[brettmeg]

So guys looks like the Sierra has not worked out for me. Bit bummed out actually. So I looked at a jimny today 01 model 190k on the clock. Looks quite neat. It's had all new springs and suspension the brake lines are all new. Now there is some surface rust I think on top of windscreen I can see rust color around seal.

What if any is usually the downfalls of a jimny with that many k's on it? Should I expect to have to spend heaps on it soon?

Basically just looking for advice as I'm ready to buy and have no idea about which way to go

Thanks guys
Brett

[denty802]

if its a daily that gets driven decent distances i'd lean towards the jimny, but if its just for fun out the bush then i dont think you can go past the sierra,

depends on your budget and what you want out of it i guess

[SierraDan]

denty802 wrote:

depends on your budget and what you want out of it i guess

x2. Depends how far into mods you'd want to go, and what sort of wheeling you'd want to do.

[brettmeg]

Sorry Not going to be my everyday drive. Its my "toy" But I want it to be reliable enough to take it a few hundred k's from home for camping weekends and not be worried about getting home. Total budget is about 6500. The sierra I was keen on was within the budget and I have some spending money left over.

[SierraDan]

Still depends. Some peoples toys are $100000 buggies, and others are a mild lift and some muddies.

[TryHard]

ether way a Sierra is a great base to build off even for a slightly bigger Project buggy

[brettmeg]

K. I get the feeling finding one is going to be the issue!!!!!!

[alien]

surface rust on an 01 jimny??? mate i wouldnt touch it... make you wonder where all the hidden rust is.

[brettmeg]

alien wrote:

surface rust on an 01 jimny??? mate i wouldnt touch it... make you wonder where all the hidden rust is.

Good point

[monley]

brettmeg wrote:

Sorry Not going to be my everyday drive. Its my "toy" But I want it to be reliable enough to take it a few hundred k's from home for camping weekends and not be worried about getting home. Total budget is about 6500. The sierra I was keen on was within the budget and I have some spending money left over.

What's the asking price on the 01 jimny? Is it the m13a motor? (can't remember what year they swapped from the 'g' series motor in the jimny's).

What sort of terrain do you drive? 215's, 2" lift and a locker will take you a long way...but in comfort

BTW any thing over a 215 gearing is crap...you can get away with 235's but it just means you have to carry a bit more speed up hill climbs etc...

[brettmeg]

6k. Can yo still buy the fiberglass tops for soft tops????

[tobeszook]

Get a coily

[brettmeg]

tobeszook wrote:

Get a coily

Um coily???

[BlueSuzy]

Coily are the worst sierra's. Just becaue they are harder to modify and have limited parts avaliable for them. Id rather a jimny than a coily. If it was my choice, id keep the jimny i have now.

[Fatzook]

BlueSuzy wrote:

Coily are the worst sierra's. Just becaue they are harder to modify and have limited parts avaliable for them.

C'mon Tim. This is bullshit and you know it. Most of the parts that are unavailable for the coily are also unavailable for the jimny.

You can get lifts up to 80mm for coilys, body lifts, replacement castor corrected arms, bushes, barwork, rear locker, armour, engine mods and conversions, power steering etc etc.

If you think a jimny is a better vehicle thats one thing, but saying the coily is shit because you can't be arsed to do the research is another thing all together.

[BlueSuzy]

Its not bullshit to the noob, and the noob has to research.

To the person who is going it 2" only with 215's, A jim is better suited.
To the person who wants 33' for rock climbs, A leafy sierra is better suited.
Going to a coily is inbetween them without going custom.

Some of us know we can modify anything in them, We have the experience and the fab skills, But to the newbie, It will be wtf did i buy this for like most coily owners.

Why did my shock mounts break, why did my radius arm mount break etc etc etc.

Coily, have to swap the whole tranfer for better gearing. Jimny, you can buy gear kits. I know prices may end up similar in the end, but thats not the point. You can use jimny parts for the jimny and its not a crossbreed with custom bought brackets and speed sesnor adaptors etc

Jimny:
Jimny's come out with efi standard 3 different zippy motors
glx=Aircon
glx=Powersteer
More room(height inside)
Longer wheel base
Wider
Quieter
Neater front coil setup than coily
Newer
More common
F & R lockers avaliable
Safer

Coily/Leafy Sierra
Coils, Can be made for a softer ride than its leaf sierra cousin
Normally dearer than a leafy
Nicer front imo than the leafy but solid window A pillar not easy to replace after rollover unlike leafy.
Lucky to find aircon in either
No Powersteer
Basic carbie, Can be pro and con. Slow. Leafy and coily
Rarer only 2?yrs of coilys were imported here. Leafys are very common like jimnys
Simpler than the jimny
Rear lockers only avaliable for the coily. Leafys f&r avaliable
Full roof softops avaliable


And there is plenty more. Feel free to list them.

[brettmeg]

K Boys I'm still lost. What's the difference between the coily and the normal sierra? I'm going to look at a Sierra today it's a 91 X7 JX model

[zukmeista]

Coily=SJ80 Leafy=SJ70. SJ80 is coil sprung with front struts and radius arms, SJ70 has leaf springs. The change over year was 1996 so anything before that will be leaf sprung.

[BlueSuzy]

The 91 will be a 1.3 carb. Wide track. (wider track with bigger flares)

[firstjimny]

I'm not sure what a Sierra is. A Samurai by another name maybe I don't know. However, I have a 2001 Jimny and I bought it used about 3 years ago.
I had to replace the rear driveshaft and have had to rebuilt the front hubs as the 4x4 light began to blink because it wasn't sealing good. Other than that and a new battery and spark plugs it runs flawlessy. It is approaching 300,000 kilometers on the dial. I've added a 2 inch Dobinson springs and shocks, 1 inch coil spring spacers, an ARB winch bumper with 9500 pound T-Max winch and some LightForce Lance 140 driving lights and some 215/75/15 offroad tires. Every addition has been a major improvement to an already good machine. It is a true giant killer. I honestly know little about Sierras but you can't go wrong with a Jimny. Good luck with whatever you chose.

