4x4 musings

[dave21478]

Apologies in advance for the long, tedious ramble, but I am in need of guidance.

 

Its a problem I am sure faced by many Shiters - plenty of cars but none of them quite up to the required job.

I need a 4x4. Winters are harsh here (well usually, this winter wasnt!) so 4x4 is needed. I also need it for work, where I need a tow capacity of 2 tons. Higher would be fine, but certainly no lower. No hardcore offroading, just fields, grass, mud, forestry tracks and the like, quite often while pulling a trailer of some kind.

 

Currently in stock Chez Dave - A Landrover and a Mazda.

The first is a Freelander td4 - yeah, yeah its a girls car, etc. but you know what? I like it. Its surprisingly capable off road too. Mileage unknown due to at least 2 dial swaps and several not very careful owners before me. It is however the rather rarer Special Vehicles van variant with proper bulkhead and rear boarding.

On the plus side - nice on the road , very car-like to drive. remapped so is properly fast and decently economical. Capable offroad, just about copes with what I throw at it. Its had a ton of cash sunk into it over the last few years....injectors, turbo, remap etc and countless other wee things. I have owned it about 5 years now, which is probably one of the longest times I have ever owned any car, so yeah, I really guess I do like it.

On the down side - no Lo Ratio gearbox, which means having to give it revs to prevent stalling and slip the clutch like a mofo to get over obstacles. This is made worse with a trailer on the back. Also, its a Landrover, so there is a constant, incessant stream of things needing repaired. An ABS sensor here, boost hoses there, an alternator there and so on, none of these on their own are very serious but by fuck its all added up to a distressing amount of money now that I have checked through the folder of receipts.

 

The problem is that it has shat its clutch. Im not surprised. I had bother in the past with the hydraulics, but I reckon its the disc gone this time - no slippage yet, but its hard to get into first or reverse and it occasionally stinks of clutch smoke. Since it has one of these brilliant* dual mass flywheels which would probably be best to change/convert to solid and it would be silly not to change the internal slave while its all apart, I am looking at well over 500 sheets just for the parts, not counting oils and any other stuff that might* be found while doing the job. Also, and worse, while looking underneath the other day, its rusty. Very rusty. I knew the sills were a little crispy and since the French mot isnt really concerned with rot, its never really sunk in just how bad it might be. The sills are that horrible skwishy feeling and I reckon a little pressure will see fist-sized holes everywhere.

 

In the other corner is the Mazda - A B2500 pickup, which is the same as a Ford Ranger. On the plus side, its cool, I really like the way it looks - its super handy with seats for 5 and the load bed too. Pulls anything, goes anywhere. A massive plus point is its simplicity - its a mechanical injection pump and the most complicated bit of electronics is the radio. Aside from servicing, its needed nothing mechanically.

On the down side, the steering wheel is on the wrong side for here - not a major hassle, but its a negative all the same - on road its fun for blasting about but long trips are tedious and uncomfortable. It bounces around like fucking Zebedee, worse when unladen. Its noticeably less economical than the Landy, and its rusty too. The whole underside is crispy as fuck and I have already lashed a few patches on the chassis rails. To my shame, I was in a hurry and it was just a "plate over the holes and it will be alright for a while" job.

 

I dont like having a rusty car, and while the CT tester may not be too fussed, I dont like the idea of structural parts of the car not being there anymore, especially with potentially two tons on the towball pulling on the chassis. I like welding up old chod for pleasure, but I will be fucked if I want to get into a major weldathon for a supposedly reliable daily.

 

 

So, what do I do?

 

Get shot and buy something else? yeah, I would love to, but firstly, I have no idea what. A disco fits the bill of capability on and off road and a decent tow capacity, but I have owned a couple in the past and it was the usual Landrover story of things constantly needing fixed. Add in rebuilding the lower 6 inches every two years and sorry, but ahm oot.

A P38 is appealing, but I would feel bad shitting up a nice interior with my work clothes. Also, see above for Landrover niggles and the potential for catastrophically bad, wallet emptying failure at any second is a bit of a worry.

 

Secondly, cars are stupidly expensive over here. A replacement Freelander in good order would stand me about 3 or 4 grand and a replacement for the Mazda or similar pickup would be maybe 5 grand for a rough one. Thats pie-in-the-sky money to me...no way can I afford that.

 

Thirdly, neither of my cars are worth much as they are if I sell them.

 

there is a Freelander for sale not a million miles away for a grand with high miles and a blown transfer box. Im actually considering buying it and swapping all my good oily bits and Special Vehicles van bits into its shell, then selling anything else I reckon would recoup a fair chunk of the purchase price. Its a gash colour though, and thats a lot of money and effort to just have a Freelander at the end of the day.

 

 

I Dunno....

 

 

[Bobthebeard]

Apologies in advance for the long, tedious ramble, but I am in need of guidance.

