questions about a ford courier

[6knights]

I am looking for a cheap 4wd for my daughter to drive to work (about 60km one way, some of goes through state forest, plus roos) and I came across a 2004 courier 2.5l turbo diesel with 306 thou km on it, there a few things that I would like to find out....

is there any mechanical issues to look out for or ask about?

what sort of fuel economy would it do in reasonably flat travel?, no big hills to go over

Are they under powered? the internet say they are only 86kw which doesn't seem at lot

apparently it has a new gearbox and clutch put in it 2 years ago.

any other thoughts,   

thanks, Trevor

[Hoyks]

I suppose it depends on what price you get it for.

I had a '98 model that missed out on the turbo, later models also had a revised gearbox.

The WL(T) motor had a bit of a reputation for doing cylinder heads. Around 1k will get you a replacement head kit on eBay. It wasn't a rocket ship either, but had enough power as the vehicle wasn't that heavy. Keep the correct coolant up to it and maybe a preventative replacement of the water pump and thermostat. Economy wise, around the 10L/100km would be what I'd expect.

They have a timing belt, so make sure that has been replaced. If it hasn't, it isn't a difficult job and a good chance to do the water pump.

If it got the EGR, then the EGR coolers have a habit of corroding and leaking. If you are lucky the coolant goes out the exhaust, unlucky and it goes and hydraulics the engine.

Gearboxes also had a few issues with bearings lunching themselves. If it has been rebuilt, then that's a good thing.

The up side is that they were a reasonably simple motor to work on, the engine bay isn't packed with stuff you can't identify and parts are reasonably cheap.

[Coolblue80]

I am looking for a cheap 4wd for my daughter to drive to work (about 60km one way, some of goes through state forest, plus roos) and I came across a 2004 courier 2.5l turbo diesel with 306 thou km on it, there a few things that I would like to find out....

is there any mechanical issues to look out for or ask about?

what sort of fuel economy would it do in reasonably flat travel?, no big hills to go over

Are they under powered? the internet say they are only 86kw which doesn't seem at lot

apparently it has a new gearbox and clutch put in it 2 years ago.

any other thoughts,   

thanks, Trevor

I've had a couple of these. One petrol and one T/D. Gearboxes have always been an issue in these. My T/D had a box put in it just before I purchased it form my brother at 115k. I have found (in my experience) the T/D like to crack/warp heads. My brothers second T/D, not the one I brought from him, did a head and mine was showing signs of a possible head problem when I traded it.
Now as for fuel economy. I never really took any notice. Power wise, I found it acceptable. I did put an exhaust on mine and had the boost tickled up abit with an adjustment to he pump. Made a decent amount of difference. At the time I was given a Mazda BT50 2wd with the 2.5CRD as a work ute and it ate the Courier. As expected. Just my 2c worth.
Cheers, Mike.

[6knights]

I suppose it depends on what price you get it for.

He is asking $5500     with rego till April

[Paddler Ed]

IIRC the 5th gear isn't the strongest on them; when they became the Ranger and BT50 they got a better gearbox along with the 3.0 TD engine.

$5500 seems a bit high - but that can depend on where you are...

Just had a quick look on scumtree, and there's a fair few Ford Rangers around that are nudging that price bracket - does she need 4x4 or would a Hi-Rider do (4x2 but same ride height at)

Also have a look at Holden Rodeo RAs

[6knights]

Just had a quick look on scumtree, and there's a fair few Ford Rangers around that are nudging that price bracket - does she need 4x4 or would a Hi-Rider do (4x2 but same ride height at)

Also have a look at Holden Rodeo RAs

no she doesn't need one for her type of work , l saw the courier on the side of the road today and is only about 4 km from home which made it easy to get to  but its not sounding very promising atm.

The rodeos are a good option if l can find one within reasonable traveling distance from home,  this would be my first preference so l am easily talked out of the courier