Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Okay I am defecting to Nissan. Always had the Zook, much smaller different sort of vehicle. I have narrwoed it down to two GQs that I am looking at.

Vehicle 1 1989 LWB 4.2 petrol Auto, 290,000 km Drives well good condition Owner had it for years and has used it offroad (boast of time he got bogged etc) overall a good vehicle for 20 years old. $4,700 ono asking price.

Vehicle 2 1997 LWB 2.8TD Manual 218,000 km. It has had a new cylinder head, clutch and radiator put in last year. Drives well feels less "trucky"compared to vehicle one. Has Electric brakes dual batteries (maybe was a tow vehicle hence the head going early??) The owner openened the drivers door in a strong wind the other day and the drivers door blew out of her hand, when she shut it it is now jammed, looks like the hinge is out about an inch, if opened all the way would crease the panel in front. No quote yet to fix (any ideas?? do I reduce offer accordingly or wait for them to fix??) Asking Price $8,000 ono (pre door mishap)

Both have stock suspension, bullbar, towbar, spotties.

I am getting the bigger vehicle so that it can be the family wagon, go where I used to go in the Zook, camping trips (ie can carry a shitload more than a Zook especially with passengers).

Which one should I get?

Thanks

welcome to the darkside , the 2.8 TD has a bad rep round these parts , my opinion is I would rather perform my own vasectomy with a blunt rusty knife than buy one of them . More a time bomb than an engine (watch the attacks from frustrated RD28 owners i get for that one) The 4.2 is a reliable dog but tends to drink like a fish , has all the good heavy drive line though . (2.8 gearbox sizably smaller) .
For the savings you will make on the buy you can fit gas and make it a lot easier on the wallet , make sure the body is good but as they are getting older now.

i did similar research befori i bought my 4.2 petrol about 12 months ago and acording to the info i could gather the 4.2 is a much better option in my opinion

I'd probably pick the 4.2, and get gas! Only thing with 4.2 petrols is that they seem to crack a head or blow a gasket now and then - thats just a coupla people i know who have had them.
Hard choice, really i'd want the 4.2 diesel - thats what i got, but they're a bit dearer, at least with the 4.2 petrol you get the larger gearbox if you ever decided to go v8 or 4.2 diesel.
Having said that i'd probably rate the 2.8td GQ ahead of the zd30 GU - even if they had the same k's and were the same price!!

I have owned a 2.8L TD since new. Its been well maintained, driven hard on occassion and have never suffered any problems with it. It has had its share of stupidity and abuse thrown at it, and never let me down.

It is low on take off torque. It is heavy on juice especially when weighed down with all the gear. It is no rocket ship and will easily be beaten off the mark by a bmx with a flat tyre, and perhaps I have been lucky. I reckon its not a bad vehicle.

I have added a transfer case reduction kit, twin lockers, snorkle and intercooler, and it goes well in the bush for everything I do. I do not flog the crap out of it or expect it to climb mountains at 80km/hr.

Having said that, if I had the choice again, I would choose the 4.2L diesel and turbo it - much better choice.

Personnally go the petrol, yes I own 1 and yes the only thing they wont pass is a service station!!! But I would rather have that power there if needed, loaded up with fam of 5 towing offroad camper it still has the power to go places (although drinking ALOT) but I would prefer that then a 2.8 as when I watched the vid of my mates trip to the cape all you could hear was "gutless piece of sh*t" all through the video as he was trying to climb hills that the petrol romped in...

I'd get the newer vehicle regardless of engine. Any vehicle that has done close to 300,000kms is going to require regular maintenence and TLC.

Either that or keep hunting for a 4.2D.

T_Diesel wrote:I'd get the newer vehicle regardless of engine. Any vehicle that has done close to 300,000kms is going to require regular maintenence and TLC.

Either that or keep hunting for a 4.2D.

What he said...
300,000klms on a petrol could mean $$...

The 2.8 appears to ahve more accessories, and the money spent already on the things that fail (head clutch)...
hard choice, the petrol is 1/2 the price.

Neither. Look for a more modern petrol. They do exist and will come in between the prices you've already found.

The petrol GQs on LPG are the pick. Both factory diesels are yuck.

Thanks

Seems the 2.8TD has a really bad reputation. I am now leaning towards the 4.2 petrol (4.2D are rare as hens teeth around here and priced way up)

Figuring at least the petrol is cheap, you can't loose too much on re-sale if you don't pay much upfront

I figure I will most likely upgrade in a few years anyway.

Yep ideally I would like a newer vehicle, less KMs etc maybe even gas if it was available. But there are not too many around.

There seem to be heaps of petrol GQs going around with 300 even 400 thousand plus KMs and still asking higher prices than this one. I figure I can get a couple of years out of this one (afterall it won't be a daily driver )

If Petrol on LPG is the pick, maybe look at putting gas on this one. Second hand the tank and hardware souldn't be too much, then fitting less the Gov't $1750 rebate might be worth it.