Looking at getting 1989 Safari SWB 4.2turbo

[Slideways]

Hi, New here...

I've never owned a 4x4 before but have been keen for a while now, Im interested in a very nice SWB Safari 4.2 Turbo Manual.
107km's
Can't see any rust...although there is alloy chequered plate on the bottom of the doors...
Plenty of tread on what look like standard diameter tyres.
Shocks look pretty substantial - I can make out possibly "oldman" on the worn out sticker. I've heard of old man emu. Are these aftermarket/anygood?
Raised a bit, not sure on details.
Mechanical winch (can see oil/grease coming from the elbow/joint just behind the bumper (common?))

Are these very common in turbo and what sort of performance should I expect ie will it struggle up hills or will it be a torque
monster? What sort of economy on open road or town driving/

It has a good quality aftermarket boost gauge, but I wouldn't have thought there would be any need unless it has had the boost raised. Can these motors handle this sort of thing?

Are parts like diffs/gearboxes etc hard to find or pricey?

Is there anything I need to look out for?

Sorry about all the questions



Any help or info would be appreciated.
Cheers

[mudhunt]

the factory turbo safaris are run well but the turbo on them isnt that good you can get alot more power by changing the turbo. They are torquey not fast, old man emu make good gear what sort of price you looking at paying for this truck

[Slideways]

the factory turbo safaris are run well but the turbo on them isnt that good you can get alot more power by changing the turbo. They are torquey not fast, old man emu make good gear what sort of price you looking at paying for this truck

Thanks for the quick reply.

This one in particular is $7000. It seems like a good price but after a look on trademe they do seem to go cheaper but more k's and mostly auto's.

I've played around with turbo's on petrol motors quite a bit but nothing on diesels at all. If say, I change the turbo to something a bit bigger with the same flange, would this require fueling changes or are they reasonably flexible?

Do you know of a site which has some specs or info on the engine, possibly what sort of turbo, torque, kerb weight etc?

[Taz]

http://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9129&highlight=safari+specs

[DaveM]

You'd be very lucky to find a factory turbo 4.2 on trade me for cheaper than that even with higher km's.
What year is it? Is it factory/aftermarket or a "home made" turbo setup?

If it is a later model factory, and is good condition it would be a good buy

[Slideways]

You'd be very lucky to find a factory turbo 4.2 on trade me for cheaper than that even with higher km's.
What year is it? Is it factory/aftermarket or a "home made" turbo setup?

If it is a later model factory, and is good condition it would be a good buy

Yeah I thought it was a good price, I assume its a stock turbo but the only info I have is what was on the fore sale sign.

I haven't made any commitment except getting an asking price from the seller.

The missus has said yes though...just have to make sure I sell one of the cars haha

Taz: Thanks for the link I'll have a look.

[DaveM]

Just noticed the topic heading, so it may be aftermarket, as it was mid 90's they cam out turbo from memory, not to say they haven't bolted one on or done a motor swap.
Best thing would be take it for a drive and see what you think of it, if you like it, pay for a thorough check to be done, its worth the extra money

[Slideways]

Just noticed the topic heading, so it may be aftermarket, as it was mid 90's they cam out turbo from memory, not to say they haven't bolted one on or done a motor swap.
Best thing would be take it for a drive and see what you think of it, if you like it, pay for a thorough check to be done, its worth the extra money

Bang on . Test drove it tonight and turns out it was factory TD42 n/a and has a "AXT" turbo kit which was apparently dyno tuned when fitted 6 years ago. Power wise it went surprisingly well! Power delivery felt a bit peaky though, would have thought it'd be torque from the get go.

I had a look at the turbo kit and it was nicely done but I thought it would benefit from an intercooler. Couldn't see what type of turbo it was, are these kits all the same? Also there was quite a bit of gunge/thick oily dirt around the turbo so thats a bit of a worry.

Now the downer from my first drive of a safari was that it felt like the body was attached to the chassis with nothing but jelly! A small amount of movement left to right caused a lot of roll. The owner put it down to the suspension lift. Now they weren't sure if it was just the suspension or if it was a body lift too.

Is the jelly like behaviour due to the suspension lift/possible body lift or is it just due to being a big vehicle on big tyres? Or are the shocks stuffed?

How SHOULD a safari swb handle on the road?

[pathfinder67]

They take a little getting used to but I prefer to drive my safari then the missus mistral. It may have had the swaybars removed. If so the body roll takes a little getting used to with the understeer. Has it got castor correction bushes in the radius arms, and are all the steerinf linkages in good nick or worn. A little worrying thought that oil you mentyioned, could be just a dirty motor that has never been cleaned.
Al

[MudBum]

How SHOULD a safari swb handle on the road?

Mine is a 91 swb thats had a 60mm sus lift,33in Wranglers and the front swaybar removed..
I am very happy with the way mine corners a little body roll but very managable.
Have not tried it without the rear swaybar removed and have heard thats what gives the jelly feel.

