Isuzu Crosswind Owners Thread [continued]

[makwin]

Last Saturday along Araneta Avenue, a few meters before Quezon Avenue going Sta Mesa cruising at around 40kph, my car (2002 Isuzu Crosswind XUV, Automatic, nearly 100kms odo) suddenly dropped (passenger’s side) and came to a grinding halt. To my recollection there was a loud POP sound and I thought my tires merely exploded, so I still tried to move it out of the way (nasa gitnang lane kase ako) but it didn’t move anymore. I went out and to my shock and disbelief I saw my tire already kissing the fender. I went back to the driver seat and forced the vehicle to move a bit as I was already causing traffic from behind. I can hear the clunking sound of metal hitting the concrete road, naitakbo ko naman ng mga ilang metro pa pero di ko totally naigilid. Luckily there was a vulcanizing shop about 10 meters away from where my car finally stopped. Somebody from the shop approached me and they lifted my car, subsequently they pointed me the LOWER BALL JOINT just broke/went off! The irony of it, I can’t recall any symptoms/signs that my ball joint is about to break, it just did. So I am at a lost why bigla nagka-ganon. Anybody here sirs/ma’ams who had similar experience? Thank you.

[siopaonatoasted]

As I recall, may mga issues ang Isuzu Hi-Lander noon na biglang napuputol or humihiwalay nga ang ball joints. If ang pang ilaling ng crosswind ay same sa hilander, then ano ini expect mo.

And it is also known na mahina ang pang ilalim ng crosswind. Makina lang ang reliable.

[joemarski]

* makwinn
At your vehicles' age, there's a lot of "things" that you should Inspect, Correct and REPLACE IF NECESSARY.
A good mechanic should be able to tell you that the Ball Joints are already worn or nearing the end of its life.
Unfortunately, "experience" told you.

Have a regular check-up on your vehicles, lalo na dun sa mga sasakyang may edad na.
Para ding mga buntis 'yan... 'pag malapit nang manganak, kailangan ng madalas ang punta sa doctor.
Check this out > > > Periodic Maintenance Service - Isuzu Philippines

[makwin]

Acquired this vehicle sometime last March this year. suspension parts were replaced to my recollection, except for the ball joint na yung left side lang ang pinalitan that time. yun nga until the right side broke last Saturday and it scared the hell out of me. i was able to bring it home after napalitan nung taga vulcaninzing shop yung balljoint pero on my way home malakas ang kabig so iam not using it muna for the meantime. para ngangg na trauma ako tuloy bigla sa crosswind. will have it check this weekend. thanks for the replies...

[nelany]

Acquired this vehicle sometime last March this year. suspension parts were replaced to my recollection, except for the ball joint na yung left side lang ang pinalitan that time. yun nga until the right side broke last Saturday and it scared the hell out of me. i was able to bring it home after napalitan nung taga vulcaninzing shop yung balljoint pero on my way home malakas ang kabig so iam not using it muna for the meantime. para ngangg na trauma ako tuloy bigla sa crosswind. will have it check this weekend. thanks for the replies...

Normally ang replacement ay laging pares. Meron ng symptoms yan hindi mo lang siguro napansin.

[Benzmizer]

Normally ang replacement ay laging pares. Meron ng symptoms yan hindi mo lang siguro napansin.

+1 to this.

General rule when buying 2nd units, never take the previous owner's word of the vehicle' history (unless from someone you really, really know) -- particularly its maintenance. Perform a thorough check of the vehicle and bring it to "0 mileage" condition.

The ball joint definitely isn't an exception.

[kafph2000]

Speaking of ball joints, I just replaced mine last month together with the tie rods. Then napasilip ako sa ilalim last week and noticed that the brand new replacements are already rusting badly. The parts I purchased are 555's. To my knowledge and what several shops said, 555 is a quality brand. Do you guys think it's normal na magrust or substandard ang nabili ko? Btw, are there fake 555's?

*Makwin, obviously di ganun kaingat sa maintenance ang previous owner nyan kung one side lang ang pinalitan nya. Better have an overall checkup of the car before running again.

[cokezero]

yes meron fake na 555

[kafph2000]

Naku po. Alam mo ba kung san talamak ang bentahan ng fake na 555? Nga pala sa QC ako at magkaibang shop ang pinagbilhan ko ng 555 na balljoint at tie rod. Isa sa fernando's along aurora ave at isa along 20th ave.

