Thread: I've got a boat on wheels!

Hey Richzx

One thought take it to a pedders store and get a 14 point safety check done it cost $14 and they will give you a full list of stuffed componets and the price to fix them just make sure you are sitting down but once you get the list tell them you will think about it and never go back. Plus a real bonus they will put a pedders sticker on the back of your car without asking, but its a free sticker.

Cheers
Kris

Can't agree with the swaybar suggestions if you are planning any off road use, they are designed to limit relative articulation across an axle so are a liability off-road.
I was driven to Tullamarine Airport in a brand-new rangie in 1977, could not believe the amount of body roll in the bends, yet they were widely acknowledged as the best suspensioned vehicle even then. The body roll was something that you got used to and you just put aside the preconceptions you had from other vehicle types.
That is no longer the case, even my 1988 RR handles superbly on bitumen with minimal body roll when the steering components are in good nick; at present it has numerous worn-out bushes up front and is almost unuseable.
Checking for steering slack will only identify worn pitman arm and tie rod ends and panhard bushes. The front and rear control arm bushes (both ends) and the rear axle ball joint will need closer inspection and are probably your trouble areas.

Well I got under it today and the big nut under the steering box is tight. The tie rod ends are stuffed so I've ordered those, and I reckon the shocks are gone as well and the passenger side ball joint needs replacing so I may as well do both. Are these hard to replace or fairly straightforward once I get into it? Where's a good place to get parts from at reasonable prices?

Good shocks will transform the handling on rough roads. The problem is that people want comfort. Generally speaking you can have comfort or you can have handling when playing with these live axled trucks.

Handling wise for a 4WD, I reckon the Classic Rangie is fantastic,
once you get used to the super-light steering and body roll.

Once it settles into it's door-handle-scraping cornering angle around a bend, it's very controllable and predictable and they can hang on quite well, tyres not withstanding.

Enter slow. Accelerate through while dialling on the lock. Ease off the throttle when you feel the understeer. Ignore the body-roll, protests from passengers and clunking of (rear passengers') heads when straightening out of the corner.