Offroad-Express

This is just to say hi to everyone at the site, and introduce myself. moved over to nz from the uk on a permanent basis, now living in Te Awamutu. been into offroading for a few years now and always had rangerovers and land rovers which i will post some pics of when i have a bit more time.
I now want to get back into the offroading, trouble is i own a isuzu bighorn 3.1td lwb 1993, ifs, coil rear, wasnt my fist choice but needed a car quickly and it was the right price at the time. i appreciate it will never acomplish what i could do in the rangie but i need to decide what to do, sell it and lose money and buy something else and probably need to take a loan, or spend the money i would lose on the isuzu, couple of grand i suppose??? i dont mind scratches and cutting about stuff to modify but dont want to change whole axle assemblies.
how capable are these trucks with a suspension lift and simex centipedes or similar, i figure i could do the lift and put 31x10.5x15 and a snorkel for around $2500, my question is, IS IT WORTH IT .

and also is there a 4wd club around Te Awamutu, i dont really know anyone in nz so any help would be appreciated.


Thanks alot guys hopefully will get to know some of you eventually, the 4x4 comunity seems to be the same the world over so hopefully i should fit in

welcome to the board mate.

no idea about the isuzu as an offroader but unless you want to do extreme stuff then im picking it will be fine for average stuff with a decent set of wheels on it. we quite often do fun trips around the place quite local so you would most certianly fit in on one of them

theres a few people on here that will be able to help you out with prices etc for your truck.at a guess i would say $2500 would get you new tyres on rims (offroad set so you dont chew them on the road)and a snorkel and do the lift....but im only guessing here

thats about it from me... off to the garage to do some more work on the Datty

The one in the pic below goes well - they came on our Wairarapa trip in January - have since done a 2 inch lift to better accomodate the 32 inch simexes






It had no trouble pulling a couple of well stuck Range Rovers from the mud on Sunday

See also http://borg.net.nz/shelly/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=16April2006&page=18

There was a guy in the Buller club when i was down in Westport who had a SWB one.

Ran 32 X 11.5 Pede's, 50mm sus lift, modded rear bumper, snorkle, winch and a difflock to make up for it having flippers (IFS).

Went really well.

Work with what you have already, it will do for the mean time, then once a few years have passed and the origional color of the paint and the shape of the panels is a distant memory, buy a car, put the bighorn in the shed and get seriouse with a grinder

the black bighorn a manakau member is a good truck works well also have a well sorted swb in the club too with body lift , sus lift hell of a truck

A couple of guys I know up north run Bighorns, one swb, one lwb. Bothe run 32" Simex's and these can go some places!

They've done some of the toughest tracks in NZ, and have the panel damage to prove it

well it would seem they can be made into a good useable truck, mine is auto so need to be careful on tyre choice, any recomendations with the auto box??

o yea and how the hell do i put photos up, i must be missing something or i cant put them up becouse i am new .

thanks

Mates lwb is auto, and still ran 32" simexs ok. Just had to watch the beach driving as it would get the temp up if going for it.

muskie wrote:o yea and how the hell do i put photos up, i must be missing something or i cant put them up becouse i am new .

thanks

muskie.. its a bit of a trick huh?

go to photo album, go into 'user albums and start one up usin 'admin' at right of screen. once thats done, when 'add photos' has been done, open the photo(so its full viewin size) right mouse click and 'copy image address'.. then when ya doin a post, push 'Img' button and make sure you put cursor after that bit that says [img]..%20then%20right%20mouse%20click,paste%20and%20push%20'Img'%20button%20again.%20should%20look%20like%20this[/img].

hope thats somehelp.. i'm gonna go get some physio on my wrists.. i have oos from all this damn typin..

good luck!

hope this works!
[img]DSCN0585[/img]

tried it didn't work any ideas?

you have to upload it to the net somewhere first, then put the address between the IMg things

muskie wrote:hope this works!
[img]DSCN0585[/img]

tried it didn't work any ideas?

you need the full address

eg img button http://borg.net.nz/shelly/gallery/ddd.jpg img button etc

muskie wrote:hope this works!
[img]DSCN0585[/img]

tried it didn't work any ideas?

just about...

as callum007 said.. upload to an album on this site (easiest way) then do the paste between the img thang... have another nudge... you can always preview to see if it worked..

coxsy wrote:the black bighorn a manakau member is a good truck works well also have a well sorted swb in the club too with body lift , sus lift hell of a truck

Have a look here http://www.4x4isuzu.com/bighorn.html

I have a mate in taupo that put the lexus in his SW Isuzu and runs 34 inch super swampers , and the thing goes hard with no smashed CVs a lot stronger than my toyota parts , v8 has been in truck 4 years at least just needs a diff lock then he might keep up with the telexs . front lets him down some times . Welcome aboard

well got the pics in my gallery so if anyone wants to view , have a look. got brain ache now so maybe i am missing something simple, will try again tomorrow.

welll you have convinced me to stick with the bighorn and spend some cash on her, spose better the devil you know really.

Welcome to the site mate. I have a mate that runs an izuzu bighorn with 33X 10.5BFG MT's with no problems and he does some serious shit in it. Problem for him it leaks water in so much he carries a bilge pump with him, seen it in action when he got stuck on a rock in the Hope river, sth westland. Enjoy the site and look at for the new club starting soon, linked with the site.
Al

Yeh D's Isuzu (in BrentC post) goes alright and has been along on a few trips with me. Hes not scared to mix it up in the rough stuff and it handles it ok.
Not being critical, but the worse down fall is keeping it cool after its been thru the mud (being auto an all) Have had to leave it to cool on the side of the track a couple of times.

