$2200 repair bill

So I bought my VX a couple weeks ago, just got it registered last Friday and brought it in today for state inspection.
... it failed miserably

I knew the exhaust had a hole, I knew the tires were bad (but I would hoping they were good enough to pass), the brakes were a little uneven but I didn't think they'd fail, and with my good luck the CEL went on the day before my appointment :mad:

-They wanted to put an OEM exhaust on they said it would be $850 for the exhaust alone (haha yeah right)
-The CEL was from the EGR valve throwing a low voltage code.
-The brakes needed new rotors and the calipers were sticking a little (they look pretty bad honestly, I was going to buy rebuilt ones anyway) they also said some garbage about having to repack the bearings which seemed a little odd to me.
-2 of the tires were completely warn on the inside and that means that all 4 should be replaced obviously

oh yeah and I had a plate light out (son of a...)

I took it to this shop because I KNEW the exhaust needed to be replaced and I've had them do custom exhaust work before, after talking to their exhaust guy directly they quoted me $250 to have a custom exhaust built... apparently it will be a little louder than stock (fine by me :smilewink )

I told them I would take care of the rest of it myself... I will, but I have some questions....

1. Anyone know where the EGR is located on these things? it shares the part with GM and I can find them new and cheap on ebay, also theres a guide on planetisuzoo for fixing this EGR problem so I'll try to fix it, failing that I'll just buy and install a new one... if I can find the damn thing.

2. I really wanted to go bigger on the tires but there's no way I can afford a lift right now with all these other repairs.... even still is it possible to fit 265/75/R16s on the factory 16" wheels with no lift? that size would look pretty good IMO and if I'm going to buy new I'd like to at least go a little bigger. it's only an extra 1" in radius and 1" in width over stock.

3. Brakes... I've never heard anyone here mention having to repack the bearings when replacing the rotors. ... the calipers I've got are horribly rusty and I was going to replace them anyway (along with some SS lines) but the sets I've seen on eBay are all single piston... are the FRONT brakes on this thing really SINGLE piston?!? that seems quite small for such a heavy vehicle.

Does anyone know of a compatible bigger caliper?

4. I think the FSM I ordered came in today, I also just purchased an OBDII reader so I can run my own diagnostics and clear codes. Is there any other tips and advice the VX community could provide to help me out here?

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

3. Brakes... I've never heard anyone here mention having to repack the bearings when replacing the rotors.

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You have to repack the bearings to change the front rotors. I am looking at this job myself. Go straight to Autozone for the rotors - OEM rotors will cost you $250 EACH and may take quite a while to get. But check on the availability of the OEM calipers, because I paid all of $160 or so for one at the dealership last year. Don't cut corners on the calipers - you don't want to leave them in and have them warp up your rotors after going through all that work!

I have the Isuzu hub tool if you want to pay for my shipping it to you (only necessary if you want to torque the hub correctly afterward).


Also, if your tires were worn on the inside, then have your alignment fixed (it's out, buddy) when you get new tires. I have a set of barely-worn Continentals that came with my VX sitting in the shed - they are yours for free if you feel like driving to CT for them!

yeah I realize the alignment is out, it's on the list of things to get fixed just not required for the inspection.

thanks for the offer on the tires but I think a road trip to CT would be cost prohibitive... not to mention the only vehicle with the cargo room to haul said tires back is the VX and well... it needs some work before it's ready for a trip like that :rolleyes:

I'm definitly going to replace the calipers... I was going to go re-manufactured, normally I'd have the current set sandblasted and rebuilt but I think they're beyond that. I was mostly curious if the OEM calipers are indeed single piston, and if so... is there something BETTER I could upgrade to? two piston at least...

I'll checkout autozone for calipers, I've heard that they do rebuilt calipers with a core exchange for cheap too... might be worth it.

