3.5 to 3.2???

[givegodachance]

Just got my VX back from the shop as well. The owner is a trusted one here in town with high ratings and has a ton of experience. He said he's only seen one VX...mine...but has seen this engine in a bunch of cars he's worked on...trooper and honda. He said the 3.5's have a real bad history and that the 3.2 Rodeos are way better and reliable engines. This post just reminded me of that. This engine is burning a lot of oil and leaking too at the tranny. Would love to hear how the mod goes. Might need to replace mine soon.

ill be back with pics and tell all how it went

[MSHardeman]

I am in the middle of replacing my engine too, so I've done a little research on this. From what I understand our 3.5L is just a stroked version of the original 3.2L so all of the exterior dimensions are the same for both engines and it should bolt right into place in the VX.

The theory as to why our 3.5's burn so much oil is that when Isuzu built the engines they just used some bad rings and pistons. The pistons in the 3.5 are very short so the rings are all crammed together. Also, the pistons only have a few oil drain holes in them that doesn't allow the oil to get back into the case so it gets burned in the cylinder. The new Isuzu pistons have ten or more drain holes in them and they have better rings, so the new (and sometimes rebuilt) engines don't have the oil burning issue. All of the pistons and rings in the 3.2's don't have those issues so no oil burning.

If your 3.5 is good, and you have the time, you can take the pistons out and drill the additional holes in the pistons to help stop any oil burning issues.

Good luck with your swap.

Pictures, pictures, pictures....

[joeworf]

Not to sound any false alarms, but also make sure that the engine swap (especially to an older model engine) is legal by EPA standards and especially in your home state. Virginia (Northern Virginia suburbs anyway) has very stringent rules regarding emissions and what is allowable. Wouldn't want to see the investment of a replacement engine shot down over regulatory issues. I had considered a 3.2 swap had I acquired a blown VX a while back and local and state laws appeared to negate the option since they only seemed to allow the same or newer year motors. Check first. See also below:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/for...y/27567/page1/

[pbkid]

Joe-
Theres no physical difference between the 3.2 and the 3.5 on the exterior of the motor, amd unless the inspector really knows his stuff, the only way to tell would be to get the vin off the block.

[Dmitrikr]

Joe-
Theres no physical difference between the 3.2 and the 3.5 on the exterior of the motor, amd unless the inspector really knows his stuff, the only way to tell would be to get the vin off the block.

there is only one plate with VIN number and is riveted to the cylinder head, not to the block - can be removed/replaced
(at least on four isuzus I did engine work)

[HeckaTrebeka]

I am in the middle of replacing my engine too, so I've done a little research on this. From what I understand our 3.5L is just a stroked version of the original 3.2L so all of the exterior dimensions are the same for both engines and it should bolt right into place in the VX.

The theory as to why our 3.5's burn so much oil is that when Isuzu built the engines they just used some bad rings and pistons. The pistons in the 3.5 are very short so the rings are all crammed together. Also, the pistons only have a few oil drain holes in them that doesn't allow the oil to get back into the case so it gets burned in the cylinder. The new Isuzu pistons have ten or more drain holes in them and they have better rings, so the new (and sometimes rebuilt) engines don't have the oil burning issue. All of the pistons and rings in the 3.2's don't have those issues so no oil burning.

If your 3.5 is good, and you have the time, you can take the pistons out and drill the additional holes in the pistons to help stop any oil burning issues.

Good luck with your swap.

Pictures, pictures, pictures....

So, MSHardeman, with that information have you decided to just drill the pistons of your 3.5L? Or is it too bad that you have to just sit the 3.2 in there? I'm really interested in what time/money is needed to just drill those pistons if it's going to fix my oil burning issue. I don't like having to check the oil every time I go more than 100 miles in a day...

[MSHardeman]

Hecka,

Actually Vicki goes to the mechanics tomorrow morning to have a brand new, zero mile, Isuzu 3.5L engine with the newer rings and pistons installed in her. Since I really didn't know what the problem with cylinder three was, and since she is my daily driver and I can't have her down for long, I thought it was best to just go with a new engine. I get to keep the old engine, and I will be tearing into to figure out what is going on in cylinder three, but I just didn't have the time to lay the VX up long enough to tear the engine down and figure out what was going on. My fear was that I would get into the engine and realize that it needed to be re-built, at which point the VX would have been laid up for even longer and could have run into who knows how much money.

I don't know how to drill the holes in the pistons, but the guy that I have been talking to, Jerry Lemond, does. Jerry is something of an Isuzu guru. Having worked for Isuzu for 25 years the man knows just about everything that there is to know about any Isuzu. He has drilled the pistons on a bunch of Isuzu engines and he said that he would tell me how to do it if I wanted to. I don't think that he is on VX info, but I think he prowls The Planet ( http://www.planetisuzoo.com/ ) often. I would be happy to email or call him to see if he could give us a "how-to" on drilling the pistons.

[HeckaTrebeka]

I would be happy to email or call him to see if he could give us a "how-to" on drilling the pistons.

Personally, I don't think I would be able to handle something like this on my own but I bet that a lot of people on here would like to know how to drill that last piston. I think it would be an awesome idea to have him write up a How-To if he has time

[nfpgasmask]

If your 3.5 is good, and you have the time, you can take the pistons out and drill the additional holes in the pistons to help stop any oil burning issues.....

I've thought of doing that with my VX. Once my Impulse and my 91 Trooper are done and running again, I want to restore the RS. So if I can get to that point, I thought it might be prudent to pull the VX motor and have it professionally pulled apart, cleaned, rebuilt and "fixed" so that it doesn't burn oil going forward. Now, all of this takes time, and the older I get the more I realize I just don't have enough!

You doing a 3.5 or 3.2 in yours, Mark?

Bart

[MSHardeman]

You doing a 3.5 or 3.2 in yours, Mark?

Bart, having a brand new Isuzu 3.5 installed starting tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that Vicki will be up and running at full strength by Friday evening.

[nfpgasmask]

NICE! Where did you find a brand new 3.5? Did you buy it directly from Isuzu? Musta been pricey!

Bart

[MSHardeman]

Actually got it through Jerry Lemond who still has some pull at the Isuzu warehouses. It was a bit pricey, but the peace of mind knowing that it has the new piston's and rings, and isn't a rebuilt/remanufactured motor was worth it. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently the engine came with everything (valve covers, water pump, timing belt, timing belt covers, oil pan, etc., etc.) on it minus the intake so the swap shouldn't take as long because all of that stuff doesn't have to be transfered from my old engine to the new one.

When the order was put in for the engine last Monday, there were only 16 of these engines left in the country.