Recommend me a 4WD?

[Macca413]

With 4WD's, there is PLENTY of crap around. Steer away from Pajero's, Explorer's, Hilux Surf's, Jeep's, Land Rover's...actually it's probably easier to tell you what to buy, rather than what not to buy.

That's a big call man.... All of the 4wd's you've mentioned are fine (except the Exploder) My Paj, has done everything you can throw at it and still kick's along, and even in standard form it show's up most other 4wd's off road.

Other then that I would recommend an 80 series, GQ patrol or a Pajero (although the Paj is a bit small to fit alot of bikes in). All of which are pretty comfortable and go good offroad.

 

[MasterOfReality]

The mine I used to work at replaced their underground 4WD's every 1 or 2 years, as we had sulphur in the ore and it caused all sorts of dramas with underground machinery.

We had both late model Patrols and Landcruisers, and judging by the state of them after 1 or 2 years, it would seem the Landcruiser is slightly tougher. The Landcruisers used to blow diffs and clutches, but that was under extreme driving conditions, and the 1 to 2 year old Patrols used to snap in half on the hoist when going for a service but never used to blow diffs or clutches.

So in ultimate toughness, I think the Landcruiser has the edge.

 

[Doggy]

Stay away from the 2.7L TD in the patrols....they are all but laughable. a tiny little motor pushing a 3t 4wd
Think of a troopy, granted it will have to be older then the years you are chasing to fit in your price range but you can pick up an awesome troopy, many already with camping mods and there is plenty of room to fit bikes/boards/brothels or whatever takes your fancy in the back. Sure they are slightly on the larger side, but they are sweet. Or you can buy my SWB patrol plenty of mods, lots of room to sleep in if you are a midget as well

 

[BM Epic]

Appreciating the help guys. Having a look at patrols... so much more than I need, but the more adventurous side of me is loving it. Whats the 2.7l TD motor in the GU like? reliable? dead slow? If I could get something around 13l/100k out of it it'd become a serious contender.
If I had it my way I'd be looking at hiluxes too (first car my father suggested), but the missus has flat out rejected driving a ute and since we're in this together those are out. Thinking a prado might be the way If I could find one with a diesel in my price range.

Stay well away from 2.7's,try a gq 4.2,or go gu in 3.0 or 4.2,but make sure you go series 11,as the series 1 3.0 had problems!
Also try getting an 80 series land cruiser!!!
I see plenty of gq patrols for sale in original condition for 10k to 14k,which is good!

 

[BM Epic]

Note where I said 'gnarly well built Hilux'. I was referring to older 'built' 4wd's that come within the price range.

Thumbs up for a Patrol if you can get one and the Mrs will drive it. Might be more than you need though.

Yeah sorry slip,i didn't want to sound like i was picking you up on it,i know what you mean,it's a damn shame that it is so hard to find an untouched hilux out there,but i do agree that there are plenty of well built modified ones as well!

 

[bigkevthumper]

my family has had an XJ, grand, and a new cherokee all on lease and now a I have a 96 XJ. It sucks ass. Jeep suck, Poor ass quality. Americans can't build cars for shit. I totally agree with that statement...

Thats strange got a few blokes in the 4wd club that have them and they reckon they are awsom. Tough, great suspension lots of power, so many mods you can do to them. If you actualy read up on them they are the most modded car in the world as 4x4s go.
The fuel accomony inst the best but thats a 4x4 for you .

 

[Hungry]

what about a big fat F250 or 350 wateva, get 2 loans out though. 1 for the car and one for the fuel was filling the bosses car up at caltex the other day and this f250 was there filling up so i had a quick look at the boswer and it had $350 racked up on the bowser!!!! thats almost a weeks wages for most people!

 

[Matt H]

Yeah... except for the fact that F trucks are pretty much fucken useless for any kind of 4WD'ing...

 

[AngoXC]

Just curious...anyone had any experience with the ol' Merc G-series?

 

[wagon boy]

I am curious as why hilux surfs ended up on that list? Is there anything particularly wrong with the later model ones? In particular the 3.0L turbo diesel?

 

[AngoXC]

I am curious as why hilux surfs ended up on that list? Is there anything particularly wrong with the later model ones? In particular the 3.0L turbo diesel?

