Isuzu Bighorn or something else?

I’m wanting to get a 4x4 diesel of some sort & have been looking around for a while.

I’m not wanting to get into serious 4x4 driving, just to have the ability of driving a bit off road down farm tracks when need to with the kids as we have a bigger need for a 4x4 now that we’re here in the south.

I’ve been looking at a few Isuzu Bighorn 95-99 models as I have $5,000 at hand & not too keen on getting into finance although I don’t have a problem getting finance for $15,000 or so I’ve just never owned a vehicle over $9,000

One Isuzu with 260,000 km I’m looking at has an oil leak of some kind underneath & without getting it into a mechanic I won’t know what the exact issue(s) are so I was wondering to those who have owned one... is there a common issue with them for oil leaks? What to look out for... recommendations etc when looking at the Bighorns?

I’m open to ideas... thinking of others options like a Toyota Prado as another option or a good ol double cab Ute of Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi L200

Anyone recommendations of vehicles & if anyone’s seen one lately then feel free to PM me

Older autos can be hit and miss with them good units but tiny filter and never gets changed. Also something about injectors apart from that they go real well.

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For the record. I have a 2004 mitsi challenger with 262 km on the clock. Not serviced as much as it should be, but I do keep up on oil changes etc .
LWB, so can (and has) given a couple of headaches, but with good rubber it gets me where I want to go and then some.

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Originally Posted by Pengy

For the record. I have a 2004 mitsi challenger with 262 km on the clock. Not serviced as much as it should be, but I do keep up on oil changes etc .
LWB, so can (and has) given a couple of headaches, but with good rubber it gets me where I want to go and then some.

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My SWB Pajero is 11 years older than yours, been drowned in a river (Ashburton) twice by its owner and still goes ok but it aint new or tidy. I would buy another in a second,

The Bighorn is a great 4x4. LSD's are built the same as Safari/Patrols and from the same factory, much better than the Nissan and Toyota offerings of the same era/class. The engines and gearboxes are well proven. Oil leak could come from anywhere, you'd need to clean it up and find out where.

we had a bighorn, but the isuzu mu beat it hands down offroad

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Originally Posted by gonetropo

we had a bighorn, but the isuzu mu beat it hands down offroad

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Pretty much Same running gear and half the weight....

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Originally Posted by gonetropo

we had a bighorn, but the isuzu mu beat it hands down offroad

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Had an old mu, brought for 1000 spent 200 getting on the road and then thrashed it for a couple of years, got good at replacing cvs and bearing.... Well worth putting LWB leaf springs in and winding the front up for a bit more clearance. Was a 2.8 and had plenty of get up and go, the 3.2 would have been impressive.

I notice you left Terranos off the list??? we've had a good run out of ours and touch wood it continues.

I had a Mu 3.1, intercooled it and put 33s on it and with open diffs it was near unstoppable, certainly embarrassed a lot of higher spec'ed and higher priced rigs.
with the 3.1 and the intercooler a little extra boost it was bloody grunty as.
I would have another in a heartbeat if I didn't need the extra seat as it only seats 2 in the back

now that I am in the older car owner category the one thing I have learnt is that all the older diesels (pajeros, surfs, nissans and isuzus) all start to give you dramas when they get up to 300000k's.
Mitsi's 4m40 and Toyota ikz are bad for cooking heads once the cooling system is neglected and people tow with them when they are nudging the 3 coin mark
I've heard the 3.2 Isuzu diesels are more problematic than the earlier 3.1's.
Same goes for the Nissan 3.2. Go like the clappers but they can cause expensive dramas but I cant remember what it was.
best old school diesel was the 2.7 Nissan with the cast (not alloy) head. Very hard to kill. Once every manufacturer went to alloy heads they just don't last as long compared to the iron head units.
3.2 mitsis need the egr system thrown away and the intake cleaned right out. They clog up with crap form the exhaust soot and oil mist from the breather. This is probably indicative of all of them probably. EGR is a PITA.
the 2.5 mazda/ford engines are also as bad if not worse than any of them. Some of them have metallic layered gaskets. Once things get hot and they lose a little tension
its no good.
I do know that the older 3.5 Toyota diesels didn't like getting hot either. Acquaintance had one years ago. If they got hot the lip on the top of the liners got weak and could break then they went up and down with the piston causing all sorts of dramas. he did it twice.
Cant say I've heard issues about the bigger 4.2 Nissan and Toyota engines but if they are a cast not alloy head maybe that's the reason.
I own a 2.8 94 Pajero. Done the head gasket and then a year later a whole other timing case, cam, timing chain and some gears, couple of valves and guides after a timing chain went on me and put a whole in the case.
If I didn't get a bunch of stuff for basically nothing and do all the assembly work myself (engine reco mob did the head repair work) it would've been a throw away.
Cost more to fix than practical.
Had a 3.2 v6LWB bighorn years ago. very comfy wagon and went well. Geez did it like a drink of petrol if you give it the jandal though.
I was told they are only 200 kilos lighter than a Nissan patrol/safari. They had a very heavy and strong chassis.

