Offroad-Express

Recently got bitten by the 4wd bug through work, even though I'm mostly on forestry tracks it's inspired me to buy my first 4wd and go deeper

I've never owned a 4x4 before but have a rough idea of what I want, I don't need the biggest and best as im not sure how serious I want to get just yet, but something I can dent and scrape without feeling too bad would be a bonus, keen on:

Mid 90's Jeep Cherokee
Earlier model Nissan Terrano V6
Daihatsu Feroza/Rocky, injected models
Isuzu Mu
Isuzu Bighorn short wheelbase
Lada Niva/Turist
Suzuki SJ/Samurai

What are people's thoughts and personal preferences on the above? Realistically I don't want to spend more than $5.5k and anything I get has to remain road legal, as it will replace my much loved R30 Skyline as my daily driver and will also be used for work.

Also wanted to know, what are the pro's and cons of autos and manuals off road? I'm also told a live axle front end is better than independently suspended, I know that you can run into problems with over extending CVs and steering geometry issues when raising an IFS vehicle but is that the only downside? I'm not expecting amazing fuel economy so motor size doesnt matter to me, hence why I'm so swayed towards the Cherokee, comfortable and plenty of grunt

Thanks in advance!

Anyone?

AGRO_RB wrote:Anyone?

because your wanting it to be a daily driver as well as an off road toy personaly I'd drop the daihatsu off the list coz there not a very common vehicle and getting a bit older and parts and spares arent so common or easily available as other more mainstream vehicles, the lada can go coz they are old 1960s technology and fawking horrible bricks to drive on the road and I'd drop the SJ zuk off the list as well coz there also little underpowered bricks to drive on the road. As far as the rest goes I personaly wouldnt buy any of them but thats just coz none of them would really suit my applications so its all your choice mate

go for a suzuki, theyre pretty good for offroad with not many mods,

Or the terrano's are allways cheap to replace parts..

I'll have a look at some, they do seem pricey for what they are though...

So between a Terrano, Cherokee, and SJ, What are the downsides and what should I look for? Any other recommendations?

first off,

Terrano cons:
Weak steering setup, easy fix with the 2wd setup.
not much after market support

pro's:
good strong driveline, easy to find parts for
still cheap for what your getting

Cherokee Cons:
Expensive parts
its a jeep
dana 35's arnt the strongest diffs out there
like to drink like a fish

Pro's:
Solid axle all round
nice to drive
plenty of power on the go
seem to be a fair bit of aftermarket support for them

SJ cons:
sometimes engine can be underpowered
Transfer case issues
Most have a fair bit of rust
A bit of a dog on road

Pros:
As stock they are really capable offroad
Solid axle all round
Great aftermarket support
Really light trucks, SAT tyres work well on them
Some easy mods to do to sort out issues.

Thats what i can remeber from off the top of my head.

i personally just about brought a cherokee, but glad i didnt for personal reasons.

i reakon if your looking for a comfortable daily driver, and not worried about gas, go for a cherokee, or if your a bit conservative on gas look at a disel terrano.

if your looking for something to get you from spot to spot, thats quite capable as is get the SJ.

other option is get a vitara, best of all worlds.

Get the Jeep, plenty of power

But what about a surf? Plenty of spares around and some say they are reliable if you get a good one....

I say, go with a Jeep (I might be biased here). 4.0 I6 engines are tough to beat with good normal maintenance. You can put a rear Dana 44 from a TJ in XJ, if thats the only concern.

As for the comment about parts being expensive, you just need to know where to shop for them. Everything I have needed or bought has been reasonably priced. They are no more expensive than other makes if you go to the dealer always.

At the end of the day no one can tell you what vehicle you will like. You need to test-drive the vehicles you are considering, and it wouldn't hurt to go on a few club runs to see who has what vehicle and how they perform in different situations. I used to have a Suzuki Samurai, it was awesome offroad, parts are cheap and easily available, they are very easy to work on due to their light weight and also you don't need anywhere as much oil when servicing compared to a bigger vehicle. I sold it recently and bought a Daihatsu Rugger 2.8 diesel and so far I am loving it, it has so much more torque than the Suzuki, it has power steering, heaps of room inside, it can actually do 100km/h and you can still hear people talking inside at that speed! So it is much better onroad, I am yet to see what it's like offroad though because the Suzuki had a rear locker but these aren't available for Daihatsus. But you need to make the decision, no good saying get a Suzuki if you are 6'5" and have to drive an hour each way to work, or you have 3 kids and want to go camping on the weekends, or you want to tow a boat etc etc. At the end of the day it comes down to what suits you, you are going to have to drive the car, not someone else so people can harp on for hours about how awesome vehicle A is, and vehicle B is shit, but that's what suits them and your preference/needs may be the exact opposite of theirs.

when i was looking at parts it was for a SAS on my terrano.

quoted me 1500 just for front diff, but that was from a wrecker with only 1 there.

as said, if ya know the right place to get them from, definitly makes a difference. U.S and imports are the way to go these days...

