Prospective VX Buyer

[8695Beaters]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy my first Vehicross and will actually be going to see one in just over 24 hours. It looks to be in great shape. It is a 2001 Ironman Edition in white and only has 78,000 miles on the clock. The leather needs some love as do the plastic panels, but otherwise it seems to be in good shape. The owner claims it was used as a survey and estimate vehicle for his contracting business. It also has a roof rack and safari bar fitted.

I've been looking at these on and off for about 6 months or so. I haven't driven one yet because I haven't found any within my budget that are close enough (and the last closest was 150 miles away and had leaking brakes. Big fat pile of NOPE!). Anyway, my question is: what are the trouble spots I should look out for? My big worry is the TOD. It seems a lot of the drivetrain is bulletproof and since it's shared with the Trooper, parts are well sourced. The TOD seems pretty simple (compared to some 4WD systems today), but electronic gremlins are the pits. Are there any other trouble spots? Anywhere they begin to rust? I read that the VX's body panels were zinc coated from the factory, but just like Jurassic Park dinosaurs, rust finds a way...

I first saw the VX in Test Drive Off-Road 3 and I've been dying for one ever since. I'm REALLY hoping this truck turns out to be The One so I can replace my trusty, but aging CR-V. Thanks for the help!

P.S. for you Roadkill fans, I'll be meeting at Holley in Bowling Green. I'll see if I can find the Roadkill Corvette. Rumor has it, it's still parked out back.

[Vendetta]

Hey, welcome aboard!

15 chronological years and countless more in terms of owner experience here on the forums would be tough to distill into a single reply. Start with this questionnaire, as it illuminates many common trouble spots.

But search and read and brace for an addiction and ownership experience as unique as the VX itself.

Good luck, hope you find your VX soon.
-V

[bartmanS4]

This is like "Hey, I'm thinking about trying heroin. What do you think?"

Don't do it man! All your spare time will be gone, spent on daydreaming about mods, walks back and forth from couch to garage for a quick view/fix, and time lapses spent viewing and posting to this forum. You will develop a chronic sore neck from taking furtive glances back at your ride when walking away in a parking lot, seeking glimpses in window reflections as you drive by, and double checking that nearby drivers and pedestrians have had an opportunity to see your VX and reveling in their appreciation and or confusion.

Get yourself a Prius and call it a day.

[tom4bren]

1. Get on your hands & knees in front of the VX & check to make sure the CV boots are not torn. If it hasn't been lifted, I'm pretty sure they'll be fine.

2. Check the hood insert for cracks. That can be fixed but it's almost impossible to replace nowadays.

3. Check tire wear. Because of the TOD, all 4 tires must match and have even wear.

4. Crank up the stereo. The VX didn't come with the best of speakers & they may have blown.

5. Lower & raise the windows. Our windows like to jump the track. There are fixes that'll help.

6. Feel the carpet on the front passenger side. Quite a few of us have a windshield leak that lets water in. Again, it's an easy fix but can be an indication of a poorly maintained vehicle.

7. ABS light on? Our ABS is a POS. When mine went, I just removed the bulb.

8. Are all of the cup holders present? Just kidding (inside joke) ... we ain't got none.

You didn't mention your mechanical inclination. Will the small stuff scare you away or are you willing to get your hands dirty & make that VX your own. That makes a big difference as to whether any of this stuff is a show stopper.

Best of luck with the purchase.

[JoFotoz]

9. Check tubular metal 'bumper bar' behind front cladding...
.... its notoriously prone to rust away.


10. Check roof along the edge of rails for paint bubble / rust .

And as mentioned...be prepared for addiction!




Jo

[bartmanS4]

Oh, and on a serious note the TOD is pretty bulletproof. There have been some failures here and there but more common issues are oil consumption, ABS failure, and CV boots/joint problems.

[Vendetta]

You're so much better than me, Tom. Ordinarily, it would be inspriational to me... But I'm just so swamped that it's exasperating and wee bit depressing.

Hat tip,
-V

[8695Beaters]

Hey, welcome aboard!

15 chronological years and countless more in terms of owner experience here on the forums would be tough to distill into a single reply. Start with this questionnaire, as it illuminates many common trouble spots.

But search and read and brace for an addiction and ownership experience as unique as the VX itself.

Good luck, hope you find your VX soon.
-V

Thanks! That gives me a lot of things to look at when I travel to see this beast. Glad to know these are timing belt motors. My guess is this one will need the belt replaced soon. Owner has only had it a few years and did not mention the t-belt. That's definitely not something I want to leave to chance...

