1989 Isuzu Trooper review from North America

Bought the truck with a blown engine and a bad alternator and starter.

Rear brake calipers seized.

Master cylinder needed replaced at 152,000 miles.

Front hubs are automatic, and are permanently engaged. They need to be replaced with high-quality manual hubs.

Rebuilt engine blew up again at 157,000 miles, through no fault of the original manufacturer of the engine. This was taken care of at a leisurely pace by the guy who rebuilt it, who claimed engine parts were hard to find, which they are NOT.

The truck is sparse and utilitarian, which is what I like in a 4x4, the styling is perfect for what it is. I bought it for $50 with a blown engine, which I had rebuilt, and I've done all the other work on it myself. It's very easy to work on, and very little has gone wrong with it, considering the price, mileage, and age. The exterior is beat up, but that's mostly from my off-road abuse, which it handles without skipping a beat. At approximately 159,000 miles I ran over a log on a trail, which liberated the muffler and tailpipe from the rest of the exhaust system. Now it's pretty darn loud. It has a powerful aftermarket stereo system though, so I can compensate for this easily. (That's a joke, get it? ha ha)

The five-speed manual transmission and 4.56:1 gears and 2.66:1 low range in the transfer case make crawling up steep grades not only simple, but a pleasure, which is helped by the torque-laden V6 engine.