Hey Mate,

For 5kish you could almost squeeze into a safari.

The petrol ones are cheaper too I beleive (and the turbo diesel manifolds bolt straight on ).





Ive had 2 Suzukis, a Mu, a Surf and Now ive got a non turbo diesel Safari (manual) and I love it, its comfy on the road, not hugely under powered, sticks to the road like glue.

If I had to get something from the list it would be a Terrano (turbo diesel manual), do the exhaust, intercool it, 20psi and adjust fuel to suit

Cheers

^^^^^^that saves me from saying it, Caleb^^^^^


Cheers,

Hmmm I do like Safari's...

Why not a Surf? They're all overpriced and I've yet to come across one under the 7k mark that either doesn't have mechanical issues, rust or ridiculous kms, we had a V6 SSR-X when we first arrived in NZ and it was a great truck, until the power steering, alternator and finally the water pump packed in within the space of 6 weeks... Under warranty luckily. I.dunno I just reckon Hilux's are a bit overrated really.

I've driven most of the above and found them all pretty good, the Jeep was q standout as it looks and feels solid and, being American, mechanically simple, not normally a fan of anything with a Made in USA sticker on it but my first drive in an XJ sold me. Plus it's got room for everything, which is a bonus and they seem to be dirt cheap.

I do like the SJ, which is why I mentioned it, the fact they're live axle front and rear is a big drawcard, the only disadvantages I see are tidier ones being out of my price range and a lack of interior room, I lug tools and bulky crap around a bit so space is a luxury.

I've heard the Jeep motors are prone to cracking manifolds, true? If so is there a remedy to this? And just how easy are the diffs to break? Pretty sold on one, ticking all the boxes so far

fJust watched those videos, I'd buy one for the sound alone

AGRO_RB wrote:I've heard the Jeep motors are prone to cracking manifolds, true? If so is there a remedy to this? And just how easy are the diffs to break? Pretty sold on one, ticking all the boxes so far

Diffs, difficult to say. D30 front can take a bit of beating with 32" tyres. Going bigger, you will be starting to push the envelope a little bit without beefier axles and stuff (chromoly axles from Factory Ten are great start). Rear D35c can be problematic when it does let go. However, 32" tyres should be the limit. Now, if you want to run bigger tyres on an XJ it would require some skilled used of the grinder to make space.

Exhaust manifolds on the 4.0 on early TJ did have a habit of sometimes cracking. Easy fix is an aftermarket header once the old one cracks. They are not prone to crack, but it can happen. Jeep changed the design around 2000 on TJs. XJs have a different style of header (although some aftermarket manufacturers would try to convince you that both TJ and XJ are the same, they are not).

Keep in mind, that 4.0 litre engine has been used in XJ, TJ, YJ, WJ and ZJ. Its a pretty robust piece of iron.

Dont know too much about how much of the jandle thay can take, but the cherokees are solid fronts aswell.

i think the only major downfall with them is how expensive they are to run.

Dirtydog wrote:Dont know too much about how much of the jandle thay can take, but the cherokees are solid fronts aswell.

i think the only major downfall with them is how expensive they are to run.

And they are a JEEEEEEP

imsohi wrote:

Dirtydog wrote:Dont know too much about how much of the jandle thay can take, but the cherokees are solid fronts aswell.

i think the only major downfall with them is how expensive they are to run.

And they are a JEEEEEEP

Which is bad why?

imsohi wrote:And they are a JEEEEEEP

Sounds like sour grapes from a Toyota driver......

Have you actually looked at the history of where Mr Toyoda got the idea of a 4x4s from? Yep, FJ = Fake Jeep.....

Back on topic, drive a few different makes and models and see which one you feel most comfortable in. All 4x4s have pros and cons. Depends on what do you want to do with them.

If you want, this is a very popular replacement option for the weaker rear end (Dana 35c) on XJs. Just make sure your front ratio is the same or 4wd won't work.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-par ... 066397.htm

just go and buy yourself a jeep mate these jokers arent going to leave you alone untill you do

TJ wrote:If you want, this is a very popular replacement option for the weaker rear end (Dana 35c) on XJs. Just make sure your front ratio is the same or 4wd won't work.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-par ... 066397.htm

itll work, just not for long

Dirtydog wrote:itll work, just not for long

Are you bidding on it? 8.8 seems to be popular with US Jeepers. I personally don't have experience with it as both of my Jeeps have Dana 44 rear ends.

Sadam_Husain wrote:just go and buy yourself a jeep mate these jokers arent going to leave you alone untill you do

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