Petrol V Diesel OFFROAD

[Tiger]

Hello all i'am sure this has been argued before, The reason that got me thinking is Ive got my 2.4 diesel surf which is a work vehicle and ive got a unworking V6 surf which i'am hoping to fix. Ive resently taken my diesel offroad a couple of times and got the bug. Want to do the lift, bumper winch (not quite like yours Joker ) the works all be it a bit at a time. So idealy i would like to keep the diesel as a work vehicle and play with the V6 but are they ok in the wet. The last petrol i took out in the rain about 15 years ago hit a puddle and your pushing it home. Cheers all

[Antshiel]

Too many electrics to get wet on a petrol!

[nero279]

You get people swear by both (well not by both but by one or the other, generally engines don't like a 50/50 mix).

Torque is generally accepted to be more important than BHP for offroading so diesels have that in their favour. They're also more tolerant of water, but only to a point, a diesel that's actually taken water into the engine is gonna be f###ed, where as a petrol you MIGHT get away with pulling the spark plugs out cranking it over a couple of times putting it back together and bump starting. Petrol 4x4s seem to be prone to losing power at funny angles, but this mainly relates to carbed vehicles which the v6 surf is not, and seems to be readily fixed by aftermarket carbs.

Basically there's pro's and cons to either but IMO you want either a big fat v8or a diesel in something the weight of the surf, but in something smaller and lighter a little petrol engine would be fine. I could be convinced either way about a 3.0l v6 in a surf, first instinct says i'm not sure it'd be upto it, second instinct says FORD 2.8 and 3.0 v6 conversions in landys seem popular and reliable among competitive offroaders so maybe a v6 does have what it takes?

[Sancho]

I wouldn't recommend the V6 2nd gen offroad. Not that I drive offroad, but the V6 doesn't really have the b0llocks for that sort of thing.

It's a weird engine; pulls away like a rocket, then loses all interest up until about 60 where it comes back and starts pulling again.

The straight six that Tiger has may be a different story though.

[Tiger]

Thanks if it works it would be a supra straight 6, i would be more concerned i think with stopping all the time with moisture in the electrics? or will WD40 sort that

[nero279]

The main things that cause problems are ECU, alternator, & distributor (have i missed any?)

Alternator there's not a lot you can do about it's just one of them things and it's probably no more of a problem than on a diesel anyway except that a diesel will run for longer with a non functioning alternator.

ECU will be in the car anyway, if you wanna swim deep extend the cables and move it higher up behind the dash or even into in a roof console or waterproof box.

Distributor is the biggest one as it has to be in the engine bay, but there's various methods for attempting to make them water resistant, from feeding the igniton throug a rubber glove, to taping carrier bags around it, to spending a few hundred quid on professional water-proofing, but even that has varying degrees of success. Possibly your best bet is to research and try the various DIY methods and see if you can get any to work for you.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Don't the British army use petrol Landrovers?

[nero279]

they used to in the days of the 2.25 petrol, but i think they've been using mostly diesels for the last few years at least, not sure though TBH there's people on here who would know better than me.

[BUSHWHACKER]

they used to in the days of the 2.25 petrol, but i think they've been using mostly diesels for the last few years at least, not sure though TBH there's people on here who would know better than me.

Brecon army cadets still use petrol SWB landrovers.