What the hell's up with my engine?

[isuzuser]

This is repeated from the old forum..

(Bighorn 3.1 diesel auto 1992 3 dr)

I wanted to know if anyone could help me figure out what the hells wrong with my engine.. Here's the clues and info>.

Pulled up the drive after going for a short drive, idled engine down for 20 seconds then switched off. All seemed normal. No funny noises or anything. Engine had not been overheated and still has plenty of oil and water. Went to start it up again a bit later and all I get is the clicking sound of what seemed to be a jammed starter or similar. Starter motor is trying to turn engine but engine is just not budging. Put socket on puttey and tried getting some movement but not so much as a nit's tit of movement. Removed inspection plate for ringgear and tried a bit of brute force against the ring gear incase it had jammed.. again zero movement even with great force. Took it to mechanic who seems equally flummoxed after checking cam belt etc had not broken, removing engine cover and tapping valves to see they had movement and not been damaged against pistons etc. All seems OK. Geeves suggested removing fuel injectors to test for water in the bores, which I told the mechanic but he seems to think thats not the case (cant remember why though). Next stage is to remove the head. I'm kind of reluctant because the cost of all this investigation is money I could spend on another engine. THe mechanic suggested it could be a bolt coming loose from the tranny and somehow stopping the engine (via the ring gear?) but doesnt know for sure.

Can anyone tell me what they think? Is there a known fault of bolts working loose that could stop the engine turning over or is it likely to be something like the crank shaft or something big thats knackered. It was running fine with no noises before I stopped so I doubt the crankshaft or bearings would be the prob.
You can still push it around in Neutral as normal and when you put it in park it holds as it should.. Is this a sign that the tranny bolt scenario is unlikely?
Do you have to remove the engine to get to the bits of the tranny i need to see?

Should I persevere or ditch it. I think I have got a lemon. Has anyone got a 3.1 diesel they want to sell in Christchurch?

Can anyone suggest a good cheap Isuzu mechanic or knowlgedable person who might want to fix it?

Thanks in advance for your help..

[geeves]

Takeing out the injectors or glow plugs doesnt take very long which is why I suggested this first. It only takes a tablespoon of water to fill a combustion chamber. If this was the problem though you would be able to turn the engine backwards a little bit.
Taking the head off might take about an hour or so but no other cost if it shows the engine to be shot. It also makes it lighter to get out. Everything else is engine out

[rhorner]

it would seem unlikely it would seize without some warnimg , try using a socket on the bottom pulley .it may be possible its only the starter motor

[isuzuser]

it would seem unlikely it would seize without some warnimg , try using a socket on the bottom pulley .it may be possible its only the starter motor

Id have to agree rhornerr, does seem strange about the seizing but have tried moving it via the pulleys, it doesnts budge so much as 1mm.. The mechanic is now going to remove the engine, with a small suspicion of possibly a bolt having left the transmission somewhere blocking up the ring gear?.. I hope so because the other scenario points to the worst case scenario of a completely stuffed engine that I really cant afford at the moment. Engine was running fine before, apart from a manifold gasket leak so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[geeves]

let us know how you get on
good luck

[impaul]

our first mu siezed fairly promptly...no warning..
was driving to chch from springfield stopped at the russley ave lights, and it just stopped.
then wouldnt turn over at all,exact same scenario...left it there for a few hours, went back
and it turned over,spluttered horribly and fired with a badly knocking bottom end..

was a $5000 rebuild..

[loco13]

It could be the starter motor jammed in the ring gear. Removing the starter motor will free it. (Turning the starter motor backward would also free it but there is not a square stub shaft protruding out the back of the starter motor like on some ancient British engines)

[isuzuser]

Well the mechanic got back to me today. He said a bolt had come out of the torque converter and got stuck in the ring gear somewhere... He only got as far as finding this out today. The bolt hasnt been removed yet as I understand but he'll do that tomorrow as well as do the cambelt, pulley manifold gasket and flush the raidator while its out.
I'm on a budget, which this incident has already blown in terms of what I wanted to spend on the vehicle, but while the engine is out is there anything that you guys would suggest replacing or checking that is easy to do while its out and would be cheap/wise to replace? Probably going to sell it after fixing the probs to recoop some costs and buy a cheaper 4wd. Got off to a bad start with this one . Am I mad to sell it or should I sell or keep it?
I think its jinxed for me.
Also..
What could cause this bolt to come out? Could it be a sign of something else wrong with it? Tranny seemed to work quite nicely before.
I'm a bit spooked by a few reports that these engines can give up the ghost with not much warning. Is this hearsay or is there smoke where there is fire in this case?

I know any engine can stuff up if you dont look after it but some seem kind enough to break the news to you gradually if you get what I mean.
It's not a smokey engine but I havnt dont any compression test or anything on it.

[geeves]

At least it was an easy fix.Pity engine has to come out to do it which makes it not a cheap fix. Still a lot better than the alternatives.
Only other thing which springs to mind is the fuel pump seals if your mechanic is willing to do them with the pump in place. Most mechanics want to fully rebuild the pump which 8 out of 10 times isnt needed and a lot of profit for them.
Hard to answer the other question without more info. What mileage and is it burning any oil?

[isuzuser]

Thanks again Geeves and everyone who has offered their wisdom and advice..
As far as condition goes, I haven't had it that long but I did a 800 Km journey and the oil level didnt noticeably move. Its done 210000 kms. Apart from one small ding in the front guard its pretty tidy. Looks very original and doesn't have much evidence of abuse underneath or on the paintwork etc. No fading etc. Most things work on it although the drivers heated seat im not sure of.. Doesnt seem to get noticably warm. And its got a button marked stability control, but I think it might just be to make you feel better as I cant notice any difference with it on or off. It's got a Small rip in the drivers seat bolster which seems to be a standard feature of these recaro seats in 4wd's from the drivers arse sliding in an out from a hight.
Other than that seems OK.. tyres are 70% worn. Has nice bullbars and spotties.
How much could expect to get if presented nicely?

