Modern 4wd's Vs old simple Carby models....

>I like the old 'simple' very hardy options Vs the new computer
>chip & gimmicky 4wd's

As someone who has spent 30 years designing high tech electronics (including automotive) I agree with you.

Super duper electronics on a Commodore is fine - if it breaks down call the RACV; on a 4WD in the middle of nowhere if one of the driver MOSFETs fails... you're stuffed.

Having said that: modern automotive electronics are _very_ reliable mainly due to the care taken in the testing and qualification process. BUT... when they do fail are usually un-fixable in the field.

Depends how far off the black stuff you go I guess and whether you go in club convoys or solo?

Mike Harding

After seeing and hearing of people being left stranded by computer controlled diesels on a recent trip,I will be sticking to the mechanically injected Patrol.I don't want a $15,000 bill for vehicle recovery, not to mention sitting around for weeks waiting for help to arrive.

The missus and I did a solo trek of the Canning Stock Route in 1994 in a 1979 FJ55 Landcruiser.

The ole '55 was the last of that breed coming with a 205lt fuel tank, aircon and powersteering. It had the 2F motor and was powered by an Aisin Carby. That carby was a nightmare!! The float ball used to get jammed below the accellerator plunger and the revs would go as high as the old engine could scream. This all came about due to endless corrugations shaking everything on the wagon. One had to manage the climbing revs by hitting the kill switch. At Thring Rock Rock I did a 6 hour repair job through the night when I dismantled the whole shebang laying out parts of the carby on an old sheet and marking where each bit fitted. Then I forced a circlip into the accellerator plunger hole to keep the float ball in place, reassembled it and it lasted back to Alice Springs surviving the horrendous corrugations of the Gunbarrell. Otherwise the 55 was a good bush wagon with no fancy electrics except one Fusible Link. The truck rusted out on me and I switched to Nissans.

I was pretty unsure about the electric windows and multitude of relays when I bought the mid range GQ but the electrics have lasted so far. When the window winders go pear shaped I take them apart, clean them and spray with WD40 and then they work well again. The Nissan has served me well so far going on many remote treks and it hasn't missed a beat out bush. All breakages seem to happen when I am at home....lol

Vehicles with Turbos scare me and I will never buy one.


Cheers

We have now owned four fuel injected vehicles and have had no trouble with any. but if I was going to do a long desert run a 1hz or nissan 4.2 would be my choice
Cheers Pete

Hi Rowen,
Yours is a simple question but the answer complex.

So many factors to consider, price, reliability, track record, comfort, parts, servicing, cost of servicing, accessories, fuel economy, the fashion statement, the list is endless.

Whether you spend $1000 on an old heap and another $5000 to bring it up to scratch, or, $100,000 on a current 4wd spaceship and another $30,000 on supposedly needed upgrades, the choice is an individual one.

Cheers....Lionel.

Carbies can be a PITA, but fixable. I like the mechanically injected diesels but the older models with low km's are becoming hard to find. I think the last of the 75 series Troopies would be a good bet and should be plenty to choose from. The H55f 5 speed tends to be a little stronger than the R151's used later. They are not modern but just as up to date as the new troppies in body and dash!

Cheers,
Dave

Yep, good call guys. Cheers for all that.

I was looking at a 2000 Prado TD (95 series) but I can get a mates '97 troopy (known service history/ owners) for half the price & its much simpler and very tempting.

being a cruiser man, what years did 75 series troopy's run? Could be a silly question but these troopy's are EFI with no chips right?

Cheers again

Ro

Ro,
The "electrics" on old vehicles can leave you stranded too!!! I think AGE is the big factor.

On the old FJ55, HJ47's, HJ61's that I owned over quite a few years, I had breakdowns due to alternator brushes, fusible links, regulator failure, EDIC motor, starter motor solenoids etc etc I also had carby problems - stuck accellerator pump,

For reliability, give me a late model EFI Toyota any day in preference to a 20 year old "simple" 4wd. Pretty rare to have an issue in the first 100-150k on a Toyota.

You're right about how hard it is to find a good 60/75series. Usually the maintenance gets skipped, as its pretty expensive to maintain an older vehicle.

If you are looking at reliability just because it’s old and simple don’t mean it’s safer anything electrical or mechanical made by man can bugger up. What do you think is keeping 747 in the air over the Atlantic at 37000ft; Bloody computer chip’s and allots more of em than are found on any car that’s for sure.

who has had a modern EFI Computer controlled car let you down due to a computer failure.

Toyota issues

>Apart from the pressures of having to rapidly increase production,
>Mr Kino bleep a said a major source of problems was the increasing use
>of electronics and, in particular, integrated circuit boards, in cars.

Mike Harding

I can remember back in 1987 when the first electronic diesel truck engines came out, i was running a heavy vehicle workshop and the number of customers (truck drivers) who said they will never go to the electronic engines was unbelivable, comments like my television has broken down 5 times in the last 3 years......and I would not trust electonics , just think of the heat and vibration....and so on.

But we saw very few issues with the electronics and some drivers even found out when the did have a fault the could still drive it.

Gulf Transport were one of the first to use the Cummins N14 525e in road train applications, they ran them beside the non electronic Cummins K19's....the N14 is a 14 liter motor and the K19 is a 19 liter motor, the N14's out pulled, used less fuel and had fewer issues then the bullet proof K19's.

Even with trucks nudging 2 to 3 million kilometers they still run reliable.

Give me electronics anyday!

Regards Richard

A big problem with any high performance engine is trying to take the spanners and screwdrivers away from the fiddling backyard mechanics ! Blackbox electronics allow the manufacturer to "set & forget" the engine settings. You can't change the software. Mike will know what I am talking about :-))