Ascender Limited

[Paul Bell]

I recently picked up a 2003 Isuzu Ascender Limited V8. It's replacing my well beaten 2003 S10 Blazer. It’s really nice, fully loaded. From what I can see, the only option it DOESN’T have is the rear air lift system.

This will be a dual purpose vehicle. I operate a sound company in the NYC area and often carry speakers, amp racks, etc, small enough to not need to rent a truck. I’ll also be my daily driver.

It has 208,000 miles on it! But runs very good.

Things to fix:

-Cluster needs servo motors;
-AC system needs a mode servo;
-Driver’s door window switches & wiring is bad;
-Headlights REALLY sandblasted (replaced with new Envoy units)
-Knock, O2 & oil pressure sensors bad;
-Fan clutch is bad;
-All hoses;
-Ball joints, shocks, sway bar bushings & links are bad.

Other things I’ll be doing or done already:

-Spark plugs & GMS Zero Ohm wires;
-Derale transmission cooler pan;
-External plate style transmission cooler;
-Dif cover;
-Removed running boards (- 60 pounds)
-Removed third row seats & belts (-60 pounds)
-Remove rear AC/heating unit (- ? pounds)

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Got some pixs? Welcome!

 

[Paul Bell]

Thank you!

 

[Paul Bell]

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Looks nice!

 

[BlazingTrails]

 

[Paul Bell]

Wrapped up two days of work.

Intake manifold was removed to replace the knock sensors and perform the LS6 PCV mod. Found excessive build up from oil in manifold & heads, cleaned as best I could.

Installed "four corner cooling".

Installed a catch can.

Oil pressure sending unit.

Spark plugs & wires.

Radiator hoses, both belts, one idler pulley.

Fan clutch.

She runs waayy better.

 

[Mounce]

Sweeeet! Keep up the good work man!

 

[Paul Bell]

A few more things got done. The AC was working so-so so I put in a can of 134 and it seemed to improve. One more can and it was decent-still not COLD tho. Today, it went to WARM. So the AC is not functioning. And it needs a mode motor.

My bud at a Chevy parts counter was able to pull up my Isuzu's VIN in the system and print out the installed RPO list. I love having these things. He was amazed he could do it. Well, it is a GM vehicle. He couldn't get the key code.

The sway bars are rattling around so I ordered Moog end links with Zerks and Prothane poly bushings. The Derale transmission cooling pan should be here tomorrow.

 

[northcreek]

Want to buy some Envoy tail lights for it ?.. Mike.

 

[jimmyjam]

where'd you get that 4x steam port thingee?

where does it vent to?

 

[Paul Bell]

Want to buy some Envoy tail lights for it ?.. Mike.

The Ascender tail lights have the backup lights in them. And I like them so no thank you sir!

 

[Paul Bell]

where'd you get that 4x steam port thingee?

where does it vent to?

It came on Corvette and Y-body LS1 engines. It didn't fit quite as well as I wanted, the outlet was right into the alternator bracket. It vents to the same place as the stock one does.

 

[jimmyjam]

gotcha, can't see the outlet in the pics. i've seen the adapter w/ tubing kits but i'd prefer hardlines like that.

 

[Paul Bell]

After playing with the OEM piping like that, I think I'd prefer aftermarket fittings and hoses. Most will say cooling on the front is all that's needed (and they're probably right) I want coolant bleeders on all four corners on my LS engines.

In the fall, I'm gonna pull the intake again and replace it with a new one-they're 75 bucks on ebay. While I cleaned this manifold as best I could, it still had a lot of junk baked into it.

I'm also gonna convert to aftermarket coolant fittings and hose. Kinda like I did on the TA but nowhere near as fancy:

 

[Gerbil21]

You still have those headlights I wonder what they would look like on a envoy

 

[Paul Bell]

I still have the headlights but they're really sandblasted. Except for how wide the side lamp amber insert is, they're identical. I highly doubt if anybody will ever say hey those are Envoy lights!

From what I've learned, the Ascender has the same body panels as the Envoy-fenders, doors, quarter panels, etc. All other versions of the GMT360/370 seem to have unique body parts.

 

[Gerbil21]

Can you take some pics ill try to Photoshop them on lol also yes the panels are the same I looked at some part numbers from the hood and fender and they match right up only thing is that some ascenders come with painted fenders which would be a interesting look on envoys. Idk maybe I'm the only one looking for alot of ascender parts to put on the envoy I wonder how the bumpers will look also?

Also before I got the envoy I had a 99 blazer lol

 

[Paul Bell]

What do you mean the fenders are painted?

I had the opportunity to park next to an Envoy XL yesterday and I compared the two.

The liftgate sides and body strip between the door windows are painted body color-black on the Envoy.

The body side moldings are wider.

The wheel openings have moldings on them-which makes the vehicle wider. The front & rear bumper covers are both wider to match. This eliminates the ability to mix bumper covers from other models.

There's also a side marker lamp in the Envoy's front bumper the Ascender doesn't have.

Fog lights are square, round on the Envoy.

Tail lights unique to the Ascender.

 

[Paul Bell]

Out of all the models built on this chassis, it looks like the only ones that directly share all body panels is the Ascender and the Envoy. All others have at least different front fenders. The Buick, Olds and Saab have round wheel openings but all have different headlights that fit the fenders differently.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I thought all doors were swappable

 

[jimmyjam]

I thought all doors were swappable

not the rears. envoys have more angular sheet metal where the wheel well flairs out, tb's are more rounded.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I guess it does looking again

 

[Gerbil21]

The fender moldings are a different color

It would look Interesting on a envoy

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Who leaves the moldings on???

