Thread: advice greatly appreciate!!!!

@mudgripz ..Can you breath a bit more life into the 4JG2 reliably?

Yes - what you can do depends if its an electronic or earlier manually adjusted mechanical fuel pump. If electronic its a much more difficult job to adjust fuel delivery - pump out on the bench etc and even then not much usually.

When tuning the mechanical pumps on diesel isuzus we first increase fuel delivery. Fuel delivery screw on back of mechcanical pumps. Pop the cap off it and adjust this inwards tiny increments of 1/8th, then 1/16th of a turn and check after each adjustment by starting motor, then revving to 3000rpm and holding it couple of seconds to check for black smoke (unburnt fuel). Bit of black is ok and on the dyno best hp is just before motor starts to blow significant black smoke.

Then advance pump timing some - care with this not to do too much or motor starts to knock. Good diesel mechanic can do it. That takes care of fuel - then improve air flow with a 2.5" bigbore ex turbo, with freer flow muffler and perhaps a clean performance filter eg K&N.

Have done about 200,000ks with two 4JB1T (the 2.8 motor) isuzus tuned in this manner and one dynoed at 150hp, and the other about 130hp - plenty for pushing 33s on road and v good power-to-weight ratio offroad. No change in fuel consumption after tuning and no difference to motor longevity.

Pump/fuel gains easy to do if mechanical and not electronic pump. 45 minutes. The 4JG2 3.1 isuzus were mechanical pumps to about 1995-6 then electronic. You'd have to ask your mechanic to check which it is.

@mudgripz what about the first gen Mitsi Challengers? do you know anything about them. For some reason i'm keen on getting one. Ive been warned off the V6 petrols, but it sounds like the 2.8 diesel turbos are a good reliable donk. And you see plenty of them for sale with high (300k+ km's) on them.

Sounds like the challenger is based on the 2nd gen Pajero, so should be reasonable tough. The rear seats fold down fully flat, so as per the original posters brief, would be good to sleep in.

I wouldnt be doing any serious offroad work, just the normal stuff that you might find your self doing when on rough tracks when heading hunting, and farms etc, the odd small creek crossing etc. The only mods i would do is fit a decent set of mud terrain tyres (as i have done on my current 5 dr '96 Vitara) and it gets me all the places i need to go when hunting.

They seems to be a bloody good value truck, $5-6k seems to get a reasonable one.

Any info you could add on them would be awesome.

@mudgripz Sent you a PM.... Cheers

Best thing Sidney would be ring Neil Elkington at Diesel Services off Blenheim Rd. 3488825.

He could do a half hour checkover of vehicle, tell you about cvs/rear main seal/steering box seals/drivetrain/diff seals/turbo condition/pump seals/fuming etc. He's a mate and has worked with me on several isuzus and will give you a good picture on this one. I don't have much time at the moment. Might cost you $40 or something but well worth it when buying an older diesel.

This 97 wizard could be either mechanical or electronic pump, and at $6200 is highish price but that's in part because owner has just spent maybe $1300+ on the new muds. If in good nick with new WOF, and turbo ok, it could be a good wee set up.

If you pop in to see Neil - have just spoken to him - he cd do a check for you friday or so. Tell him Mike sent you.

Cheers Mike....

GWH - I've only seen one challenger in the 4wd clubs so don't know the model well. Offroaders went more for the swb mitsi pajero models with the factory difflock.

Mitsi Challenger is about 96-99 manufacture and generally 2.8T 4M40 motor. Not a great diesel but ok. Just chatting about them with diesel mechanic mate and his comment was some performed well and some didn't - hard to know why. Some are electronic and some mechanical (more easily tweaked) fuel pump - mechanic can tell you which it is.

If you want to buy one get a mechanic to go over it as simple things like leaky rear main seals, pinion seals, leaky pump seals, leaky steering boxes, worn turbos etc can be very costly repairs. Half hour with mechanic is very worth it with older 4wds. If you find a good challenger and it mechanically checks out I'm sure it would do the basic hunter job ok.

