Perhaps the LR Vs LC debate should be taken off to a differnet thread? It would seem that Mr Marker is after some serious advice here .... and it would seem that he is aware of the reliability record of a LC over a LR ....

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

really!!!!!! toyota reliable read this as one example

Toyota 200 Series VX LandCruiser - Disaster @ ExplorOz

Hey Ollie,

I travelled for a while in Namibia together with your car when it was still called Biggles, (or was it Giggles? and with another white LR, I believe it was called Kate. Me being a Toyo man I was amazed that almost every evening when we got to our destination, the LR guys had to open the hood and fumble around or dove under the cars. Leaking fuel tanks, leaking radiators, electrical shortcircuits etc, one of them even dropped a valve and they had to rebuild the engine completely (not your car!). I had a couple of broken leafspring (which where not original Toyota) during our trip of 60.000 km. Obviously Toyota´s break down as well but not as often. You still have to start your trip and i hope all goes well but be shure you master the mecanics of the LR because you´ll need it.

Cheers,
Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

Absolutely amazing!
Here is a guy asking a genuine question about a LR and the LC people cannot leave him alone - get out of it! - **** off, just go to your own pissing little contest of a thread and leave the LR people alone to talk LRs - what is wrong with that!
By the way, Merry Christmas, what is left of it.

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Dave

first: i haven't have so much repairs on my 110 HT diesel and my 300tdi during my trips. (my sIII was different)

second: i have seen toyotas break down

third: i'm thinking with my head, but more i try to feel with my heart!

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my quad/ atv - travelling on
www.quadridesafrica.de

Marker,

Is this in your price range http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...762#post220624

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Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

The 300Tdi defender seems a decent sort:

AFRICA 4X4 CAFE: 4x4s for sale in Africa & Self Drive overland Expeditions to Sub-Saharan Africa

So why not buy a UK registered LR already in Africa and drive it home?

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Enzo

Ok, to answer what Land Rover to avoid for an over land trip I would say it has to be the vehicle we did a trip Ireland to Cape Town in. It "was" a 1983 Range Rover with a 2.5 diesel transit engine. We paid £328 for it, changed all the fluids/filters etc and stuck a nice set of BFG tyres on it. These things broke:
Gearbox UK - bought another on ebay uk £80
Front wheel hubs oil seals leaked oil Switzerland
Various steering and suspension bushings Turkey
Speedo cable snapped Syria
Radiator mountings collapsed due to rust Sudan
Exhaust broke off, engine mount collapsed - Sudan
Engine Injection pump disintegrated - Ethiopia
Clutch hydraulic pipe burst Kenya
Rear axle balljoint mount broke Tanzania
Rear chassis cracked right through - Tanzania
Overdrive gearbox bearing failed - Zambia
Rear brakepipes cracked - Namibia
Starter motor bushings worn out - Namibia
South Africa - Timimg belt tension pulley bearing failed (nearly killed engine)
Tanzania (again) Could not select reverse gear, clutch slave cylinder failed.
Kenya (again) - Electrical fuel cutoff switch solenoid malfunction.
(these are the ones I remember - there were more)

Now obviously we had a lot of "technical" problems but I only needed a tow for the timing belt incident and that "fix" only cost €75 including the tow (most expensive repair on trip) and had I paid attention to the screeching 500 miles earlier I probably could have prevented it.

Needless to say at the end of the trip after covering 35,000 miles in 11 months the Range Rover was in perfect working order and was parked up in Zambia. Unfortunately, she was driven a few months later (not by me) and her engine was killed with a snapped timing belt.
To be honest we didn't really expect the vehicle to make the trip and our attitude was to drive as far as we could until she died. The upside of african repairs is that they can be incredibly cheap and this is what kept us going. I reckon what caused a lot of our breakages on top of the bad roads and rusty vehicle was the fact that we totally took too much stuff and overloaded everything causing a strain on all the components.

Lessons learned - Less is more. (you don't need all those cooking pots, backup stoves, awnings, etc. Good set of tools a must. Africans can do great repairs really cheaply if you monitor them. Other overlanders we encoutered were very friendly to assisst us if needed and we found ourselves rescuing others too.

When we started I had very little knowledge of mechanics - its all about having the right attitude and telling yourself you can fix this. (or pay someone else to). Upside after this trip is I know a Classic Ranger Rover backwards and now have two more and would do the next trip in one again (after winning the lotto). I understand this trip would not be everyone's cup of tea but we found you meet the nicest people trying to get your car fixed. Compared to our friends travelling in a Hilux the Range rover was very comfortable but not a patch on reliability - I think their main complaint was a drive shaft UJ and a battery...oh and 17 punctures (we had 2).

R

I take my hat off to your bravery Richardq, I would never be able to undertake a trip like that on the same basis that you did and I'm amazed that you made it considering you paid so little for the car and bought an "ebay" gearbox on top of it, well done.

Like Ollie mentioned, jumping in a LR is like jumping into an adventure. We get that feeling every time we jump in our TD5. It's now covered 172k miles, is 10 years old and still on it's original engine, gearbox and axles. The only parts we've had to replace is the exhaust and tyres.

The hubby previously owned a 1954 Series I and a 1965 Series 2a, neither of which he had problems with.

Like choosing a bike, it's all down to personal choice and preference.

Yeh, the "where will I brake down next?" type of adventure!

I can honestly say that just thinking about bombing around the Zimbabwean bush in my old SIII still raises my pulse rate, however I've had too many bad experiences with LR to buy any of their latest offerings. The LR history, look, and relatively cheap prices, make it a very attractive proposition here in the UK but I am still holding out until I can afford a 'cruiser!

The main problem with all modern 4x4s is their reliance on electronics - for everything from winding down the windows to engine fuel management and security - this and first world servicing (nobody repairs - they swop the part out and replace).

If you've decided on your marque then look for something where you can "make a plan" or fudge a "work around" if things stop working. If you plan to do any overlanding in Africa then you'll find the fine dust gets in every nook and cranny and with older electronic components, can assist in their failure.

Basically "keep it simple" and you'll always be able to find a way to keep moving.

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Enzo