Looking at buying a Rangie

[spinky111]

Hey there I'm looking at buying a Rangie mids 80's 2 door
Is there anything i should be looking for? Mate told me the auto box is almost bullet proof is that true? Manual better than auto? Mate also said if i put toyota diff centres in it'll be bullet proof as well. True or not?

Thanks Nathan

[Rangie ute on 38'']

wat sort of dollars are looking at spending, im thinking of selling, wat sort are you after ie for town or serious offroad rig ect

luke

[spinky111]

For off road. Looking at spending as little as poss on buying then building it to wat i want.

[Rangie ute on 38'']

have you thought about a defender ute as there coming down in price, if its not still to high, good base vehicle

Diesel eng, coils allround,disc brakes, strong chassis, salisbury rear, alloy body, would make a good start

[spinky111]

naw i havent looked the defenders. I had a quick look last nite and there too pricey for wat i want to start off with.
Plus i dont really like the look of them. Kinda picky

So wat should i be looking out for in a rangie?

[Loanrangie]

A good friend as a mechanic ! Cheap can also mean nasty in Rangies( and others for that matter) but first off look for the best condition body you can find with the least oil leaks under it.

[spinky111]

Thanks mate im starting to look now
If anyone else can help me out let me know

[BIg StEvE]

A good friend as a mechanic ! Cheap can also mean nasty in Rangies( and others for that matter) but first off look for the best condition body you can find with the least oil leaks under it.

He He i thought oil leaks were good cos if it aint got oil leaks it aint got oil and its probably got rust!

[Rangie ute on 38'']

look for the lt95 gearbox, built like a brickshit house and will cop anything. its the 4 spd that came out standard.

[Suspension Stuff]

I am going to be ready to sell a 2 door bobtailed Rangie Ute in a few weeks for $2000 ono as is, if anyone is interested it has a 4speed manual. Logan Village, Queensland.

[RaginRover]

I am going to be ready to sell a 2 door bobtailed Rangie Ute in a few weeks for $2000 ono as is, if anyone is interested it has a 4speed manual.

Sorry mate where are you

Tom

[Simo63]

Hey there I'm looking at buying a Rangie mids 80's 2 door
Is there anything i should be looking for? Mate told me the auto box is almost bullet proof is that true? Manual better than auto? Mate also said if i put toyota diff centres in it'll be bullet proof as well. True or not?

Thanks Nathan

Hey Spinky. I think the latest 2 door you will find in Aust is an 83 model as JRA stopped importing them around that time .... although I have seen a few early 90 2 doors but these were personal imports (I've seen 2 black CSK's whcih were a special edition to commemorate the RR Classic designer Spen King).

Anyway, there are many things you need to kow about Rangies but basically, you need to buy the best you can afford first up and then go from there. You need to look for the usual rust, particularly in the floor around the base of the firewall, the sills and the rear below the lower tailgate. A lot of the 2 doors also rust around the rear of the rear sliding windows and this is usually easily seen by the bulging rubber that is being pushed out by the growing problem underneath.

Mechanically, they are prone to oil leaks but these are easy to fix except the one that gets most people, the front oil pump on the LT95 gearbox (4 speed manul) and because they run engine oil in the gearbox (well they should), a lot of people confuse this with a rear main oil seal leak, replace it and find it's still leaking which can be frustrating I guess. The factory auto before efi in 1986 was the Torqueflyte 727 whcih are extremely strong (run behind big blocks no problems) but the poor little 3.5 can't turn it at any great rate. The later ZF 4 speed are a far better box and easier for the motor to drive as well.

On the motors, the 3.5's are pretty gutless in standard form (around 125 HP) I think which is the same as a early 6 cyl falcon .. pushing a 2.5 ton, full time 4 wheel drive around ??? You get my drift, they are not power houses. The later 3.5 efi's were good for around 165hp (and the 3.9's, 4.0's and 4.6's more still) In my humble opinion, you need around 200hp to make them move well enough to be satisfying (power wise). The P76 4.4's were a great swap as they have around these figures however don't like to rev as sweetly as the smaller 3.5 so that puts some off them.

Anyway, it's lucky the 3.5's are relatively powerless as the diffs couldn't handle much more power anyway ... well the axles mostly .... particularly on the earlier course spline ones but once you toughen up the axles etc (maybe a maxidrive locker), then the crownwheel and pinion becomes the weak link but basically they are okay if you don't try to drive them like a leaf sprung cruiser or patrol .... eg flat to the floor ... like you stole it or something. And the reason you don't have to drive them like that is because Rangies have the best standard 4WD suspension setup in the world ... bar none. You don't have to attack everything flat out to cope with crappy suspension picking wheels etc up ... you can actually drive them through, up, down, under and over just about anything in the right circumstances.

Anyway, they are a great car, they have their faults (did I mention wiring and Lucasyet??) and are not generally as "tough" as the japanese vehicles but they are far more refined and generally far more endearing dispite their little faults (comparing apples with apples eg a 1980 Rangie with a comparitive 1980 Patrol or Cruiser) ... don't be fooled all vehicles have faults of some kind, none of them are perfect however a Rangie might test you a little more than some other brands but the investment is well worth it.

Just ask me ... I've had well over 30 over the years and I can't seem to break the cycle ... it's liek a bloody disease that get's into your blood and never leaves.


Anyway, hope this helps.

Cheers
Simo

[spinky111]

Thanks Simo so much for that info. It'll help heaps when looking.