I agree the sleeping option is a real plus in a LWB 4wd.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

GWH - I've only seen one challenger in the 4wd clubs so don't know the model well. Offroaders went more for the swb mitsi pajero models with the factory difflock.

Mitsi Challenger is about 96-99 manufacture and generally 2.8T 4M40 motor. Not a great diesel but ok. Just chatting about them with diesel mechanic mate and his comment was some performed well and some didn't - hard to know why. Some are electronic and some mechanical (more easily tweaked) fuel pump - mechanic can tell you which it is.

If you want to buy one get a mechanic to go over it as simple things like leaky rear main seals, pinion seals, leaky pump seals, leaky steering boxes, worn turbos etc can be very costly repairs. Half hour with mechanic is very worth it with older 4wds. If you find a good challenger and it mechanically checks out I'm sure it would do the basic hunter job ok.

I agree the sleeping option is a real plus in a LWB 4wd.

Thanks Mike.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Depends which model Wizard. The early one with the 4JG2 engine is fine. The later one is let down with the reliability of the 4JX1 engine ancillaries/injection system.

yep 4jx1 that's the one to avoid like the plague

When buying older diesels - or probably any diesel for that matter - its good to go through a short checklist of key parts in the vehicle when inspecting it. Pretty much anyone can do this if you know where to look. Main parts to look for are:

* Steering box seals - is there leakage around box at bottom of shaft = WOF issue.
* Radiator - is there brown dirty water and gunk when you run finger round inside cap area = not well maintained. Check radiator hoses aren't crunchy - easy enough to replace.
* Motor - is it excessively rattly, does it fume alot with oil cap off, and does it blow blue smoke? Bit of blue on start up ok - but not more, bit of black is just overfuelling, puffs of white sometimes water in system = not good. Check also for oil leakages round head/block. Track any leakages/oil dripping.
* Fuel pump - check for any leakages around fuel pump - occasionally you can get away with top seals only but usually a major cost.
* Turbo - is it leaking oil round unit (fixable) or is it whining bad when switched off (terminal)
* Check rear main seal where motor bolted to box. Oil sweating normal, but significant wetness/oil leakage is a gearbox off job sometime.
* Feel driveshafts for movement - if sloppy its likely universal joints - easy enough to do. Check front driveshaft for movement too.
* Check for oil leakage around rear diff head = pinion seal and a bigger job to do and reset gears.
* Check rear axle seals - some pressed in and a fair bit of time to fix.
* Check CV boots - each perished one takes 1-2 hours to replace.
* Gearbox - smooth or lurchy for auto, clutch judder on take off for manual, clutch slip when booting it at very low revs in 4th for manual, smooth and not notchy synchro changes for manual.
* Engage 4wd low range and test it to see it works well without strange noises. Turn some hard lefts and rights to check CVs for clicking = stuffed
* Check electrics - all windows etc - WOF issues
* Road test - does it have enough power or is it gutless for the model. You can do compression/leakdown test but you can usually tell when compressions b*ggered just by driving them. When driving does it smoke - and what colour. Smooth straight tracking or wheel alignment issues.
* Tyre wear - a big cost with 4x4s. Muds more than half worn are not much use in slippery conditions - ok in summer or on rivers.
* Check body for damages and rust - esp in sills etc
* Check for lifts/mods done with no certification - can be insurance issue.

That's just a few basic checkpoints anyone who is not a mechanic can do when buying a 4x4. And if you do them and vehicle passes, chances are its reasonably sound and you won't be hit with big bills. If you are still in doubt get a mechanic to test it - better to spend $50 and save $1000s. There will always be some areas needing attention on an older 4x4 - like CVs or steering box seals or something - and that's where you adjust the price accordingly.

Hope this is useful - kind of question that comes up alot. These are things I look at but maybe we could get a few mechanics here to add to/adjust the points above, and then when we've got a good simple checklist it can be a sticky that anyone can print off when going to check your potential 4wd buy. Save alot of headaches

Cheers Mike