Reading through that list, most of that stuff is standard used car poking and prodding and tire kicking. I've yet to own a new car and I've looked at a ton of used cars before. I was looking more for specific VX problems. For example, a few threads have mentioned that the front bumper reinforcement tube can rust and fall apart. Anything else like that? Any common issues with the TOD? Or the transfer case?

This is like "Hey, I'm thinking about trying heroin. What do you think?"

Don't do it man! All your spare time will be gone, spent on daydreaming about mods, walks back and forth from couch to garage for a quick view/fix, and time lapses spent viewing and posting to this forum. You will develop a chronic sore neck from taking furtive glances back at your ride when walking away in a parking lot, seeking glimpses in window reflections as you drive by, and double checking that nearby drivers and pedestrians have had an opportunity to see your VX and reveling in their appreciation and or confusion.

Get yourself a Prius and call it a day.

Cry-asses can't tow trailers And as for the whole neck snapping thing...well this is what I built in my spare time in college: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...67438397_o.jpg I think my neck is well prepared! I also have a 240SX, which I plan to tow with this once I get a garage in KY.

[VX KAT]

Thanks! That gives me a lot of things to look at when I travel to see this beast. Glad to know these are timing belt motors. My guess is this one will need the belt replaced soon. Owner has only had it a few years and did not mention the t-belt. That's definitely not something I want to leave to chance...

Reading through that list, most of that stuff is standard used car poking and prodding and tire kicking. I've yet to own a new car and I've looked at a ton of used cars before. I was looking more for specific VX problems. For example, a few threads have mentioned that the front bumper reinforcement tube can rust and fall apart. Anything else like that? Any common issues with the TOD? Or the transfer case?

"...looking for specific VX problems" ... did you read thru the entire questionnaire? A very high percentage of that first version of the questionnaire WAS VX SPECIFIC, but you may not have realized it as they may have seemed general, but they're not.

OK, time to get out the big guns....here's the EXPANDED DETAILED VERSION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE: Many of these are even more VX specific....
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...4&postcount=24

Based on your questions, I'd suggest you use the SEARCH function a bit more, as the VX is 15 years old now, darn near every possible topic you can think of has been asked and answered, usually in pretty great detail, on this amazing forum. It's an amazing source of information and reference and it's a fantastic group of owners, like no other generally found on the web.

Oh and BTW, you'll find the owner's manual recommends the timing belt be changed at 100k under "normal" use, and 75k under heavy or extreme use. My fellow nutbrother Tom (Tom4Bren) must have a manual I don't have

AND, as Scott (bartmanS4) said, it's definitely a non-interference engine, DESPITE MANY references you may find to the contrary in publications....and you find this confirmed if you search the topic.

Hope you find just the right one soon, you'll love it!

[8695Beaters]

^^^This is why it pays to hit refresh in between the time you read a post and the time you to reply to it.

Perfect, thanks for the tips all! I will update when I go and see it tomorrow. Potentially with title in hand As I said, I've wanted a VX for a long time and as long as there aren't any major scares, I'm planning to make this my new DD.

Two more questions: 1) how bad is the timing belt service on these motors? Judging by the mileage it looks like I'll have to do a belt pretty soon. 2) I read the 3.5 and 3.2 motors in Isuzus were GM based. Is that true? If so, what motor are they based off of? Doesn't look like the old Vortec dinosaurs (I've been looking under the hood of S-10s as well lately).

[tom4bren]

The shop manual indicates that timing belt should be done at 90K so yours isn't past due ... yet.

There's a How2 on TB replacement. You can do it yourself over a long weekend. There's one special tool needed but you can make your own (I did).

[bartmanS4]

And our engines are non-interference

[8695Beaters]

And our engines are non-interference

Kick ***!

[RedProwler99]

And our engines are non-interference

What do you mean by "Non-interference"? I have not heard that term in reference to engines before.
In looking for a VX to buy, which engine, the 3.2L or 3.5L, is the one to look for? Are they optional for certain years, or year specific?

[VX KAT]

What do you mean by "Non-interference"? I have not heard that term in reference to engines before.
In looking for a VX to buy, which engine, the 3.2L or 3.5L, is the one to look for? Are they optional for certain years, or year specific?

Non-interference means if the timing belt inside the engine blows, it won't cause extensive damage to the engine, like most other engines.

THe 3.5L was the only engine put in the US spec version. 3.2 was only one in JDM models. I believe the 3.2 is in the US spec Rodeo however...Gizmo Dave am I right on that?

EDIT:
Read this post:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...55&postcount=8