 

Its a problem I am sure faced by many Shiters - plenty of cars but none of them quite up to the required job.

I need a 4x4. Winters are harsh here (well usually, this winter wasnt!) so 4x4 is needed. I also need it for work, where I need a tow capacity of 2 tons. Higher would be fine, but certainly no lower. No hardcore offroading, just fields, grass, mud, forestry tracks and the like, quite often while pulling a trailer of some kind.

 

Currently in stock Chez Dave - A Landrover and a Mazda.

The first is a Freelander td4 - yeah, yeah its a girls car, etc. but you know what? I like it. Its surprisingly capable off road too. Mileage unknown due to at least 2 dial swaps and several not very careful owners before me. It is however the rather rarer Special Vehicles van variant with proper bulkhead and rear boarding.

On the plus side - nice on the road , very car-like to drive. remapped so is properly fast and decently economical. Capable offroad, just about copes with what I throw at it. Its had a ton of cash sunk into it over the last few years....injectors, turbo, remap etc and countless other wee things. I have owned it about 5 years now, which is probably one of the longest times I have ever owned any car, so yeah, I really guess I do like it.

On the down side - no Lo Ratio gearbox, which means having to give it revs to prevent stalling and slip the clutch like a mofo to get over obstacles. This is made worse with a trailer on the back. Also, its a Landrover, so there is a constant, incessant stream of things needing repaired. An ABS sensor here, boost hoses there, an alternator there and so on, none of these on their own are very serious but by fuck its all added up to a distressing amount of money now that I have checked through the folder of receipts.

 

The problem is that it has shat its clutch. Im not surprised. I had bother in the past with the hydraulics, but I reckon its the disc gone this time - no slippage yet, but its hard to get into first or reverse and it occasionally stinks of clutch smoke. Since it has one of these brilliant* dual mass flywheels which would probably be best to change/convert to solid and it would be silly not to change the internal slave while its all apart, I am looking at well over 500 sheets just for the parts, not counting oils and any other stuff that might* be found while doing the job. Also, and worse, while looking underneath the other day, its rusty. Very rusty. I knew the sills were a little crispy and since the French mot isnt really concerned with rot, its never really sunk in just how bad it might be. The sills are that horrible skwishy feeling and I reckon a little pressure will see fist-sized holes everywhere.

 

In the other corner is the Mazda - A B2500 pickup, which is the same as a Ford Ranger. On the plus side, its cool, I really like the way it looks - its super handy with seats for 5 and the load bed too. Pulls anything, goes anywhere. A massive plus point is its simplicity - its a mechanical injection pump and the most complicated bit of electronics is the radio. Aside from servicing, its needed nothing mechanically.

On the down side, the steering wheel is on the wrong side for here - not a major hassle, but its a negative all the same - on road its fun for blasting about but long trips are tedious and uncomfortable. It bounces around like fucking Zebedee, worse when unladen. Its noticeably less economical than the Landy, and its rusty too. The whole underside is crispy as fuck and I have already lashed a few patches on the chassis rails. To my shame, I was in a hurry and it was just a "plate over the holes and it will be alright for a while" job.

 

I dont like having a rusty car, and while the CT tester may not be too fussed, I dont like the idea of structural parts of the car not being there anymore, especially with potentially two tons on the towball pulling on the chassis. I like welding up old chod for pleasure, but I will be fucked if I want to get into a major weldathon for a supposedly reliable daily.

 

 

So, what do I do?

 

Get shot and buy something else? yeah, I would love to, but firstly, I have no idea what. A disco fits the bill of capability on and off road and a decent tow capacity, but I have owned a couple in the past and it was the usual Landrover story of things constantly needing fixed. Add in rebuilding the lower 6 inches every two years and sorry, but ahm oot.

A P38 is appealing, but I would feel bad shitting up a nice interior with my work clothes. Also, see above for Landrover niggles and the potential for catastrophically bad, wallet emptying failure at any second is a bit of a worry.

 

Secondly, cars are stupidly expensive over here. A replacement Freelander in good order would stand me about 3 or 4 grand and a replacement for the Mazda or similar pickup would be maybe 5 grand for a rough one. Thats pie-in-the-sky money to me...no way can I afford that.

 

Thirdly, neither of my cars are worth much as they are if I sell them.

 

there is a Freelander for sale not a million miles away for a grand with high miles and a blown transfer box. Im actually considering buying it and swapping all my good oily bits and Special Vehicles van bits into its shell, then selling anything else I reckon would recoup a fair chunk of the purchase price. Its a gash colour though, and thats a lot of money and effort to just have a Freelander at the end of the day.

 

 

I Dunno....

I suspect that if you re read the above the answer may be obvious regarding another Freelander.....