 

[Paul Bell]

Yeah, I'd hate a two tone like that. Mine's all blue. In this pic, you can clearly see the minor differance in the side marker reflector in the headlight assembly.

 

[Paul Bell]

Today I decided to tackle replacing two stepper motors in the gauge cluster.

Removing it was easier than I thought it'd be. Drop the knee panel and the ring around the cluster comes out. No fooling with any plugs.

Now, I'm pretty good with a soldering iron but these things are soldered to some pretty fine circuit tracings on the board. I needed to change two motors and I ripped off one board wire on each. These two gauges of course still don't work. Repair FAIL!

As I know these tracing are next to impossible to repair, I'll be replacing the cluster. Looks like I already found one.

On an up note, the Moog end links and Prothane bushings showed up for the sway bars.

 

[Paul Bell]

I got some goodies in today-plus the Derale trans cooler pan. I know what I'm doing this weekend!

 

[Paul Bell]

I just scored this little gem. In my gray color. Plenty out there but just one with three window buttons! My original one has the eyeglass holder, I'd much rather have overhead lights where I need them. On the sides only is pretty useless.

 

[Paul Bell]

I got into the sway bar stuff & transmission pan work today.

Here's the Derale pan I bought:

I've used this pan on all my vehicles. I did a quick search here on GMTnation and I saw at least one other guy using it. IT DID NOT FIT, I could not get it past the exhaust crossover pipe. I can only surmise the 4.2L trucks don't have this pipe. It will NOT fit on a 5.3L V8 truck. I'd assume the same holds true for a 6.0 LS2 truck, TBSS & the Saab Aero.

As The Derale pan takes a standard filter that's what I had. The original truck pan is deep and needs a "deep pan" filter so I had to take a nice long walk in the rain to Auto Zone to get the filter.

Other than that, the fluid was pretty dark so I'm concerned.

Front sway bar links & bushings done, tomorrow or Monday for the rears.

 

[Paul Bell]

Overhead console swap done!

NOT quite the plug & play affair I expected. The body harness has a male plug, the original console harness is female, the new unit was MALE.

I simply swapped the original harness onto the new console.

The lights needed the proper three wire feed which I got from splicing into the light over the driver's door and snaking the wire over the headliner and using the three pin plug that came with the new console.

 

[jimmyjam]

I have this summit cast aluminum pan, still had to grind down one of the fins, one of the cats on my kooks y pipe pretty much touches the pan.

 

[Paul Bell]

Last week I did rear end fluid, rear sway bar bushings & end links and rear shocks, Bilstein HD, of course.

On Saturday, I had a favorite local general repair shop do the front shocks. I supplied them and they did the install for a hundred bucks.

 

[jimmyjam]

On Saturday, I had a favorite local general repair shop do the front shocks. I supplied them and they did the install for a hundred bucks.

that's a very reasonable price

 

[Paul Bell]

I got in an instrument cluster for an Envoy, it was about half the cost on ebay than the actual Ascender units that are for sale.

The face markings are a little different and the Envoy one's lens was marked up so I swapped the Ascender lens onto it. All but one of the alignment pins didn't line up-so they got clipped off.

I like the Envoy one better. It needs a lamp and I wanna get blue needles so I'll put them on the list.

I can drive to Model electronics in NJ and they'll put my actual mileage in the new cluster while I wait.

ASCENDER CLUSTER:

ENVOY CLUSTER:

 

[Paul Bell]

Today I performed three headlight mods:

Disabled DRL;
Disabled auto-on;
Quad-on diod.

 

[Paul Bell]

I performed the mirror turn signal LED upgrade thanks to the LED kit from Mr. TXBlazer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMd6kHfwPcY&feature=youtu.be

 

[dmanns67]

Nice. His turn signals are awesome. Might as well keep going with the LEDs. Interior, turn signals, reverse lights, etc. LEDs are a nice improvement over the incandescent bulbs.

 

[Paul Bell]

This is an update to the instrument cluster swap.

The Envoy cluster does NOT fully work in my Ascender.

The check engine does not illuminate and the and the fuel economy estimator is stuck on 17.1 MPG-which I certainly don't achieve.

I'll be swapping back to a Ascender gauge cluster when I can. I'll be swapping the much nicer Envoy applique onto the Ascender face, they're just on with a really good glue.

 

[Paul Bell]

When I got this truck, there was a tremendous amount of oil in the intake manifold and ports. There was even a puddle of oil just before the throttle blade. It's due to the crappy design of the stock PCV system these trucks have and the fact that it was bad and never maintained. Certainly having over 200,000 miles on this engine contributed to it.

When I pulled the intake, I swapped the valley cover to the LS6 version with it's waayy better PCV and separator in it.

For my Trans Am, I had made my own clear glass catch can. Crankcase fumes are drawn into a canister stuffed with stainless wool and it drips into the bottom of the can and stays there. Clean & filtered air is then drawn into the intake manifold.

I decided to use it on the truck.

Despite having the LS6 valley plate, I still "caught" maybe an ounce of oil after just 200 miles.

I imagine it'd be much more with the original PCV system running through the catch can.