Forum:
Ok, I'm a newbie here, just bought myself a 1990 fourtrak today, the 2.8 turbo diesel jobbie. This is the first Daihatsu I've owned, so am I little bit green 
Would just like a heads up on possible / potential problems I may well run across with it - every vehicle has it's own little quirks and problems and I'd like to hear sorta now, what they might be............ 
It's done about 200k, and I have no service history at all - guy I bought it from has only had it a few months and finds it too bouncy for him (he had a souped up fiesta beforehand...........) - he thinks he 'might' have some service history somewhere, but can't remember where he put it (tbh my car died last Thursday and I needed something affordable quickly and this was waved in front of me.......).
Have had a bit of a blat about in it, and it seems to run lovely, had a good look around and it seems sound (impressive lack of rust ) - guy is going to put new MOT on it for me after New Year (would have waited but need a vehicle NOW, but he'll put it through and fix any faults too) before I pay the balance (have paid deposit so far)
I'm not massively bothered about the lack of service history - fourtraks have a great reputation, but would just like some forewarning of common quirks and problems it may have 
Also, which insurers offer good quotes for them? I had a sports car before and my current insurers quote is pretty high (higher than for a 2l souped up sports car!!!).
Thanks in advance for any useful info 
Tink
aint cheap to run thats for
aint cheap to run thats for sure, specially when you have a astra diesel to compare it to, then again my astra would not get into some of the fishing spots my track does
headlamps on dip are abysmal, i changed mine to ones from milner offroad, as they dont have a blank cover in the center the lighting is far better
small washer bottle, needs to be bigger
if you dont know the service history either get a full service done or do it yourself-again get bits from milner`s-cheaper than ebay
make sure it has a jack
not a lot of room in the back
insurance depends on age mate - try company called bullseye-i found those the cheapest, be realistic about your yearly mileage, especially when your track will return about 28mpg
I've come from a sports car
I've come from a sports car that only did about 28mpg anyway, so that doesn't bother me
Yeah I've noticed that the dipped is a bit weak so will have a look at some replacements over the next week.
Always carry a spare bottle of water in the boot so no worries about small washer bottle - but thanks for the warning
Jack is secure under passenger seat
First thing I checked 
Tool roll is a bit sparse but have stuck a half decent tool kit in boot anyway - and yes, the boot is a bit small - good job I don't need huge boot space 
Also had a word (rant) with my insurers and they 'looked into it' and then dropped the price by just over £90 (my old cars insurance renewed on 20th Dec at 00.00, car died on 20th Dec at 14.30.........) if I had cancelled the policy I'd have lost £75 deposit, but thankfully have 'negotiated' a better price
Oh, found a fair amount of rust in rear wheel arches (ok, fairly large holes actually), anyone know the best way to fix this up?
Can you buy replacement panels to weld in, or start with sheet metal, shape it yourself, then weld in? Might even rivet and weld, just to be sure
Thankfully the chassis is very sound, it's just the wheel arches...........
Obviously will further check underside when I get access to a ramp, get the work done that's needed, then underspray.
Thanks for your reply - wasn't sure that there was any life on here......
Arches
Unable to buy rear wheel arches, to replace these you have to buy the rear quarter panel from Daihatsu, unusually, no one seems to manufacture them, surprising considering the amount on the roads.
Manufacture new arches from 2mm thick steel, cut the old ones away and cut back the inner arches to good steel, make up new inners from good steel and weld in, fit the newly made outers, spray the wheel arch underside with underbody schultz, this is rubbery when dried, and most things bounce off this. Cover with several coats of industrial paint, when dried paint on many coats of underseal, inside the vehicle, remove the rear trim, spray in several coats of thinned waxoyl, this will penetrate into the body joints, and gather between the voids where the inner and outer wheel arches meet.
look in front of back wheels under the floor
look under the floor you will see a awkward area that can rott mine has two large holes there that will be welded up but the mot center had missed it make sure it stears well as mine is very bad on the road
own a volvo 940 se desial and a fourtrak 2.8 turbo desial
Jack
Dont forget the winding handle ,stashed under the bonnet,by the bonnet stay, and the gizmo that fits the handle,should be in the tool roll. Better still, buy a high lift trolly jack.
Dont forget to check the rear wiper works, info on site for servicing.
Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX
long service
These vehicles if used properly will run for ever basically, rust will find its way round the arches quite nicely so unless its near a body mount you can always just patch with lots of nice filla, you can get a metal type one these days called metalik (i think) works well, keep an eye round the chassis cross members especially around the fuel tank area, hose with powerfull power washer regularly and plenty of underbody spray, fuel lines if still metal (original)will soon be gone home replace with nice rubber hose and run it along top of chassis rails out of way of sticks etc( if offroading). Lift up all carpets and look around inside for rust, especially both foot wells. Insurance from the NFU is roughly £250 fully comp but might be different with you, benefits being you can absolutely go to town on modifications (except on drivetrain area) and they wont give a damn, always purchase spares from Milner off road except for leaf springs!!!!!! i can get 40mpg out of my 2.8td by driving everywhere at 40 in 5th with light accelaration - yes i know thats boring but look at todays rediculous taxes on vehicle anything!!! change all the oils in the gearboxes and replace with a decent ep90 brand, any other problems just ask, regular oil/filter changes on engine are good, make sure viscous fan is always a bit tight to spin by hand otherwise it might not cool the engine in the summer to well especially if towing, ok thats enough hope this helps.
Full of ideas but no time to do them!!
www.bloodredoffroad.com
www.milneroffroad.com
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youtube: Redfourtrack
rear lights
i have heard that the wiring to the rear lights can be a problem as the run outside the body and get water in easily
Problems to look out for
Problems I had when I purchased my Fourtrak '91 2.8 TDX.
Poor starter, so seller fitted new battery,but due to corroded fuel line, (air ingress), constant probs with rear lights,due to corrosion in wiring connectors (water/salt ingress). Problems with constant fuse blowing (lost all dash info), this was due to fault with reversing switch, replace with switch on dash to new reversing light. Rotted out number plate light assembly, made new one using trailer numnber plate lights. Look for rot under rear load bay carpet, around seam to wheel arches, inner sills, front seat belt mounting area, also around the plastic wheel arch extensions, weak leaf springs ( milners replacments seem too hard for general use), the electric adjustable shocks may need replacing (if fitted) , remove wiring as much as poss , disconnect switch and replace with standard shocks, auto locking hubs fitted to front axle are a pain, they tend to sieze up,as previuos owner never used them, replaced mine with a manual set from 'Miners'. Watch for over heating when Motorway driving at high speed, rad and fan problems.Not had a problem with the imfamous gearbox NUT, 'Assasin' had made a few posts on this problem as have others. Make use of all the info on this site,use the search facility its a mine of info
But for all the quirks/silly problems, I believe I have a damned good truck.!!!!!! ,but the headlight are crap!!!!!!!.
Just change all the oils at stated intervals and she's a good un. Just have now to deal with wear and tear problems. 2nd time around the clock, and I have no plans to replace her.
Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX
Thanks for all the advice
Thanks for all the advice
Much appreciated 
Have now had a chance to have a good look over it:
- most of the electrical / light connectors look like they have been replaced at some point fairly recently (all too clean and shiny to be too old).
- fuel lines I could see are rubber and in pretty good nick
- lifted all the carpets, only visible corrosion is rear arches (booked in to be welded) but I'll have the welder double check too.
- put new headlight bulbs in (much brighter now)
- battery is HUGE jobbie with warranty date sticker still on it (it's 2 years old)
- fan is 'firm' to turn by hand
- tis booked in with local garage for once over, oil change etc, just in case I've missed anything.....
Only minor grumble I have is that the glow plug relay only seems to heat the plugs for about 3 or 4 seconds before it cuts out and on really cold mornings if I start it after just one warming, it runs a bit lumpy until it warms up a bit.
So far I've overcome this by turning ignition off a couple of times so plugs get 3 'warmings', then it runs lovely straight away.
Is this normal? Or should I just replace the relay anyway?
Last diesel 4x4 I had was a Mahindra back in 1991, and it kept burning out glow plug relays, so I had a button put on dashboard instead (like we had in our tractors) and that worked brilliantly - am wondering if this might be an option here too.....
Great to hear that someone can get 40mph out of their 2.8TD, but I live in Wales, half way up a mountain!
Fuel consumption is pretty awful, and I don't have a particularly heavy foot - again will ask mechanic about this, I'm sure something can be tweaked somewhere