On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:11:29 GMT, "Ed H." <edo.hart (AT) verizon (DOT) net>
wrote:


Old Scouts were the tuffest of the lot and old jeeps where tuff to
but Blazers and Broncos paled in this regard were never really in
the same league as a Scouts and Jeeps.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:09:01 -0600, Larry Gathright
<gathright408 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote:


That TTB front axle really limits that vehical potentail. Ford played
a cruel trick on public with that front axle design which tend to be
unstable at best and wear tires funny because it is a swing axle
design with constant radical camber changes driving down the road
which also varies the tread/track width as the suspension articulates
(reason for rapid and uneven tire wear) If ford had designed that
vehicle with a sold front axle it would have been a lot more atractive
to work with.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

nightrider.36 wrote:
Well I can understand... I think everyone is leery of something they're
unfamiliar with.

Dana is the brand of axle. Many companies use or have used Danas as
the stock axles in their trucks...GM, Ford, Dodge, Jeep, IH Scouts,
etc... Their strongest point, IMO, is that they're just incredibly
common. If you see a vehicle advertised with a "Dana 44" or "Dana 60",
it's just refering to which Dana axle is installed. The higher the
number, the stronger, bigger, and heavier the axle. For most
applications, Dana 44's and 60's will be just fine. 4x4 Chevys from
the late-70's forward had their own GM axles installed. 1/2 Ton trucks
have GM's equivalent to a Dana 44, most often referred to as the
"corporate 10-bolt".

Danas have a *lot* of aftermarket support. If you ever decided to lift
the truck for bigger tires, you can easily purchase parts to increase
the strength of an existing axle (to a point...after you reach a
certain tire size, you'd best go with bigger axles). But a Dana 44 or
GM "10-bolt" should be good up to 33" tires. Since you've stated that
you're not wanting to go rock-crawling, I can't imagine that you'd need
anything bigger than that.

Concerning your comment about USA vs. Jap engines... No offense, but I
never knew anyone that ever had a Fiero and didn't have some level of
problems with it. I can't comment on the '96 Camaro. All I'm saying
is, don't base your opinion of American engines on those Pontiacs ;-)

Any good mechanic should be able to put the vehicle through its paces
and determine, to some degree, how much life is left in the existing
drivetrain. Mainly, they'd be checking for wear in common areas.
Certain things are usually not going to last the entire lifetime of the
engine...things like water pumps, alternators, etc. Belts and hoses
are cheap and should be replaced immediately on any used car purchase,
IMO. With transmissions, a manual should last a lot longer than an
automatic. The clutch is something that will need to be replaced at
some point, and a mechanic should be able to determine how much life is
left in it if you go with a manual tranny. I'm no tranny expert, but I
have *heard* that automatics are more difficult when it comes to
determining life expectancy. (if someone else knows more about this,
please jump in...)

Axles are pretty easy for a competent mechanic to inspect. They mainly
need to be checked for internal wear and excessive play (slop).

Scouts are great. After 1974, they should have Dana 44 axles front and
back. As far as the longevity of their engines, I can't comment...
Someone else should know this though (somebody jump in!)

I think going with any of the choices we've discussed would be a good
starting point. I don't know what your level of mechanical ability is,
but these vehicles are relatively easy to work on. Of course, if you
don't work on cars, then there will be a learning curve unless you plan
to just pay for repairs or upgrades and have someone else do the work.

However, although I'm partial to Chevy Blazers (since I own one) I
think you couldn't possibly go wrong with a Jeep CJ. I got the Blazer
because I needed transportation immediately. I was looking for a car
and saw the Blazer. It just looked right. But I had no plans for
off-roading at the time. If that were my goal when I was shopping, I
probably would've considered a Jeep as my first 4x4. There are an
endless number of companies selling replacement or upgrade parts for
Jeeps. Heck, you can actually buy a whole replacement aluminum body
that'll never rust if you're that serious! If you wanted to, you could
actually build a complete Jeep CJ from the ground up, BRAND NEW in your
garage. That should give you an idea of the availability of parts.
Everything on a CJ can be mail ordered and bolted on.

That's just my take. I figure if they're that common, and parts are so
readily available, it says a whole lot about the popularity of the
Jeep.

One other thing...Jeeps are smaller than the Scouts, Blazers, Broncos,
and Ramchargers. They'll more easily get through a tighter trail. The
others are considered full-sized trucks, although they're shorter,
because of their width. There's something to be said for each, but I
still think a Jeep would be the best bet for your purposes.
Ultimately, it's going to come down to what YOU want, what you're will
to pay, and how much work needs to be done to the used truck you buy.

Anytime! And please report back and let us know what you decide... If
you have questions, we'll be here ;-)

~jp

My wife has an 88 jeep cherokee it may look like crap but she still runs
good an strong. just keep up the required work on it lube oil changes etc.
and it will keep you going... oh ya i have a chevy blazer an 95 not to bad
of a ride ...