Thanks

[geeves]

If correctly maintained its middle aged ie you could see anouther 200000 out of it but you cant know how well it was maintained from new and luck plays a part. Most of the badly maintained ones die around 150000km which does sort of fit with human error playing a part with the loose trans bolt. Your mechanic should be able to tell if the engine has been apart without dismantaling.
Best guess of value would be to put your rego into www.carjam.co.nz. It might also answer a few other questions

[isuzuser]

Just a bit of an update on my Little Bighorn saga in case anyone was interested..
Got it back today, although 850 dollars lighter now.. It seems to go really nicely now.. Almost makes me want to keep it, but there was a small problem on the way home.. The front wheel came off! Seems some of the wheel nuts wernt done up properly and they worked themselves loose about 1 km or so from the garage, which of course can only lead to one thing, the wheel came off. It was on a bend too. LUcky I didnt hit the concrete barrier to the right of me or damage anything really. The mechanic said he didnt touch the wheels .. I have no reason not to believe him, but as to how they came loose, shit I don't know... I am jinxed. Maybe someone was half way through stealing them but I doubt it. Anyway, I phoned the mechanic up and he was nice enough to come and help me. I think I have the bighorn version of Steven king's "christine" now... It just hates me.
All this is hardly a good sales pitch, but on that note, if anyone wants to buy this Bighorn let me know.. Its had a bit of work done on it now (gasket, cambelt, radiator and oil) and I honestly don't reckon there's much wrong with it. I'd swap for a 5 door too as I need more room.
Im in Chch if you want to see it.

Cheers.

[geeves]

Do you have mag wheels? They need to be torqued to 90 foot pound then checked a week or so later and retorqued. You should now replace all the wheel studs as they may be bent and check the holes in the mag as they might be out of round.
When mine fell of it also damaged the brake disc. Its not a nice feeling for a wheel to come off. I was lucky it was a back one. I had also just passed a cyclist who looked slightly uncomfortable when he went back passed me on the side of the road. If the wheel had come off 30 meters earlier it could of been horrible

[supamu]

I've had the same problem with our MU, we had new alloy mags on and they worked loose. It was a long time ago, but I seem to remember they said the nuts were wrong for the mags. I was alone, miles from home and pulled over when I heard a horrible knocking noise, so caught it before the wheel fell off. Then discovered my old wheel brace didn't fit inside the new mags. I finger tightened them and was directed down a side road by a truckie on the CB to a remote wrecking yard only about 1km from where I broke down, very lucky and they had tools. One of lifes interesting little experiences. Robyn. Good luck with selling your truck.

[isuzuser]

Hi,

Yes they are alloy mags. I found I didnt even have the correct wheel nut socket to fit on. It requires a socket with a very skinny wall so it can fit between the very narrow gap between the wheel nuts and the wholes in the mags where the nuts go.
Went straight to supercheap and got one, tightened them all up. Dont know how many pounds pressure I put on but they all seemed pretty loose to me.The damn thing was a death trap. Lucky for me I was going very slow so there doesnt appear to be any damage to the studs. The wheel did come to rest on the bottom of the brake caliper but hasnt really damaged either of them other than a bit of a score mark. The Mags themselves did deposit a few alloy "shavings" that the studs ground out but the holes themselves seem pretty similar to the other wheels, and not distorted in size, profile or shape so I'm going to leave them. It was quite a soft landing (for once slow clogged roads where a blessing). The only real damaged thing is that thin metal hub that coveres the hubs. It had to be bashed a bit to get it out of the middle of the wheel. I guess I should consider myself lucky when all things are considered.

Also, I have two questions if any of you guys might know the answer.

1 is that I dont think the heated seat is working. It certainly doest seem to get warm when I flick the switch. Is there a common possible cause for this, any ideas what to check? Is it just a matter of flicking the switch or does the heater have to be on too?

2. What does stability control do? and how does it work? I dont notice much difference with it on or off. The lights come on but it doesnt seemt to make it feel stiffer or anything. Is it only noticed when you get in trouble on a corner or something? It sounds like some kind of servo motor working when I hit the button but not sure I can tell the difference between the on and off states.

Cheers..

[isuzumudman]

Hi,
1. Heated seats should work irrespective of the heater/AC settings. The switches are sometimes troublesome. Also check connector under seat bottom and fuses.
2. There is a box inside the right chassis rail in front of the wheel arch. In it is a motor which, through a worm gear and cable pulls a pin from the right sway bar to allow for better rear articulation. When the switch is off the cable is released allowing the pin to slot back into its hole. Problem I had was an imperfection in the cable sleeve allowed water into the system. The motor got drowned as did the sway bar pin assembly and everything froze up. The light will work anyway. It sounds like your motor is ok but check the pin by jacking up the right rear wheel using the chassis to lift.

[isuzuser]

Thanks mudman. I'll have a poke around in the next few days. What you said makes it all make sense now. I was thinking the stability control was along the lines of the ASC type systems like BMW etc have, where it helps you brake to correct your line during a skid and stop you rolling the car etc. Thought that seemed a bit advanced for this year of car. The swaybar disconnect thing sounds about right. Maybe it does work but I havnt tested the rear articulation with the switch on and off so I'll do that to test more specifically if it is working.