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SUVs Isuzu Axiom Isuzu Axiom Maintenance and Repair
200 messages, Last post on Nov 02, 2009 at 7:17 PM
You are in the Isuzu Axiom Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: daud1 (Jul 05, 2008 5:43 pm) I don't see any reason why you cant just clean up the wires, slide a piece of shrink tube over them (individually), solder them back together shrink the tube and be on your way. Get the shring tube with the sealer inside as this makes a better seal on mission critical parts. Regards Bert |
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Replying to: bertbcfm (Aug 04, 2008 6:04 am) http://tinyurl.com/6gde8y But, what is suspect about the KYB Support answer is that these shocks are listed as fitting a 2002 Axiom WITHOUT the Active Electronic Suspension, and as you point out, there is a difference in the length of the rear shock that may be important. In fact, there is no way to know, even on the front shocks, without taking one off and comparing it to a replacement unit in hand, and the restocking fee at Shockwarehouse.com is 30%, which is pretty punitive. With a leaking front shock already, I am willing to risk the front ones and restocking, as the model number you listed does not compute with Tech Support. This all leads me to this question: Was it a few years ago when you did your replacement? Thanks, though, for trying. I hate to reinvent the wheel - some pun intended. |
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Replying to: bertbcfm (Jun 12, 2008 12:17 pm) You are so right! My 2002 Axiom suspension is a POS. Are these replacement shocks plain R&R? I was informed they are fed by a hydraulics or are they electricly activated? My AXIOM is a 2002 with 43000 miles on it and all 4 shocks are shot. I called up Isuzu directly and they said "your out of warranty" anything else I can help you with"? I told the rep yes, please direct me to the closest Toyota Dealership! Your help is greatly appreciated.
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Replying to: fbosbill (Oct 15, 2008 2:55 pm) |
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Friends: I did it!!! Inspired by Bert's report, I bought the Axiom service manual online, researched the shocks, and a buddy of mine and I successfully changed mine out about 2 weeks ago. I have been testing them out to make sure they are working great and I am thrilled to have my old shocks replaced! So, I now have non-active shocks and have gotten rid of that overpriced, farcical joke of an active "intelligent" suspension system. All in all, it was not that hard. I will attempt to detail the steps for those who are interested in trying it. But, I can say that I now have a normal ride - no more sproingy ride- just a normal SUV ride. And no more of that stupid downshift klunking either, when going downhill. The steps to do this task (at your own risk of course) are as follows: 1. Remove the fuse that controls the Active Ride system. It is located under the hood in a black plastic box on the LH side of the engine compartment. It is orange colored, 30 Amp fuse, I believe. It pulls right out. Put it in your glove box for safekeeping. 2. Disconnect the battery positive + terminal. 3. Disconnect the electronic connectors to each of the two front shocks. There are two gray connectors on each side (4 connectors total for the front shocks - 2 per shock). You can locate them in the engine compartment. The two on the RH side are hard to reach, but it is possible to unplug them. Wrap the connectors (car side) up in waterproof duct tape or black electrical tape. 4. Remove the two black KYB dampening actuators that sit on top of the two front shocks. Believe it or not, there are only two phillips head screws on the top that have to be removed and the actuator assembly comes right off the top of the shock. Then there are two more nuts that have to come off. Remove the top nut and the U-shaped actuator bracket. NOTE: IF YOU ARE GOING TO ALSO REMOVE/REPLACE THE FRONT SHOCKS YOURSELF - then you can remove the lower nut. If you are NOT GOING TO REPLACE THE SHOCKS YOURSELF, then just remove the top nut and take out the U-shaped actuator bracket and then put BOTH nuts back on tight and let the mechanic deal with the rest of it. But after both nuts are removed, you can then remove the rest of the shock JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SHOCK ON ANY OTHER VEHICLE. All of the electronics on the front are gone once the actuator is unscrewed from the top of the shock assembly. This is the easy part. 5.The electronics on the rear shocks are a completely different design from the front. There is no easy-to-remove actuator assembly, instead it is all a one piece assembly . But, there is just one electronic connector, and it is attached to the car's frame a foot or two away from the shock. You will need to trace back the cable to the connector and unplug it. You will get dirt in your eyes, so wear goggles. As I recall, I had to unsnap it from the frame to work on it. You then should wrap the male connector up with waterproof duct tape or electrical tape to keep the dirt out of it (in case you ever sell the car and someone wants it back to original condition). Now, here's the rub: the connector and cable assembly for the rear shocks stay attached to the top of the shock - there is nothing you can remove beyond unplugging the one connector to the shock, until you remove the entire shock. However, ignoring the cable and connector, removing the rear shocks are just like removing any other rear shock, which means that the job is still a pain in the arse. 6. To remove the shocks we used my friends' air powered ratchet tools and his excellent and complete wrench and tool set. The front ones came off easy and were easy to replace as well. The rear ones were a bear, really, and we had to use a lot of muscle. This is mainly because the nut on the top of the shock has to be wrenched off for quite a long distance and it does not want to come off at all. It will seem like it is cross-threaded. So, if you have time, use some nutbuster on it a week before you do the job, to save yourself some grief. At one point, we actually got the nut part way off and could go no further, even with both of us working on it - and my buddy is really stout. Plus, the rear shock will try to turn (rotate) as you try to undo the top nut, and you have no way to prevent this. So, one person has to grip the shock tightly with both hands while the other guy uses all his might to get the nut off with a hand wrench from underneath. Not