As for that hub tool... where'd you get it? if it's not too expensive I'd be inclined to buy a set for myself so I can service it on my own in the future.

try cleaning the EGR instead of replacing it. its located at the top of the engine bay, passenger side just to the side of the engine block itself. there is one 12mm bolt showing and another symetrically on the other side that you cant see but its relatively easy to get to still

take those two bolts out, lift the top of the EGR off, fill it with sensor safe carb cleaner and let it sit filled with it. then plug the hole towards the firewall with a sharpie or something and with the engine running spray the carb cleaner into the open hole for a while to clean it out.

most people say when they clean the egr, their gasket is re-usable, mine was too but it was easy to justify replacing it, the gasket looked in tact.. but not pretty, and it was only a like 6-10 dollar part from merlin

I found a guide here on fixing that error:
http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/viewto...ighlight=p0405

the EGR and gasket looks to be a generic unit found on most Isuzus this age as well as most GMs... I've heard of trooper owners replacing theirs with used ones off of a Cadillac and having it bolt right on and plug in with no problems ;)

First thing I'm going to check is corrosion on the connector, failing that I'll follow that guide to checkout/clean the contact... my specific error is for "low voltage" which means the computer isn't getting a reliable signal from the contacts on the valve sensor... cleaning might help... if it's dirty, if the senor is warn it wont do anything for me though. I've already got a contact pen like the one used in the guide I linked so this will be my first option...

no harm in cleaning it at the same time though :bwgy:

Any idea if those tires will fit? someone on planet isuzoo said that the biggest you can go without lifting would be 265/70/R16...

the only code i threw when i completely removed the EGR was the P0405 code.. so I'm thinking any problem at all with the EGR gives that code, i think cleaning it will clear it up crossing my fingers!

oh yea as for the bearings.. they are recommended to be repacked every 30k but i cant see them affecting your inspection.. while you are replacing the brakes its probably a good idea to do them though

I've never done bearings before (ironic because I work for a bearing manufacturer :p )

is there a guide on how to "repack" them? is this something that is covered in the FSM?

As for the EGR... there are a number of codes associated with it. I have a book with all the codes and what they mean... P0406 for instance is a "high voltage" error, and P0404 is a "stuck open" error IIRC. I looked at the the EGR code sheet when I was looking up my code and there were at least a dozen codes for the EGR alone.

P0405 seems to be the most common error with these particular style valves though.

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

2. I really wanted to go bigger on the tires but there's no way I can afford a lift right now with all these other repairs.... even still is it possible to fit 265/75/R16s on the factory 16" wheels with no lift? that size would look pretty good IMO and if I'm going to buy new I'd like to at least go a little bigger. it's only an extra 1" in radius and 1" in width over stock.

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Can't afford the lift? If an additional $120 for OME912s is gonna break you after all that, then no, you can't afford it. But to me, if you are willing to spend $120 more, you can get lifted with no problem. Stick in the OME912s, crank your front torsion bars, and do any of the "extra" stuff later. All I did was springs and so far so good.

I only say this, because I made the mistake of buynig a new full set of 245/70/R16s and then a year later I lifted and spent another boatload of money on bigger tires. So, if you want to go with 275s, do it, and spend the extra $120 on OME 912s and be done with it!!!

:) Bart

I was under the impression that I would have to get more than just some springs in the rear... the kits people have linked to include new shocks, as well as a boat load of other stuff...

I won't destroy the factory shocks cranking up the springs?

... the other issue is that the shop might not like the new ride height for inspection either :rolleyes:

Yes, there are a couple of threads on repacking bearings and replacing rotors. One was definitely from the last 3-4 months, as well. Search and you shall find.

I got the hub tool here for about $50 shipped. It is:
Isuzu FW Bearing Locknut Socket OTC7698
Part#: OTC7698
Manufacturer Part#: OTC-7698

Point taken about the tires. I expected as much, but I figured I'd offer anyway. I should get rid of them, but I'd rather they go on someone's car than to the recycler.

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

I was under the impression that I would have to get more than just some springs in the rear... the kits people have linked to include new shocks, as well as a boat load of other stuff...

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Well, you can of course get new shocks, bump stops, CV boots, etc etc. But you don't NEED that stuff. I have been lifted now with just the springs in the rear with no issues. I go off road a lot and I think I will eventually get the bigger bump stops for the rear end, because my tires rub in my wheel wells when I flex out, but other than that, I have had zero issues. Of course, I may eventually need new CV boots, and there is a risk that yours could tear right away, which would mean you need to get that fixed too, but so far so good for me. (knock on wood).