[sideways]

IMO buy a Sierra.

When you bend a panel, you'l wish you had a Sierra.

When you fit bigger tyres, you'l wish you had a Sierra.

When you are looking for mods or parts, you'l wish you a had Sierra.

When you're paying for mods or parts you'l wish you had a Sierra.

When you're wheeling, you're going to wish you had the Sierras narrower, harder to damage body.

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

[Ben_Sierra]

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

[sideways]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

Sure they aren't great, in fact they're appalling if you've been driving modern road cars all your life. With some sound deadening (or just anything to take out the NVH) and good seats (even good cond stock ones) they certainly aren't unbearable, I'd call them satisfactory at least.

Bearing in mind, almost all my experience is with hardtops, I've never traveled any appreciable distance or speed in a soft top Sierra. Tin tops always seem to have carpet(which is just pointless in a proper 4WD I know, but it keeps everything a lot quieter) and good seats where as soft tops never seem to have any form of floor covering and rotten seats are the norm. I imagine the soft top tries to buffet you to death at highway speeds too.

Jimnys certainly aren't luxurious, the one I've been in was somewhat like an 80s Japanese hatchback in terms of comfort. Sierras are simply good for an agricultural 4WD in terms of comfort.

[Reubs]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

I bet people were having this exact argument 20 years ago - except it wasn't Jimny Vs Sierra - it was Sierra vs LJ.

I have daily driven a couple of Coily Sierras over the years and done a few long trips in them too. I reckon my well maintained Coily drives better than my POS Vitara as well (and is superior off-road IMO).

[Ben_Sierra]

Reubs wrote:

Ben_Sierra wrote:

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

I bet people were having this exact argument 20 years ago - except it wasn't Jimny Vs Sierra - it was Sierra vs LJ.

I have daily driven a couple of Coily Sierras over the years and done a few long trips in them too. I reckon my well maintained Coily drives better than my POS Vitara as well (and is superior off-road IMO).

But I bet neither of them has the road manners of a well maintained sedan or hatchback...

[royce]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

Reubs wrote:

Ben_Sierra wrote:

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

I bet people were having this exact argument 20 years ago - except it wasn't Jimny Vs Sierra - it was Sierra vs LJ.

I have daily driven a couple of Coily Sierras over the years and done a few long trips in them too. I reckon my well maintained Coily drives better than my POS Vitara as well (and is superior off-road IMO).

But I bet neither of them has the road manners of a well maintained sedan or hatchback...

In a thread abour whether to look at a Sierra or Jimny, you are trying to introduce how well either of them drives on road, compared to a 2wd road oriented car, on a 4wd forum.

You get the speshel gold star award!

[Fatzook]

BlueSuzy wrote:

Coily, have to swap the whole tranfer for better gearing. Jimny, you can buy gear kits. I know prices may end up similar in the end, but thats not the point. You can use jimny parts for the jimny and its not a crossbreed with custom bought brackets and speed sesnor adaptors etc

Not trying to start an argument here but the coily is by far easier to do transfer gears in. And cheaper. MUCH cheaper. In your own statement you outline how much more accessable leafy parts are.....so when you BOLT IN the geared leafy transfer case to your coily with STANDARD leafy shafts, mounts etc, it hardly makes some 'crossbreed'.

I'm not denying that the Jimny comes with more standard inclusions, or that the coily is the black sheep of the sierra family, but your comment that they are the worst sierra, and that they are harder to modify is IMO misleading to a "noob". The coily is DIFFERENT to modify. Not HARDER! It is afterall a different vehicle in many aspects.

[zook91]

id say its more personal preferrence about the jimny vs sierra debate
i guess it also comes down to how much money you have to or want to spend

my personal choice will be a jimny when i purchase one soon, its hard to find a nice tidy sierra and a jimny is a lil nicer imo but it depends what YOU want im sure they are both great just depends how hardcore you plan on 4x4ing it

[ZookFan]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

sideways wrote:

Sierras really aren't that bad on road. I don't get why everyone goes on about it so much.

Come on, lets be honest. Sierra's aren't really that great on road either... I would never daily drive my Sierra...

I do

That said, a Jimny is still not in the league of a proper road car on the road either... Just a little more comfortable than a Sierra...

[royce]

Fatzook wrote:

BlueSuzy wrote:

Coily, have to swap the whole tranfer for better gearing. Jimny, you can buy gear kits. I know prices may end up similar in the end, but thats not the point. You can use jimny parts for the jimny and its not a crossbreed with custom bought brackets and speed sesnor adaptors etc

Not trying to start an argument here but the coily is by far easier to do transfer gears in. And cheaper. MUCH cheaper. In your own statement you outline how much more accessable leafy parts are.....so when you BOLT IN the geared leafy transfer case to your coily with STANDARD leafy shafts, mounts etc, it hardly makes some 'crossbreed'.

I'm not denying that the Jimny comes with more standard inclusions, or that the coily is the black sheep of the sierra family, but your comment that they are the worst sierra, and that they are harder to modify is IMO misleading to a "noob". The coily is DIFFERENT to modify. Not HARDER! It is afterall a different vehicle in many aspects.

Stop being politically correct, if something is more involved to do on one car compared to teh other its ok to call it worse, not different

Otherwise I would always be saying things like Toyotas are different to do basic tasks like replace the oil filter, not what dumbass puts an oil filter just close enough to the exhaust manifold so you get burnt and on a sloping section so you make a big mess