i had a swb 94 big horn and it ran like a trouper never broke down but i did service it every 10000 km got it at 89000km and sold it at 250000km ,then got a 04 lwb pajero at 195000km and is still going strong at 350000km .both diesel powered ,did all services myself,the pajero might be up for sale soon as looking to get a newer truck

Have a Nissan Regulus 1996which I purchased off here, 3.2 Diesel Turbo 290,000 on the clock. Great vehicle, used for hunting and down the shops. Owned for 12 months straight thru 2 wof checks. Would buy another tomorrow. Have had new utes every 3 years for the last 20 years as a hunting wagon. Usually costs $15000 to change, if I get 3 years out of this Nissan it's cost me $5000.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I notice you left Terranos off the list??? we've had a good run out of ours and touch wood it continues.

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They had a bad habit of rusting out under the back seat. The engines were god though.

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Originally Posted by gadgetman

They had a bad habit of rusting out under the back seat. The engines were god though.

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No rust in my Regulus

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Originally Posted by gadgetman

They had a bad habit of rusting out under the back seat. The engines were god though.

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The D21s yes, the R50s weren't bad, the zd was a bit of a pig though. Had a 3.2 r50 for a while as a company car for a while, reliable comfy, prob wouldn't do anything more than a bit of gravel though :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Tommy

The D21s yes, the R50s weren't bad, the zd was a bit of a pig though. Had a 3.2 r50 for a while as a company car for a while, reliable comfy, prob wouldn't do anything more than a bit of gravel though :thumbsup:

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I was warned off the D21's because of the rust from a lip behind/under the back seat, and ZD was a lemon of an engine, the R50 was a shiny 'soft roader' that had lost it's predecessors off road capabilities. They all suffered the same relatively weak LSD setup, along with the Hilux. They worked for a while but were always being shimmed to get them to work after not many km.

So to sum up everything's shit when it gets old. Maybe buy a bicycle , or walk,

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Originally Posted by sneeze

So to sum up everything's shit when it gets old. Maybe buy a bicycle , or walk,

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The new shit tends to be more shit than the old shit when it comes to 4x4's doing actual 4x4 shit unless you spend about 50% of the purchase price on upgrading shit. In the ~3l class of the mid 90's I think the best of them would be the Isuzus (Bighorn/mu). Their engines and running gear are solid and well proven and their prices have gone up considerably over the last couple of years. Similar to the Hilux's of the same era. The Bighorns are much roomier inside than the Navara/Hilux double cabs.

Ihad aNZ assembeld New 1993 nissan pathfinder 3ltre ,manual given to me by my sister (wanted rid of it) .son fitted heavier suspension 2"bodylift and i had the old sheila for 7yrs before it blew up on otira .son found a nissan motor in ashburton to fit -went to put it in only to discover somehow crankshaft had been broken -saved the mags &tyres off her.rarity was she was the last model that had drum handbrake on rear drums -mid 1993 they went to internal drum of rear discs for h/brake .my cable crapped out -couldnt source one in australasia -ended up modifying a later model one.that truck did me magnificent service in all sorts of situations.
,sons mate sold me his hilux -reco'd motor manual desiel -FMRblew the head on that on Otira too -has had new head fitted by son who suspects injector system may have a fault.
smiffy big hearted bugger he is has offered to assist gettin her back on the road ,original owner keen to buy it back!
hmmm -debating wether i keep it and give it death or look for a slightly more modern scrub crusher ,bulldozer recovery vehiclele etc etc .whatever happens a heavy duty winch will be fitted.

