Rob David's 4wd Page Since 1976 I have owned three 4wd's and have travelled most parts of Australia.Following a flying trip in a light aircraft to Alice Springs during Easter 1975,I decided I would like to see more of Australia.I decided on a 4wd as my sports car (Austin Healey Sprite) was unsuitable for outback travelling.A friend of my father's was a Land Rover fanatic and he soon convinced me that I should buy one.He worked part time in a Land Rover spares place which also sold 2nd hand Land Rovers and offered to look for a good one
Land Rover SWB Series 11A
My first 4wd purchased in March 1976 was an EX Army SWB Series 11A (1964 ) which had done 48 000 miles. The first trip was to the Dargo High Plains, followed by trips to the Grampians and then to the Flinder's Ranges.
Late in 1977 I joined the Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria and then the Range Rover Club(formed by one of dad's friends).With these two clubs I went on many trips around Victoria as well as longer Inter State trips.
Two of the trips were a Crossing of the Simpson Desert in September 1979 and a trip to Cape York in August 1981.The old Landie preformed well and rarely let me down.The only problem I had on the Simpson Desert trip was a broken Generator wire on the way home.
For the Cape York Trip (most Nothern part of Australia) I rebuilt the Suspension with LWB Springs in the rear as well as rebuilding the front end and diff also installed LWB Brakes in the front .The only problems I had were a broken rear U Bolt and a faulty Starter motor (which turned out to be loose field coils)not bad compared to some of the problems other more modern 4wd's had on the trip.
Over the 7 years of ownership the ownly major expenses were a clutch ,broken rear diff, numerous twisted axle half shafts and a broken main leaf in a front spring.It was a very impressive 4wd in the bush but very slow on the highway.One of the advantages of owning a Land Rover is that you can almost fix anything with a big hammer and an adjustable spanner!!
Following the 8 week trip to Cape York and Northern Queensland in 1981 I decided that the Land Rover was not ideal for such longer trips and something a bit more comfortable and with more room would be desirable.
Toyota Hilux (RN46)
After much research I finally purchased a new Toyota Hilux single cab ute in April 1983 The Hilux was fitted with the 18R petrol motor and had been optioned up with an ARB Bull Bar as well as a Brahma Fibre glass canopy (cost $11 300 ).
The Land Rover was sold to Des,a work mate ,along with all the spares which I had accumulated over the years.(Recently another friend of mine bought my old Land Rover for use on his farm.It had been sitting in a front yard and had not been started for about 4 years.They put in another battery ,pumped petrol up into the carby and hit the starter .It started straight away!!)
The Hilux was a very good and reliable 4wd the only thing I didn't like was the suspension.I fitted Bilsteins gas shockers and after market suspension which made the ride a bit better. I set the back up with a false floor so that I could store equipment underneath and sleep ontop of the false floor. It went on many hard 4wd trips in the State forests close to Melbourne and in the Victorian High Country as well as some longer trips to the Kimberley Region in Western Australia ,trips to Fraser Is in Queensland ,Tasmania and Kangaroo Is.Over 9 1/2 years the only things that went wrong were : replaced the clutch(twice), repaired the rear diff pinion bearing, a broken rear spring leaf and a collapsed front wheel bearing.Not bad for the amount of hard 4wd trips it went on.
For the Kimberley trip I fitted a 90 litre Auxiliary fuel tank and installed an auxilary battery in the tray to provide power to the 39 litre Engel fridge.I also fitted an after market air conditioning unit (a wise move).
Toyota 4 Runner (RN130)
By 1992 little things were starting to need attention and as the car had done 175,000 km ,I decided to upgrade to another 4wd. A friend of a friend was on an Easter Trip with me with a new 4 Runner and I was impressed with the ease in which it tackled some very steep 4wd tracks. So I decided to look around for a 2nd hand late model one with Coil suspension, preferably a Diesel. I soon found that Diesel late model 4 Runners were very rare and that the petrol ones in good condition were hard to find.
Eventually in November 1992 I purchased a new one with the 22R 4 cylinder engine and Air Conditioning for $32500 (about $4000 more than the asking price of 2 year old models with about 50,000 km)
This has been even more reliable than my old Hilux as in 10years (and 136,000 km )the only problems I have had with it is a blocked fuel filter ,faulty rear window motor ,a clutch and some rear whell bearings It has proved to be a very capable comfortable 4wd with the only draw back being the lack of wheel travel in the front due to the IFS.
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Copyright 2001: Robert.I.David ---------rdavid@netlink.com.au
Last revision 08/06/01