Member I
Overlanding with "stock" 4X4
- Thread starter Old Recon Marine
- Start date
Member III
I had a trooper, same body style, loved it. Put BFG All-Terrains and go most anywhere. LOTS of flex in stock suspension. My head gasket kept going out, so it was sold... still miss it sometimes! Only downside is no aftermarket goodies, so you get to be creative!
Member III
So my '99 4x4 Taco is all stock, been using it that way for the past 2 years. Only problem really is sagging rear suspension. Will fix that this spring with some aftermarket upgrades. I"m also going to stick with the stock 15" wheels! This vehicle has met my needs for camping, fire roads, & daily driving. Not planning on rock crawling, and don't drive off road if there isn't an existing trail.
I wheeled stock vehicles for years. had an old blazer that I actually lived in for a while when I was kicked out of my house, had a pathfinder after that, and a YJ after that.... I have probably spent more time wheeling stock rigs than I have a fully built one. sometimes its more fun because the terrain is more of a challenge and makes you think where a built vehicle is just point and shoot. I tend to use vehicles people hate too. Wheeled a patriot for a few years but it was in an accident and I ended up getting a Compass Trailhawk, which I will also wheel stock. I have a lifted TJ that hits the difficult stuff but for comfort, speed, and distance. my stock compact SUVs are the way to go.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that if you try to "overland" in a stock vehicle it will probably light on fire or something. Or perhaps the overland police pull you over and take your license. Tomorrow I'm driving our stock MDX up to the snow so the kid can play. I'm going to be really careful to not claim I'm overlanding since I don't want to break any rules or anything.
yeah, the stock thing is a bit iffy...BUT if you eat beenie-weenies straight out of the can with a SPORK, that should pull you back into the safe zone...
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Member III
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You can always do what you did when you were a kid and play "Lets pretend" and sing "I'm sorry play mate, I cannot play with you"
:-)
Influencer I
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Isuzus of this vintage are great, except the engines. As production numbers were pushed in the late 80s and the 90s quality went downhill fast, the quickest fix for that is a GM 60* V-6. This body style came with 2.8L V-6s as an option so they are a direct swap. If you have disc brakes in the rear (wich I think you should, but cant remember the year split) then that rear axle is stupid over built, makes most 1/2ton pickup axles look like tinker toys. Also if those wheels are what came with the rig (the "snow flakes" were the factory wide wheel option) you will have 4.77 gears (normal gear for the 5speed was 4.56, for the 4 speed its 4.10), so you should be OK to go to a larger tire without any worries. I put a lot of miles on a 90 Trooper and really liked it, you just need to be 100% on maintenance if you have the Isuzu 4 cylinder in there.
Member III
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I love to see posts like this. I see info that is valuable for people contemplating a build and it's so nice to see someone with actual knowledge of a certain model of rig. Thank you Dillon !
It does have the 2.6 4 cylinder. I don't mind that engine. I have had pretty good luck with them and now that I have the valve lash set where it's supposed to be it runs very well. That will always be an option for me to replace it with a GM 60 degree. Those things are everywhere. It does have the rear disc Isuzu 12 bolt in the back and I think it has the factory LSD also.
Member III
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Influencer I
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Cool, yeah cooling system maintenance is a big deal on those engines. The 4Z engines (2.3 and 2.6) had a lot of head gasket and head issues, but keep them cool and the coolant fresh and you wont have issues. I think the LSD diff came with the wide wheel option and the 4.77 gears. Im not 100% on that though.
Member III
Just a thought - if you want to go for a diesel build, Thermo King refrigerated truck trailers ran an Isuzu 4 cyl. diesel, don't know if it was the same engine Isuzu used overseas. The GM 6 should be a much simpler swap and parts are not an issue - although never seen one.
Influencer I
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Troopers of that generation did run the C222 diesel, which some refer units also ran. They are a gutless engine but solid and get great fuel millage. Just steer clear of the turbo charged version as they have a reputation for being hard on the bottom end.
Hmmmmm..........or I could go with a supercharged 3800 out of a Buick Park avenue!
Traveler II
My wife and I enjoyed the heck out of our stock WK. Even with "P" rated tires on that Jeep, it would take us anywhere we wanted to go.
Its a shame Jeep borked the transfer case on this rig with recall work. I'd probably still be driving it if 4-LO had reliably worked.
Its a shame Jeep borked the transfer case on this rig with recall work. I'd probably still be driving it if 4-LO had reliably worked.
Influencer I
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I took your advice and started another thread for cheap overlanding.
Overlanding for cheaper than your cousin's brother in law builds
recently while on the "Overlanding with "stock" 4X4" thread it gave me an idea. So I just picked up an '89 trooper for $400. It didn't run but a few minutes of putting the spark plug wires on the right spark plugs it fired right up! We are going to build this up on a "what you can do with no...
Really good thread...it reflects not only Overlanding, but life in general. Its like people who just need a laptop to surf the internet and check email and end up getting some full blown system that's 4 or 5 times more gear and money than they'll ever use. Really don't need dual processors and a gaming level video board for checking email and posting on facebook. I really agree with all those on here who have stated the importance of bettering one's skills versus buying more gear. I'm doing another build out for a camp rig and was falling into that mind set of more and bigger being better...after reading this and self reflecting, I redesigned a good bit of what I was doing and ended up REALLY streamlining stuff and as a result have saved a LOT of money as well as headache. I can't even count how times in life I have gone overboard on things for the "just in case". Well, "just in case" rarely ever happens and when it has, I always end up using the basic stuff because it ends up being what I'm more used to and more comfortable using...hence the advice of learning skill improvement over more gear.
Of course there are those on here who will need to go beyond the norm for what they are doing, but for most, going "stock" and using the basics is really great and accurate advice. Thanks to everyone who has posted.
Of course there are those on here who will need to go beyond the norm for what they are doing, but for most, going "stock" and using the basics is really great and accurate advice. Thanks to everyone who has posted.
