Add high range / low range

[Arapiles]

There's a number of very low km Discovery 4s available in Japan - as an extreme example:

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SE | 2014 |
BROWN | 4000 km | details.- Japanese used cars.Goo-net Exchange





But not cheap ... and this one doesn't have low-range:



Presuming that someone could import these under SEVS/RAWS, is it feasible to add low range?


Ps, check out this D2 ....

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SE | 2003 |
BLUE | 46000 km | details.- Japanese used cars.Goo-net Exchange

[DiscoJeffster]

Japan. Rust buckets. Salt on roads means you’ll have all the issues the UK do with rusting out parts.

[Tombie]

And often not serviced because disposed of before problems start.

[libertyts]

What was said above is your first concern. Second is that I highly doubt you could import these any other way than personal owner import or whatever it's called. ie. You would need to live in Japan and own the vehicle for a minimum of 12 months (might be more now) prior to moving here and bringing your vehicle with you.

From my understanding SEVS and RAWS exclude any and all full volume vehicles (SEVS & RAWS) under 25 years old (RAWS). They are designed for bringing in low volume specialist/enthusiast vehicles. In the case of RAWS, it allows for vehicles older than. 25 years old to be imported. The D4 is definitely full volume.

As for adding "Low/High Range". It won't be cheap I suspect. There are a number of parts required. New I suspect you are going to be looking at over 10k at a guess (bare minimum I assume the transfer case would need to be replaced, electrics added, computers flashed/added, etc.) and if you are buying something for the fact it has super low KMs would you really want to put second-hand parts on it?

I personally don't think it's worth it. Each to their own though, not everything has to "make sense" to everyone, just to you. No different to making a D1 into a ute. It's cheaper to buy something that's already a ute, but that's not necessarily the point.

[Arapiles]

Japan. Rust buckets. Salt on roads means you’ll have all the issues the UK do with rusting out parts.

The Japanese don't use salt on their roads, they use sand, so rust isn't an issue.

[DiscoJeffster]

The Japanese don't use salt on their roads, they use sand, so rust isn't an issue.

Well that doesn’t show up on all the imports I’ve seen. Rust is definitely an issue.

[Arapiles]

What was said above is your first concern. Second is that I highly doubt you could import these any other way than personal owner import or whatever it's called. ie. You would need to live in Japan and own the vehicle for a minimum of 12 months (might be more now) prior to moving here and bringing your vehicle with you.

From my understanding SEVS and RAWS exclude any and all full volume vehicles (SEVS & RAWS) under 25 years old (RAWS). They are designed for bringing in low volume specialist/enthusiast vehicles. In the case of RAWS, it allows for vehicles older than. 25 years old to be imported. The D4 is definitely full volume.

As for adding "Low/High Range". It won't be cheap I suspect. There are a number of parts required. New I suspect you are going to be looking at over 10k at a guess (bare minimum I assume the transfer case would need to be replaced, electrics added, computers flashed/added, etc.) and if you are buying something for the fact it has super low KMs would you really want to put second-hand parts on it?

I personally don't think it's worth it. Each to their own though, not everything has to "make sense" to everyone, just to you. No different to making a D1 into a ute. It's cheaper to buy something that's already a ute, but that's not necessarily the point.

Yes, I suspected that there was no easy way to fix it. Maybe low range is there and it's just the button that's missing?

Re importation, ironically, the fact that these vehicles are in a configuration that doesn't exist in Australia means, on my reading of the regulations, that they could be imported.

[Arapiles]

Well that doesn’t show up on all the imports I’ve seen. Rust is definitely an issue.

It wouldn't be anything like the corrosion that you'd see on something from the US where they do use salt.

[DiscoDB]

With only 4,000 kms I doubt it has seen much salt. Bit expensive though.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Importing from Japan via a registered vehicle broker is no issue. Having to live there etc. is BS - sorry.

There are plenty of late model Toyota's plus exotics (for Japan anyway) that can be easily sourced and imported into AUS. They just need an inspection here when landed to ensure ADR compliance.

Benefit is you can get some pretty rare (for AUS) cool cars pretty cheap.

If engine and transmission specs are the same as our Low range spec D4's fitting a transfer case should not be an issue, but check the transmission type, as you need the ZF box with the external transfer case adapter, otherwise its not possible without a transmission and ecu swap.

How do I know? Mate just imported a Japan spec Toyota crown via a broker. This one is a sleeper that looks like a std crown but has the turbo 2.5l straight 6 that was used in the supra. Landed here in his driveway for 14K.