[Slideways]

Im going to find out from the seller if the rear sway bar has been removed, I don't think I'd be happy with it handling like that if I was to buy it. For example when going around a tightish corner at about 40kph it feels like it is bouncing or hopping. Is this normal?

Also Im half considering removing the lift kit and seeing what its like as I don't think I'll use it for anything too serious unless I really get into it later.

Can anyone give me an idea of what is used in a typical Safari lift kit, I did notice that there are very thick rubber spacers at the top of the front coil springs. Is this factory or is it part of the lift kit? Or would it actually be longer coil springs?

If there is infact a body lift, how can I tell? Would it use some sort of rubber blocks between the chassis and bodyshell? If so how much effort is it to remove?

Im not saying I will remove anything if I buy it. I would just like to see what options there are to remidy the handling issue.

[Slideways]

Update:

The seller has confirmed that the rear sway bar has been removed.

Can anyone confirm if this is because it won't fit due to the lift or if it is just to allow more movement in the suspension?

If it can be fitted again, will a sway bar from any safari fit. ie from another 1989 lwb (which seem to be more common).


Thanks

[pathfinder67]

taken away to improve articulation. You just need to learn to drive it accordingly. Yes any will fit, but leave it off.

[MudBum]

With the hopping round a tight corner thing...does it have a lokker in it??
Sway bar should be able to be reconnected..a lot a Saf came out with an inboard swaybar dissconect (looks like a handbrake lever under the steering wheel to the left)
Sounds like coil spacers in the front (Gives extra lift when fitting a winch etc)
If it has a body lift u will see a 50mm or bigger gap between the Chassis rail and the body.

[Slideways]

With the hopping round a tight corner thing...does it have a lokker in it??
Sway bar should be able to be reconnected..a lot a Saf came out with an inboard swaybar dissconect (looks like a handbrake lever under the steering wheel to the left)
Sounds like coil spacers in the front (Gives extra lift when fitting a winch etc)
If it has a body lift u will see a 50mm or bigger gap between the Chassis rail and the body.

The seller didn't mention having a locker, I know what you are meaning though but it was more like the body is lurching up and down. Hard to explain really.

Thanks for the info, it does have a winch so maybe this is the case although it looks factory since it is driven from the gbox by the look of the linkages. I didn't see the lever but this was a test drive after dark, but the owner has now confirmed that the rear sway bar was removed.

Im still thinking about it. If it is possible to reconnect or refit a sway bar then at least I know there are possiblities if I need it to be more stable. ie if I need it for towing....which we seem to do a lot in my family

[gary_in_nz]

simple things>>> how big tyres is it running?? are they up to good road going pressure?? also are they mud terrain or road tyres?? as most agressive mud tyres handle pretty bad on road!!

when my one was standard height it use to handle very well, right up there with my old VP Commodore, but rasing it obviously increases the height of the centre of gravity.

buy an after market sway bar so you can remove it easy for off road!!

still sounds a good deal, i would go for it!!

[Slideways]

The tyres are 31 inch on standard 15's and tread doesn't look very aggressive but not sure on the pressure. Your solution of an aftermarket swaybar could be a goer.

.... I am leaning towards getting it

[MudBum]

With my lift and 33's, iv'e done a flex test and found with this set up the rear swaybar is not that restrictive.
As the swb seem to have different personalities some might disagree but with 31's you would have no probs putting a swaybar on.

NISSAN RULES

[DaveM]

For a mild lift, leaving the swaybar on sould be fine, I only removed mine as it was so restrictive, that it was trying to tear itself off (3" lift)
Are the spacers only on the front, or rear too? Excess body roll may also be the shocks being worn, or even soft coils.

[Slideways]

For a mild lift, leaving the swaybar on sould be fine, I only removed mine as it was so restrictive, that it was trying to tear itself off (3" lift)
Are the spacers only on the front, or rear too? Excess body roll may also be the shocks being worn, or even soft coils.

Sorry I didn't get a good look at the rear springs so not sure about the spacers.

So by the looks of it I'll have the option to refit a rear swaybar as long as the lift isn't too much, from what I've been told its 2" so hopefully ok.

And if I really have to I guess its an option to remove the lift kit if it is just spacers and not longer coils.

I do remember thinking that the clutch engaged very low to the floor, to me this would normally indicate a worn clutch plate. Is it normal for a safari clutch to engage/bite quite low to the floor in 1st?

How much should the average clutch change on a safari cost?


Thanks for all of your help guys, getting closer to taking the plunge into 4wding! (not that I'll stop playing around with club racing though!).

[MudBum]

Clutches are anywhere from $400 onwards but its the time to change it that costs.Do a search on here for clutch posts and you'll see what i mean.

