Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

[chrismcw]

Hello all this is my 1st post so go eazy on me!!!
last week a bought a swb 1997 3.1 trooper duty what a machine she is but i never got a user man with her
its snowing badly up her just now so i thought i would take her out she how she is in the snow she was ok till i tryed to get back up my drive and she was just spining i tryed to put her into 4wd usign the stick but the light would not come on and she would not engage is there some think i need todo to get her in 4wd.
sorry i am sure you have problay all answered this question a good few time but as i say i do not have a user man so i am not sure what todo.

thanks very much

Cheers

[Google]

[DYLAN]

With it being a 97 i'm not sure if it's SOFT (shift on the fly) if so it's just a button that flicks it over, Have you got 2WH 4WH and 4WL on the shifter or just 4WH and 4WL?
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2002 S-TYPE JAGUAR 3.0 SPORT

[DYLAN]

lol that should have been SOTF  
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2002 S-TYPE JAGUAR 3.0 SPORT

[DYLAN]

scrap that i just looked at
THIS
and it looks as if it would still be on the shifter.
some of the lads will be along to help you soon.
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2002 S-TYPE JAGUAR 3.0 SPORT

[jimmie]

You should have Sotf (shift on the fly) on your trooper and from the sound of it, sounds like theres a problem with the front actuator that locks the front axle. The sensor on the actuator sends the signal to your 4wd light on your dash to say its in 4wd. I suggest jacking the front wheels up, selecting 4wd Hi or Lo, spin one of the front wheels and see if the other side spins, if it does not then the actuator is  not engaging.

[MikT725]

I got the exact same problem on thurs drove into a snowy driveway got stuck went for 4high and got b***er all, having already spent some time under the front axle i believe i have finally worked out how it all works:

The actuator which locks the front axle is vacum operated via two solenoid valves VSVs (vacum solenoid valves) which are in turn switched either on (2wd) or off (4wd) by a switch in the transfer box operated by the transfer lever or by the 4wd button in the higher end models. There is a problem with the switch in the transfer box on mine as when i shift into 4high the voltage is still present at both plugs on the VSVs and if i unplug them i get the front axle locked and the indicator lamp on. When power is supplied (2wd) to the VSVs one applies vacum to one side of actuator and the other valve admits air into the other side of the actuator via a small air filter on the end of the tubing in the engine bay allowing it to shift and to disengages the front axle, when the lever is moved to 4 high/4 low it comes off of the switch in the transfer box turning off the power to the VSVs which changover to apply vacum and free air to opposite sides of the actuator.
Btw the switch for the 4x4 lamp is just to the side of the VSVs on the axle it looks like a big nut with 2 wires coming out if your axle IS locking it could be this thats at fault, or the bulb in the dash lol.
Hope this can be of help and i apologise if somebody has already gone through all this  and if anyone knows how to get at the switch in the transfer box i would appreciate some pointers
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1999 3.1td SWB Trooper.  RIP
2004 3.1td LWB

[jimmie]

Your spot on there with the descripition of how it works, I had the very same problem with the transfer box switch, I can tell you how to get to it with pics. Dont do what I did and try to get it from underneath, its a waste of time, its all done inside, and this is how -

First of all unscrew the gear knobs and push the gear lever gaitor down or remove it to disconnect the switches in the middle surround, push the switches up out of the casing and disconnect them  -


Remove 2 screws from both sides holding the middle surround in place and remove -

There is 4 bolts and 2 screws holding the metal surround (you may need to peel some of the carpet back to get to these bolts) -

To the right front of the 4wd selector lever you will see the 4wd switch -


This only takes about 10-15 mins to do and is not that tricky.  

Because I never wanted to run the risk of this playing up during off roading I decided to fit some manual hubs, fix the actuator in 4wd by connecting the vacuum pipe direct to the 4wd side of the actuator , and for the 4wd light on the dash I ran two cables from the 4wd actuator switch connections to the switch on the transfer case.

[chrismcw]

thanks for all your help guys i have had a looking around the inside and i can not find a switch for the 4WD the only switch i have thats down beside the gear nobs is the switch for the aerial i have also tryed to put her in 4wd when moving but it will not allow me. does this mean i have manuel hubs?? i did remove the hub caps but could not see a switch just a ovel cab under neeth do i need to remove the allen keys bolts to find the switch under here for putting her into 4wd??

cheers
chris

[fletch]

The switch is on the dash above the radio

You have to be in 4wheel drive before you can move the lever to engage low ratio {it lock when not in 4wheel drive}

[jimmie]

[chrismcw]

Alright Jimmie yeah i can not get the stick to move into 4wd hi/lo when i am moving only when she is stoped and i do not have a switch on the dash
the leaver will go into 4wd hi/lo but is just not engaging the wheel

cheers
chris

[jimmie]

Ok, first thing to do is put the transfer case lever into 4wd lo or high, jack both front wheels up off the ground, spin one wheel and see if the other side spins. If the other side does not spin, then at least we know the problem is with the actuator on the front axle.

[chrismcw]

jimmie i had her jacked up today so i put her into 4wd and spun the front wheel and it just spun on its own so do you think this is pointin towards the acuator or could one of the hubs possably be stuck??

cheers
Chris

[jimmie]

So the actuator is not engaging from 2wd to 4wd on the axle. Next thing to do is to find out if its a problem with the actuator, vsv's, vacuum or electrics. Jack the front up again and place it on axle stands. While in 4wd pull the vacuum pipe off the 4wd side of the actuator and check to see if there is slight suction from the pipe(The actuator is located on the N/S front axle) . If there is no suction,  select 2wd and check to see if the 2wd vacuum pipe is sucking.


If the 2wd is sucking and 4wd is not, check the connections going to the vsv's, this might be to technical for you to fix, but at least you can point a garage in the right direction. There is some diagrams and info on how to check the vsv's here - http://www.itocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11427
Let me know how you get on,  I will try and give you more suggestions if required.

[chrismcw]

cheers for that jimmie my mate a mechanic so he is going to have a look at it next weekend for me so at least i have a few pointers for him now thanks to your info. i will let you ken how i get on

cheers
chris