The sound of the engine is a bit ticky but with 201,000 on my engine it is expected. $3400 is the book value but with these trucks being a dime a dozzen i have seen better, but then again i do love driving my isuzu. 205 hp is very responsive with the man tranmission. I don't really use much oil maybe 1/2 quart per 3000 miles. I wouldn't mix oil weights too much. the air temp. is easy 97 degree but the 10 w 30 is working very well, 5w 30 i use during the winter. I am still considering using the 15w 40 . Dont worry about the engine sound. some auto shops will say u need work but all Isuzu engines do that. I hope to get 300k out of mine so i am spending more for high quality motor oil. I have been driving for over 29 years and haven't found anything that helps oil burning engines.

 

The ticking is likely coming from the valves. According to the Haynes manual the clearances are to be checked every 60k miles.

 

My 98 Rodeo has 136,000 miles and has the ticking. I have found that for me I have to check the oil about every 2 weeks and add a quart from time to time. The gauge problem is the sensor in the tank. I just dealt with it by reseting the trip counter every time I got gas and getting gas at every 200-250 miles. I drive lots of city miles so I get around 18-20 mpg average. Unfortunately my fuel pump died last weekend and I had to replace it. This is after I had already purchased the sensor and just not putting it in for a while since I didn't see dropping the tank for a $40 part that tells me to get gas when I already know when to get gas from counting miles! But that was before the pump died. It's not too hard to do with 2 people just takes time. It's nice that Isuzu gave us bolts for the tanks instead of straps, huh!? Just take out 2 bolts from the back and take the nuts off the studs on the front (I busted one off and had to grind the stud flat and drill through the stud to put in a bolt on one of the 2 front studs) then let the tank rest on a jack while you undo the gas lines from the drivers side and the fill lines. Don't forget the electrics going to the sending unit. Finally remove the tank. Undo the snap ring and replace the sending unit. The sending unit will be hard to get back in but it does fit. Reinstallation is the reverse of removal. After we finished the car still wouldn't start so I checked the relay again. My brother had a spare that matched that we tried before replacing the sending unit. This time it worked! So the relay took out the pump or more likely the pump took out the original relay! I'm glad he had that relay because when the truck didn't start after replacing the sending unit I was close to lighting it on fire in my garage!