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

Originally Posted by gimp

Also had a front diff housing come undone on that unfortunate 100 series, didn't sound good and pissed oil everywhere, worked fine when bolted up again though


Had a new V8 that didn't get the oil changed for 50,000 km then a female geo busted the radiator and drove it around with no coolant, that didn't end well


Only bought it up because there's a guy here at work who keeps going on about Nissans and the various supposed flaws of Toyotas which made me think about the fact that I've never actually seen them

My old Toyota van was pretty bomb proof. I did try to kill it and ran it for a year with no oil in the engine. Never over heated, never made any odd noises. Pulling the bung out of the sump nothing came out, but when I stuck my finger in and ran it around there was this thick tarry chewing gum stuff. I gave up trying to kill it. Don't get me wrong, I love Toyotas, have always had them and likely always will.

If you are not after a ute, then try and get something with coil springs under it. This will tend to give you better articulation which keeps the wheels on the surface, which gives you traction. They also tend to give you a nicer ride. Leaf springs are great for load carrying.