Engines etc
Hi all.
New to the site so please be gentle with me.
Particularly as I'm going to ask some basic questions.
I'm about to swap my 52 plate 3.2TD LWB Shogun in.
Its never done me any harm, and does everything I throw at it, including towing 2.5Tns of boat and trailer over gravel beaches and muddy camp sites. Plus the odd overland trip living out the back of it. It also performes well on the road and has centre and rear diff locks when I get stuck on the beach.
Trouble is I've had it from new, and basically I'm bored with it.
I've been seriously thinking about a 4.2TD Amazon for the grunt, toys etc, but I think they look a bit bland. I really like the 'look' of a LR defender, but couldn't put up with the performance cramped driving position, leaks etc.
The G Wagon appears to tick all my boxes above, trouble is I don't know anything about model designations, engines etc.
I'll be looking at spending between £25 and £30K, and would go for a big petrol if I had to, but would prefer a big Diesel for my towing.
Is there an idiots guide anywhere with engine sizes, torque/BHP figures, trim levels etc etc to give me a clue as to what all the used car adverts mean?
Thanks
Nasher.
Hi if you don't mind L.H.D click on "mobile de" and spend an hour or two looking at G's...RHD at your sort of money are few and far between.... the amount you want to spend will dictate the types you select..then you can ask specific questions on the forum where there is a wealth of experience..happy hunting......
theres is some nice RHD G500 in the uk now, and just as juicy as a G400 and with diesel prices as they are the petrol is more economical !!
If you dont mind importing mobile.de and autoscout are good places to start.
Basically you'll have a choice of 3 diesels and 2 petrols for 25/30k.
300Td, 177hp. 25k would get you a very late (2000) example.
270cdi 156hp, but more torque then the 300td.
V8 400cdi 250hp, forgotten torque figure,, but its huge.
And petrol
320, i'd say the general rule is to forget this one.
V8 500, just under 300hp i think.
None of the above diesels are available in RHD, but the G500 is.
The 270 will be the most economical, the 400cdi and 500 are good for getting speeding tickets :wink:
maybe for for a g500, there is one on trader at the moment for a good price (see for sale section) and lpg it, power and economy and RHD, thats what id do if i had the money
You basically have to make a choice
1) A diesel but in LHD
2) A RHD but a petrol
Unfortunately for what you're looking at you can't have both. I think answer that first and then people can guide you further.
3500 for LWB, less for the short.
Good site to get to grips with models. http://www.g4rce.net
check out the 463 model range for the ones mentioned earlier in thread.
Re LPG ..One "torpedo" tank under the floor on the near side will give you 150 to 200 miles range...cannot be seen if you have side steps and leaves the rear load space untouched...off road use will require a deflector plate fabricated to protect the tank supports from damage..cost in the region of GBP 1800 because you have to remove part of the exhaust to make room for the tank...the original exhaust (463 and later models) is designed to meet German TUV requirements only.and not needed when driving on the left hand side of the road.....
Hi Please read your PM (private mail)
Hi again all, and thanks for all the help so far.
Still not completely decided on Deisel or Petrol, trouble is I really like big Deisels and a late G400 sounds ideal for my needs, but the LHD is putting me off a bit. I'm coming around to LPG, but am worried about the range on a small tank.
Hoping to see a G400 and a G500 over the weekend, so may have a better idea then.
Now for some more daft questions, sorry:-
If whatever I buy comes from a private seller or non specialist dealer I'd like to put it into a specialist for a check over. I'm just North of Portsmouth, so who's my closest trusted specialist? G-Wagon Int.?
I will do everything myself afterwards, but will obviously need time to get to know the car.
I'll be using whatever I buy for towing my boat around, is there anything I should budget for that experiance shows would be required? I'm thinking of things like an additional Autobox cooler.
Whilst on the subject, whats the going rate for a towbar to be fitted?
Is there a 'subtle' front winch mount available that hides the winch up inside the front bumper? These are available for most Jap 4x4s now and give the convieniance of the winch without the huge Girder tacked on the front.
Has anyone carried out a twin battery conversion?
We do a bit of camping, and the fridge etc uses lots of power, so I've installed a twin battery setup in my Shogun.
I'm sure I've seen mention of aftermarket 7 seat conversions, but can't find the link now, are they available? or did I dream it?
Needs to be easily installed and removed so as not to use the load space all the time.
Thanks again.
Nasher
Not many good G specialists about unfortunately.
Every G I have ever seen had a towbar on it.... Orc make the winch bumper you want - €1800.
I think you are fine for towing without mods - but it would depend on the size of the boat....
If you choose to do everything yourself you will need to buy a laptop, software and ODBII cables to help trouble shoot problems.
I think Piggy may have a double battery on his G400 or Howard in his G290.
Not sure about aftermarket seats but you can buy OEM seats which seat 7/9. About £750-900 per side. They are a pain to install first time round as you will need to align and drill holes in the inside panelling, but once installed can be removed fairly quickly as only 8 bolts holding them on.
Hi get me the Vin Numbers of the ones you are going to look at and I will Email you the MB spec of each so at least you know what they were like originally.......please read your PMs......
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Thanks Guys.
I'll do a little more digging and ask some more.
LHD may be an issue for me, haven't considered it before!
Is there a favoured position for an LPG fuel tank?
Wouldn't want to lose any boot space.
Oh, and I presume the towing capacity of a G is @3200 - 3500kgs?
Same as my Shogun, Disco, Amazon etc.
Nasher