Offroad-Express

Im probably one newbie of thousands to ponder this question.....

I want a 4x4 and have it firmly in my mind that I want a Hilux.

Bro-in-law no 1 has a Prado and says that they are top dog.

Bro-in-law no 2 has a Hilux with beam front axle.
He pointed out the greater ground clearance than the Prado due to suspension and the manual locking hubs (which I understand is a good thing) and also highlighted the fact that a Lux lets you put the dirty smelly stuff in the tray without ponging out the whole truck and you dont need to put in a luggage barrier thingy.

Problem is we borrowed the Hilux to go to Greymouth and while generally ok the seats were not to comfy and no air con or mod cons left me wondering.

Can I get a hilux with aircon and comfy seats???

What does the Lux / Prado have over the Navara??

Its a big concern for me as I plan to give up my beloved Falcon in trade for a 4x4!!! LOL

Thanks

Andrew the traindriver
(green 4x4 newbie)

So the next logical question would be what type of 4wheeling do you have in mind??
In my opinion:

An early 90's 2.8 Hilux imported from Japan will have comfy front seats, carpet and aircon and will set you back about 16,000.
In my opinion, they are highly over rated standard. The motors are very sluggish, and ex japan, don't seem to last that long. The NZ new motors seem to go for ever. The ride comfort and artic as standard leaves a lot to be desired. They are a light duty work horse, not a real 4wd.
(I'm ducking for cover right about now)

The prado on the other hand is a whole different kettle of fish, its coil sprung, has better performing motor options, very comfy to ride in, and will almost certainly run circles round a standard hilux.
A true 4wd. Stay away from the 2.4 turbo motor unless its between 1990 and 1992 inclusive.

A hilux surf is a very good option, and you get lots to choose from. The have better articulation than a standard hilux, in that that the rear coils more than compensate for the Independant front end. Again, stay away from the 2.4 Turbo

Terrano's are in a similar league to the Surf, but are not good ground clearence wise standard. Once lifted they are better than a surf in that they have no low hanging gearbox crossmember or fuel tank.

Pajero's, well I've not had a whole lot to do with them so can't really say.

General tips would be:
If it has Independant front suspension, make sure it has coils not leaves in the rear.

Auto Box's don't tend to last as long as the Manuals in a Nissan.

Be wary of Mitsi manual box's

Both Auto and Manual are ok off road, you learn to adapt.

Coils springs are always better than leaf springs.

Hilux's are very over priced co's every real man's gotta have one

Hope that helps.

I had 3 pajero's in past including current one.
It is excellent on the on-road and quite capable on off-road.
I only know Gen-II (1991~1996) and absolutely love them.

If you have a chance, I recommend test drive one of those, especially after 1993 up to 1999. There is lots of variations in model and Mitsui changed small bits every 2 years or so.

1991~1992: 2.5 TDi and 3L V6
1993~1994: 2.5Tdi, 3.0 V6 (NZ new and Import) and 2.8Tdi, 3.5V6 (import)
1995~1996: Same as 1994 but has 16inch wheel and slightly improved engine turning for 2.8 and 3.0,
1997~1999: change shape to blister fender and get GDI engine for 3.5 and no 2.5Tdi.

The performance wise try 3.5 (not the GDI model) or 2.8Tdi (Diesel).
I have 3.0 at moment and I found it is practical option as well.

PS:
If you are planning to lift it more than 2 inches, find something with non-IFS. It may be easer.

Good point on the IFS lift!!!!
You can buy a 4" sus lift for a Terrano/Pathfinder from the states, it has a front cross member drop down kit in it

Yeah,
I sow someone lift IFS 4WD with cross member drop down.
The problem is the torsion bar (in case of Pajero) hanging low from chases....

It was not pretty...

Hard case you asking what I want to do with it... my wife asked the same question!
Seems she is none to thrilled about the prospect of the family vehicle going bush getting dinged and scratched, rolled, bowled and a***holed.

Three years ago we borrowed bo-in-law no 3's Mitzi Challanger for a sojurn to Grey (very generous, rather large family, them in-laws) and it was really comfy etc.
Only thing I did not like was the auto trans when moving off from stationary. It seemed to take lots of movement on the accelerator to get it rolling then it seemed to pause a little then take off like a rocket - other than that it was a nice truck.
I have always shyed away from any Mitzi vehicle but admit I dont have any proir first hand experience driving other Mitzi trucks than the Challenger.
Ill have to keep my ear to the ground for a chance at driving another Mitzi.

Dumb question, but can you get a 4 door Prado? (only seen 2 doors).

I think its far too early to think about suspension changes and stuff yet.. we move to the coast in 10 days (!) and I have to own a 4x4 first.

My initial thought for a 4x4 was a Surf, and it still hangs in the balance beside the Hilux. Ill have to read and learn some more I think.

Thanks Guys

Andrew

Yep, you will find a lot more 5 door prado's out there than two doors, and you want the 3l turbo engine.
Solid axel hilux, well if you were grumbleing about the Challengers lack of performance.............
Surf's are very good value for money. You only got to look at what mike the site admin does in his 100% stock surf. It's a credit. Again, the 3l turbo.
You will be hard pushed to find a manual, but i really like the toyota Auto's, they are well set up and seem robust.

