Can anybody recommend a 4WD for a newbie?
Can anybody recommend a 4WD for a newbie?
I am looking for a 4Wd that I can use to access backcountry trout streams. I am not intending to do any major offroad stuff, just want something that will cope with the occasional rough track and farmland, after a drive from here in Dunedin to the Southern lakes area. From what I have seen, an Isuzu Bighorn would suit me perfectly. I have seen a large number from around '91 / '92 available for around $6000 which suits my price range and has enough room that I can throw all the kids and gear in the back. Does anybody know of any particular problems with this age bracket? Or can they recommend any other models. The dealers say high km (around 170000) should not be a problem as long as i regularly change the gearbox oil and all filters. I have heard stories from well meaning friends such as don't touch the '95 models with electronic fuel injection as the engines are prone to blowing up, Nissan terranos rust out easily, 2.5l diesels are gutless, Pajeros are fuel hogs etc etc.
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tomsoffroad
- Flopsie
- Posts: 2445
- Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2004 12:00 pm
- Location: North Canterbury
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cruiser_beast
- Hard Yaka
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:00 pm
4wd
morning....
my mate has an isuzu bighorn...2.4D turbo..1987 i think........swb, it drives really nicely onroad, but also handles the offroad stuff really well, not the full on hard out stuff, but its a really capable 4wd. it has heaps of room in the car, the bonnet is super short with most of the car being interior. This makes for an interesting time when things do go wrong with the engine as ive heard it can take a lot of work to fix something, because theres just so much stuff packed into the engine bay. in saying that, his has 220,000 kms, and it hasnt broken down yet, apart from the clutch giving way, which happens to everyone. Its good on the fuel too.
i drive a cruiser, which has a whole lot of bonnet, but not much boot space with the back seat up, with the lpg tank and all. It goes hard off road, but isnt the nicest on road(leaf sprung)
My mate drives a safari, which is pretty nice on the road, it handles well for a 4wd, and is quite comfortable. Its goes hard off road, and its not to thirsty with the D engine.
dunno if ive helped but there ya go.
Sam
my mate has an isuzu bighorn...2.4D turbo..1987 i think........swb, it drives really nicely onroad, but also handles the offroad stuff really well, not the full on hard out stuff, but its a really capable 4wd. it has heaps of room in the car, the bonnet is super short with most of the car being interior. This makes for an interesting time when things do go wrong with the engine as ive heard it can take a lot of work to fix something, because theres just so much stuff packed into the engine bay. in saying that, his has 220,000 kms, and it hasnt broken down yet, apart from the clutch giving way, which happens to everyone. Its good on the fuel too.
i drive a cruiser, which has a whole lot of bonnet, but not much boot space with the back seat up, with the lpg tank and all. It goes hard off road, but isnt the nicest on road(leaf sprung)
My mate drives a safari, which is pretty nice on the road, it handles well for a 4wd, and is quite comfortable. Its goes hard off road, and its not to thirsty with the D engine.
dunno if ive helped but there ya go.
Sam
I knew it
Hey sam did you just make a good comment about my NISSAN I never thought I would see the day.
Nah yea all three of our cars go fairly well the Toyota and Nissan better then the isuzu. The isuzu is very light and with the turbo my mate can end up been in 4th low to get up slippery clay hills, and quite often he makes it, and that is sometimes on directional road tyres.
Like Sam said they apparently can be quite a bitch to work on, my uncle is an auto electrician and he said it took his apprentice 4 hours to get the either the alternator or starter motor (can't remember) out because he had to remove the whole air conditioning system.
I think what we have found the main problem though would have to be ground clearence and articulation. It very often bottoms out or can't reach to find grip. The other night we popped down a little track just for a peek and unfortunatly bottomed out. We only had his car, with just about no recovery gear and no spade. After three hours of work we managed to jack ourselves up and build ourselves a road to get out of there without calling in the calvary at three in the morning.
If you gave it a suspension lift I think that would help it out a lot.
Overall it isn't a bad little car (for an urban). And it goes pretty hard so for just heading out back country with a set of all terrains and a suspension upgrade you would be sweet.
If you were going to get a lwb obviously bottoming out would be even more of a problem.
Good luck with your search and I hope I have helped you a bit.
Kent
Nah yea all three of our cars go fairly well the Toyota and Nissan better then the isuzu. The isuzu is very light and with the turbo my mate can end up been in 4th low to get up slippery clay hills, and quite often he makes it, and that is sometimes on directional road tyres.