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

I won't destroy the factory shocks cranking up the springs?

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Nope. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

... the other issue is that the shop might not like the new ride height for inspection either :rolleyes:

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Can't help you there. I don't know how your state looks at that sort of thing, but you are going to have to trim your cladding up front aanyway, so just get the new tires, trim your cladding, get inspected, then throw the 912s on when you get home! ;)

Bart

[QUOTE=VehiGAZ;133294]Yes, there are a couple of threads on repacking bearings and replacing rotors. One was definitely from the last 3-4 months, as well. Search and you shall find.

I got the hub tool here for about $50 shipped. It is:
Isuzu FW Bearing Locknut Socket OTC7698
Part#: OTC7698
Manufacturer Part#: OTC-7698[QUOTE]

The hub tool is an un-necessary expense IMO...you can loosen/tighten/adjust the retaing collar with a 1/4" pin punch.

The bearing pre-load is checked with a fish scale...I prefer the digital one I got at Harbor Freight.:_wrench:

Here's a link to Kenny's excellent write up about replacing the front rotors and repacking the front bearings. It also has a link to the Planet Isuzu write up on the same thing. I used both of these when I did my rotor replace/ front bearing repack and everything came out just fine.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...front+bearings

Like Bart said, you really only need the springs to lift. Ldub lifted my VX in a parking lot in Moab, and the only thing that I have had to do was to get the front end re-aligned. Other wise the stock shocks are just fine and so far my CV boots are good too.

We can fit 285/60/18s with no lift at all (31.5 x 11.2).

Which would be like a 285/70/16 (31.7 x 11.2) or 285/65/16 (30.6 x 11.2)would be even smaller than the 285/60/18s that I had on prelift for years, but these sizes really don't exsist, so:

275/70/16 (31.2 x 10.8) should be fine no lift needed:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...40&rd=16&ar=70
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...48&rd=16&ar=70
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...17&rd=16&ar=70

To go to 285/75-16's you would need the $120 spring lift:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...97&rd=16&ar=75
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...94&rd=16&ar=75

oh or 295/75-16 (33.4 x 11.6) after the lift would be my choice if I had to stay with 16s:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...95&rd=16&ar=75
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...55&rd=16&ar=75
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...97&rd=16&ar=75

I bought my hub tool at NAPA for $24 and ground down the knubs so they'll fit the VX (it was for some other truck). However it really wasn't needed. Once the 3 screws are removed the retaining ring taps out as already mentioned - there's hardly any real torque on it. Buy a set of screws for each side in case you strip out any of the heads (common) but if you use a new screw tip/driver that's the right size you shouldn't have any problem.

To make things easier, you can get a bearing repacking kit - it's a double white cone that the bearing fits between - top cone fits the threads on a grease gun - I used that green grease that's rated for water submersion on trailers but anything rated higher than the manual will work fine. While the bearings are out check for any scoring. I found the kit at Harbor Freight for around $5 but I've seen it at Discount Auto Parts for around $9.

I found a new in box EGR on eBay for $90 (shipped from Puerto Rico from a closed Isuzu dealership) and as you said, it's a GM replacement part and works fine.

How about finding some used tires local to you to replace the two that are worn, just to pass inspection? It could buy you some time until you do the lift.

-- John

I had them do the exahust custom and paid fore the (failed) inspection, and told them I would look into the rest of it myself.

They did a great job on the exhaust, sounds great, not too loud.

I've ordered a set of stainless brake lines, I think I might order some rebuilt calipers and do the lines and calipers myself and have them do the rotors and repack the bearings ... I'll probably get a quote for just that first.

great idea on finding tires local johnnyapollo,
I'll start hitting up craigslist.

some time this weekend I'll tear off the EGR and clean it out... hopefully it's not rust welded in place :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by twistedsymphony

great idea on finding tires local johnnyapollo,
I'll start hitting up craigslist.

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/275-7...spagenameZWD1V

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/275-7...spagenameZWD1V

I have used these guys before, they are local for me, but doesn't help much because they offer free shipping.