Drrrrr Boo Boo time

[Hightower]

I've decided not to worry about a tow vehicle for the moment, I'll get Blue Venom back home first by borrowing someones or using the Kia as I think the tow weight will be about the 900 kg's without engine. It'll be some time till she's commisioned anyway, but I will keep an eye on Ebay and Autotrader though, just in case.

Cheers guys for all your input

[G L]

Get a Frontera 2.2dti, there cheep, easy to maintain, cheep, and will pull up to 2800 kg, and there cheep !!!!!!

[Hightower]

I was looking at Frontera's before I bought the Kia. Trust me there are a load of crap ones out there and everyone had reams and reams of rust underneath.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Hightower

I was looking at Frontera's before I bought the Kia. Trust me there are a load of crap ones out there and everyone had reams and reams of rust underneath.

LWB or SWB?

[Hightower]

LWB ones! One with a tasty 2.8 TD in, but had other problems.

[ian parkes]

I spoke to few mates I know in the trade and I was advised to steer clear of old fronteras , rust being one of the reasons , plus diesel engine problems .

I won't buy any older diesel , they are all prone to costing lots of money with cracked heads , knackered turbo's and dodgy pumps .

The few MPG less the petrol does is never worth the worry in an old run about .
Maybe if its a main vehicle and its going to do some miles then Diesel is better but you need to spend more money .

I dunno what the maverick will legally tow but would expect it to be at least same as frontera .

Best tow vehicle I ever used was Landcruiser or Nissan patrol , I used to work for a 4x4 dealer and did lots of towing with whatever we had in stock at the time . Merc G wagon was also good but not easy to find . or of couse a v8 landie £££

[Nos4r2]

The 2.8 isuzu diesels are great. It's probably not worth buying a Frontera near the coast though-it's a fair bet that it'll have been used for launching a boat at some point by a numpty who drove it in the sea.
The ones I've had have been from Birmingham way and they weren't rotten at all.

[Hightower]

So what about the Frontera's bigger brother, the Monterey?

[GuyP]

Originally Posted by Hightower

So what about the Frontera's biger brother, the Montery?

That's basically an Isuzu Trooper isn't it? They're reknowned for being solid but haven't got great ground clearance. If you're only towing with it that shouldn't matter.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by GuyP

That's basically an Isuzu Trooper isn't it?

Yep. Rots like f*ck. Excellent mechanically as long as you stick with the 2.8 engine but the chassis will dissolve if you drive it past a slipway.

You could always have a look at a Fourtrak-if you get a good one they are wonderful-and physically smaller than a Fronty. 2 doors but they are an occasional 7-seater (foldout 'jumpseats' in the boot).Pushrod engines so no expensive cambelt changes and electrically adjustable rear suspension. Mine had a brake compensator on the rear axle too so it towed like a dream.

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Yep. Rots like f*ck. Excellent mechanically as long as you stick with the 2.8 engine but the chassis will dissolve if you drive it past a slipway.

You could always have a look at a Fourtrak-if you get a good one they are wonderful-and physically smaller than a Fronty. 2 doors but they are an occasional 7-seater (foldout 'jumpseats' in the boot).Pushrod engines so no expensive cambelt changes and electrically adjustable rear suspension. Mine had a brake compensator on the rear axle too so it towed like a dream.

I lookked at the Fourtrak before buying the Kia. The missus said that Farmers drove them and wouldn't be seen dead in one

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Hightower

I lookked at the Fourtrak before buying the Kia. The missus said that Farmers drove them and wouldn't be seen dead in one

If farmers drive em , well they must be cheap to run, I had two , and I can vouch for that, and they were nippy, good off road too etc. etc. tell the missus to get over it and put some wellies on

[timboli]

I went for an older petrol engine 4x4 just as a tow vehicle(jeep cherokee) when I was looking as I could a get a lot better condition car for the money then diesel.I was only doing low mileage so the fact that it only did 18mpg instead of 30 meant diesel didnt cost in compared to the lower purchase price.I found that the more basic cars without all the fancy extras also tended to be cheaper as they were harder to sell.

[Hightower]

I'm keeping one eye on Auto Trader, the fav is the Disco as they seem to be plentiful and at the right price with plenty of cheap spares

[Nos4r2]

N reg 4litre petrol Cherokee up here for £1500 in the local ad rag.

[Mrs Jardon]

Originally Posted by Hightower

I'm keeping one eye on Auto Trader, the fav is the Disco as they seem to be plentiful and at the right price with plenty of cheap spares

that is why we went disco from a 2 yr old shogun 3500, the shogun was just so troublesome, but the disco is easy and cheap to repair. there are a few things you need to watch out for so when you are ready to go down the disco route get some inside pointers from a few disco owners on what to watch out for to save you some hassle. there are loads of people on here that can give you some really good advice/pointers.
1st disco was a 200 tdi, then changed to a 300tdi then to a series 2 td5es,
watch out for the older ones without aircon and heat reflective glass as they are like mobile greenhouses in the summer....!

[Hightower]

The 300 is the one I'm looking towards.

So....What to look out for when buying an aged Disco 300 Circa 1994ish

Lets get the ball rolling.....Is there anything wrong with the Manual Box?

[jwalker]

Firstly, it has to drive ok. The turbo comes in at about 1650-1700rpm and it should pull surprisingly well for a low powered car from there up to about 3200rpm after which you'll begin to feel it a bit breathless. Big doughnut on the rear propshaft, make sure it and it's flange on the axle are OK. Check the top rubber hose from the intercooler to the manifold, if it's boggin with oil the turbo seals are failing. Put it on full lock and listen for clicks from the CVs. If the diffs are dry, check there is oil in the axles. If they're leaking, check there's oil in the axles. Look in above the front wheel and spy the brake pipe, it corrodes adjacent to the nut connecting it to the flexible pipe. Otherwise, just check it over thoroughly as you would any vehicle. Be prepared to fix a few things, it is a Landie after all.

[Chris]

Andy, I have owned 2 range rovers and 2 discos, and I really rate them, however dont rule out a car to tow your rib, I have a VW Passat V6 TDI and it is a really good car for towing, I have also found that despite being front wheel driver it can also cope with some pretty greasy slips, Warsash at low tide, Rock Beach in Cornwall to name two.

I do 30K Miles a year for work and found that the costs of servicing and fuel on the discos was over £2500 more per annum than the VW.

Might be worth considering?

Chris

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Chris1573

Andy, I have owned 2 range rovers and 2 discos, and I really rate them, however dont rule out a car to tow your rib, I have a VW Passat V6 TDI and it is a really good car for towing, I have also found that despite being front wheel driver it can also cope with some pretty greasy slips, Warsash at low tide, Rock Beach in Cornwall to name two.

I do 30K Miles a year for work and found that the costs of servicing and fuel on the discos was over £2500 more per annum than the VW.

Might be worth considering?

Chris

I'll be quite happy with a car, but am not confident that any car could tow my outfit up the slope at Haslar, it's quite a bit steeper than Warsash.