Thread: Modern Diesels

Originally Posted by sneeze

Iv spent my working life burning diesel in one way or another, every machine Iv had was better than the last, more power, better economy and far more reliable, utes have been the same. My days of groveling under vehicles up to my elbows in burnt oil and shit are well behind me. 2 utes a ago I had a V6 triton, green over silver, really liked it , in a moment of phone induced distraction I drove it off a loading bank cut into a slope. Hit bloody hard, when the vision cleared I got out thinking the damage would be horrific , crumpled panels , bent rims .. but it was unscathed, didnt even need a wheel alignment.
Each to his own and I get those that just like old stuff but IMHO the " old is better" is a load of romantic bullshit.

The late 80's to mid 90's stuff was pretty reliable, and for much longer than the new stuff. The old Safari's and Bighorns are known for longevity with 400,000+km pretty standard. I know the UN were getting about 1,000,000km out of their Safaris. If there are issues it is generally quite cheap to make repairs, often even in the field. The newer high strung diesels I would not trust for serious off road work, just too much ancillary crap to go wrong; the more complicated the more likely there will be failure in adverse conditions. Particularly the electronics with brittle lead free solder and injection systems with dirt and water.