Man, what's with all the timing belt tensioner pushrods going bad around here lately?

I just replaced mine about 200-300 miles ago. What happens is the piston in the tensioner pushrod starts leaking, loses compression, and fails to keep the belt tensioned properly. This CAN lead to the belt jumping a tooth if it gets bad enough, and you can wear through your timing belt covers as well.

Get it fixed ASAP. It's fairly tedious work, and it's all in the front of the engine, but pulling an engine because you bent a valve is something you probably don't want to do.

Call St. Charles Isuzu, ask for Merlin: 1-800-727-8066

You will need at the very least:
- Timing Belt
- Timing belt tensioner pushrod

While you're in there, I'd replace the water pump as well.