Auckland N.Z. Mute!

[fvckyeeah]

hay all, i recently got a new toy!
Isuzu Mu with a rodeo cab, 3.1 manual with a bighorn intercooler, LSD, 50mm body lift, 12000lb winch (can you say overkill) and its certified which is nice.



currently sorting out a pretty bad over heating issue- new radiator and a flush should hopefully fix it (run coolant people!)
I figured i would replace the hoses at the same time- but now i've realized there's 11 of them and no-one here sells after market ones...
Isuzu quoted me $390 for the set which is just under $40 per hose...
any tips? aside from scrounging through odd hoses and finding the correct bends.

anyway I'm Andrew, 23, an auto sparky from west Auckland, New Zealand.
I plan on adding more bar work and likely towing a car trailer, as well as some offroading.
how bad are the chrome liners in these engines really? and what should i look out for?

oh and what offset do people run? 15x8 rims for example, 32x11.5

[nb422]

I run 15x8 -22 on my mu, and my dad runs 15x10 -44 on his mu. Nice truck you have there

[MrRevhead]

Try screwing down the local Holden dealer on hoses, I got mine all new and they discounted them all (I'm in the trade)
There's probably only one or two that need to be the shaped ones though.

I'm about to run 32x11.5x15 on 0 offset... I hope!!

[isuzurob]

look on ebay there are full hose kits on there, i would be worried about the overheating more than the liners

[geeves]

Looked after the chrome liners only last 1000000km in trucks. Things that kill them are bad oil changes (acid in the oil eats them) overheating can crack them short trips always cause problems and doctored speedos (this doesnt reduce there real life but just hides the truth) Maintained well and not thrashed these are good for 400000km but treat them bad and 120000 might be the limit.
Overheating in no particular order
radiator blocked This could be inside or outside with mud rust etc
viscous fan needs rebuild
loose fan belts
engine timing out
blown head gasket
blown head (check this if gasket gone)
blocked exhaust
bad turbo
bad water pump (steel impeller fins do rust out if coolant no good)
If auto a trans fault can cause overheating

[fvckyeeah]

overheating is sorted- new radiator is in, old "empty" radiator weighs a couple of kilos, so is FULL of blockage.
new electric fans while i was at it and I've replaced a couple of the hoses with matched ones (will do the rest when i re-flush the system)
do the ebay Jackaroo hose kits fit? i wasn't sure they would match up.

odo is on 340k and i just plugged the speedo back in from last owner -.- so i wouldnt be surprised if its 400+
the reason i asked about the liners is if i get the engine rebuilt i want to know if its worth getting different ones put in.

[geeves]

just about all the aftermarket kits are steel liners and chrome rings. Nissan see similar mileages out of a similar settup but of coures they spend heaps on research but who knows how much is spent by the makers of some kits. You get what you pay for hopefully. Mail order kits start around 1200 but genuine parts will be 4k plus all of this plus machining etc. The big one to remember is that the rings and bores must be made of different metals or it wont even last the run in period

[MrRevhead]

Try STA or segidins in Auckland, pretty sure one of them does chrome liner kits

[fvckyeeah]

any popular options for a re-power? i haven't had a chance to spend hours on here drooling over everyone's projects yet

[geeves]

How is the engine running? If it isnt burning oil and isnt fuming too much at the oil filler then the motor is good and with a little tweaking gives good power. If its auto you lose a bit to the auto though. Diesel options are really only the same engine or the earlier 4jb1 which on paper has less power but is completely bulletproof and can be tuned further than the 4jg2. You can fit the 4jh1 or 4jj1 out of the latest colorados but you need to change the gearbox at the same time and there is a computer involved.
A few people have fitted 3.8 comadoor engines but its a lot of work and your local gas station will love you There are a couple of lexus v8 conversions around but they are a very tight fit. There has been a bighorn with Chevy LS1 installed but to make it fit he removed the front diff The sort of defetes the purpose of having a 4x4.
Another option is lpg injection. Only if engines good. All repowers require certification unless the motor is newer, the same or less capacity, the same or less power and of the same series I read that as 4J series. There are 4jb1 engines around made up to 98 so that is possible without cert but I think you may end up arguing that one with the wof guy.