Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Okay straight up i know that its not much to play with but im sure its possible..

Gonna be in the market shortly and im confused on what i should be looking at..

Petrol or diesel,
NIssan or toyota..

Hell im so confused, i was thinking of an mq cause i know a bit about them having owned one before but then i have seen how low a price you can get gq's for... But then most of them are petrol and i can remember the gq i owned before costing me nearly 3k just for a gearbox overhaul..

Any thoughts and opinion would be appreciated.. Oh and i dont mind doing a little bit of mechanical work too...

Cheers Marc

Bought a GQ TB42 efi for $3500, running/idling very rough, spent:
$60 on injector testing and replacing o-rings (fixed problem)
$300 on exhaust
$120 on fan hub
$400 rad recore

Tyres/rims $2500 (gave me total of 10 alloys and 6 new tyres)
Storage/wheel carrier approx $800 in materials and built myself
Everything else I had on a ute and swapped over ie suspension, barwork, lockers etc

Vehicle has 400 000 km on it now and other than being thirsty has not missed a beat. I put approx 30 000km on it in touring in the past 12 months, still touring now.

I'd go Toyota diesel. 60 Series
Out west everyone has a toyota and they are nearly all diesel.
Parts are available everywhere and fuel is too.
Every property has diesel. A reassuring thought if you puncture a tank 300km from nowhere.

firstly i would go a diesel for sure.
its available everywhere and on a long trip will workout cheaper IMHO.

i'd look either a MQ or a 60 if your going bush to pay for some mods or parts etc.
or if its mostly highway look at a GQ or 80 series diesel.

i bought an 80 series diesel 18months ago for 7100 with 11months rego winch etc. drove to WA and back no dramas. sure it only chugs along but your touring not racing.

if its just touring and nothing too rough then id go the MQ or MK (one is better than the other but i cant rememeber)
difinately diesel for sure.

if you want to do harder tracks then go the GQ

A RENTAL 4WD

What sort of offroad use are you looking at? How remote will you be travelling, etc.

GQ's are tough, reliable trucks and have interchangability with preceeding models MQ and MK, as well as much interchangability with GU's and many other Nissan models.

Toyota parts would be much easier to source if caught out in remote areas. 60 series would be in price range. I doubt whether you'd find an 80 worth buying for $5k. I don't know Toyotas really well but the 78 series shape was and still is very popular so i'd imagine there'd be loads of parts available for 75series utes, troupy's, etc.

As said, if heading to remote regions then deisel would be the go. Otherwise i reckon a petrol on gas would be quite economical. Stick with a carby model, too hard to fault-find and source parts for an efi engine. Install a 2nd lpg tank if range is an issue.

As others have said once you know what sort of terrain you will be travelling, then it will make the decision easier. Deisel is deffinately the way to go!

for around the 5g mark ide either be looking at a GQ or a 60 Series.

Gq's i personally think alot nicer tourer because of one 5 lettered word....... *coils* and with that comes onroad comfort and handling with awsome off-road capability. The only problem is with 5k, i dont know if you would find a decent deisel powered truck. You could find a good example in petrol either the TB42 carby or the Rb30, mind you i would rather the TB42

60 series tough as nails, will go places you wouldnt put your foot, can find decent trucks with a 2H deisel (4.0L NA 6cyl) reliable as hell. Only concerning thing with a 60 is rust and they are not a nice vehicle to drive on long distances. I had a Turbo Diesel Sahara, Beautiful car for its age but handling was left off the checklist when it were built! highway driving is exhausting compared to a Gq or 80 series truck.

So i would be weighing up what was more important, comfort with a petrol motor, or reliable economical diesel in less road refined vehicle.

unless of course you can hold off a bit longer and stretch the coin a couple k further in favour of a diesel powered 80 series

my 2c Troy

toughnut wrote:A RENTAL 4WD

or a higher paid job

just buy a shitty sitty (60 serious) ugly and bouncy to give you that outback feel

Hey man,

Didn't know you was still around, thought you had left the country.

Anyway, i vote for GQ diesel, not a lot to go wrong, easy to fix if it does and can be had reasonably cheaply.


Cheers

Chris

GQ or 80 Series diesel if you can find one in you price range. It'd be worth trying to scrape together an extra $2k to get either.

Bus pass?

j-top paj wrote:if its just touring and nothing too rough then id go the MQ or MK (one is better than the other but i cant rememeber)
difinately diesel for sure.

if you want to do harder tracks then go the GQ

MK

Turbo, 5 speed, power steer

TD rocky

LR discovery

60 series would be ok. throuh a ome kit in there and go for it.

I will be going off the beaten track a fair bit, well as much as possible.. Yeah coming back from england in 1 month, had enough of this place its a S&^thole..

I have seen a few gq's under the 5k mark but im not sure wether they r gonna be one of those regrettable buys 3 months down the track but then a semi decent mq is still fetching around 5k..

I dont mind the idea of gas/petrol but i must admit i would feel a bit more secure with a diesel..

Most 4wd's i have owned have been leaf sprung and havent had a major problem with how they drive yet, always thought it was okay...

So it seems to be diesel is the winner as far as engines are concerned, 80's are pretty much ruled out and that leaves either a gq, mq, or 60... And no nic im not wasting my money on a discovery ever again... Even over here in England they are buckets of crap...

I dont mind doing one of these babies up so a small amount of body work it okay...ie not a whole roof or something...

Thanks everyone for your replies thus far...

toughnut wrote:A RENTAL 4WD

and we all know NOTHING goes harder or further than a rental

I reckon for your budget you couldn't go past a 60. As mentioned earlier, there's bits everywhere for them if you need them but there pretty darn reliable.
The old 2H wont get you there in a hurry but it will get you there.
A diesel GQ for 5K is going to have been to hell and back.
Cheers Dan

Thats what im worried about with a gq... Either that with a gq for teh money i have i might be only able to get a petrol or something...

I must admit i still am leaning towards an mq... I wont rule out a 60 but i am a nissan man at heart...

Shark wrote:
I must admit i still am leaning towards an mq...

go the MK

bus fare....

bogged wrote:bus fare....

or better still Wicked VAN
"dont laugh your daughter could be inside"
"to all the virgins thanks for nothing"
"Spinal Tap Service"
Nike Symbol" Your mum, Just done it"

nothing adds more bogan vibe than a good hand painted car
Vote 1 bannning wicket vans, leave them to die peacefully at the wreckers

Bingham wrote:

bogged wrote:bus fare....

or better still Wicked VAN

a Kombi Camper !! And keep the $3000 for repairs.

bogged wrote:

Bingham wrote:

bogged wrote:bus fare....

or better still Wicked VAN

a Kombi Camper !! And keep the $3000 for repairs.

and a fire extiquisher

i saw THE CRAIC..... Farrrrkn CROWS

wicked have there sign out at the moment for $37 a day!!!!!

mickyd555 wrote:wicked have there sign out at the moment for $37 a day!!!!!

some of our coast girls got one in nt.
Thing was over heating from day dot then they tried every trick in the book not to give bond back the peice of shite could not even get them back to darwin, they had to bus it...
not a good mob to hire with little own the fact the matress would have seen more schnitty then than badgirls!!! just sleeping in it you would prob end up with an itch