[makwin]

Hi all, thanks for your replies and to benzmizer, been an avid follower of yours and I am a living witness on how you have helped a lot of crosswind owners in this forum. As to bringing back the condition of the car into zero, I did that .Upon acquisition (this is a bank repossessed vehicle), the standard change of fluids was done . Suspension parts were replaced e.g. upper and lower suspensions bushings (I was directed to do this before a camber alignment could be performed), brake pads and shoes, tie rods, ball joint on the left side only, both front tires were replaced also. Shock absorbers and the centerlink were recently replaced as well. I was wondering why the shop did not ask me to change the ball joint on the right side before doing the camber alignment. They only told me “sir yung ball joint mo sa drivers side bago pa, pero yung kanan luma na”. I even asked them, so what do you suggest, palitan ko din yung kanan? If my memory serves me right the reply was, “kayo sir pero, pwede pa naman eto ” and so I asked them to proceed with the camber alignment – that was 4 months ago…. On my part naman and as I mentioned, wala talaga akong naramdaman na signs that the lower ball joint is about to break -- e.g. clunking noise, sloppiness, difficulty when turning, unusual sound etc… it just went off while driving mabuti nga hinde sa highway or during semi- high speed/s otherwise things could have been worse. Anyway this is a bitter lesson I learned too late. Nonetheless it is a fortune, I learned it well.

[Benzmizer]

Hi all, thanks for your replies and to benzmizer, been an avid follower of yours and I am a living witness on how you have helped a lot of crosswind owners in this forum. As to bringing back the condition of the car into zero, I did that .Upon acquisition (this is a bank repossessed vehicle), the standard change of fluids was done . Suspension parts were replaced e.g. upper and lower suspensions bushings (I was directed to do this before a camber alignment could be performed), brake pads and shoes, tie rods, ball joint on the left side only, both front tires were replaced also. Shock absorbers and the centerlink were recently replaced as well. I was wondering why the shop did not ask me to change the ball joint on the right side before doing the camber alignment. They only told me “sir yung ball joint mo sa drivers side bago pa, pero yung kanan luma na”. I even asked them, so what do you suggest, palitan ko din yung kanan? If my memory serves me right the reply was, “kayo sir pero, pwede pa naman eto ” and so I asked them to proceed with the camber alignment – that was 4 months ago…. On my part naman and as I mentioned, wala talaga akong naramdaman na signs that the lower ball joint is about to break -- e.g. clunking noise, sloppiness, difficulty when turning, unusual sound etc… it just went off while driving mabuti nga hinde sa highway or during semi- high speed/s otherwise things could have been worse. Anyway this is a bitter lesson I learned too late. Nonetheless it is a fortune, I learned it well.

Thank you for your vote of confidence my friend. As I have said decades ago (i guess that blows my age's cover), it's for the passion of being an enthusiast plus nothing beats the feeling of being able to share (the little of ) what I know to new enthusiasts. In time, they'll be "me" to newbies.

As to your dilemma, no thinking twice, go and have that replaced. Basta rule of thumb, (ideally) replace in pairs.

[14myXUV]

Questions po:

1. Air Filter - meron ba nag-try (and with positive results) sa nag-wet cleaning ng orig Isuzu xwind air filter? (air cleaning is not recommended daw kasi for air filters altho yan lagi gawa ko sa gas station). Pwede ba sa wet cleaning ito like the cotton-made filters?

2. Donut spare tires: so far wala ako mahanap na metal rim for xwind pero meron kaya nito (6-hole at lighter than stock alum rim)? thinking of moving spare tire from rear door to under-body (?) but using donut rims. Yung ibang Crosswind variants ganito setup; kelangan lang kabitan ng spare tire assembly (Chain, pulley etc).

[nelany]

Yung OEM air filter ay paper type so di pwedeng hugasan. Invest na lang ng K&N filter para washable.

[makwin]

Hi again crosswind gurus, last Monday the following parts of my crosswind were replaced (in pairs as suggested) tie rods, ball joints, brake pads and shoes (again) and the centerlink. Now I noticed that when cruising at 60kph and above on irregular/uneven/bumpy roads, my car tends to veer off/change direction/swerve. It’s hard to describe, but the most parallel description is para siyang “sumasayaw/hinehele”. And I need to firmly hold the steering wheel para hinde sya pumaling to either left or right side. And also, parang sobrang gaan nung manibela, wala yung firmness while cruising. Will appreciate any inputs relative hereto… Many thanks in advance….

