Jackaroo search ... still going ...

I just Bought mine!!!!!!!!
1992 jackaroo xs (private buy) $10,000
225,000 kilometers and goes well. I had my mechanic go through it for me and all he found was worn clutch( not worn out!) one front bearing needed repacking and limited slip diff not so lsd anymore. The car is not noisey as such as we can talk to each other without having to raise our voices and the only time it is noisey is when you put your boot into it. no discernible inside noises accept at rear door. there is a noise coming from there as though there is something loose. not overly noticable but when you look at cars you pick everything at first.
No serious offroad work has been done by previous owner as it was very clean underneath. My mechanic (Eddie) told me to look for signs of paint worn of protection plates and dents in protection plates as well. The only 4wd'ing I have done was my front gutter 150 mm high concrete and then 300 high of rapidly rising lawn, did it in two wheel drive like it was nothing(impressed this Newbie)
Eddie told me it was in the right price range for the kays! No signs of previous smashes or thing fixed up
I can honestly say I'm as happy as a pig in @#$%.
The only thing I have found not to my liking is how it steers. It seems very loose to start with.Other than that I have never ever owned a 4wd before but I like this one.

regards
Sparkie(IE not Y);-)

Hi Cazo,
Its nice to know there are some honest salemen out there and he should give you a commission for the plug you gave him. The jackaroos are a nice compromise between getting off the bitumen and collecting the groceries. There are plenty of them out there and you should have no trouble finding a good one.

All the best with looking
Paul.

caz- I own a 1992 one (Melbourne) which I am thinking of selling- I have the full history etc. (I am 2nd owner)- great vehicle for us but thinking of a ute- don't want to look like I'm trying to offload a vehicle on you, but if you have any interest at all for more details etc. I'm at: ajt@alphalink.com.au- it'd be less than 15K's, as I reckon that's too much for a '92. Cheers TonyT

Hi Cazo,

Yep, the 3.2 can be noisy if oil changes haven't been done religiously as scheduled. The noise issue comes up from crud building up in the valve lifters over time, leading to a tapping noise when operating.

I think there is another thread on this forum about it, but the other Isuzu forums have lots on the issue. Try -

E-ZooZoo on Yahoo, or Isuzu Trooper forum on Yahoo

Getting an inspection and walking away was a good move.

Hi Cazo,
My son, Jacob, is doing well. The problem is, he is 9 year old going on 15. With the rapid onset of winter he constantly tells me, "I don't feel the cold. I don't need to rug up. cough cough." So I let him have his way. He thought having a day at home would be be fun, but a few days in bed wollowing in his own self pity wasn't what he expected. He'll be back at school Monday and is now wearing slippers and warm clothes. I heard a fragment of a song this morning on the radio. The lyrics went,"Too young to learn and too old to listen..." That about sums him up.

On the Jackaroo front, have you thought about contacting a car broker or a wholesaler. You put in your order and they source vehicles across Australia that are traded. There are a lot of quality vehicles traded and get distributed to car yards. Costs are below car yard prices, but you don't get a warranty. Its like buying privately but you don't do the shopping around and cars can be sourced from further afield. You can always take out one of those private warranties if you feel you need one.

Happy shopping. Take care
Paul

Hi again Cazo, good to see you left that little heapa alone, as i said it sounded a bit sus.. Good luck with your search, anyone i know with one certainly aren't in a hurry to sell e'm..

RE the 'vague steering', the jackaroos have a very strong power steering system and this is why they don't run steering dampers at all. This means that they dont need much encouragement to change direction. A good wheel alignment helps greatly as stated , Also they have a vibration damper in the steering column in the engine bay which over time develops a slight 'play' and contributes to a bit of the loose feeling . I am working on a fix to this as there isn't one currently available, trying to come up with somthing that can be done 'in-situ' without removing too many parts, possibly shimming / possibly coating. Will let everyone know when i finally work it out.

If you drive with a loose grip on the wheel it isn't too bad.