LUVTruck.com

Hello, i'm kinda new here, this is my first post, so here goes.

I have an '82 LUV with the Isuzu 2.2L Diesel. The thing will not start if the outside temp is below 30 degrees or so unless the block heater is plugged in. Does anyone know the procedure to test the glow plugs or have any suggestions?

Thanks

My truck is the same exact way, I know for sure I need new glow plugs or a glow plug relay. I noticed you posted a picture in the other post of under-the-hood of the diesel engine and I saw you had an Everstart battery for it. One of the reasons why the truck wont start in under 30 degrees F is because that model battery probably only has 500-600 cold cranking amps. I bought an Everstart Maxx battery from Wal-Mart back in 2000-2001, which is a little bit better than the battery you have, and it has about 900 cold cranking amps. I was having problems with my truck starting and the battery wasn't performing the best, so I got a Sears DieHard battery that hopefully will last 5 years. Just to help you out even more, get a battery that has at least 900 cold cranking amps to insure that the truck starts in the cold.

I see. The truck cranks very easily with that battery, but it's still a bear to start when cold. I posted this post the night before i checked the glow plugs on the truck and took the pics, hoping i would get some replies before i started the actual repair. Upon inspection i found 1 defective glow plug and 1 that was very weak. I replaced all 4 and it started up fine at about 20 degrees without the help of the block heater, so hopefully that fixed it. It's not my truck but I thought that is an awfly small battery for a diesel, if the problems persist i will probably replace it with a higher cranking amp battery.

Thats cool, I think putting in the new glow plugs fixed the problem. I will make sure to buy new glow plugs for my LUV, so I have no problem starting it up at 20 degrees F. Regarding one of your posts in the diesel pic please message, I wanted to ask you about what you meant when you said MSG5T transmission? Is that just the stock part number for the transmission or is it another trans you got from another vehicle that bolted to the diesel engine? I figured it was just the factory transmission you meant, but just asking for new knowledge.

That is correct. It's an Isuzu MSG5T, factory 5-speed Isuzu. I'm sure that's the model of the tranny, but it's been a while since i've recalled it off the top of my head like that. The tranny in general seems to be ok, but it has problems every now and then. The first time it broke 2nd gear, then it got jammed between two gears at once, then this last time it broke the countershaft in two. BUT, all but the last few times the tranny had been apart by other people. Upon my second teardown, i found that the interlocks hadn't been installed, so it could slip into two gears at once. Now that it's fixed it seems to be a really decent tranny.

Well, the $80.00 glow plugs worked.

It was a whopping 8 degrees this morning, and she started without the block heater's help.

WooHoo!

Does anyone know where I can purchase a heater core for an '82 Chevy Luv Diesel, no A/C?

Thanx!

For the heater core contact:

Debra Eskew at sqdeb@yahoo.com
She parts out diesel luvs, pups and chevettes. I bought a used heater core from her back in September for $40. It worked great. I also bought some odd and ends for my diesel S-10.

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1981 Chevy LUV 4x4 2.2L Diesel 4 Speed Selling out moving over to VW TDIs.

Thanks Woody!

I will contact her if I need one. I have a donor truck, but I prefer to get a new one.

By the way, how difficult is it to put in? Do you have to remove the whole dash, or can you just take the heater box out from underneath the dash?

Thanks!

I was able to replace mine with out removing the dash, however these items that were bolted to the dash had to be removed like: Radio, heater controls, ash tray, duct work, glove box(for more room) and the heater control cables. I did have to bend my under dash supports a little to get some wiggle room to pull the heater box out. All in all It took me about an hour to pull it and an hour to install it.
I also took this time to clean everything that had to do with the heater such as: duct work, heater box, and I replaced the two hoses that run to the core. I was able to do the hole job with a Philips head screw driver 10mm wrench, and 10mm socket.

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1981 Chevy LUV 4x4 2.2L Diesel 4 Speed Selling out moving over to VW TDIs.

Hey Woody, where did you get the heater hoses from? I can't seem to find them anywhere.

I bought some hose from

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1981 Chevy LUV 4x4 2.2L Diesel 4 Speed Selling out moving over to VW TDIs.

I bought some hose from Summt Racing and cut it to the lenth I needed.

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1981 Chevy LUV 4x4 2.2L Diesel 4 Speed Selling out moving over to VW TDIs.

I had though about using bulk hose, but it looks that by were it goes into the firewall it makes some decent bends and I didn't think that bulk hose would work. Humm, maybe i'll have to look at it again.

Does anyone know where i can get some pre-moulded ones at?

got into the 30s thanksgiving morning and i got the not starting. Replaced the plugs and she had no trouble starting, back to running excellently. the previous owner did wire a switch to bypass a relay or something that heats up (the glow plugs i think) the motor before starting. your supposed to hold the button for a few seconds then start it. Is this not bad for the plugs?

Hi all--

The Isuzu glow plug controller has a current sensing circuit that is used to terminate the glow interval when the plugs have gotten up to a red hot temperature. This high temperature reduces the glow current to a point that tells the controller it is time to shut them off.

Unfortuneately this method also will shut the current to the plugs off if just one of them is open. Meaning that you will have a very hard time to start the engine in cold weather even if three plugs are good. This is not a handy arrangement.

I have put a pushbutton switch under my dash to use when this happens. The switch bypasses the wisdom of the controller and operates the High glow plug relay no matter what. I figure a guy should be able to start his engine on three glow plugs, at least until he can get some new ones.

The normal glow time for the plugs is in the 5 sec +/- area and will vary according to engine temperature. So glowing them with a manual switch for this long will not hurt them.

By the way, I bought a new heater core and other parts from my local Isuzu dealer less than a year ago. I have never had them tell me that parts were not available, yet.

Paul :)

what kind of block heater would you advise i use and where would i be able to buy it from. thanks for the info. -Keith