[scruff]

LHD

Tow anything

Diesel

Reliable

Fun* on long trips

More macho than a Freelander

 

 

http://www.cheffins.co.uk/lot/-1011010-vintage-0

[scruff]

More seriously - what about a Land Cruiser or a Patrol or something. Strikes me pretty much any older 4x4 is going to have grot issues though, and I'd wager any of the above would command megaeuroz in France. 

 

A mate of mine lives a similar life to yours down in the Charente and uses a old 200Tdi Discovery and a Series 3. He does like Landies though so puts up with all the crap! 

[Asimo]

Military surplus Mercedes GWagen? (LHD)

 

http://www.mod-natodisposals.com/index.php/search-results-by-description/article/40055

 

Or less shitely, what about a Mercedes ML270 etc? There are loads of them around these parts, they always look clean even at 10 + year old.

[eddyramrod]

Are there any of these where you are?  Badged as Bedford/Vauxhall, Isuzu or Chevrolet.  4x4 or 4x2 (mine was 4x2 and never had any problem towing cars), tough as the proverbial old boot and getting on for 40 mpg too.

No idea what prices are like around you but has to be worth a look, especially if you can offset it by flogging one or both of the others.

[dave21478]

Hyundais are a no go.... some friends have a SantaFe that I do repairs on every now and then and its a proper hassle to get bits here, even service items generally have to come from UK.

 

Santanas are pretty rare and they few I have seen have been Defender money anyway :/

 

G wagons are strong money and I dont think I have ever seen a Surf here? Seems like the surf is called an HDJ80 here. Costs a lot.

 

Edit:edit, seems like the hdj is the new version, the old surf is called a Runner here.

[dave21478]

Just checked for ML Mercs - cheapest on Leboncoin is 6k!

 

Never seen that pickup...looks like an import? 

Anything non-EU is a major pain in the balls to register here.

[eddyramrod]

My pickup was a UK-import to Cyprus, hence the Vauxhall badge, but I would imagine you'd find plenty wearing Isuzu or Chevrolet.  I saw loads there, clearly sold new, but very rarely a Vauxhall.  Isuzu is probably most likely, I would expect the Japanese to have invaded every possible market.

Avoid the Mercs at all costs.  ML, as you've spotted, will be way out of your budget, and G... oh dear no, just plain horrible to drive.  And still over budget, most likely.

FWIW I think your best bet is to concentrate on finding something like the Mazda (eg an Isuzu, directly equivalent) whether 4x4 or not.  You might find a 4x2 makes all the difference budget-wise, and won't be much less capable for towing.  I took mine down a fair few Cypriot "rural roads" (unmade tracks) and it was only defeated once.

Good luck!

[dave21478]

Cheers!

Im not finding any other pickups at all, but I guess I will just have to keep a regular eye out and pounce if something suitable turns up.

 

Terranos are almost affordable, but I know nothing about them. The kind I remember from UK is called the terrano II here, and this is a terrano I...

Which has a vaguely Frontera / isuzu MU look to it.

 

2.7 diesel seems to be common.

[Lacquer Peel]

UMM ALTER.

[TRW]

TL;DR

 

Freelander Diesel or SsangYong Musso.

 

The only options.

[Lacquer Peel]

aro rodeo.

[Ratdat]

Cheers!

Im not finding any other pickups at all, but I guess I will just have to keep a regular eye out and pounce if something suitable turns up.

 

Terranos are almost affordable, but I know nothing about them. The kind I remember from UK is called the terrano II here, and this is a terrano I...

Which has a vaguely Frontera / isuzu MU look to it.

 

2.7 diesel seems to be common.

 

I had one of these and it was OK but not all that great on fuel and not very powerful for towing despite being a 2.7 turbo. Nice to drive, well made and quite tough though. Auto boxes have a 'hold' function which is good for towing but the overdrive/lock-up torque converter is not so much. A manual would be a better bet. Mine had an LSD as stock on the rear and it was good on the slippery stuff. Overall, I don't think I'd honestly recommend one for what you need, although i do think they are great looking.

 

There's heaps of old style Landcruisers over there... no chance of one of those for reasonable money?

[mouseflakes]

I doubt this helps but I couldn't resist...

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/652694921.htm?ca=12_s

 

 

 

...and I never knew these existed...(apologies for the slight side-track!)

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/652659765.htm?ca=12_s

 

 

I'm fairly sure neither of these will pull a 2-tonne trailer - so apologies, as you were...

[RichardMoss]

It sounds to me like you are actually quite fond of that Freelander and that it would do the job if it wasn't bolloxed. To me it appears that your best bet could well be to get hold of a (relatively) rot free one and bung in the good bits from the one you have.

 

Another thought might to be to find some softer springs for the Mazda and then supplement them with some inflatable airsprings when carrying a load.

 

If you want something EU built, how about an Austrian built, diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee? 1999 - 2004 WJ Grands are quite comfortable on road and suitably capable off of it. I used to have no problems with long runs in mine