1994 Isuzu Rodeo LS,V6, 4WD, 236k miles,…Driving along on I-95 N, approx. 55mph when all of a sudden no combustion. Engine shut off, still had plenty of battery, lights, radio etc…Coasted to side of road, cranked engine, plenty of cranking power but no firing. Weather that morning was rain, sleet, snow,…temp. outside was approx. 34 degrees F. Fuel tank was half full. Recent work included new fuel press. reg., replaced idle air ctrl motor, pulled fuel rail to check for proper fuel injector press. and performance. I was having trouble starting and this was the cause (fpr). Pulled entire intake manifold, cleaned replaced nec. parts and put back together. This work was done in the fall of 08.Ran fine after that. My Isuzu mechanic thought Crank Sensor but still have spark. Next thought was MAP sensor or timing belt issue. Preventative maint. included new belt in 07, along with fuel filter. Truck was running perfect w/ no indications of problems. A “mom and pop” has it right now and I’m having mixed feelings about capabilities. Had to make a decision on where to tow and was recomended to this guy. He’s not finished with diagnostic. Want to give him suggestions before towing again to my Isuzu mech. who has to come up from Del. to look at it. My buddy’s down and I need to get him back in service. First break down ever. What a vehicle!!
Other than just him being your trusted steady mechanic, I wouldn’t worry too much about taking it to an Isuzu specialist if it’ll be terribly expensive. Isuzus aren’t all that different than any other car these days and in many ways are quite a bit simpler, so any mechanic that’s worked on cars made in the last 25 years should have no problems.
If the timing belt broke, it’ll crank over faster than usual because there’ll only be compression in one or two cylinders at the most. This is a non-interference engine, so a broken timing belt won’t wreck the engine. If it seems to crank normally and it indeed does have spark, that means you’ve probably got compression and spark, leaving fuel as the likely culprit. Checking the fuel pressure is a likely first step, but there can also be various computer issues that can cause a random shut down out of the blue.
Thanks for the advice. The engine does crank normally so it sounds as if it might be fuel or computer related. Still waiting for mom and pop to call me. Which raises an interesting question. I dropped the truck off and pop said he would call me at 1:00. At 2:30 I called him and he said We’ll call you when we know something. It’s now the next day and still no call. What is a reasonable amount of “wait time”? I don’t want to bug the guy but I also need my truck fixed asap. Please advise