what are they like?

[brentz]

howdy all
ive been looking around for quite a while as to what car i want to buy for me first car~!
i have thought about landcruisers(fj40) and a whole lot of other toyota's as im a toyo boy but have also thought about a rangie!?
i have alwayz loved the look and sound of them but never really looked further into it as much as i have wanted to!
anywayz what i want to no is this:
1. what are they like overall?
2. how do they handle off road and on road?
3. do they like mud?
4. which one is the best motor for it?
5. are they really heaps of maitnance like ppl say they are?
6. what are some other good and bad things about them?
7. what are they like on gas
8. what model would you suggest and around what price should i pay for that model?

im thinkin of just a 2door one but it will be manual and seeming as i cant have a v8 because of the gay new hoon laws for P platers i might be able 2 get an exemption as they are very small v8's and a whole lot of other reasons!

[Defender=1st]

i dont own one but i hear they are Brilliant offroad.

[mark4130]

Hi Brentz
im a little bias seeing ive only owned 2 door rangies but i think there an awesome all round 4wd on and off road.
Mine have always needed maintenance but i think it the way i drive em:thumb:
luv mud or should i say i luv mud:D
gas i hate it its the first thing i remove:mad:
models..i like the 2 doors coz there cheap

Mark

[Nemesis]

The old Rangies are one of the best 'out of the box' 4WD's you can buy as far as capability. The have a great suspension set up including a nice A frame rear.

They can be hindered by reliability issues though, especially since of their age now. Great for learning basic mechanics and maintenance though :D

[Rayngie]

I've had 2 two door rangies back in NZ, one was a 1971, no pwr steer etc, total dog box, the other was 1981 with pwr steer and immaculate, both were fantastic, very reliable and loads of fun, as long as the suspension is'nt knackered, they will drive very well on the road, and off road they are loads of fun, very easy to maintain as well, loads of parts around, try and get early to mid eighty's as they are a good package and really cheap.
go to Australian Land Rover Owners (http://www.aulro.com), ask all the questions you want..

[Rocky4.4]

Hi Brentz
im a little bias seeing ive only owned 2 door rangies but i think there an awesome all round 4wd on and off road.
Mine have always needed maintenance but i think it the way i drive em:thumb:
luv mud or should i say i luv mud:D
gas i hate it its the first thing i remove:mad:
models..i like the 2 doors coz there cheap

Mark

X2 They Rock :waycool:

[tpj77]

Rangies, great vehicle. Off-road they're superb as well as on and have the best all-round balance for been able to drive them for hours and go off-road without too many comprimises.

Downside, one word- Lucas electrics :mad: :mad: :mad: Easy to overcome and causes a few hair-raising moment in my time but nothing that has been terminal. Mosyt reliability issues are more to do with age now with several components wearing out. Tghe a-frame ball joint is common as well as rubber suspension bushes being flogged out from decades of abuse plus the general mechanical stuff.

Rust in tailgates both top and bottom, sills under doors, A-pillar and floorpan are areas to keep and eye out for. Pull back the carpet and if it's damp, there's garunteed to be rust there. Around the fuel filler is a bugger of a place for rust as well and sometimes is hiodden under the side cover where the jack sits plus the cargo mats. The doors near the hinges can rust as well so check there. You're not going to find one totally rust free but common sense prevails, the less rust the better.

Partswise, they're cheaper than most of your Jap 4WD's. There's a bad perception that Land Rover parts are dear, this is total bollocks from what I found. UK suppliers are easy enough to deal with and you can save some serious $$$ by importing within reason but even LR parts specalist are pretty competitive. Servicing is dirt cheap as well.

The axles and diffs are a bit light on compared to a Toyota or Nissan but you learn to drive the Rangie within it's limits and most times you don't have to punt them up obstacles like many 4WD's (especially leaf sprung vehicles) and with the Rangies great suspension dynamics they usually cruise up 95% of obstacles without a hiccup.

