The manufacturer of the 1992 through 1997 3.2 Isuzu Trooper recommends that the timing belt is replaced at 60,000 mile intervals. A study of the service history on this engine shows that the timing belt ends its useful life at this interval. It has been determined that the 3.2 engine is an interference engine in which a timing belt failure would result in major internal engine damage. Do not turn this engine with the timing belt removed.
Remove the air cleaner assembly and the upper radiator fan shroud. Remove the accessory drive belts and the cooling fan and pulley. Remove the crankshaft pulley bolt and the pulley. Remove the oil cooler hose brackets from the timing cover and the timing belt covers.
Turn the crankshaft clockwise until the timing marks on the crank sprocket are lined up with the marks on the engine block. The keyway should be at the 3 o'clock position with the semicircular cut next to it lined up with the mark on the block. There is also a dot on the crank sprocket at the 9 o'clock position and should line up with the mark on the side of the block. This puts the number one cylinder at top dead center. Check the camshaft sprockets and make sure the line grooves on the sprockets line up with the corresponding lines on the rear timing belt cover.
Remove the auto tensioner bolts, the auto tensioner and the timing belt. Insert the auto tensioner into a vise and compress the rod slowly into the body. Once the rod has compressed insert a cotter pin through the holes in the body and rod to hold it in the collapsed state until installed.
Make sure that all timing marks are aligned and proceed to install the timing belt. The timing belt must be installed with the lettering up so that it can be read from the front of the motor. Make sure the white lines on the belt are on top of the timing marks on the camshaft sprockets. Install the timing belt from the right side, working counter clockwise. Keep the belt taut between the crank and camshaft on the right side. Use the vise grips to hold the belt in place on the sprockets.
Push the tensioner against the belt by hand and install the auto tensioner and tighten the bolts. Remove the cotter pin and allow the tensioner to put tension on the belt. Remove the vise grips from the camshaft sprockets. Turn the crankshaft two revolutions and recheck the timing marks. Install all components in reverse order of removal and torque the crankshaft bolt to 123 foot pounds of torque.