[GQTROL]

Labour on a clutch change is about 6-8hrs depending on what equipment is available (i.e. on the floor with a pair of jacks versus on a hoist)

[DaveM]

Mine was about $1400 from memory, incl. clutch and fitting

[pathfinder67]

I do remember thinking that the clutch engaged very low to the floor, to me this would normally indicate a worn clutch plate. Is it normal for a safari clutch to engage/bite quite low to the floor in 1st?

That's normal.
You can pick up a clutch from partmaster for under $600. Topok my bro-in -law and myself 4.5 hrs, we did have access to a full workshop though. You can adjust both the input and output rods on a safari clutch, so when it wears, and it hasn't, you can adjust it like new several times before it will need replacing.

[Slideways]

I do remember thinking that the clutch engaged very low to the floor, to me this would normally indicate a worn clutch plate. Is it normal for a safari clutch to engage/bite quite low to the floor in 1st?

That's normal.
You can pick up a clutch from partmaster for under $600. Topok my bro-in -law and myself 4.5 hrs, we did have access to a full workshop though. You can adjust both the input and output rods on a safari clutch, so when it wears, and it hasn't, you can adjust it like new several times before it will need replacing.

Thats very good to know that its normal. We've got a good clutch place here in wgtn called MP Autoparts they've always sorted me out with clutches before so should be able to source the clutch itself but the labour sounds like the killer...as normal.

Why can't all cars be as easy as a rwd one!

Brilliant info, thanks mate.

[GQTROL]

Thats very good to know that its normal. We've got a good clutch place here in wgtn called MP Autoparts they've always sorted me out with clutches before so should be able to source the clutch itself

Since the truck is turboed, don't replace the clutch with a standard one. Go aftermarket, with increased clamping pressure such as Extreme, Safari Tuff or 4-Terrain. I've had experience with each of those and the Extreme is the most unforgiving to drive, while 4-Terrain has best feel to it and more than enough clamping (been in 6-8 months so far).

[Slideways]

Thats very good to know that its normal. We've got a good clutch place here in wgtn called MP Autoparts they've always sorted me out with clutches before so should be able to source the clutch itself

Since the truck is turboed, don't replace the clutch with a standard one. Go aftermarket, with increased clamping pressure such as Extreme, Safari Tuff or 4-Terrain. I've had experience with each of those and the Extreme is the most unforgiving to drive, while 4-Terrain has best feel to it and more than enough clamping (been in 6-8 months so far).

Hmmm i wonder whether this one is running a standard N/A clutch...

Its also possible to modify standard pressure plates to give a good increase in clamping force, then its just a case of the friction plate being stripped down and remove the thin wafer in the centre. Basically meaing the friction plate is fractionally thinner which is needed due to the p/plate modification (causing less room for the friction plate).

I've had it done to a couple of my cars and its been very successful. For example one p/plate was tested at 1200lbs then modified to 1800lbs and has been like that for years.

Suppose it depends on the cost of aftermarket clutch kits vs. modified one.

[GQTROL]

Hmmm i wonder whether this one is running a standard N/A clutch...

Its also possible to modify standard pressure plates to give a good increase in clamping force, then its just a case of the friction plate being stripped down and remove the thin wafer in the centre. Basically meaing the friction plate is fractionally thinner which is needed due to the p/plate modification (causing less room for the friction plate).

I've had it done to a couple of my cars and its been very successful. For example one p/plate was tested at 1200lbs then modified to 1800lbs and has been like that for years.

Suppose it depends on the cost of aftermarket clutch kits vs. modified one.

If its a half decent setup, then you'll need about 2000lbs clamping. Not really worth frigging around modifying a standard one when the 4-Terrain is about $500 for the complete kit, Safari Tuff $800-$1200, Extreme $800-$1k.

I run the 4-Terrain in my turboed GQ and its mint, and I doubt this AXT turboed truck would have anywhere near the poke mine has.

[Slideways]

That 1800lbs (50% increase) clamping I quoted was from my little fwd 1600cc turbo (plate diameter of 230mm), so I'd say the Safari Pressure Plate would be significantly bigger and lots more room for improvement.

But you're right the aftermarket setup is probably the way to go, it'll also be new parts etc.

Waiting for my insurance co. to come back with a quote on insuring this safari .

[Slideways]

Had a pre purchase check done and turned up some problems.

- both front hubs leaking
- front wheel bearing play both sides
- oil leak from vacuum pump
- a/c noise and not working
- only 3 rubber spring spacers (susp lift)?! One missing in the rear but sits level...almost as if one coilspring is longer !
- exhaust leak from turbo down pipe
- worn rear susp bushes
- and a couple of small things

The mechanic also agreed that there is something just strange about the handling. I would suspect the mis matched rear springs would be a big factor...such a strange thing to do.

Weirdly enough the seller says they had the front hubs fixed not long ago.

Made an offer but doesn't look likely.

Oh well, there should be others.