Reliability of 80 series cruisers?
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 14:56
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TWCAmpbell
I'm upgrading to a proper 4WD after a few years with a Rav4 (starting to range further afield now my little ones are a few years old). Budget of $10K - $14K and it looks like an 80 series cruiser is the best bet in this budget.
Got a friend of a friend who is selling a 1991 model for $10K. Done 420,000km, regular service history, decked out with bull bar, spotlights, second battery, extra 12V sockets, etc. Hardly been offroad. Price seems good for what else is selling in
Perth.
Was hoping for something with a lower milage as I have heard that cruisers of this vintage normally need a lot of work once they get to ~500,000km. Any thoughts on this? I'm hoping to get a vehicle that will last ~5 years and will likely be doing ~50,000km/year on it. Any
feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Reply By: furph - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 15:49
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 15:49
Could be a good buy, but when it is from a "friend of a friend" it always pays to be wary.
Not too difficult to have it checked out by a profficient mechanic (if you can find one).
From recollection the constant AWD seems to have been the Archilles heel in the 80 series.
The motor goes forever with regular
services. Gearbox noise could be a concern.
At $10g. you would have a few $'s to remedy things. Any red cancer?
furph
AnswerID:
280780
Follow Up By: TWCAmpbell - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:03
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:03
Am seeing it for the first time on Monday (coming up to
Perth from Bunbury). It's actually the sister of a friend but I am definately going to get it checked out before making a decision. We should be able to get about $12K for the rav, so am planning to keep a few $ aside for any problems that come up in the first few months.
What kind of problems were there with the AWD? Being a 91 model, I'm pretty sure it was the first year AWD was introduced and would expect more issues with than with later years if they were an issue.
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Reply By: Member No 1- Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:07
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:07
diesal or petrol?...diesal is the best way to go...
if petrol, is it the 4 litre or 4.5?.......the 4l is petrol hungrier than the 4.5
450k for any petrol motor seems high
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: TWCAmpbell - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:05
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:05
Diesal - one of the other reasons we're changing vehicles! I have a friend who makes (and runs his) 80 series on biodiesal and am interested to see how it compares with stadard diesal.
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Reply By: Cruiserman1961 (QLD) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:15
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:15
Hi,
given regular maintenance and good quality oil the motor should be good for another 200000 easy. (thats if you are talking about the naturally aspirated 1HZ diesel). The standard poverty pack version seems to be less prone to front wheel bearing problems and front differential wear. Get it checked over by a professional because the spare part prices are steep....
Other than that i dont think you would get a better full sized wagon for 10 big ones.
Good luck!
Udo
AnswerID:
280784
Reply By: madfisher - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:51
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 16:51
There are also some good GQs arround in this price range, anbd also some excellent Jacks(low k 98s for $13000.)
Cheers Pete
AnswerID:
280794
Follow Up By: Brew69(SA) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:45
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:45
Yep that money will buy you a great GQ with lots of goodies and lots less km's. And you will be happy knowing you are driving a Nissan and not some two bit tojo :)
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Reply By: Mike Harding - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 17:06
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 17:06
Just a thought: consider exactly what type of off-road capability you _really_ require rather than deciding upon the vehicle first.
In my experience most people who own "serious" 4WDs seldom (if ever) go to
places that a Rav 4 (or maybe a bit better :) could not get to. Also, if you have
young children you may be a little less adventurous (read incautious or silly :) than those of us who no longer have such a responsibility.
Whilst you can get excellent buys in the ~$12k range you can also purchase a _heap_ of trouble too.
Mike Harding
AnswerID:
280796
Follow Up By: TWCAmpbell - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:09
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:09
We're already being limited by the Rav (been almost stuck a few times when it's gone from amn AWD to a 1-wheel drive very suddenly). Love driving the Rav mostly but don't want to get caught out with 2 kids in the back.
We have also just bough a block in the wheatbelt and will be needing a larger cargo capacity for ferrying equipment and seedlings out there. Once you get the Engel in the back of the Rav, there ain't much space! A bit more range between servos would be nice too...
I'm definately undecided between going for this vehicle and paying the extra $3-4K for one from a dealership, which has a limited warrently and has already been checked over.
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Follow Up By: madfisher - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 20:51
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 20:51
If buying from a dealer than be twice as carefull.
Pete
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Reply By: Davo_60 - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 17:21
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 17:21
Hello,
The 80's are nice reliable and comfortable, no problems there. I would recommend trying to find one with less km's though and there are plenty around if you are patient. The Diesel engines, gearboxes and diffs all have a lifespan ranging from 400k to about 700k on average so you will already be into the km range where things can start to fail. That's not to say you won't get another 300k out of it but less likely that a well looked after one with 200k. Good luck anyway.
Dave
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Davoe (Yalgoo) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:27
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 18:27
Everyone will tell you how long the engine might last
- unfortunatly there made up of more than an engine.
Its not hard to rack up repairs of upwards of 5 grand on a cruiser without touching the drivetrain
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: age - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 21:07
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 21:07
I agree - anything appraoching 17 years old with 400K+ Kms with another 200K+km to come is going to cost a fair few dollars to keep reliable.
Was the reason i ditched my 80 series and it only had 200k km. Never had an issue with the 1HZ motor just everything else around it started leaking, fatigued or had to be replaced.
Cheers
A
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Reply By: Outnabout David (SA) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 20:43
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 at 20:43
Reliability on any 4wd is directly proportional to the past servicing.
Old 60's , 80"s and even GQ's will go on a long time if they have been maintained with many nhigh mileage examples on this site. The only problem is you usually have little warning that something is gong to break but don't let this put you off.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: TWCAmpbell - Friday, Jan 11, 2008 at 11:08
Friday, Jan 11, 2008 at 11:08
Thanks for all your advice!
I think I'll try for a lower mileage one with a logged service history. Don't want to be risking anything going wrong off the beaten track with two
young kids in the back...
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