Hello to all friendly Fourtrak owners.

Have just bought a 96 Fourtrak Independent TDL type F78. Mostly because I heard about what a reliable workhorse they can be, as I plan to take it abroad to use on rough stone/mud tracks in a small village, plus it was good value (I hope).

Firstly, how different is the F78 from the 70,75,77 models? I will have to get that manual as the one for F78 doesn't seem to be available (from searching this forum and elsewhere).

Secondly, the 4wd is not working properly, the guy who sold it to me said he thought it was the automatic front hubs and I should replace them with manual ones. I am happy to do this if it makes them more reliable. There are some 91 manual hubs on ebay, does anybody know if these would fit?

Or would I be better trying to strip, clean and re-grease the auto hubs (as mentioned in other posts on this forum)?

I have jacked up all 4 wheels and when I engage 4wd low (dash light comes on ok) I can see the front drive shaft and the nearside front half shaft rotating but not the offside half shaft. Is this normal and just down to the workings of the front diff?

How can I check if the offside front half shaft is being driven?

The nearside front wheel is not driven but I'm guessing this is down to the automatic hub not working. Is there anyway to try to force it to engage when not on the ground?

Thirdly, there is a lot of oil sprayed above the rear diff, I assume the front bearing oil seal with the prop shaft is leaking, is this easy to replace?

I plan to do the obvious maintenance before I go (oil change, gearbox and diff oil, filters, cam belt already done) and take basic spares (filters, brake shoes, bulbs).

Does the engine oil change really need to be done every 3,000 miles (mostly motorway) seems very frequent? Opinion on this forum seems to vary, I would be using a semi-synthetic oil.

What other maintenance should I do before I go?

What other spares should I take, as I think it will be difficult and expensive to get spares in Romania where I'm heading?

Sorry to be the typical newbie and ask so many questions. I'm hoping to see my local friendly 4x4 mechanic on Monday so he may be able to answer some. If he does I'll post my findings here for the benefit of others.

In the meantime if anybody can give me any help or advice it will be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

BB