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Originally Posted by sneeze

So to sum up everything's shit when it gets old. Maybe buy a bicycle , or walk,

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You'll find with the "old shit" you can replace the whole vehicle for the price of an injector job on the "near new shit"

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Originally Posted by tetawa

You'll find with the "old shit" you can replace the whole vehicle for the price of an injector job on the "near new shit"

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classic example is the early 2000's up to about 2004-5 petrol Pajero.
The fuel pump is an extremely clever doodad that has some chips and stuff in it. It basically has a small ecu in it that reads from sensors to manage pressures etc. It is also connected to the vehicles proper ecu so its not standalone. when it fails its a major
I believe its up to 4k to get one fixed and if it has happened its due as it only lasts 150k.
next model went back to more civilized repairable types

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Originally Posted by gadgetman

The new shit tends to be more shit than the old shit when it comes to 4x4's doing actual 4x4 shit unless you spend about 50% of the purchase price on upgrading shit. In the ~3l class of the mid 90's I think the best of them would be the Isuzus (Bighorn/mu). Their engines and running gear are solid and well proven and their prices have gone up considerably over the last couple of years. Similar to the Hilux's of the same era. The Bighorns are much roomier inside than the Navara/Hilux double cabs.

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And some one somewhere will tell you the bighorn is shit, which is what i was poking a little borax at really. My fist driving experience was an Austin A 40 and a Woslely 4/44. God forbid I have to go back to that "old shit" :D

Petrol: suzuki vitara job done, not the highest of 4x4 but will get you a lot of places. I had a 2.0l 4 cyl one and had heaps of power could tow a trailer and quad easy sit on 100km. The 1600cc goes ok cheap to run.

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Originally Posted by bigbear

Petrol: suzuki vitara job done, not the highest of 4x4 but will get you a lot of places. I had a 2.0l 4 cyl one and had heaps of power could tow a trailer and quad easy sit on 100km. The 1600cc goes ok cheap to run.

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you'd be supprised where a zooki will go, I know I am, and very very cheap to run. There biggest draw back is also there biggest advantage the weight, great in the soft stuff as they don't sink but an Achilles heel in deep fast flowing water.

Pajero, strong as running gear, petrol motors are thirsty, 3.0 not too bad, 3.5 is a quad cam and tend to get quite smokey due to valve guides hardening.
Prado, 5k will get you an earlier 2.4L unit. slow potential to crack heads but capable off road. I own one as well as the newer 3.0L 1kz. And I actually prefer the 2.4 off road. For a tad over 5K you may get a hi km 90 series Prado with the 1kz motor. Or even a Surf with the same. A Toyota Surf has the highest ground clearance from factory than any other 4wd of similar era. It is quite easy to keep the Toyota motors cool with a few simple mods.
Bighorn, is a strong platform, I think the earlier 2.8 motor is a more reliable motor. Front suspension is a little weak compared to the Mitsis.
Terrana/Navara, weak CVs and front suspension. Good motors.
Vitara/Jimny etc, pretty awesome, downside is their size but a very capable little wagon.
Most late eighties/early nineties IFS four wheel drive have weaker IFS components, bar the Pajero. But there are hundreds of all types still one the roads and parts availability is good for all of them.

In all reality any 4WD you can buy for 5K will be suitable for farm tracks and general light off roading. Just find one that you like and give it a good going over.

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Originally Posted by dannyb

you'd be supprised where a zooki will go, I know I am, and very very cheap to run. There biggest draw back is also there biggest advantage the weight, great in the soft stuff as they don't sink but an Achilles heel in deep fast flowing water.

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are the 6cyl ones any good? The 3 door 4cyl ones look the most capable but the xl7 models look to be good for a sleeper platform in the back.

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Originally Posted by stevodog

are the 6cyl ones any good? The 3 door 4cyl ones look the most capable but the xl7 models look to be good for a sleeper platform in the back.

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I've had nothing to do with the V6 ones I have a 1600 LWB and it great

I currently own way to many Toyotas of varying descriptions so you would be correct in assuming I'm biased and a Fanboy .
Buttttt........ , my father inlaw owned and drove a Bighorn from new and that thing was a tank and he got many years of faithful service from it .
An old vehicle is always going to have problems and cost money , the perfect car/ute has never been invented .

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Originally Posted by stevodog

are the 6cyl ones any good? The 3 door 4cyl ones look the most capable but the xl7 models look to be good for a sleeper platform in the back.

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Imo Dont touch the v6s. The 16g is pretty bullet proof but gutless the efi version is much better.

