1991 Isuzu Impulse XS from North America - Comments

Timing chain broke at 220000 km, it was replaced by the previous owner.

Rear-right tail light assembly began absorbing moisture and shorting out lighting circuit at 245000 km, I drained out the assembly of water, re-sealed it and repaired the wiring and terminals.

After changing brake pads at 260000 km, rear brake caliper's bolt threading was worn beyond re-fastening. Both calipers were replaced.

Ignition module failed at 265000 km, factory original. Aftermarket module was installed. This did not entirely solve the problem as it still has a tendency to idle extremely low after rapid deceleration.

Currently, the clutch bearing is beginning to hiss, as part of transmission wear, gears are becoming hard to shift into, and rust has rapidly accumulated around the rear wheel wells.

I am simply amazed at the car's durability, let alone it's style. With the amount of rust that it has, and the hail damage it has endured, people still turn heads for this car. A dark blue color sets the greatest tone, matching the car's low profile.

Believe it or not, the clutch is still factory original at 270000 km! It has ceased to amaze me that after a lot of abuse that I have put this car through, everything is still mechanically sound; with a few minor exceptions.

Did I mention great fuel economy? 400-425 km to a tank of about 40 liters (12.4 gallons).

However, the engine and road noise is considerably high in this car, and putting people in the backseat will be quite difficult for anyone above 5 feet tall.

Finding a car like this is hard, but if you do, the price tag is dirt cheap (around $2000 used), and so are parts too!

Where do you get the parts? I am looking for a muffler. I am being quoted 400 dollars.

Um, just go down to your local muffler shop and have them weld in just about any generic muffler to your liking? $400 is insane. Even most aftermarket high performance mufflers for high-end cars cost less than $400.

As for a muffler for this beauty of mine, I customized it myself, using parts from Canadian Tire. If you're a US resident, I'm sure a pep boys or auto zone will carry the cherry bomb line of mufflers, then re-fit using piping in-store. No real big problem with doing that, so long as you know a bit about mounting exhaust. Oh, by the way.. my car is STILL running, I'm up to 292000km now. At 300000, I think I'll throw a tailgate party for it.

I have the same car, but light blue. I can agree with most of you stuff too. I have beaten this car so much. I used to drive "rally" on my backg roads all the time, where huge rocks would hit against the bottom of the car. When I bought it, the clutch was slipping a little, so I adjusted the cable to the point where it is basically hanging loose without the clutch pressed. That was about 2 years ago and the clutch is still holding strong.

I am right now in the process of changing my driver side axle due to a broken CV-joint (probably due to the rally or/and a ripped boot). I can say that the car as > 130k miles and that it never ever broke down on me since the 2 years I had it.

Very sporty, good handling and to me its pretty quick too, I love this car so much.

Should also mention that I have never seen the same car on the street yet.