I spend all day in a 1991 2.8 Jap import Hilux, the Manager went and imported about five of them to use on site as he didn't want to spend $$ on LandCruisers no matter how hard we tried, and the 2003 model hilux's we had were just falling apart after 25,000k's.

I had a look at the Accounts we had owing on each of the Imported Hilux's, all of which were under 80,000k's when we got them.
So far in 6mnths use around the mine site each vehicle has had over $3000 spent on it.

My personal one has had a new motor after it seized due to the fan hub not opperating corectly while the mechanics were road testing the new gear box, had the gearbox reconditioned twice after reverse crapped out and the second time it locked up completely, both drive shafts have been reconditioned, rear wheel bearings replaced, new rear diff, new out put shaft and seals seperate to the gearbox rebuild, new clutch with in the first month of use, two new alternators, had to replace all the springs after the front ones broke a leaf each and the rears were very saggy, new shocks as the others lasted less than a month.
Now, they do get a hard life at work admittedly, but it has all been driveline related stuff, bar the motor, which was using 2 liters of oil a week any way.
They are very very gutless on the road, and the off road ride is terrible, along with the articulation.
Unless you are prepared to put money in to suspension and a turbo, you will be dissapointed!!!
And also, the biggest tyres you can fit under them with out a body lift is 31 X10.5 R15!!!!!

I love them really!!!

Arrg, i always go that one step to far
Never mind aye.

have you considered a Nissan Terrano, I am proof that you can't kill them and they do take a severe punishment.
Albundy

regarding the hilux.

One of my last jobs as a mechanic (i now work at a powerstation) was to do the 1200000km service on one of my costomers hilux. nz new 98 model 2.8 standard as. yes thats right 1.2 million kms. never touched the moto/gearbox/diffs/transfercase... nothing,all belts and coolant replaced every 100,000kms,oil and all filters replaced every 5000km's.

and as of last night. i just sold my 96 nz new hilux, done 340,000kms never missed a beat $13,000 with 15 inch alloys on it. and cd/mp3 player. they got a bargain.

so if you want to get a hilux, get a nz new model with service history.

if no service history, oil gets thick and gummy, builds up on crank webs, throws it off ballance causing cracks, leading to more bad things not pretty. if they are well serviced, well it will just keep on going.

thats my opinion anyway,, i may have just had a good run with them

We have just got rid of four 1997 NZ new 2.8 Hilux's, they have done 6 yrs up here on site, all over 200,000k's, they have had the usual suspension replacements done, and driveline overhauls, but the motors still go better than any of the imports we have now. They were very beat up and untidy looking. went for avaerage of $12,000 each. Unbelievable!!!

They always got their oil changes done, but the rest of the servicing was a joke, i mean even if they were fully serviced, with a full grease up every 5000k's, it would still be inadiquate for the conditions they run in and the time they spend in 4wd. Mine spends 12hrs a day in 4wd!!!
That has all changed thankfully.

traindriver wrote:Hard case you asking what I want to do with it... my wife asked the same question!
Seems she is none to thrilled about the prospect of the family vehicle going bush getting dinged and scratched, rolled, bowled and a***holed.

Andrew

Maybe you need to consider a "nice 4X4" for the family and a cheap hack to "roll bowl and a**hole".

Theres so many great places to play on the Coast and many of then will damage a shiny 4by. My wife doesn't care about my toy so I can come home from a session with a few dents or the odd roll over

SupraSurf wrote:
Maybe you need to consider a "nice 4X4" for the family and a cheap hack to "roll bowl and a**hole".

Theres so many great places to play on the Coast and many of then will damage a shiny 4by. My wife doesn't care about my toy so I can come home from a session with a few dents or the odd roll over

Bloody good idea that...

Trademe here I come....

LOL

Andrew

Theres a Lux Surf in CHCH with a 2.8 Supra + Rears up front + Falcons with wide rear end. Just needs some off road rubber.

Probably pick it up for around $2000

Theres a Lux Surf in CHCH with a 2.8 Supra + Rears up front + Falcons with wide rear end. Just needs some off road rubber.

Probably pick it up for around $2000

Hello is this still for sale? Is it reg/wof? I just needa sell my Pajero first any1 interested?
Is a 1983 SWB With removable roof/canopy 2L Petrol with white spoked 30s with 12mm tread spotlights on trademe for photos bout $2000ono

Last time I checked it had no reg, no wof, no cert and no wheels or tyres... still a damn good buy but you'd need a few more dollars to make it a roadworthy beast.

Steve

nzhunter
Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 9:49 am

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Quote:
Theres a Lux Surf in CHCH with a 2.8 Supra + Rears up front + Falcons with wide rear end. Just needs some off road rubber.

Probably pick it up for around $2000


Hello is this still for sale? Is it reg/wof? I just needa sell my Pajero first any1 interested?
Is a 1983 SWB With removable roof/canopy 2L Petrol with white spoked 30s with 12mm tread spotlights on trademe for photos bout $2000ono

Nah sorry dude he sold it. You could have had it for $1100

Ahhh but there is another

Not sure of price yet but a better example with lotsa mods

Mike