Are 4WDs too high-tech for the bush?

Very interesting discussion... I've been methodically replacing most "critical" bits on the P38 while they are still operative but reaching what I believe to be the "mid afternoon" of their life expectancy (like me!:eek:). Pre-emptive maintenance is far better than waiting until something breaks at a most inconvenient time. So I now have a reasonable collection of useable second hand parts for dire emergency, but most sensors etc I can confidently expect another 100,000 km...which at the current rate is about 10 yrs...by which time... well let's not worry about that:twisted::angel:

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

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No, my concern is the overall design philosophy of cars has changed.

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Well put. I suppose we could consider it the apple philosophy - technology is designed as much as possible to be impossible to repair/maintain or modify, forcing users to replace the technology at regular intervals (e.g. when the battery dies).

Vehicle manufacturers make most of their money from repairs and maintenance, so try to ensure (as far as legal) that only the can do such work.

Vehicle could easily be designed with redundancy (similar to RAID hard drives on computers etc...), as well as user diagnostics and repair tools...

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Originally Posted by TerryO

Again this thread shows a total lack of knowledge about late model Disco's or Rangies. For less than a couple of hundred dollars you can buy an impressive diagnostic tool that reads and clears faults which can otherwise stop the vehicle in its tracks.

While most of you guys with much older and supposedly more reliable vehicles carry around a decent sized tool box full of hand tools and lots of other gear, most late model Disco owners only carry a small diagnostic tool, a better than standard jack and a tyre repair kit.

Even later model cars are subject to mechanical problems, just not the age, lack of maintenance ones.

I have a reasonable working knowledge of how most mechanical things work but if my 21 year old D1 decided to stop in the middle of no where I would have far less chance of getting it going than if either my D3 or D4 did.

You mean on a like for like mechanical problem? Surely a D1 brake problem would be easier to get around?

Can one of you please show me the Series, County, Fender or early Disco model section where there are no posts about broken down vehicles with on going common reliability issues please.

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Most of them are Pumas though.:wasntme:

I think if you can diagnose engine control problems and carry the show stopper sensors I can't see how you'd be stranded by them, it's just a matter of knowing what to do. My Tdi 130 has challenged me in the outback once or twice (age related problems I admit), once a steel brake line broke off at the flare nut on the rear diff housing, blocked it off with a small brass screw and kept going (not sure if ABS would have anything to say about that) and another time the alternator seized in the Canning, then I took it off, put the AC belt in its place, working the waterpump and fan, and drove 500 or so km to Kunawarritji and adapted a Falcon one. These faults are more unlikely in a new car but not impossible.

My BIL, who belongs to the 'old school and simple is best' group, is convinced his Triton is going to suffer an electrical gremlin in the middle of the Simpson Desert.


Mind you, he bought an 80 series Toyota as a project car and it has broken down twice in 3 months, so that's not a good record either.


There may not be a LR dealer is every outback town, but there are plenty of workshops around which will work on LRs and parts are usually only 1-2 days away from a capital city.

Yes 4wd's are far too complex for the bush.

You guys should consider riding a horse instead. If the horse breaks down you can eat it while waiting for help to arrive.

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Originally Posted by Dougal

Yes 4wd's are far too complex for the bush.

You guys should consider riding a horse instead. If the horse breaks down you can eat it while waiting for help to arrive.

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Yeah but you can't carry much cold beer on a horse though....:wasntme:

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Originally Posted by gusthedog

Yeah but you can't carry much cold beer on a horse though....:wasntme:

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Your Australian beer tastes the same to me.:twisted:

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Originally Posted by gusthedog

Yeah but you can't carry much cold beer on a horse though....:wasntme:

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If some of my larrikin aussie mates are any example, the horse probably died through a combination of carrying too much beer and then being offered beer as a pick-up when it started looking tired... :p

Christ there's some blow hards on this forum. Ile stick to my old clangers and you other blokes can have your over priced lame ducks.

Another view about electronics in vehicles.

Crash analysis at Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) shows that ESC is associated with:

a 32% reduction in single vehicle driver injury crashes1
a 59.6% reduction in driver injury rollover crashes1
an 81.6% reduction in 4WD rollover crashes (4WD offroad vehicles benefit significantly from ESC as they are particularly prone to roll-over crashes due to their high centre of gravity)

There is more to reaad in the howsafeisyourcar site