2002 Turbo Diesel Trooper - History and Evolution

[beto]

Thanks guys, and yeah, you guys have to come one day

[beto]

Hi guys,

Just a small update. Some weeks ago twilson sold me the rear cargo pockets of the red trooper he´s parting out. I had been looking for these since the day I bought my Trooper and finally got ´em . Big thanks to twilson for this

Here are some pics:










I finally have a place to keep at hand my tow straps





A couple of weekends ago we attended the Land Rover annual party.





I had removed the roof lights to pass inspection and also to paint the angled section of stainless steel used to mount them up. Hopefully I´ll get them up there again this weekend.

Here are a couple of vids that I also posted on another section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9pJhalfCAw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIwBCPCKnwM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFBk2grUFzk


BTW, I´ve been trying to embed the youtube videos here but I don´t know why they do not work by posting the embed code.


Hope you liked them

[Ian1006]

I really like the idea you came up with for mounting lights on the rack. I may use part of that idea on mine when the time comes if I dont get a roof basket before then.

Why cant you have roof lights on for inspection? I mean, I used to have to make a ton of 15 passenger vans down here pass inspection and it sucks, but they dont allow lights?

[beto]

Seems that the laws says you cannot have lights above a certain height of your car... so yeah... it sucks..

[Baltazar]

Hey, but you have a manual gearbox or automatic?

I have a RS, 3 door, too, only 10 years older.
Nice car, saloon large for the short version.

Interesting that version 3.1 engine. 4GJ2 is worth?

[beto]

Thanks Baltazar. Mine has a manual transmission, and yes, I love the 3.1 engine

Yours is looking great also, love the new look with the big tires and snorkel.

[twilson]

Hi guys,

Some weeks ago twilson sold me the rear cargo pockets of the red trooper he´s parting out. I had been looking for these since the day I bought my Trooper and finally got ´em . Big thanks to twilson for this

Nice videos btw

[lostl13]

WOW! I just went through your entire post history and it looks like you're putting that Trooper to good use! Keep up the good work and the videos are great too!

[Warp Riders]

mannnn.. I wish i could do something like that in my Trooper. I think the SWB Troopers are badass. You don't see many of those in the States anymore. haha. But your Trooper looks awesome. Someone from Houston, Texas should hit me up, and we'll go wheelin'.

[Costa Rican SWB]

We wanna see pictures of that ARB bullbar Beto!
and hopefully some videos too

[beto]

So, Last year was a tough, bitter/sweet one. We dealt with my mom having cancer and she passed away on December 22nd. She looked and felt almost fine the night before and we never expected it to end the next day. She loved my trooper and she used to drive it daily ´cause normally I don´t bring it to work. She even got to see the ARB bumper while we mounted it up and said it was very nice.

We are hanging in there since then, starting a new life and getting things in order (small family business, selling our house to payoff debts, getting a new place, etc). I got engaged in august while she was in the hospital because at one point she didn´t do too well and will be getting married exactly in a year, March 9th 2012.

I´ve been saving some $$ and things are turning a bit better for my Trooper. Thanks to several member´s great advises I decided to order Pro Comp ES9000´s. I got them yesterday and installed the front ones at night. I ran out of time and will install the rears asap. I took it for a quick drive and they are great!! Way better than I expected. The old ones were really worn out, loose, soft and the lower bushing was trashed. I researched a LOT for the with/without shock boot dilemma and ended up putting the boots on . Thing is I got them for free from performance4trucks.com so I´ll try them out. Anyways it´s my DD so it doesn´t get so much wheeling during the year, but I´ll be checking them after mud rides to wash them off.

Current maintenance includes:

-New front discs/pads
-Replace torn boots
-Search for a set of AISINS asap
-Check for worn ball joints and tierod ends, sb bushings and replace.
-Tighten steering box
-Change brake and radiator fluids

Long term future plans:

-A pair of LightForce lights for the ARB bumper
-Warn 9.5 winch my friend had with that bumper that he never used!!
-Also, I´ve been drooling on the look of the TJM Airtec snorkel. Tonnydoodles´ just looks so awesome with it and there are some river rides/trips here where it will be put to the test.
-Mud chains
-And definitely go to more wheeling trips

So, on to the pics:






These are from December









Poser shots






Thanks for checking it out

[tonnydoodles]

Sorry about your mom, I'm getting tired of hearing about people passing away from cancer, seems like everybody has lost someone to it, what happened to people passing from old age?

[Ian1006]

Bull bar looks great! I got to chain up a different Passport up here on all 4 wheels and it was unstoppable in the snow...would love to see mud chains in action.

