new and after advice about buying a Mu

[mykadragonblue]

Hiya people.

I'm thinking of buying a Mu, and was wondering what I should be looking at to decide if its worth it.

What sort of gotcha's there might be, that sort of thing.

The one I'm looking at is a pretty original (unmodified) looking 1991 2.8L manual. Engine is an imported replacement with not too many k's on it.

It's apparently only done about 3000 km in the last 3 years, and hasn't had any servicing in that time.

Is there anything that i can check on with out too much trouble that may indicate possible failures or upcoming costs?

All this is apart from getting a mechanic to look over it of course, especially since i don't have a good history of it from the seller (and may not get one).

any advice would be extremely helpful.

(To be honest, any general advice about buying a 4x4 would be handy. while I've driven land cruisers a fair bit, I've never bought something like this before. Also bearing in mind that at the moment I'm after reliability rather than a project, this may change a little over time.)

--thanks in advance
--mdb

[geeves]

300k in last 3 years Is this 300km or 300000km? If its the later then it must of been serviced.
Definatly get a mechanics report and an undertaking that regular oil changes have been done since the new motor went in.
Things to check yourself before paying a mechanic.
Usual rust in all the places you would find it on a normal car
Lift the front wheels and check for worn suspension be wriggling the wheels Also give them a spin to check the bearings
Take it for a drive including a few hills. How does it go and does it smoke exessivly climbing and if you give the throttle a blip at the bottom of the hill Also any strange noises and smoth gear changes
With the engine warm and idleing take off the oil cap and look for fumes. A tiny bit is normal with these engines but lots is not.
A visual look over the engine for signs of overheating

[Demonic]

The freeplay in the steering box should also be checked. and look for leaking round the PS box and the PS Pump. Also have a look at the brakes too.

[mykadragonblue]

Feb 6, 2009 6:49:30 GMT 11 geeves said:

300k in last 3 years Is this 300km or 300000km? If its the later then it must of been serviced.

wow, that was a nicely ambiguous typo.

its 3000 km in three years

[mykadragonblue]

I took it for a (quite) short test drive this weekend, and one thing did come up that i'd be happy to get some input on.

Second gear was a tad hard to find untill it had warmed up a bit. (we went around a couple of blocks and 2nd was hard to find, but then went a little further and is seemed to be ok). Is thins a quirk of the specific vehicle, or something more common?

[geeves]

Synchros do wear out causing this but my money is on unsuitable oil in the gearbox. The book says same oil as engine but the very modern engine oils have so many anti wear additives that they gum up the synchros resulting in hard changes when cold. If your willing to take the risk changing the oil as soon as you get it home with the cheapest engine oil you can find will probably fix If not you get a hard second till it warms up. Its not worth pulling the gearbox for.
Anouther possibility that should be checked is water in the gearbox oil. Only check if theres evidence of off road use or wet carpets etc. Loosen the drain plug and get a small sample of the oil. If its cloudy its water. Get a tin lid and heat on the stove and drop a drop of oil on it If it fizzes its got water (expect smelly smoke)

[mykadragonblue]

hmm.. Well I had It inspected by the RACV the other day.

The stand-out points marked as needing immediate or early attention are:
- Both lower rear shock absorber bushes are 'perished, cracking'
- Both lower front ball joints have damaged boots
- Various front stabiliser bushes are perished and starting to split.

There is also mentioned as needing immediate attention (although the comments all say mainly to clean and locate) some oil leakage:
- Drips forming, oil staining evident, oil weepage evident, oil wetness evident in the general engine area
- Oil wetness evident in the compressor housing area of the turbo
- Drips forming, oil staining evident, oil weepage evident, oil wetness evident on the rear Differential
- Drips forming, oil staining evident, oil weepage evident, oil wetness evident around the bellhousing area at the front of the gearbox
- leaking fluid from the Clutch slave cylinder
- Oil staining evident, oil weepage evident, oil wetness evident on various areas of the gearbox.
Unfortunately, I have no idea whether to expect a little of the oil seepage simply given the age of the vehicle (1991) or how severe it is, since most of those notes say to clean it up and investigate. This is useful to take to a mechanic, but not so useful when I'm trying to decide whether to buy it before I'll get a chance to service it.
A number of those notes seem like a standard 'I saw indeterminate oil there' response.

The report also mentions finding free-play in the steering box, but since I didn't notice any when I tested it, I'm not too worried about that.

The suspension stuff I should be able to at least get rough quotes for and factor into what I'm willing to pay, but any advice about the oil and fluids stuff would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance. I've already got quite useful Info from these forums and the site, and any further advice (or thoughts) you care to share would be greatly appreciated.

Incidentally, the problem with second gear was mentioned only as something to be aware of, not a problem.

[geeves]

The first group comes to about $200 in parts and 2 - 3 hours work but not asa critical as they say. Oil leaks if not serious are not too unusual They make a good bargining tool. Do check for crankcase fumes though as this might be a sign of a bad engine. Im sure it would of been noted in a report as thougher as that one.