Best part is the outlay. For less than $2K you can lan yoursel f a bloody good 2 door Rangie or early 4 door in either manual or auto (prefer manuals in the older 2 doors, the autos are crap and underpowerd) A few $$ in TLC and you're on your way. E-bay is your friend o even forums like this or AULRO have plenty of cheap bits and pieces.

Anyway, good luck with it.

Trav

[Andy_b]

I would try to find a 87/88 are the best year of the Rangies I think because they came with the LT230 T-case after 88 Landrover intoduced the Viscous T-case which needs replacing about a 150,000. The manual (LT77) have a weak 5th gear and the only have 10spline axles too.

Andy

[brentz]

i definetly have alwayz loved them but as you said every one says they are unreliable thats y i was a bit scared!
and if i can get one manual 2 door for under 2g i will be rapted and will surely go for it!
my plan is to do alot of 4wding as i love it but am not scared to do work on it so that part is covered!

cheerz boys especially tpj77 big help

brentz

[Boringrudeprick]

You simply cannot compare, anything else is just a car by comparison. Once you drive one you'll realise why.

[Disco98]

Hi mate, the rangies are a top rig, drive well on road, and go hard off road.

The rover V8 runs well on gas, but is best set up to run straight gas, as is ay car, finding a compromise can be hard, you will get the best fuel economy if you run one of the other.

The optimum package is a rangie with a 300Tdi conversion, great off road use, good power from the Tdi with the fuel pump tweek, and a decet exhaust ad 10-12L/100km, i know you get the rebate if you run it on gas but if it were my money i would be hunting down a good used Tdi donk and putting that in, no electrics, they dont stop in water and are as simple as piss to work on.

the rangies arent necessarily unreliable but the newest one you will find will be a early 94 model so that are knocking on the door 0ff 13-14yrs old at the youngest, any truck at this age will start to have problems, even more so if the previous owner hasnt looked after it, and at that age a service history can be hard to find. I have a friend who bought one for $500, it needed some cash spent on it, new shocks and springs, wheel bearings, CV's and a few other things, but for under 5k you would have an awsome weapon off road.

The rover V8 is a good engine whe maintained, they faint at the sight of water though so if you plan on doing deep muddy water stuff some time spent water proofing the electrics would be time well spent. The good thing about the Rover V8 is the fact that there are heaps around, a search on the Land rover forums would easily turn up complete running engines for well under a grand, you can buy rebuildable engines for $250 and build a top engine yourself.

For a great daily driver and weekend warrior you cant beat a rangie for value for money, but if you get an old one budget a few k for routine work to get it up to scratch. Matt

[maggot4x4]

People always say Rovers are unreliable. Just ask yourself this question.

How many Rangies were sold between 1980 - 1990
How many Cruisers / Patrols were sold in the same period?

Now, as a % of the amount that was sold, what do you see more of still going hard in the bush and on the road? Rangies.

Still think they are unreliable?

[Defender130]

Rangies and Landy's are a thing of their own. Once you drive one you will be hooked. If you look after them they look after you. Like anything they have their faults but they will also get you home when other makes wouldn't.

[tpj77]

Rangies with a diesel engine, while a 'smart' thing to do and is being sensible with high fuel prices these days, to be honest is sacralidge. The Rangie was meant to be a V8 FULL STOP :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :D :D :D

Like all have mentioned and what I didn't say, drive one even a well worn out one and you''ll see what the big deal is about. Maggot hit the nail on the head with the % of Toyota/Nissans to Rangies ratio as well.

Trav

[long stroke]

Rangies are great off road and on road but with the later models the five speed box can have problems,so tri go for a four speed they won't let you down.

[Grimace]

dont do it cause you will end up like the rest of us...

Madly in love with a car we hate :(

[ROVERNIT]

People always say Rovers are unreliable. Just ask yourself this question.

How many Rangies were sold between 1980 - 1990
How many Cruisers / Patrols were sold in the same period?

Now, as a % of the amount that was sold, what do you see more of still going hard in the bush and on the road? Rangies.

Still think they are unreliable?

I 2nd that and its proven fact that there is higher percentage of rover roaming then there is any Missan or toymotor