Surfs were the import. Not all that reliable in Australian conditions. That was my take anyways.

Just with what BMEpic was saying with the Patrols...Id avoid the 3.0 Patrol (GQ) all together. The motor was great but it had really light duty transmission (was this the 'problems' you were getting at?) Driven remotly hard or used for towing caused major hassels.

 

[wagon boy]

that's ok, i understand the 2.4L's were a P.O.S but from what I understand the 3.0L uses the prado running gear, hence the attraction.

 

[daever]

Thats strange got a few blokes in the 4wd club that have them and they reckon they are awsom. Tough, great suspension lots of power, so many mods you can do to them. If you actualy read up on them they are the most modded car in the world as 4x4s go.
The fuel accomony inst the best but thats a 4x4 for you .

well I have to admit I'm a bit biased and frustrated at the moment at mine. But basically I think out of the box the xj is a really good off road car, but they tend to need a higher level of maint. Mine hasn't done that many k's (140, 000) but I'm being quoted by people who specialize in these cars figures in excess of $7000 to fix it completely. Despite this I've had alot of it in peices and have fixed the majority of it myself for about $1000 and am probably gonna spend another $1000 on the rest of it. I would only expect this kind of thing from a much older car. Hell, I have a old ass ute that has 350+ that has survived a partial seizure, overheating many times (both due to driver stupidity) and we just fill it up again and its as good as new, It pulls bikes and bikers up and down hills all day long, doesn't come close to straining or missing a beat.

From the fixing point of view, working in the engine bay is great, but parts beyond the car becomes a real headache compared to jap cars.

On road and handling theyre pretty poor at. Given It's a 4x4, you can't expect much, but basically the breakdown was:

first XJ: good handling, engine was strong but kinda bumy in the auto gear changes.

Grand cherokee: Handling sucked, Felt like it lacked power, poor feedback from the car to driver. wobbly.

New bug eye cherokee: Good everything, but feels really bubbly and weird to drive.

Second XJ: well, it wobbles all over the shop, The diff sucks balls, and its completely possible to keep it drifting around round abouts with shit all power in the wet. The back comes out frequently in the wet too. The diff is worn, and doesn't do its job obviously. But this is one of my favourite features .


If i were to get another jeep it would be a modded wrangler. Same 4L engines, but with less chassie hassels of the other jeeps.

 

[R33F]

hilux is the only way to go they are reliable and good 4wders

Look I have nothing against Hilux's - except the current model and the price tag attached. (yes, I have owned and driven Hilux's)

A good number of my friends through work drive Hilux 4wd's as a standard company vehicle. Alot of guys are not letting go of the older model as the newer ones are no where near the quality. Mind you these vehicles are rarely on sealed roads, and normally carrying tools, equipment, diesel, explosives etc.

Yeah... except for the fact that F trucks are pretty much fucken useless for any kind of 4WD'ing...

Bloody good and 'lugging' stupid amounts of whatever, where ever day in and day out though !!

I am looking at the new Triton Dual Cab Tray back after the financial year.

My 2c

 

[21azy]

Surfs arnt as shit as everyone makes them out to be. I have owned 2. The 3 litre obviouysly has alot more power. but the 2.4 isnt bad.
very good value for money considering the features you get for the price.
You can pick them up here for 5 - 10k and they all have full electrics and most of them are auto with sunroofs.
The odd one was known to do a headgasket.
The main problem was they would get hot when you go 4wding. The main cause of this was the auto tranny cooler was in the bottom tank of the radiator, and it restricts the water flow through the bottom hose outlet. This wasnt a problem in Japan as they have alot lower general temperatures than most of Australia. The easiest way is to take the bottom radiator tank off and get the tranny cooler pulled out, then hook up an aftermarket transmission cooler which uses air to cool it not the radiator water.

 

[scblack]

Look I have nothing against Hilux's - except the current model and the price tag attached. (yes, I have owned and driven Hilux's)

A good number of my friends through work drive Hilux 4wd's as a standard company vehicle. Alot of guys are not letting go of the older model as the newer ones are no where near the quality. Mind you these vehicles are rarely on sealed roads, and normally carrying tools, equipment, diesel, explosives etc.

