Bigreen505's Trooper Mod tread

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
After a long search for a new truck complicated by some unexpected financial issues and generally feeling like Goldilocks (this one's too big, this one's too small), and detailed at length here , I bought a '99 Trooper with 115,000 miles. Engine was rebuilt at 90,000 and OME 919 springs, Ranch 9000x shocks and 285/75 R16 Futura Dakota tires were added about 70,000 mi. Overall, I have hopes of it being a good, long lasting and reliable addition to the family.

Mods completed or in progress:
  • Basic maintenance including hunting down a couple intermitent problems, fixing a couple broken parts and tracking down and fixing a couple pretty big leaks.
  • Torsion bar de-crank. The T-bars were cranked pretty high, probably higher than necessary, mostly for looks. I'm hoping to recover some up-travel here.
  • Superwinch manual hubs

Mods on deck (collecting parts, prices, etc. -- working on but not actually started). Hope to be completed by the end of August 2006.
  • Ball joint flip along with new ball joints and possibly upgraded tie rods from Independent 4x
  • E-code headligts from Daniel Stern
  • Cibie Super Oscar auxiliary lighting from same supplier
  • Storage -- not exactly sure what this will look like, but probably a shelf about wheel well height that will cover the back, but still leave one back seat. I will probably remove the large section of the rear seat at the same time as it looks like it can come and go easily. The shelf will house drawers or storage bins underneath, but still have plenty of room for other gear and dogs on top.

I will probably replace tires early winter with 265/75 R16, though not really sure what, possibly a BFG AT. I've been told BFG has new molds and the tires are round again.

After those are completed a refrigerator, communication and GPS are next on the list, followed by lockers and on board air of some type. Beyond that I need some travel time to see what it is lacking.
 
Last edited:

kcowyo

ExPo Original
Nice Bill! :clapsmile

I know you agonized and analyzed to death.....:xxrotflma

Looking forward to watching it all unfold!!


:beer::beer::beer:
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
I said it before, and I'll say it again Bill, Congrats on your fine purchase. If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is leaking? I have 116K+ on my Trooper and nary a leak. And I just started getting a squeak from the large back door on rougher paved roads. Also, if you get a good deal on the Super Winch hubs tell me where you got them, I have GOT to take care of that. Let me find a post with pics on what I was planning on doing for storage on my Trooper, I am sure you have seen it on Planetisuzoo. Also, though the rear seats will come out "fairly" easily, they are a bit on the heavy side, so it is not something that I would want to do on a regular basis. No, go outside and take a picture or two of your truck so the rest of us can see it.;)
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Thanks Aaron. I was told the front pump seal and pan gasket are leaking. I have no experience with automatic transmissions, so I'm not really sure what that means.

I'll PM you with some hub prices, but they all are pretty close.
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
Bill, get that front pump seal taken care of ASAP, the last thing you need is for your pump to quit, and then you fry your transmission. Very costly, and not needed if taken care of. But, replacing the front seal is going to be kinda costly in itself, as the transmission needs to be dropped to get to it.
 

bootzilla

Adventurer
Sweet! Great choice!!! :gunt: I had lost track of that thread - it is awesome that you went with the Trooper - once you get it squared away, you won't be dissapointed!

The best deal I could find on hubs was at Summit Racing - I'm curious if you found a better deal than that.

And what is the difference between the Euro-spec headlights and the US ones? Pics??

Congratz!
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Wow, thanks for the heads up on Summit, that is much cheaper than other places!

Pics coming soon. For more than you ever wanted to know about lights, check here. Bascially, it has to do with how the optics of the headlights are designed and where they put light and possibly more importantly, where they don't. I like to be able to see at night, so good quality headlights are important to me. US-spec headlights put lights every where (think of the blast from a sawed off shotgun). E-cod lights keep all the light below hood level so you don't get blinded in snow, with an upsweep on the right side to illuminate the side of the road. You can run much brighter bulbs in these without blinding other drivers since the light pattern is tightly controled.
 

bootzilla

Adventurer
There is some great information on that site. I am curious, where does he find the trooper e-codes, and did he give you an idea how much they run?

And where/how are you planning on mounting your aux. lights? Bar, Bumper, rack, or otherwise??
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
bootzilla said:
There is some great information on that site. I am curious, where does he find the trooper e-codes, and did he give you an idea how much they run?
Not sure on price yet. I think he said that the Trooper lights are coming out of the UK, from the same supplier that he gets his Subaru lights at. I'll let you know when I have a price, perhaps there may a bit of a discount if a few of us are buying them.

And where/how are you planning on mounting your aux. lights? Bar, Bumper, rack, or otherwise??

I don't suppose saying I have no freekin' idea would help you? Winch bumper (ARB, et. al.) is out for now for budget reasons. The advantage of doing them on a rack is that you can set it up in a way that the whole thing can be removed when not in use, and I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I will need a rack anyway, so that is admittedly a front runner. Tad, on Planet Isuzoo, has some pictures of his lights mounted directly to the stock bumper. I think he took the bumper off, mounted the lights, and put the bumper back on.

I'll keep you posted, but it will a while.
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Can anyone recommend a good front shock for the Trooper. This thing corners like a beached whale, even with the Rancho shocks on max stiff. I dropped the T-bars some, probably too much, but we'll see.

By comparison, the Pathfinder corners about as well as a Subaru Outback, but is punnishingly stiff on broken pavement. I'm looking for a compromise between the two extremes.
 

kevin

Observer
I am using Old Man Emu N65 firm shocks. They replaced the original shocks that had about 40,000 miles on them. There is a huge improvement in body roll in corners, however I did a complete suspension upgrade at the same time and perhaps the rear is stiffer and helps accomplish less roll. I would think that the ranchos would be similar if set on the firm level, but I have never used them before. What is your complete suspension, front and rear? This may be an obvious suggestion, but you may also want to check tire pressure.
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Everything I know is in the first couple sentences of the first post. OME 919 springs, lowered/thin poly bump stops, poly swaybar bushings and Rancho 9000x shocks. Tire pressure is 37 psi all around on mostly worn Futura Dakota tires.
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
Bill, I would not really run any more than 35 psi in your tires, and are probably better off going down to 32-33 psi.
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Thanks, I'll try that. The previous owner ran them at 65 psi (max pressure) and the tires are very obviously worn from over inflation.
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
When I fill my tires, I fill them to 35psi, but through the heat here right now, they do not stay at 35, they will usually drop to about 33psi, and I just leave them that way until I have to air up again after a trail run. I am also running on a stock suspension with over 116K on it, and mine handles well, not as good as when I bought it, but it is ok for now. From what I have heard, the OME suspension will increase the handling feel of the truck, but depending on what suspension is chosen, can make the ride a bit rougher. I will have a new suspension here soon I hope.:D
 

Forum statistics

Threads
187,898
Messages
2,899,693
Members
229,072
Latest member
fireofficer001
Top