Like Sam said they apparently can be quite a bitch to work on, my uncle is an auto electrician and he said it took his apprentice 4 hours to get the either the alternator or starter motor (can't remember) out because he had to remove the whole air conditioning system.
I think what we have found the main problem though would have to be ground clearence and articulation. It very often bottoms out or can't reach to find grip. The other night we popped down a little track just for a peek and unfortunatly bottomed out. We only had his car, with just about no recovery gear and no spade. After three hours of work we managed to jack ourselves up and build ourselves a road to get out of there without calling in the calvary at three in the morning.
If you gave it a suspension lift I think that would help it out a lot.
Overall it isn't a bad little car (for an urban). And it goes pretty hard so for just heading out back country with a set of all terrains and a suspension upgrade you would be sweet.
If you were going to get a lwb obviously bottoming out would be even more of a problem.
Good luck with your search and I hope I have helped you a bit.
Kent
Well im gonna put a plug in for a Hilux surf,you can get some early 90's for around $6-7k now.they have a good size boot & seating for 5(not counting the boot).They are comfortable enough on the road(depending on how old the shocks are) They have a good supply of 2nd hand & new parts availble. There not to bad to work on.
& as far as offroading goes there very good.I hooked up with mike in the weekend & went on some cool muddy tracks out by the waimak.Its the first time ive taken it offroad & i was very surprised & impressed with how well it went in the mud,considering my almost bald tyres..I swear it drove me not the other way around.
by the end of the stint i had no fear.except for the odd big lake in the middle of the track.
so my vote is for a hilux
& as far as offroading goes there very good.I hooked up with mike in the weekend & went on some cool muddy tracks out by the waimak.Its the first time ive taken it offroad & i was very surprised & impressed with how well it went in the mud,considering my almost bald tyres..I swear it drove me not the other way around.
by the end of the stint i had no fear.except for the odd big lake in the middle of the track.
so my vote is for a hilux
I popped up to CHCH on the weekend because prices certainly seem a lot cheaper than down here in Dunno. A '92 Isuzu Bighorn for $6000 was fairly common item up there but down here seem to go for about $8000. I might have to get the gorse out of my pocket and cough up a bit more for a Surf. But am definitely going to buy in CHCH
Where I intend to go is mainly rough farm tracks, nothing the farmer on his Toyota Hilux LWB cant get thru.
Where I intend to go is mainly rough farm tracks, nothing the farmer on his Toyota Hilux LWB cant get thru.
teach wrote:I popped up to CHCH on the weekend because prices certainly seem a lot cheaper than down here in Dunno. A '92 Isuzu Bighorn for $6000 was fairly common item up there but down here seem to go for about $8000. I might have to get the gorse out of my pocket and cough up a bit more for a Surf. But am definitely going to buy in CHCH
Where I intend to go is mainly rough farm tracks, nothing the farmer on his Toyota Hilux LWB cant get thru.
92 bighorns @ $6000....where...its hard to find good 89- 90 bighorn for that.Id be wary of any that cheap,it must end up costing you later on.
also Ace 4wd on byron st often have some cheper higher milege toyotas & others.
teach wrote:Whats wrong with Pajeros? Anything in particular or a personal bias?
in my experience ,mitzubushi make good Heat pumps & dehumidfyers.They dont build good vehicles.some pajeros can be a nice drive,& they were the first to make a 4wd that was as comfortable as a car ,but they have been know for there problems once the miles get up a bit.
talking bout pajeros gearbox i have herd that every single new model has got a different gearbox and finding parts for them is tricky i drive a 3 dr zook its a bit low and short at times but i would say go with the surf as they are a real good all rounder and lots of parts at resnb $$$$ plus the size of a zook might not work with the kids etc i have trub fitting it all in on a long trip for two only cause my girl freind takes it all as most females do 
i have trub fitting it all in on a long trip for two only cause my girl freind takes it all as most females do I have a shot at a '90 Isuzu Bighorn Irmscher 2.8 LWB. The thing is immaculate and has just passed a warrant. I am going to get a vehicle inspection done on it as I should get it for $4500. It has done 129000km. And is just what I am after.
If I get it, I think I should probably get it serviced straight away. I suppose diesel and air filters, change the oil is standard. i suppose it wouldn't be silly to replace the cam belt or equivalent.