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Cool, good to know

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Originally Posted by sneeze

And some one somewhere will tell you the bighorn is shit, which is what i was poking a little borax at really. My fist driving experience was an Austin A 40 and a Woslely 4/44. God forbid I have to go back to that "old shit" :D

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And why I was poking the Borax back. ;)

First vehicle I drove on the road was a Hillman Hunter with a trailer when I was thirteen. Have driven all sorts of interesting things since. Notable mentions include a 50's Vangard, Landies, Gypsy and a Fiat Uno with three foot pedals on completely different planes, needed left knee behind left ear to put foot on clutch.

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Originally Posted by stevodog

are the 6cyl ones any good? The 3 door 4cyl ones look the most capable but the xl7 models look to be good for a sleeper platform in the back.

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My ex boss had one and he gave it shit off road and it lasted alright just little thirsty on gas

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Originally Posted by Ground Control

I currently own way to many Toyotas of varying descriptions so you would be correct in assuming I'm biased and a Fanboy .
Buttttt........ , my father inlaw owned and drove a Bighorn from new and that thing was a tank and he got many years of faithful service from it .
An old vehicle is always going to have problems and cost money , the perfect car/ute has never been invented .

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Any vehicle used for 4x4 work is going to cost you money.

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Originally Posted by gadgetman

And why I was poking the Borax back. ;)

First vehicle I drove on the road was a Hillman Hunter with a trailer when I was thirteen. Have driven all sorts of interesting things since. Notable mentions include a 50's Vangard, Landies, Gypsy and a Fiat Uno with three foot pedals on completely different planes, needed left knee behind left ear to put foot on clutch.

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A Hillman hunter? Luxury, pure luxury. I had a vanguard wagon supplied for a work vehicle way back, it wasn't uncommon to have to ask the customer for a push at the end of the day.
I had a 50s Morris oxford, flat head with a split windscreen. Only vehicle Iv ever made money on but it was old and pretty shit. Was glad it had a crank handle on many occasions.

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Originally Posted by sneeze

A Hillman hunter? Luxury, pure luxury. I had a vanguard wagon supplied for a work vehicle way back, it wasn't uncommon to have to ask the customer for a push at the end of the day.
I had a 50s Morris oxford, flat head with a split windscreen. Only vehicle Iv ever made money on but it was old and pretty shit. Was glad it had a crank handle on many occasions.

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I lie, it was one of those Avengers. Just so happened that the Vanguard was also a work vehicle for my brother. He used to like reminding his boss that it was the same age as him, and it was knackered. Was eventually sold to someone to haul boats in and out of the briny. Folks had an Oxford too, think the jack handle was also the crank handle. Uncles 8HP Morrie Minor was fun to drive on the open road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHFZBUTA4k

I like driving the old stuff, you actually have to drive them,

:thumbsup: Thats the skit I had in mind. I forgot it was pre Python.
I dont share you like of driving old stuff.i i remember it more like battling a contrary child. I want it to start, it wont then latter it over heats and pre ignition keeps it running when you want it to turn off. I want it to move and its reluctant yet try and stop it and wants to keep going. Try and get it go straight and it wanders then ask it go around a corner and it wants to go straight. Take off on a hill and it wont but try and make it stay with the handbrake and it rolls away. :yaeh am not durnk: Iv done my time in old stuff, your welcome to it.

An old vehicle is always going to have problems and cost money , the perfect car/ute has never been invented .[/QUOTE]

If only every customer of mine could get this through their head. All cars/utes will have issues when they get older and more kms on them. Especially ones which have never been looked after. As you say the perfect car has never and will never be invented

Right... so i've been looking at a few Isuzu Bighorns and settled on one i liked then i bumped into a car dealer and found a Toyota Surf that i liked!

I'm a bit like a magpie... something nice and shiny comes along and it grabs my attention!

Anyway... i was settled on this surf as i thought it was a good buy until i told the wife what i liked and wanted and then she's like... you got a perfectly good car, just use it and then get something later on this year... she's got a point so without continuing to argue and trying to compromise i'm holding off until towards the end of the year when i'll look for a proper 4x4 but i do like the Surf's as the one i drove ticked all the boxes.

It's so much easier sneaking in new rifles like the new Kimber and the CZ than buying something BIG like a vehicle :)

Anyway i appreciate all the advice on the thread as i've learnt a bit... what can you all recommend about Toyota Surf's... what to look for?

Depending on model/year. But if diesel, keep it cool, get radiator flushed and track down a lower temp thermostat, there are other mods you can do to help with temperature but rad and thermo are usually enough. If auto fit a remote transmission oil cooler.(petrol or diesel). Petrol V6 can be thirsty, especially the earlier ones. 2.7 petrol 4 cylinder are good engines.