Offroad-Express

Hi guys.. Just been looking for a 4wd vehicle for hunting and a bit of weekend light off roading for fun, going through muds etc. Budget is $6k and have been looking on trade me n pencil down to a few potential options.

Been looking at the Land cruisers Prado 91-95 model with the 1kz-te 3 litre diesel turbo engine. well I had one lined up and been asking questions to the seller only to find out it was sold today when i was going to fly to Auckland to look at the vehicle and hopefully drive it home.

Now my other option is a 94 2.8Litre turbo diesel pajero LWB. the one that i am looking on trade me seems to be very tidy with the sellering putting on the new jap domestic bumpers etc and nice big A/T tyres..

The thing that i am facing now is that I hear from people Pajeros in general is not a that reliable which kinda put me off a bit. I do know that the toyota 1kz-te motor will crack heads when over heated..

My question is should i give the pajero a good consideration or am i better off waiting for another Land cruiser prado to come by again within my price range?? once i spend my $6k i wont have any $$ to spend on repairs or money on mods to make either vehicle to go better off road..

If you leave any comments please explain why other than XXX is crap..

Cheers

Hey Ginzu,

With the Toyotas you are buying a bit of reputation. So the hope is that you'll get more reliability and less fixing. Generally there is more goodies available for the toyotas if that's what you're in to.

With the Mitsis on the other had, expect to pay less or get fewer k's for the same price - this leaves some cash in the bank if you need to do any work on the vehicle.

Worth noting that after 15 years of service, even the most bulletproof vehicle can accumulate countless problems.

My flatmate just bought a 94 2.8 pajero LWB with 210 on the clock for $2800, appears to be in tidy (stock) condition. That's a lot of gear for not much money.

Holy Crap .. your mate broughone for less than 3k. i was thinking of spending $6k for one with similar kms..maybe i need to look harder

Nothing is perfect the Prado has a solid front axle the Pajeros have ifs. Nothing against either it depends how hard you want to go.

Yeah i gather that, but i am just wondering if the pajero is worth a consideration but so far all the peopel that i have come across seems to think the pajero is not so good and unreliable.

Have had 3 Pajeros over the years never had any major issues with them.My current daily driver is a 94 lwb 2.8td, she aint no rocket ship and she aint no tough truck but really surprised me where I've been able to take her( has the factory rear diff lock which probably counts for most of that ). Regular maintenance is a must for these they love clean filters and oil. Get up to woodhill 4wd park when I can and take my boys for a bash .Sorry can't comment on the prados never owned or driven one.

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Thanks noeyedeer. that looks like fun...how much do u get out of a tank of gas by the way in average..

Thanks noeyedeer. that looks like fun...how much do u get out of a tank of gas by the way in average..

I think from memory the last time I filled her right up I got a good 2 weeks 750 to 800ks out of her mind you I had just done all the oils and filters on it Dont get to fill it right up to often $1.15/lt when I got my first pajero it was only 47 cents

Bloody hell.. thats expensive for diesel...

then ya got ya 42 dollars per 1000kms witch i do in a week

I have a 2.5L turbo diesel pajero at the moment and it leaks like nothing on earth. As soon as I find and fix one leak it develops another. However, it is a great truck for road trips due to seven seats. This one doesnt go offroad. I took it to the river once and came back with clicky cvs. The river is a hard place to drive lol.
Before the paj I had an ln65 hilux (solid axles and leaf sprung) which was amazing offroad took a a hell of a beating. Broke two rear diffs in that buuuuut it was powered with a chevy v8
My vote goes to the prado. If you got 6k then i say fcuk a vehicle with ifs and get something with solid axles. Waaay more potential for modification (you know its gonna happen lol) and your not gonna break stuff (as often) in a prado

edit: my paj has done 274000 and i got it for 1500

Point taken .. but i am pretty close to giving up on finding a prado 70 series.. Start to think other options like the idea of going back to suzuki .

Hilux =D

Suzuki's are high maintenance trust me i have one. if i was you i would still be looking in the way of some type of cruza have you looked in to any of the frp top style cruza's with a 13bt they a good truck nice to drive cheap to run and got good power just keep shopping around you dont wont to buy something you are going to be fixing everytime you take it out .

Didnt know suzuki is high maintenance jsut know they are cheap and parts are cheap. LOL You guys are right i need to fight the urge to buy something too quickly.. i guess good things takes time..

How about this one?
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/ ... 17&t=21662

Yeah I know not a prado but within the budget.

Thanks for that. Theres a few 1994 hilux surf with the 1ke-te engine for $6000.. still rather wait for the right Prado now..

Just like to say Thanks for everyone for helping me .. Today after 1 and half hours flight and 9 hrs and 20 mins, a bottle of powerade, 2 pit stop. i drove my LJ98 home. its a 1993 1kz-te diesel auto EX model with factory RR diff locks, one of the hubs wasnt working but i wasnt worried as i plan to convert to manual hubs anyway. some minor stuff that needs fixing and attention but mechanically its mint..

Once again thanks heaps, now i have a project on my hand..

Ginzu8 wrote:Just like to say Thanks for everyone for helping me .. Today after 1 and half hours flight and 9 hrs and 20 mins, a bottle of powerade, 2 pit stop. i drove my LJ98 home. its a 1993 1kz-te diesel auto EX model with factory RR diff locks, one of the hubs wasnt working but i wasnt worried as i plan to convert to manual hubs anyway. some minor stuff that needs fixing and attention but mechanically its mint..

Once again thanks heaps, now i have a project on my hand..

Sounds like the beginning of a build thread.

Oh one more thing....PICTURES!

yup photos to come but will do it tmr, body is telling me to rest after 9 hours on the road..

good to here that you got what you where after sound like you got your self a good buy factory locker

Yup, sure am happy with it. A mate helped me replace and fix one non working hubs tonight so now all hubs working. theres a few minor things that i will get parts for liks glove box and sorting out the sounds. bonnet and roof paints faded but thats no biggie for now. Will need to figure out suspension lift kit setup but i think $1500 for OME kit is a bit on the expensive side but i wouldnt know any better.

$1500 sounds about right, I paid $1700 for my EFS 75mm lift

I had a 1997 LWB V6 3500 Paj Auto a few years back, very comfortable to drive, impressed the hell out of me off road but only about 350 K's to a tank full and it took about $140 to fill it up, also my experience expensive to fix when it went wrong,

I traded it in on a new car in the end because I was faced with a cambelt change estimated at $1000 (radiator had to be removed as to get to it) and an estimate of $2000 to fix an auto box problem of slamming into 4th very harshly and very soon a new set of tyres, The truck had only done around 110K's

What about a bighorn. You could buy the truck give it a service, fit some nice rubber and still have change on your 6K

Just my 2C's worth

Chipman

have a look at maxitrac they do some pretty cheap lift kits . i wouldn't worry about the paint will just get scratched up any ways

sweet will do that