Thread: Thinking about a change - Safari or something else?

"Top of the list is probably a SWB Safari, I know they're about the most solid thing you can buy but any specific hints on things to look out for and check would be handy. Would be a 4.2 non turbo in that price range."

Solid, heavy, slow...not much fun on the road....off road however,



Yes, I assume 4.2 diesel? the non-turbo is terribly under-powered I have a 1988 one with a pto winch.



Avoid the 2.7diesels....

Check the fuel pump or get it checked, they can wear badly, $1k to $2k for the fix, ditto injectors, a re-tipping will set you back $1k lok for lots of black smoke on moderate acceleration, get compression checked but that should be OK. Blocks seem solid, gearboxes solid but can leak a little.

Water pump bearings can wear badly, rock the fan blade, if it moves more than a mm or so $150 ish for a new pump, easy fix, so no biggee.

Carefully check the power steering block for leaks at the joints...especially the 4 bolt one at the back...

The early ones like mine had a limited slip diff, entertaining on a tight corner with full throttle.....ie it spins easily...use the right LS140 oil, change it every 3 years, it gets abused a lot.

Doors rust very badly at the hinges area on the door, a second hand drivers door can cost you $500 if you can find one, I got my one welded for $150...covered it in anti-rust oil.

Carefully look for rust around the gutter, it will rust from the inside so big bubbles but its not that common. They doesnt seem to rust underneath.

Look for corrosion under the twin batteries in the engine bay.

On the firewall there is a spot welded joint/seem that runs across the engine bay at high level, check this isnt rusting.

The front windscreen rubber shrinks with age at lower corner joints and lets rain water in, silicone rubber keeps your feet dry.

Top door hinge drivers side can wear badly, WOF failure, $50 ish for a new one.

The most annoying and common rust point to fix is the rustng of the rear windows you cant get the steel inserts, Ive seen some trucks with no longer opening windows.

The vacuum pump on the back of the alternator, if it leaks (engine oil) it buggers the alternator, dont get it repaired, the seals never hold (tried that, twice), get a new entire alternator with a NEW vacuum pump, on trademe, about $700.

Starter motor teeth can go while the motor is fine, $400 for a new starter motor head.

Passenger side seat mounts and slide fail, crack, wear out, check.

Seats are cheap so aoften look bad, not to bad to get replaced.

Air con is R12 so no chance of a fix now, but thats OK use the air con pump as an air compressor for the tyres.



Front wheel bearings can wear and need adjustment but no biggee.

Auto hubs seem reliable dont bother going manual.

Brake disks wear and can be the source of imbalance so fail WOF but are cheap new. The biggest annoyance is the floating rear caliper which dont. New pins, copper grease and seals solve that fairly cheaply.

Shocks dont seem to wear, but the bushes go, cheap to repalce though. Good ARB aftermarket are the same price as monroe crap ($180 ish each)...so get the ARB's.

The front trailing (or leading arms) have 2 bushes per side where they attach to the chassis, last time they cost me $150 each so 4 are needed (ouch). The bushes of the same arms where they attach to the axle are also expensive to replace, look to see if the arm looks cocked to one side in the bracket in which case they'll need replacing if the WOF guy notices/gets concerned.

24volt system, seems fine, I fitted a 24v to 12v unit and a 24v to 240v inverter...

Tyres dont seem to wear too fast, I have M&S Kanooks seem OK in the mud......

<grin>

This list might sound bad, but Ive had it 10+ years and its a battered 400k truck....been a lot of fun...fuel consumption sucks though.