I recently bought an 88 Trooper II that was supposed to be running. Found it had a blown head gasket and while I was replacing all the gaskets, I noticed the head was stamped with 4ZD1 which was for the 2.3L. The head was slightly low in the center between #2 and #3 cylinders - about .006 in. I hoped the gasket would take up most of this gap but I'm still getting white smoke out the exhaust and compression is low in the middle cylinders. I can only keep it running for about 4 or 5 minutes before it dies from water logging. Q: should I replace the head with a 4ZE1 head or have this one milled down? Is there a thicker gasket I could use? Can't believe how little space there is between these cylinders - looks like Isuzu milled out the 2.3L cylinders to get to a 2.6L. Also, does anyone know where I can find alignment pins for the head - I'm missing one and the gasket may have moved a little while installing the head. Thanks.

The 2.6 and 2.3 are externally the same block... so there's your explanation for that.

I would buy an AMC head from www.aluminumheads.com for your 2.6. Improvement over the stock heads and worth the coin. I would not put a 2.3 head on the 2.6 block. Stock compression is supposed to be 8.3:1 IIRC..... putting the 2.3 head on there will bump it way up, probably over 10:1. Milling the 2.3 head down will only make this worse. I looked into this when I blew a gasket/cracked the head on my 2.6 and it just didn't seem like a good idea since I like running 87. I am very happy with the AMC head purchase.

Alignment pins can surely be bought through St. Charles Isuzu:

1-800-727-8066


Last but not least....... quit running the damn thing if you know coolant is burning out through the exhaust. Unless you just like the idea of trashing more stuff on the engine than is already broken :shaking:

Good luck.
________
Gang Bang Movie (http://www.fucktube.com/categories/21/gang-bang/videos/1)

Appreciate the info. Sounds like the previous owner replaced the head already. I'm not driving it at all and have only started it a couple of times since replacing the gasket just for the reason you mentioned. Will check into getting a new head. Thanks.

you sure it didn't crack as well as warp? these things almost always crack when overheated.

here's what happened to ours, just the other week:
http://www.isuzu4x.com/albums/album88/IMG_1842.jpg

and i was going to replace with a donor head i had off another engine, but it had the identical cracks in the exact same area.

i spent most of this past weekend putting on my new AMC head i recieved the other day. definitely the way to go and worth the extra $$$. should have it running again later tonight i hope.

-Rob

:cool2: Good luck. I ordered the AMC head full up with valves and cam but it won't get here until next Monday. Should have the trooper up by Wed. When I was redoing the radiator hoses, I noticed that the thermostat was missing so I put one in but it makes me wonder about a possible blockage in the water jacket of the block. Any way to check this? My tools are limited but I do have an air compressor. Maybe running a coat hanger through the ports in the block?

-Jim