[nelany]

Hi again crosswind gurus, last Monday the following parts of my crosswind were replaced (in pairs as suggested) tie rods, ball joints, brake pads and shoes (again) and the centerlink. Now I noticed that when cruising at 60kph and above on irregular/uneven/bumpy roads, my car tends to veer off/change direction/swerve. It’s hard to describe, but the most parallel description is para siyang “sumasayaw/hinehele”. And I need to firmly hold the steering wheel para hinde sya pumaling to either left or right side. And also, parang sobrang gaan nung manibela, wala yung firmness while cruising. Will appreciate any inputs relative hereto… Many thanks in advance….

Balance ba yung gulong mo sa harap? Baka hindi pareho pudpud ng harap. Ibalik mo sa pinag paayusan mo at sabihin mo yung sira para ma check uli.

[kafph2000]

Hi again crosswind gurus, last Monday the following parts of my crosswind were replaced (in pairs as suggested) tie rods, ball joints, brake pads and shoes (again) and the centerlink. Now I noticed that when cruising at 60kph and above on irregular/uneven/bumpy roads, my car tends to veer off/change direction/swerve. It’s hard to describe, but the most parallel description is para siyang “sumasayaw/hinehele”. And I need to firmly hold the steering wheel para hinde sya pumaling to either left or right side. And also, parang sobrang gaan nung manibela, wala yung firmness while cruising. Will appreciate any inputs relative hereto… Many thanks in advance….

Sir, replacing those parts will definitely require you to have a wheel/camber alignment. If you're done with that, then it could also be the front tires. Kapag kasi hindi pantay ang kain ng gulong (due to worn out parts or misaligned wheels before) magsswerve talaga ang takbo mo. What I did is I switched my front and rear tires. Lastly, make sure that your handbrake adjustments are even on both sides. Ganyan din mismo ang problema ko just a month ago. These steps seem to have solved it. Good luck.

[makwin]

Thanks for the replies....Front tires were just about 2 months old Michelin, acquired brand new. Wheel alignment was also done to my recollection pero hinde Camber.Will try to have it camber aligned and see if that resolves the veering off. What do you mean pala with "handbrake adjustments are even on both sides" ? how is it done? pwede bang DIY? Namumulubi na ako sa kakapunta sa mga shops. Parts and labor for the past week/s will about to cost me an arm and a leg

[kafph2000]

Thanks for the replies....Front tires were just about 2 months old Michelin, acquired brand new. Wheel alignment was also done to my recollection pero hinde Camber.Will try to have it camber aligned and see if that resolves the veering off. What do you mean pala with "handbrake adjustments are even on both sides" ? how is it done? pwede bang DIY? Namumulubi na ako sa kakapunta sa mga shops. Parts and labor for the past week/s will about to cost me an arm and a leg

I will have to agree on the costs. Balljoint and tie rod replacement in my crosswind damaged around 10k. What more sa mga pinagawa mo. Regarding sa handbrake, may adjustment kasi yan sa drum brakes natin sa likod. Minsan kasi hindi napapantay ng mekaniko yung adjustments ng dalawa. Tendency is kung mas mahigpit ang isang side, the car would veer to that side especially when braking. But it is more on braking na mararamdaman mo ang pagkabig. Take note though na consistent isang side ang kabig nyan, In your case ata random ang side ng kabig, tama ba? Kung sa case mo siguro I would focus more on the alignment. Anong brand pala ng mga parts ang pinalit mo? Dapat kasi firm na yan kung bago na ang balljoints at tie rod e..

[nelany]

Kung mahusay yung mekaniko kuha niya agad yung problem nayan. Yung na experience ko yang ganyan problem sa xto ko ay yung centerlink lang ang problem. Isang check lang ay alam na nila yung problema. Pag palit at align ng harap ok na uli siya.

[trekkerman]

Hello all. I'm new around here and I'm also a new Sportivo owner (my first-ever diesel vehicle). This forum really helped a lot in my decision to switch from a gas sedan and I think I made a practical and hopefully cost-effective choice. Can someone point me to my to a few choices of accessories stores where the selection is wide enough and the prices reasonable? Thanks in advance!