Member
Originally Posted by 8695Beaters
^^^This is EXACTLY what I meant when I was asking about "are there any trouble spots I should look out for?" Losing oil would be a concern! What is the oil consumption issue and what is the fix?
Super VXer
Many of them use up oil. Some do not. The solution is check oil when you fill up and top it off if it low.
"Take it up with my butt, cuz he's the only one that gives a crap"
Carter Pewterschmidt
Super VXer
The oil consumption issue, as others have said, is hit or miss. Some VX's burn a LOT others don't burn any. My VX used to burn 3/4 or a quart of oil every +/-350 miles. I say "used to" because I had to replace my engine at about 130k miles, but not because it starved itself of oil. Like just about everyone here I would check my oil at EVERY gas fill up and top it off as needed. I ended up burning a couple of valves in cylinder three of my old engine which is why I had to replace it.
The leading theory on the oil consumption is that in the original 3.5L engines Isuzu did not drill enough/ large enough oil drain back holes in the pistons so the oil couldn't get back into the engine on the piston down stroke and would just get burned up during the combustion stroke. Crazy thing is that, to my knowledge, none of us see the tell tale blue smoke of an oil burning engine (or get the burned oil smell for that matter).
The fix for all of this, IF your VX is burning oil, is to either replace the engine with a new 3.5L engine which has bigger/more oil drain back holes drilled in the pistons, tear down your existing (or a used) 3.5L engine and drill the holes in the pistons yourself, install a 3.2L engine (used or otherwise), or do a complete engine swap for something else (diesel, V8, etc.).
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
-Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
Member
$engine?
What did your engine replacement cost? I would have to take this to a shop to do the work as I am not mechanically inclined to work on my own vehicles, nor do I have the time. Would you recommend an Isuzu dealer or a more generic shop? Are 3.5L engines (new) easy to find?
Super VXer
I can't exactly remember, but I think the new engine was around $5700. I took my VX to a local shop that I trusted to do the engine swap (not a dealer, Isuzu or otherwise) and they charged me $1,500ish to put the new engine in. Here is the thread where I delivered the sad news about needing a new engine: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...t=22812&page=5
Isuzu has pulled out of the consumer car market in the US so there really aren't any Isuzu dealers left, just dealers that used to sell and service Isuzu's.
As for finding a new 3.5L; that is getting harder and harder to do. When I bought mine I was told that there were only 16 new 3.5L crate motors in the US so I have a feeling that number is way down now if not already at zero.
A few others here have either had their engines rebuilt, installed used engines, or installed refurbished engines and I think most of them haven't had a problem.
Hope that helps some.
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