Izuzu MU -Do you have Split bulkheads/clutch pedal problems?

[jimmymidge]

I own a Vauxhall Fronter which is based on the Izuzu MU. There have been numerous occasions where the bulkhead is splitting where the clutch pedal mounts on the inside of the vehicle. I would be interested if this is a fault which also is common with the Izuzu.

If you look at http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/ you will see that this is quite a serious failure which if not rectified can cause what seems to be a clutch failure and the garage will charge for the clutch replacing first. This doesn't rectify the problem. The cause is quite simple, the pedals are mounted on to a plate spot welded to the inner bulkhead. These spot welds fail and pulls the panels apart. The clutch pedal is then in effect further away from the clutch master cylinder and the pedal is shorter. All symptoms point to the clutch as you never think of looking at the vehicle structure as a source of failure.

This is something I am actively trying to get Vauxhall to take responsibility for and if this is the same problem with Izuzu then the same should be done.

Please take 10 minutes of your time to look through the site it's very much the same as this one. But there are probably more posts and if you own a MU then you will benefit also.

http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/forums/ ... .php?f=108
http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/forums/ ... 08&t=33065
http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/forums/ ... =8&t=19010

Many thanks,
James.

[pig75]

I have 3 MU's never had any problems like that

[turnturn]

I've got 2 Mu's. Neither have this problem.
Both of my clutch master cylinders do weep (into the cabin) a bit though.

[jimmymidge]

The other symptom to look out for is a clicking clutch pedal. This is caused by the inner and outer sheet metal clicking as they both go past each other.

Can somebody do me a favour and look on the plate under the bonnet/hood and tell me where the vehicle was manufactured? I believe the Frontera's were built in Spain at IBC which means Isuzu Bedford Company.

Also if possible I would like to see a photograph of the clutch pedal of how it is mounted and also how the local area looks. From the side of the heater box to the brake pedal. What I would like to know is whether the Vauxhall Frontera is built in the same way as the MU that it is based on.

Thanks James.

[pig75]

This might help

IMG_1124.JPG

IMG_1125.jpg

IMG_1126.JPG

[geeves]

This has never come up in a mu or bighorn to my knowledge. If Im reading this correctly your chassis plate shows a model no of ucs110. The common Mu is either ucs55 or ucs69. The gen2 Mu is I belive ucs73 but hopfuly someone with a 3.0 diesel or a v6 Mu could verify this. These are rare in NZ and never made it to Australia. Also Australia has a Holden Frontera that might be the same as your frontera We have a couple of members who have these who could check there model number.
I suspect this problem only affects your model but cant check if its only the spanish assembled ones that are affected

[nig99]

The early Holden Fronteras were also built in Spain, and a guy who used to hang around Downunder4x4 used to have one that had the same firewall crack.
http://downunder4x4.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9160

Seems like an engineering fault unique to the Frontera - Rodeos & MUs dont seem to fail in the same place

[turnturn]

Pig75, I see you've got the weepy master cylinder thing going on as well. Both of mine are/were like that.
Also there is a small white plastic (nylon/acetal) type bush in the clutch pedal arrangement that seems to fail.

[jimmymidge]

[quote="pig75"]This might help

IMG_1124.JPG

This picture is identical to the frontera. The bulkhead splits to the left of the top left clutch pedal fixing. The clip which holds the harness on sometimes falls off due to the stud breaking off. My issue on the frontera was that the spot weld above the top harness clip failed and the panel pulled apart.

There shouldn't be any differences between the two vehicles, however I don't think I have heard of clutch master cylinders leaking on Frontera's... perhaps you need to replace yours with the Vauxhall version.

If you look at my picture (small I know) you will see a bolt to the top left. This is what I had to fit to pull the panels back together again.