If I get it, I think I should probably get it serviced straight away. I suppose diesel and air filters, change the oil is standard. i suppose it wouldn't be silly to replace the cam belt or equivalent.
good choice,if i didnt have my surf i would probably have a 2.8td bighorn .
they have a solid donk,& the 90 models look nicer than the newer shape 92+'s.
good luck with the purchase
Also be sure to check for rust in the sills above the door frames,just something i noticed while i was looking around for a good one.
they have a solid donk,& the 90 models look nicer than the newer shape 92+'s.
good luck with the purchase
Also be sure to check for rust in the sills above the door frames,just something i noticed while i was looking around for a good one.
Finaly got one
Just an update. I was browsing at Turners auctions and saw a 1990 Bighorn LWB for auction, 130000km, imported in 2001. It was immaculate apart from a paint chip on the front bumper and a stone chip in the window. That night it passed in for 4200. I got it checked out by a mechanic and he said the only problem he could find was that there was a leaky crank case seal and that someone had put directional tyres on the back, but the wrong way round. He said buy it because it looks like a very good deal. I went to auction that night and picked it up for $3800! I was pretty pleased with myself.
I then took it in to get the leak fixed and the timing chain checked. It has already been replaced. On friday I went off to see the missus. As i was tootling along I heard a horrible banging sound from the front right tyre. someone has loosened all the nuts on both front tyres. On the drivers side, only one was still on, the rest had sheared off. The garage is pleading innocence as they only touched the rear tyres. Apparently it is common for this to happen when people try to pinch the tyres. the front ones are brand new. as the mechanic comes highly recommended I will have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, I am pretty sure I got a good deal, even if I have to spend a little more on it now to fix the damage. (I will definitely be checking the wheel nuts now before I go anywhere). I found the Japanese WOF equivalent papers with the mileage on it, so it probably hasn't been wound back. The previous owner had it serviced every 5000km.
I then took it in to get the leak fixed and the timing chain checked. It has already been replaced. On friday I went off to see the missus. As i was tootling along I heard a horrible banging sound from the front right tyre. someone has loosened all the nuts on both front tyres. On the drivers side, only one was still on, the rest had sheared off. The garage is pleading innocence as they only touched the rear tyres. Apparently it is common for this to happen when people try to pinch the tyres. the front ones are brand new. as the mechanic comes highly recommended I will have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, I am pretty sure I got a good deal, even if I have to spend a little more on it now to fix the damage. (I will definitely be checking the wheel nuts now before I go anywhere). I found the Japanese WOF equivalent papers with the mileage on it, so it probably hasn't been wound back. The previous owner had it serviced every 5000km.
I had a similar experience once with a half undone wheel.Im pretty sure its because someone had tampered with my wheel,but i never had any warning before the wheel took upon itself to depart.I never had a noise or a wobble to tell me somthing was wrong untill the last second,before the left front wheel went scooting up & along the footpath for about 60m .lucky no one was in the path i must say.it must have been traveling at about 40kmh.there was no damage apart from embarrasment & a few sparks.
Hope things go well with the new vehicle,As its not a good omen to start off with.
Hope things go well with the new vehicle,As its not a good omen to start off with.
96 Bighorn Irmscher Lwb 3.1 - standard
previous 4WDs
93 Hilux surf
92 Isuzu Bighorn Irmscher 2.8 ,SWB, 122k,lifted, other mods
91 V6 Surf
previous 4WDs
93 Hilux surf
92 Isuzu Bighorn Irmscher 2.8 ,SWB, 122k,lifted, other mods
91 V6 Surf
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cruiser_beast
- Hard Yaka
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:00 pm
good stuff
good stuff teach, good luck with the new truck:)
i put a friends mud tyres on his car for him once on his bighorn, forgot to do the nuts up tight, only did them finger tight, (only on one wheel though) were lucky what happened to you didnt happen to us.ah well, ill never do that again:)
Sam
i put a friends mud tyres on his car for him once on his bighorn, forgot to do the nuts up tight, only did them finger tight, (only on one wheel though) were lucky what happened to you didnt happen to us.ah well, ill never do that again:)
Sam
Nearly
That also happened to us except we were lucky enough to here a knocking and then when one of the boys looked out the window the back wheel was wobbling around. So we pulled over and it was nice and loose, It would have been bloody dangerous if it had come off cause we were driving thru some nice bendy corommandel roads at the time and if it had come off on a corner it wouldn't have been pretty. Remember that Sam
Kent
Kent