The Hilux is being priced at Made in Japan ute prices, but unfortunately it is chucked together in Thailand. Its build quality is just the same as the other jap company utes, who also make their utes in various asian countries.

 

[R33F]

The Hilux is being priced at Made in Japan ute prices, but unfortunately it is chucked together in Thailand. Its build quality is just the same as the other jap company utes, who also make their utes in various asian countries.

Good point, although apparently the new model Hilux is spending alot more time in the workshop than the older models ?

I know other contractor vehicles don't seem to have as many problems...

 

[SideFX]

4wd

I need to buy a car within the next 2 months or so seeing as the headgasket just went in my 86 mazda 323 and now added to the number of other problems it already has, I'm sick of it and its going to go to the wrecker as its not worth fixing.

I am strangely drawn towards getting a second hand 4WD. What I want it for:
- Driving around town, parking in a small carpark in my apartment. My car usually sits unused 5 days of the week as we ride our bikes/train to work. We really only bust out the car on weekends. Occasionally we drive in city traffic during the week, but I could do without it anyway.
- Weekend getaways. Camping, MTB, surfing (in the future.. maybe.. my girlfriend is keen to learn).
- Chuck 2-3 bikes in the back comfortably along with enough gear for a weekend away. Seats can fold down for this.
- 4WDing. Ive driven proper 4WDs on two occasions for a week or so each. During this time I've took them both offroading and I really really really enjoyed it. I'd like to be able to go do beginner/intermediate trails. I dont need 33" tyres and the ability to drive over a two storey house, but proper 4wd tracks would be awesome.
- If I could sleep in the back on an inflatable mattress this would be a bonus.
- In the future I might have the opportunity to tow a boat around but I wouldnt use this to select one car over another.

My price range isnt particularly high (about 10-12k ...if we could wait 6 months for the car that'd be another story).

I am pretty comfortable working on my own cars (I've always done it, helping my dad fix the family cars since I was about 14) and I would do as much of this as possible myself including pretty much all the servicing.

I would like a reliable 4WD, 'safe', decent on petrol (or LPG conversion if possible) and preferrably around 97-98 upwards. Now the funny thing is that I like XJ Jeep Cherokees which really.. well.. suck on all those grounds from what I can tell. A 98/99 seems to be within my grasp with about 150k or less on the clock. They burn 12-15L/100k and while the later models can be had with dual airbags they get an average safety rating. From what I can tell they have issues with overheating and seeing this is what killed my mazda, if I purchased one I'd be upgrading the cooling system right off the bat with aftermarket radiator + water pump and possibly new fan (found this info on the aus jeep forums).
Anyone here had any experience with them?

Landcruisers are probably too big (and too expensive) and so are grand cherokees and patrols from what I can tell. I havent really considered landrover discoverys as I've heard horror reliability stories... are these accurate?
The other option I should probably consider is something like a subaru forrester which will do everything I need except for the 4WDing, but for the same money I'd prefer a proper 4wd.

Man save ore borrow another $10000/ $12000 and get your self into something decant < new> . Repayments on $12000 would be about $250 a month for about 4 years . Give the bank a call and see what they can do .
The newer 4wd`s are more fuel efficant , reliable and have lower maintance costs .
Have a look at 03/04 ,3lt tdi Hilux . You would be looking at $24/$26000 depending on k`s . At that price you should be able to get one with about 70/80 ,000 ks . Go with toyota . Have you thought about an older troop carrier maby with low k`s .

 

[bigkevthumper]

that's ok, i understand the 2.4L's were a P.O.S but from what I understand the 3.0L uses the prado running gear, hence the attraction.

The 3L hulix motor is an absoult dog of an engine.
Unless you have the new D4 3L engine.
The 2.8 models are good hulixs. Ment to be mostly unbreakable

 

[Sethius]

The 3L hulix motor is an absoult dog of an engine.
Unless you have the new D4 3L engine.
The 2.8 models are good hulixs. Ment to be mostly unbreakable

sides the numerous cracked heads that occur. Also if the things being after market turboed more than likely have this issue and a fair few others, i remember talking to local mech and hearing that something like 9/10 2.8L with an aftermarket have significant motor damage. sides that yea the chassis and bodies are great.