is to:
-change all fluids
-tires
-brakes
-replace any suspension stuff it needs with quality aftermarket. No lift.
-sort out AC
-spark plugs

I don't know a ton about these. Anything special I should look out for or do? Advice for up front stuff to make sure it lasts a long time?
 
I believe the transmission has a drain and fill plug.. Something to look forward to.

*Missed the word MANUAL in the OP.
 
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Originally Posted By: TinyVoices
Alright, so on Friday I will be receiving a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo V6 manual 4wd for free.

Not much info on the car besides it runs and drives well, 4wd works fine, trans shifts well. AC does not work but heat does. Needs tires. Dead battery but runs fine after jump started.

135k miles on the car. Clean exterior and interior. Silver color. 4 door.

I intend for this to be a reliable daily driver to pile miles on. Plan is to:
-change all fluids
-tires
-brakes
-replace any suspension stuff it needs with quality aftermarket. No lift.
-sort out AC
-spark plugs

I don't know a ton about these. Anything special I should look out for or do? Advice for up front stuff to make sure it lasts a long time?


My son had one of these. The interior will fall apart before the rest of the truck. One of the worst I have seen.
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: TinyVoices
Alright, so on Friday I will be receiving a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo V6 manual 4wd for free.

Not much info on the car besides it runs and drives well, 4wd works fine, trans shifts well. AC does not work but heat does. Needs tires. Dead battery but runs fine after jump started.

135k miles on the car. Clean exterior and interior. Silver color. 4 door.

I intend for this to be a reliable daily driver to pile miles on. Plan is to:
-change all fluids
-tires
-brakes
-replace any suspension stuff it needs with quality aftermarket. No lift.
-sort out AC
-spark plugs

I don't know a ton about these. Anything special I should look out for or do? Advice for up front stuff to make sure it lasts a long time?


My son had one of these. The interior will fall apart before the rest of the truck. One of the worst I have seen.


The one in this truck is pretty good. Not falling apart at all. Hopefully stays that way.
 
1) Get battery. 2) Skip everything else until you get an AC estimate and then decide about putting money into it. AC repair can be very expensive.
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
1) Get battery. 2) Skip everything else until you get an AC estimate and then decide about putting money into it. AC repair can be very expensive.


Car has a bad compressor but I'm told it holds vacuum by the owner. Everything else is good. I have manifold gauges and vacuum pump. Not worried about it costing a lot. This was also my initial thought if it was not a simple fix.
 
A few different engines were available in those - they were sold as the Holden Rodeo here for many years - be worth checking if yours has a timing belt, and if so, find out when it was last changed.
 
Originally Posted By: hpb
A few different engines were available in those - they were sold as the Holden Rodeo here for many years - be worth checking if yours has a timing belt, and if so, find out when it was last changed.


Has the 3.2 v6 with timing belt. Don't know when it was changed or if. Will pull timing cover and check when I get the car.
 
They were sold in the U.S. for a few years as Honda Passports, also. According to my local Honda dealer they were the most frequently repaired model with a "Honda" name on them. But, as with my friend's Trooper (very similar vehicle), they're indestructible.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
They were sold in the U.S. for a few years as Honda Passports, also. According to my local Honda dealer they were the most frequently repaired model with a "Honda" name on them. But, as with my friend's Trooper (very similar vehicle), they're indestructible.


Yeah seems like most suffered some auto trans issues. Luckily this one is a 5 speed.
 
If it's wearing 235/75/15s you can probably get goodyear wranglers at DTD's labor day sale for $40 each A/R.

If it's not rusty it would make a good winter car. I don't see any/ as many as I used to.
 
my son has the rodeo version and also got automatic transmission issues that involved the electronic shift solenoids. He has also had ground issues with the brake lights and tail lights. Never mind that the valve covers leaked oil and made smoke clouds. This thing cluttered my garage for 2 weeks while we had to disassemble the entire top of the motor to change those darn gaskets. Removing the entire top manifold on it is a lot of work.
 
I had a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo 4x4, 3.2L automatic and my SIL had a 2003 with the 5spd. We also had 2 Troopers with the 3.5L, 4x4 and AT in that timeframe as well. The Isuzu 3.2/3.5 can be an oil burner and will spin the #1 con rod bearing if run too low on oil. Other than that, they are pretty tough, all aluminum engines with at least well built looking components. They're a little odd with the 80deg "V" block config, but not too terrible to work on in terms of DIY maintenance. Spark plugs are deep set coil overs.

Other common issues are intake manifold gaskets. It's a dry intake, so all a cracked gasket does is cause a weird whistling/humming noise, idling issues or lean codes. Pretty easy to replace. Another common problem is clogged EGR plumbing. Another easy job with basic hand tools and a can of intake cleaner and piece of copper wire as a fishing tool if it's really clogged.

Front and rear diff are easy to change oil on, as is the 5spd manual IIRC. The electric actuator on the front axle that engages/ disengages 4x4 benefits from being cycled often.

1998-2004 are the same engines/trans options, with exception of the 2004 Rodeo that offered a direct injected 3.5L and an AW automatic as opposed to the GM 4L30E. 2000+ went with throttle by wire. 2001 or 02 went with floating rotors so you don't have to take hubs apart to remove front rotors.
 
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Have a 98 Passport 3.2 automatic (GM transmission) Over 220,000 miles Runs good. No oil burning on 5,000 OCI. Service tranny once a year. Interior is like brand new. No problem with the quality at all of the interior components. Only above normal maintenance is valve cover gaskets leak oil into spark plug openings. On my third brand..Maybe it is just my install?
 
I had a 97 Rodeo, I bought it non running but i got running and it was in very nice condition body and interior. The 2000ish fixed a lot of problems the 90's one had.
 
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
.... Only above normal maintenance is valve cover gaskets leak oil into spark plug openings. On my third brand..Maybe it is just my install?


Those are separate seals though. If you're getting oil into the plug wells, you need to replace the O-ring type seals on the spark plug well tubes.
 
JTK nailed pretty much everything. AFAIK, the 3.2 doesn't become the oil burner like the 3.5; it has a different drain hole pattern under the oil rings and in the skirt vs. the 3.5, which is what causes the problem. I have an Acura SLX with that engine and issue.

If it is to get a ton of miles as you say, a desirable mod might be to replace the auto hubs on the front with the older Isuzu Aisin manual ones, it is a simple bolt-on conversion. This detaches the front 1/2 axles so they are not spinning when not in actual use. This has three benefits: 1) lighter steering, 2) increased MPGs, 3) LONG CV boot life.

planetisuzoo.com is the place for make-specific advice.
 
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