help needed with county

[patter]

am looking at buying 1986 county trayback with 3.9 lt diesel and 5 speed.i need all the informed advice i can get. thank you in advance
patter.

[bigbugga]

Patter

Put your location in your profile.
You might get an answer from someone in the same area.

Good luck with your search.

[kels]

Good idea. I have a wagon with the 3.9 and 5 speed, also 1986. I give a couple of warnings though: The a/c and heating system is a joke! Its all controlled by a system of vacuum operated vents which are problematic to say the least. I am about to rip it all out and replace with defender system (this can be done for around $2000) which is far better - and gives you back the 2 front vents under the windscreen.

The other issue is the front gearbox bearing, which is quite prone to wear in the 5 speed, due to the torque of the big 3.9D. Its quite an expensive repair (cost me about $2500 for gearbox rebuild), but Maxi-Drive make a modification kit which solves the problem (unsure of cost).

If you arent familiar with the performance characteristics of the 3.9 county, I suggest you drive as many as you can first (good luck finding any!), as they are a special breed. The power is unreal low down, and they will hang in forever, pulling like a train; but on the highway they are a bit of a handful, downshifts are a must on every hill, you wont spend much time in 5th on a road like the bruce hwy north of Brisbane. I am looking at options for a turbo, which is another reason the factory a/c is going, you cant fit a turbo with the factory a/c - not enough room.

In general, they are the best of all landrovers (my biased opinion). I looked for mine for 5 years after having a couple of SIII's and looking at defenders and disco's. I will never sell it - ever (not at any price), and I wish you the best of luck finding the right county for you.

If you want to know anything else, then email me at "adam.kelly@defence.gov.au".

[patter]

thanks kels for the info.the more the better.dealer who has the county
is asking $16000.00. i think he is dreaming.anyone got any thoughts
about a fair price'said trayback is in good nick and has a few extras

patter

[incisor]

good ones with the 4bdi are like hens teeth

16k from a dealer is not bad if it is good

14k is a very common price..

[kels]

Of course it depends how soon you want to buy. I would think that 16k is a bit steep, I shopped around for a long time and got a wagon with under 200,000km on the clock (motor hardly even run it yet!) for less than that.

For 16k it would have to be like new, with lots of really good extras like winch etc... and be low kms (<200,000). Be aware that if it doesnt have any form of aircon the cab will get very hot (unbearable in the summer). The vents are not good in the county's because they dont have the under-windsceen types like other L/rovers. So A/C (as bad as the stock version is) is a must.

Also be extra vigilant about the power-steering and front end in general, as repairs are very expensive. Any play in the front end should be checked by a specialist before you commit, as I have just learned the hard way about ignoring a little play - a full front end reconstruction was required, very expensive. If the p/s leaks from the box, then have it fixed by the dealer before you buy, thats quite a big job and could run over $1500 depending on the cause of the leak.

The other post about the 4bd1's being rare is 100% correct, there are very few around. The downside of this is that very few people want to know about you when you want advice. I have found that isuzu truck places are the best to go to for engine repairs or advice, and other 4wd places can help with the rest. There are some very tricky things you can do with the engine to get the best out of it, but few landrover "experts" will know much about it - Isuzu truck guys are far better.

Hope this all helps.

[incisor]

were are you located?

down south prices seem to be a bit cheaper.

a couple of years ago when i was looking at one it was cheaper to buy in SA and have it shipped to QLD.

in seq they are very scarce

[patter]

i am located in brissy and vehicle is 5 hrs away.long way to go when
dealer has said he wont drop the price.ihave a coloured photo in
witchcounty presents very well but problem is the extras are not things
that i want or need .eg dont need 10 stacker cd.want steel bullbar
not ally with winch.dont want fancy mags.the extras that i would like are
loooong range tank good ac ang a pair of comfy seats.while i know i
wont get my wants i dont want to pay for my dont wants.the vehicle
has done about 237000 kms
patter

[patter]

p.s. motor is the least of my worries.in fact if the rest of the
vehicle was very good and there was no motor i would be happy
patter

[incisor]

what you dont want, you should be able to sell on ebay without to much of a problem if you ask realistic prices.

guess it boils down to you drive 5 hours and splurge or wait until another of value pops it head up., and that can take some time.

maybe another aulro user that lives a little closer could take a cursory look at it for you and let you know ?

[patter]

thanks for the input fellas.my record with buying and selling
is as follows.buy at the top and sell at the bottom and
would like to level the playing field a bit (fat chance)
the vehicle is at inverell if anyone is in that area.i am
time poor myself . patter.

[UncleHo]

Hi patter
It might be worth while getting in contact with British Off Road at Forrest Glen on the Bruce H'way near Nambour, they specialise in late model Landrovers Service,Spares and some S/Hand sales, ask to speak to Stuart Hooper (the owner) and he can probably answer some of your questions. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

Website: www.britishoffroad.com


regards rocket

[patter]

thank you rocket for the input. will check them out and see what
transpires.the county at inverell hadnt had the gearbox or transfer
case done witch would have made it a very expensive vehicle.
patter