Isuzu D-Max V-Cross Ownership Review: Remapped 165BHP [35K Kms Crossed]

[Iron Rock]

Guys an important task for all Isuzu Vcross owners to do, as most are aware clutch failures have embarrassed Isuzu enough - luckily for me at 35k i have had no failures or even symptoms!
Isuzu has already issued a recall since some time and has been emailing customers in a batch mode.

I went ahead and got mine done (though i didn't get any email) but since i was planning a trip didn't want to drive in the fear of the clutch pedal going dead in a remote place.

Isuzu have been replacing master cylinder left right and center for many customers but most cases the problem appear to reappear - this was frustrating for most customers and embarrassing for both Isuzu Japan and India.
The core of the issue actually has been the rubber pipe that goes to the master cylinder eventually(heating up and) ended up producing small rubber particles that contaminated the master cylinder and had it fail. So essentially it isnt exactly the master cylinder which was originally thought to be the culprit.

The solution to this problem is to fit a new improved pipe(hopefully) and a new master cylinder and do a full oil replacement and bleeding. Pics as below :-
This time also experienced the new Bavaria dealer in Pune and was very pleasantly surprised with both their customer engagement and their technical expertise(apart from the facilities).
This was done as part of warranty and i wasn't charged anything, the whole process was done in an hr or so.

Emptied the oil

Old master cylinder and pipe

New pipe and master cylinder

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[bhvm]

That looks a lot like Safari M.Cyl.
And thankfully metal too.

 

[A.G.]

The core of the issue actually has been the rubber pipe that goes to the master cylinder eventually(heating up and) ended up producing small rubber particles that contaminated the master cylinder and had it fail. So essentially it isnt exactly the master cylinder which was originally thought to be the culprit.

It is never easy to diagnose consequential damage and Isuzu did a good job at it. Good that a recall has been issued.

 

[Faisal]

It is a really helpful detailed build, Iron Rock.
Many thanks for sharing your experience.

Some experiments dont exactly go to plan! The upper arms experiment is a failure!
I had put in custom upper arms from overland plateau an year back or so - while it took care of reducing the stress on steering - it didn't really help as i underestimated the physics side of it.
The upper ball joint was too close to the tires and i didn't have any negative offset alloys or didn't want to put in spacers.

I have gone back to the original arms - will need to keep an eye if it puts any unnecessary stress on the steering. It was never bad, but sometimes we tend to overdo it in enthusiasm! We fail, we learn!

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Have you considered installing ball joint spacers instead?

 

[Iron Rock]

Hi Faisal nice to have you on the forum, yes i did consider, but generally avoiding spacers, to be honest my lift wasn't big enough to warrant an upper arm upgrade - i am back to normal upper arms and those are working fine.
On your email, apologies i dont have the circuit diagram, it was more a trial and error method as i didn't have it - also i didn't do any ecm changes, its a piggyback cruise control which only picks the vehicle speed from the ECU speed sensor line, rest of the it is direct control through pedal signals.

 

[Rocky rambo]

Re: Isuzu D-Max V-Cross Cruise Control

Final Step test the installation :-

Long press the ON/OFF button to start the Cruise, the display should zero and cruise on. Please note long press is the key here, it also gives a small beep. The rest of cruise functions include set, resume all works as intended and as is normal.

Long pressing the cancel button will trigger the speed limiter, this will only work with cruise off. You can set the limiter speed that you would want to set here

The throttle controller mode can be set using the res button and it is like a rotary switch which goes from economy to stock to S1, S2, S3 -> Res will put in circular mode while the set will set it. Again this will work with cruise off and when you are not engaging the accelerator pedal.

Obviously cruise control will disengage with the use of brake and accelerator.

All of the above has been done and tested on my own Vcross - however i do not take any responsibility for your actions or preserve your warranty - this is an enthusiasts work ! I am however more than happy to help you install and answer any queries around it.

The kit can be bought from the below links and costs under 250$ off alieexpress , its the only kit tested for the Indian dmax vcross. please do your own research before you purchase.

Steering Switch

Cruise Master Module and Display Unit

Finally Happy Cruising!

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Hi Iron Rock and hi everyone one. I'm a new member, just entered into this group. I own a Isuzu V-cross 4×4 2019 model. I am looking for an aftermarket module cruise control. Happy to see the thread posted by you sir. If you can help me to purchase a kit for my beast I am so thankful to you. I had the steering controllers with me. Rest has to buy.

Your post are too good and hats off for your patience and time taken to collect all the pics and posting. Really useful.

 

[Iron Rock]

ahh thanks for reminding me about the thread :)
i will check again, but the issue is china/india imports currently dont work - so we might have to wait

 

[Rocky rambo]

Thank you for your reply .if you can try the source there in China I have some good contacts there.i can ship it from there.
thank you .

 

[Sam Dinkar]

ahh thanks for reminding me about the thread :)
i will check again, but the issue is china/india imports currently dont work - so we might have to wait

Iyer sahab, kuthe aahe?

Updates on MOUSTACHE please.

 

[Iron Rock]

look whose back !
Mucchad sends back a hi - 52k and chugging - nothing to report(except that daddy worked hard on the waxing and finishing a few weeks back) - got front brake pads changed at 51k
2 tyres are nearly takla now - so have to replace all of them within next 6 months or so.

isuzu doesnt have a rear tow point which i always found wanting - finally put in a bimbra fabricated tow hook - mounted directly on the chassis

 

[Sam Dinkar]

look whose back !

The Terminator?

Mucchad sends back a hi - 52k and chugging - nothing to report(except that daddy worked hard on the waxing and finishing a few weeks back) - got front brake pads changed at 51k
2 tyres are nearly takla now - so have to replace all of them within next 6 months or so.

New brake pads finally!

Shameless plug: Try Apterra AT2 on MOUSTACHE this time. Nice tyres and will get you good discount.