fun. Not fun at all. But, if you can get the nut most of the way off, you can carefully hack saw the threaded rod to complete the task, if needed - we got lucky and started to hacksaw the threaded rod and then managed to get it off with a wrench instead. This will all make sense once you try it yourself, but I would say that because of this issue alone, IF YOU HAVE NEVER CHANGED OUT SHOCKS BEFORE OR DO NOT HAVE THE PROPER TOOLS, just pay your mechanic to do it for you. It was an extreme hassle to remove the rear shocks, and was the hardest part of all. 7. We used Monroe Sensatrac shocks on my 02 Axiom. Monroe actually lists a replacement shock for "non-electronic" Axioms, and this set of shocks fit and work just fine, once you get the electronics disconnected/removed. The EXACT Monrote Sensamatic shocks I used are 37159 (front) and 37160 (rear) - I have the boxes here in hand. There are no extra parts/pieces required. Just these two pair of Monroe shocks. I got a quote from Sears to do it for $260, if I disconnected the electronics (which no one seems to want to touch), so keep that price in mind. The shocks themselves cost about $140 USD with tax, and given the difficulty, if I had it to do over, I would pay someone to do it. Plus, you get really dirty, and there is a risk of injuring yourself when working on shocks. 8. Which brings me to the safety point: we were extra careful, used jack stands and safety precautions and no one got hurt. If you are not competent at shock removal, or are careless, you could get hurt, so be careful. 9. After replacing the shocks, reconnect the battery + cable and reprogram your radio. You're done, and now your Axiom will ride like a normal vehicle. 10. Also, because the so-called "Intelligent" Suspension system is now unplugged (deactivated), including the stupid G-force sensors mounted on the frame, you will not experience that annoying downshift when you go down a steep hill. I never liked it anyway, and don't miss it a bit. Also, because the ISC fuse is removed, there is no shock indicator lamp that lights up on the dash either, as this was controlled by the same ISC system. Hope that helps. Email me if you need diagrams or more information, but it works and it works well. Also, you can probably use other brands of shocks, if you want to cross the Monroe numbers above - just keep in mind that the rear shocks are longer by about 3 inches or so. You can check the |
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I was looking for a plastic polishing kit for my headlights. They have become slightly hazed and I thought I'd look to see what was available. However I found the greatest solution for stained windshields and side windows. I don't know if it's acid rain, tree sap, road chemicals or whatever but there gets to be a coating on my Axiom's glass that I just can't remove. It looks somewhat clean but there are always the arcs from the wiprers and other non-removable stains. I washed the windows with soap and water then rinsed. Then I took a small wet sponge and sprinkled it with Barkeeper's Friend and gently rubbed all the windows down and immedieatly rinsed them off. They were absolutely clean right down to the original glass surface. Havent been that clean since the car was new. Barkeeper's Friend can be found in the supermarket right next to Comet and other kitchen scouring powders. Gently rub with the wet paste, rinse right away, and you wont believe the results. Regards Bert
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Replying to: bertbcfm (Nov 08, 2008 7:32 am) I could use some help with a long term brake noise problem, if anyone can help. I apologize for the length of this post, but this is a problem that has some depth to it. Here goes: I have had tons of problems with the brakes. The problems started with squealing, squeaking and other noises, including a louder heavy almost like "rubber-on- metal" sound coming from the front disc brakes every time I used the brakes. Took my 02 Axiom to a local quality mechanic - he said rotors were warped- resurfaced the rotors and replaced the pads and inspected rear drum shoes and hubs, which were fine. One month later problem was back only worse. So, a buddy and I replaced the front rotors with some premier drilled and slotted racing rotors and some high quality new pads and made sure they worked properly. A few weeks later the noise returned again. Arghh! Noise always comes from the front. It is very noticeable the very first time you apply the brakes, as if moisture is at first part of the problem, but occurs often and frequently thereafter, particularly if it is downhill slope or downhill slant braking. But, also happens on flat ground, too, only less frequently. A guy at the auto parts store tells me that the issue is that the front calipers need to be removed, opened up, cleaned out completely and re-lubbed with white lithium grease. He suggests I also sand (score) the new rotors with 40 grit sandpaper and make sure that the pads are flat, sand them flat or replace them. (Now, keep in mind that the rotors and pads are practically brand new - replaced in the last 3 months, so I am sure that the rotors are not warped.) AutoParts Guy says the issue is that the caliper is probably sticking and the pads are not landing against the rotor properly, which is causing all this noise and headache for me. This is driving me bananas, and so far I have spent about $450-500 on this problem, not to mention the time, and the problem is NOT fixed... Arghh! Any advice on whether AutoParts Guy's suggestion sounds right and if anyone has actually cleaned/repacked/repaired their front calipers? I now have a copy of the workshop/technical manual, with all the factory details on this task, but have never done this repair. I am brave enough to try it, but could use advice from anyone else who might have done this already. Any help on this question would be greatly appreciated.
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Replying to: bertbcfm (Nov 08, 2008 7:32 am) Check out the tips in the Healing Hazy Headlamps Guide for your headlight lens. I take it you haven't tried Barkeeper's Friend on the headlights? |
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Replying to: walk_the_walk2 (Nov 08, 2008 7:56 am) Let us know how it all turns out. Regards Bert |
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Replying to: walk_the_walk2 (Oct 16, 2008 6:58 am) Thanks for the post. Now I just hope the computer doesn't complain when I go to get it inspected. |
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