Thread: What is wrong with the D3/D4?

Originally Posted by Eevo

no seriously, i wouldnt buy a d3 or d4 as i think they are ugly.

(and they dont come in manual)

D3 not coming in a manual? Shame you can't be right all the time hey?

Originally Posted by sheerluck

D3 not coming in a manual? Shame you can't be right all the time hey?

rare as hens teeth they are.

ive only seen 1 advertised.


still doesnt change the fact its ugly

Awesome car, just did a 3000k trip from the goldy to central qld and back. Aprox 8hrs of driving a day and didn't once feel tired or sore ( not like my old cruiser ute). I did have one problem...tyres (19" 3ltr HSE) Blew 2 perellis on sharp rocks on a gravel road! trying to find any in gladstone was near impossible. Ended up with 2 crap ones that cost me $400 each. Lesson learned for me... Take extra tyres next time.
My mates seem to think it isn't built for off road or touring! Even had my bosses friend who ownes one in Sydney say "not really meant to go offroad is it buddy" had to bite my tongue

Originally Posted by Eevo

rare as hens teeth they are.

ive only seen 1 advertised.


still doesnt change the fact its ugly

So they do come in a manual then? Well who knew.

You've gone from saying they don't exist, to they do exist, and are so uninterested in buying one you've been watching the small ads to see the number of manuals there.

Care to go for the next self-contradiction?

I am wary of D3 D4 from trip reports of the nameless club to which I belong.

I recall a few months ago 4X D3 D4 went on a trip to NT.

They lost 5 tyres between them and one of the four dropped to the bumpstops and could not be raised. It had to be driven to Darwin on the bumpstops.

I guess I am a conservative but even my 20 year old RRC didn't ever have a problem other than the rear door catches and one water pump . That and the fact I am retired led me to buy a D2 with springs. Maybe the ride is not so good but it is unusual to break a spring.

The very fact that you have to lift off the body to do some jobs on the things really puts me off, especially now they are getting older and more problems are arising like oil pumps, EGRs, Front suspension, turbos, parking brakes and so on. Plus the tyre issue which magazines have highlighted since day 1, and there is no denying it is a major issue. One person I am aware of has had 11 tyres of a particular brand fail on one D4.
There are many on here that have no problem with those things as they can afford to own cars always in warranty . But the bulk of the population cannot. So that is probably why you don't see many.

Regards Philip A

11 tyres fail and didn't think to maybe switch to something else after perhaps the 2nd fail? Or 5th or 10th even???

Just had a week in the sand and despite the V8 HSE having undersized (wtf) 250/50 r18 (less flotation than usual) on and running 25 all round still pulled out 2 landies and a patrol with all the beaut stuff -'wheels 'lift etc

I used the (excuse) that it can happen to anyone, 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' to the thankful drivers .. perhaps there's more to it than that ?

To wit. you drive over the same ground the other car negotiated then reverse into a worse position and then still pull them out ... 'there's something happening here, but you don't know what it is do you Mr Jones..'

But I'm a novice and although have owned a LRS11, RRC, D1 tdi and now D3 V8 (and never a landcruiser - although I have experienced the pain of a drive in many - the reason the LR S11 went) no car is perfect but the D3 is well worth owning IMHO and perhaps the V8 as a second hand buy offers less risk in maintenance than the oiler as it has not timing belt, Turbo's, Diesel pump, high compression heads etc.

When it comes to taking the Body off for major work .. its probably something most mechanics would suggest is cheaper in the longrun after trying to get at things in a crowded Tojo Engine bay. couple of hours gets everything out of the way and you can then get to everything ready to drop it back on .. maybe I'm wrong on this also .?

Have done three 5000k plus trips in my D3 as much on dirt, gravel, corrugations and Sand as possible, had zero issues and a very sweet comfortable ride everytime. Also done some bush tracks I never thought possible. People who think these cars can't go offroad don't have a clue what they are talking about.

I challenge any other make to go as many places as easily as far and as comfortably as a D3/4 straight out of he box unmodified with OEM tyres.

I would put money on it the D3/4 would win.

All the mods I have done to mine are extra protection, or touring enhancements none actually fundamentally change the basic set up of the car. The almost exceptions are AT tyres but mine are still standard size and not LT. And Llams which just allows you use the cars inherent features a little more flexibly.

Most people who use their patrols and cruisers offroad immediately lift them and change the OEM suspension