[beto]

Thx guys. So, on Sunday I tried to mount the rear shocks and found out that the ones I ordered were shorter. Weird thing is I did research and was pretty sure they were the right ones. That story is here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60441 Any additional comments would be appreciated before I order new ones.

Ian I´ve never ridden with chains, but I´ve seen them and some friends have them also, the traction is amazing. Don´t forget to plan ahead with us when you come down here to check them out

[Ian1006]

So my wife is going back to Costa Rica in 2 weeks but without me this time. Her passport is expiring and she is going to Taiwan this summer so she needs a new one...
Anyways, how much do you think it would cost to have a turbo diesel swapped into say my 97 Passport? Just wondering as we are planning on moving back there in maybe a year or two and taking it with us...would be awesome to have a turbo diesel with a 5 speed!

[beto]

Hey Ian, too bad you are not coming this time. About the diesel swaps, IIRC they go for around $3000 - $4000. It´s a good thing you already have the manual transmission, so maybe the cost would not be as high. Heck if you buy the engine we will all help you out with the swap and cut down on the costs.

Update for my Trooper: I bought new front discs and pads, also have to buy ball joints and 2 cv boots and find some time to change them.

I want to shout out a big thanks to John for selling me a pair of Aisin manual hubs, thanks man!! I haven´t picked them up from the mail yet, but I plan on painting them and mounting them when I do the new brakes/boots.

Another good thing is that I bought a Airtec snorkel , the same one as Mediamonkey´s . It should arrive to the US around may 10th, and from there I will probably have it with me approx 5-7 days later.

I´ll post some pics as I begin working on things.

[bradzuzu]

Really nice build Beto !!! It looks awesome !!! It's great to see you off road it, nice videos !!!

[beto]

Thanks Brad, It´s turning out nice to what I like and need.

A couple of weekends ago we went on a trip to a volcano with the local 4x4 club. It was a stock 4x4 ride all day through the mountains. IIRC the group consisted of more than 25 cars so the plan was to not get into tough sections so we would arrive to the campsite before night. We were warned that the temperatures were very low and that it had been raining a lot. We were going to "camp" in and out a old barn due to the weather conditions.

I knew that on 4dr troops the air matress fits inside, so I decided to give it a try on mine some days before

I stared at this and thought ..huh..



And then: Voila! I Pushed the seats all the way to the front and it fit perfectly.




I used some plastic cases and coolers to level it out front and rear. Saved up space by loading the coolers and boxes with everything we needed. At the campsite we leveled it out a little better and turned out just awesome.




The trip turned real nice, awesome views and fun 4x4 wheeling. Bad thing is that I didn´t take almost any pictures, just some with the phone:




At the campsite



Name with a face, me and my gf



Parked and set up inside for the cold evening. The night was really really cold, we do not have camping gear for such cold weather so everyone hardly made it through the night. Sleeping inside the trooper was a great idea and we were still very cold inside, but way better that being outside, plus we did not had to set up the tent or e-z up canopy for shelter. Getting in and out was a little tricky but we only had to be carefull stepping out. I placed sunshades front and back since only the sides are tinted.



The volcano, named Volcan Turrialba



Sunday morning.



The 3 CR planet members





Now I know that for future trips if the weather is bad we can set up the inside of the trooper and stay confortably

[Trooper King]

Nice

[bradzuzu]

That worked out good !!! That would have been a fun trip...!!

[Ian1006]

Is it Turrialba cheese that is so good? Love that white cheese fried in the morning with some salchichon and huevos con pan. Looks like a lot of fun, next time I am down there I want to come along! I wish I could bring mine down so I could do it too.

[beto]

yeah Ian! Breakfast of champions right there hahaha. That turrialba cheese is classic. Told ya we need to plan ahead when you set up a visit to CR, sucks you're not coming this time, there's a cool trip that Mauricio is setting on the 26th.

I have good news from today. Went to pick up 2 nice packages: My aisin hubs and airtec snorkel are here! I cleaned the hubs a little bit tonight but still have to work a lot on cleaning them and having ready. The snorkel looks awesome, came perfectly packed and looks like perfectly built. Big thanks to Tonnydoodles and Mediamonkey for some motivation

I'll post some pics tomorrow.

[beto]

Here are some pics of the snorkel and aisins:

Snorkel box, great packaging



What´s inside the box. It also comes with a fiberglass template/mold to help making the holes. When I get to mount it I´ll figure out if it is useful or not.



Unwrapped





And the aisin hubs. I´ll clean them and repaint them




I´m in the process of selling our house and moving to a new place, so as soon as I have some free time I´ll start mounting them.

Thanks for looking

[bradzuzu]

That will look sweet !! Did you put that cowling on the hood ??

[beto]

Thx Brad. Nope, it came with it from the factory with the 3.1 tdi engine