So muskie, after you've chucked some tyres on and hooks at each end, aquire a good radiator blind and keep it handy.

In regards to clubs
Otorohanga/Te Kuiti/Taumarunui - King Country 4wd club
Hamilton - Cossie club 4wheelers
- Waikato 4wd club
ORE Club on here - stay tuned

Contact details are in both NZ 4wheeling mags.

i appreciate it will never acomplish what i could do in the rangie

Bollox to that!

The Bighorn is just a long MU - and my MU goes pretty well...

If you don't want to do a SAS thats fine... do a balljoint flip in the front, tweak the torsion bars up and put in some swaybar disconnects - then down the back endp put some 50mm lifted coils in with some looong shocks and remove the rear swaybar... then do a 50mm body lift, put some 33" simexs on it and a locker in the front. You'll go further than a lot of other trucks will and you'll do it in comfort. Best of all it will cost the same or less than what you think you will loose changing vehicles.

The 3.1 is a great motor - but prone to handgrenading if not properly serviced. Remove or blank the EGRs on them as they can cause problems with the engine once it gets over 100,000km's and keep the correct mix of coolant in the radiator and check all your hoses and belts regularly - heads are an issue with them if not looked after (ask me how I know )

The autos are strong (Aisin A340 variant - used in 4WDs from the mighty Toyotas right down to the Mitsis ducks and runs for cover ), but will overheat if pushed - get an aftermarket cooler for the trans and mount it in a sensible place away from the mud. These trucks get used for towing horse floats and all sorts and do fine.

The Bighorn has a really well designed rear end for articulation, and with the swaybar gone and some long shocks (you will probably need new mounts to fit longer ones in) you'll have the rear end working really well... the front is IFS so the best thing up there is a locker - this will make up for the front wheel lifting all over the place.

Hope that helps some... stick with it - you've got a great starting point for a kick-ass 4WD

Welcome aboard (New Zealand AND the site )

Steve

supralux,

thanks for the info, im really commited to doing the isuzu for some rugged offroading now, sounds as if there are quite a few people use them, its a $6k truck which has been looked after with 150,000kms, damn reliable so like you say a good starting point.

not sure what the EGR valves are tho?? can someone tell me, mechanicaly minded i am and i do all my own spanner work, but this i have never heard of.

what size rims do people generally fit with a 2" lift, going to buy the white mangels in 15" maybe but will 7 or 8 inch rims be best, probably will go for 31x10.5x 15 or 32's?? any bigger and i think the gearing may be AFFECTED WITH THE AUTO. made this mistake with a rangie once where it made the vehicle really sluggish on the road. any suggestions for any other tyre sizes.

in the uk everthing is based around landrovers and rangies so making decisions is easy, here alot more variety of vehicles are used, in the uk noone would consider using a isuzu mu (vauxhall frontera) but i have seen some awesome mu's here that are more capable than any rangie.
i really love to see the different stuff being used.

Ive still got my 32's for sale if you want them

muskie wrote:well got the pics in my gallery so if anyone wants to view , have a look. got brain ache now so maybe i am missing something simple, will try again tomorrow.

Album here

Not sure about the mug shot though

You will regret not going for the biggest rubber you can fit in... I'd go the 33's - those motors are very strong so should be fine with the bigger tyres... if you can, join a club and try someones 33"s for a trip about town...

The EGRs are two silver valve-type things on the side of the inlet manifold of the engine... they have a brassy coloured pipe that runs over the back of the motor to the other side as well... make 3 blanking plates to fit under the two valves and the pipes and this will probably improve economy slightly, make it pull slightly harder at 100km/h and save you from scoring the #3 cylinder further down the track.

Heres a post from your old home in Pomgolia all about it :
http://www.itocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1397

Steve

Oh, and loop the little vaccuum tubes together so you don't have a vaccuum leak once done

Steve

BrentC wrote:

muskie wrote:well got the pics in my gallery so if anyone wants to view , have a look. got brain ache now so maybe i am missing something simple, will try again tomorrow.

Album here

Not sure about the mug shot though

ha ha the mug shot was so you can gauge my age, obviously from the mugshot i am only in my early twenties

SupraLux wrote:Oh, and loop the little vaccuum tubes together so you don't have a vaccuum leak once done

Steve

that is my saturday afternoon taken care of , you say 3 blanking plates not 4 then??

Cool thanks for that link Steve, noticed the valves on my Mu have no pipes onto to them at all, just open. So I'll make up a couple of little thin steel blank plates and bolt them in. Maybe even get a wee bit better fuel consumption and a pickup in performance.
And welcome Muskie, good to have another Isuzu project on the board, you should check out SupraLux's lwb 3.1td project.

muskie wrote:

SupraLux wrote:Oh, and loop the little vaccuum tubes together so you don't have a vaccuum leak once done

Steve

that is my saturday afternoon taken care of , you say 3 blanking plates not 4 then??

I think its three... I'll look and check for you...

Mongoose wrote:you should check out SupraLux's lwb 3.1td project.

LWB???? Its a MU!!!

http://www.4wdstuff.co.nz/mu

The pics are broken... but the links to the buildup are there

Steve

no no, not the Mu, the dark blue Trooper you bought. Or is that forgotten about now with all the work on other peoples' trucks.

Oh, thats a 350 Chev project... not a 3.1TD... and it was originally a 3.2V6... I'm with you now...

Its on the looong list, not a high priority any more as the MU is going in the right direction for me. It'll happen, just not this week

Steve