desertdude

I have to agree with Gaurav here. You wrote a lot but said very little. So I really also dont have the foggiest idea what you are trying to say? Like I already mentioned you can drive your Rav4 anywhere you like and Ive seen people do that on a regular basis, so there is nothing wrong there. Yes we all understand how diffs work making all 4x4 AWD. The problem is your quest to have three locking diffs and a transfer case with a low ratio fitted on the rav4 sounds very expensive and impractical. Youll spend a lot of money trying ti jury rig it and it still wont work the way a 4x4 that came built that way would. You'll need to somehow fit a transfer case into a front wheel drive engine. Then set up the linkage to engage it. Then youll need design and machine lockable diffs front and back and then design a engineer a way to lock them. Or you can save your self a ton of headache and money and buy a ready made 4x4 and install aftermarket diff locks front and rear like the ones you get from ARB. At the end of the day its your time and money do as you please with it. Do let us know when you develop a rav 4 solid axels with diff locks front and rear with a low range transfer box.

You think you have bad reception, try living in Ras Al Khaimah!

Yes its always the driver. Ive driven a 88 4cyl pathfinder with a leaking fuel line almost everywhere. But trying to fit a square peg into a round hole really isnt too wise. Cars like Rav4s ans CRVs really wernt made for heavy offloading. Maybe a gravel track here and there, some fun on the beach. Not saying this cant be done as a former member at another club which Gaurav Im sure remembers. Fayette use to take her 4dr auto Rav 4 everywhere too. But dropping some serious coin to turn a RaV4 something its not really isnlt worth it. As suggested put in a little more and get a proper used 4x4. With the current market situation, its a buyers market out there. And no I don't agree Fatima Jasim is the "best offroader" out there. Its just a 2dr body on a LWB prado rolling chasis with horrible visibility all around and a fuel tank the size of a small masafi bottle. A SWB 6cyl Prado will run cricles around it all day lomg And if you really want something tough get a Bu Shanab.

Probably cheaper buy a proper 2nd 4x4 with a little more grunt. Than setting up a transfer case and all in what is basically a front wheel drive, with a torsen diff. But even then you wont get lockable front and rear diffs. Id say look for a full spec 80series which comes with difflocks.

What car do you have? All modern and some older cars come in AWD or fulltime 4x4 Even the newer Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols. And you have a center difflock button or gearstick. And majority dont come with center and front difflocks as standard features, some with only rear difflocks. Other wise they are AWD. And they too become sitting ducks if one lifts off. Then you can use what is know ad the poor mans ( look it )

That part is true, even with my almost 20 years experience with 10 of those in the professional field I really dont have the patience or the will power to do what these two do Last time I went out with RD was on a newbie drive and we spent almost 3hrs trying to cross a patch less than 300 mtrs long. I could see the road from where we we standing. And by the time he managed to drag everyone clear it was dark for an hour or so already. I felt many times to screw it and just call it quits and drive out in my own. If I was leading that convoy those guys probably would be still stuck there today! Guess just getting old and grumpy with low tolerance. Maybe spent too many days out in the desert under the sun. That would explain my lack of hair in my chrome dome though!

In a place where everyone is in a hurry all the time and yet never reach anywhere on time, basically NO

As for the OP, even though I have an eternal and undying hate for Jeeps. I'm glad you didn't buy a Ford Exploder, which Ford has basically turned into a drag queen in the current generation. Its no longer a proper 4x4 but rather a front wheel drive with part time 4x4 sending power to the rear wheels when it detects slippage. Basically from being in the proper 4x4 bracket to the wannabe 4x4 rather cross over segment like the CRV

I think I now need to book an off road driving course with the two off roading supermen @Rahimdad and @Gaurav Bhai here now You guys think you could teach this old dog some new tricks ! I'm a quick learner I promise

IMO Japs are totally not worth it nowadays, severely over priced for what they are offering i.e base line models for the price of full spec models elsewhere. And just getting uglier and uglier by the day. Rav 4 The entire Nissan Line Up, save for the Armada ( Only because it hasn't had a new model come up yet ) and Maxima ( Maybe because its designed and made in the USA ) looks like it came out from the rear end of a diseased pig, with the Nissan Puke taking top place which looks like a retarded toad. . All modern cars now have an equal amount of electrickery in them so the reliablility issue is just about the same with them all. Japs are more reliable is just a myth now. Its more down to the owner and how he maintains any car nowadays. And the Koreans IMO nowadays are the best bang for your buck, you get decent kit for reasonable money. And they have come a long way from their early days and make pretty good cars, There is a good spare part network that has also developed so thats also not an issue any more either. So IMO if you are looking for a boring Asian crossover or ecobox, I don't think you can go wrong with the Koreans. If you can run, own and maintain a step child like the Mitsu ASX you can surely do Korean.

Simple law of averages, the more of a car you see on the roads, the more widely available the parts are, new and used. And the Mazda seems like it has pretty much given up on the UAE to capture a decent segment of the market, failed to bring in their awesome sports lineup, even the worlds most popular convertible roadster the RX5/Miata never went on sale here.

LOL so true. Once sitting at the lights in Sharjah in my old range rover. I just felt like giving it a few revs just to hear that V8 burble, it came with a slightly modified exhaust from factory, while I had my head buried in the instrument gauges and playing with the revs, I looked up and right next to me a Sharjah Police Pardo had pulled up and was looking at me!!!! He signaled to pull the window down, I, by now pretty embarrassed and pretty sure I was looking at a decent fine! Salam Alaikum Wa Alaikum What are doing? Who..me...err..aahh...I just picked up my car from the garage and checking if the engine missing has been fixed ( Utter BS and luckly I was close to industrial area ) Coming from the garage eh! Ahh..yess Engine missing huh Ahh yess..yes....Gave it another rev Hmmmm....ok yallah carry on Phew!!!! What a close call My lucky stars, quick thinking and decent Arabic saved the day me thinks! So yeah, moral of the story don't play the fool !!!

That has to be the dumbest thing I've seen on the interwebz for a long time and trust me Ive seen some dumb $hit. This is like the satwa ricer mod that the shababs use to do back int the 90s just take a nail and hammer in a few holes in the muffler.

I wouldnt go near off road zone with the kathara jeeps they rent out at exorbitant prices. Put in a little more money and get your own. With the economic downturn and gas prices creeping up and it being summer its a buyers market out there for cars, specially 4x4s. Cars selling for crap prices. Personally I would stay away from sheeps but thats my eternal hate for sheeps speaking.

Knock engine? Really doesn't explain much. Replacement or rebuild is going to be expensive. With the slump in the market Ive seen them go for as low as 15k. So there is something to think about! Maybe buy another one and keep this as a donor car perhaps?

Whats wrong with it?

Too late to the thread, but from your first post I was 90% sure it was the battery. A weak battery will cause all sorts of error codes in modern cars so that route is almost not worth taking.

I'm assuming you mean air springs/shocks because you cant have hydraulic and air the same time, hydraulic is fluid based. Anyways in Sharjah they can just replace your air bladder on the same shock, at 500dhs per corner but you have take out the shocks your self and them get fitted later too

Why is it whenever there is mention of diesel oil. I seem to find that thread! As most know by now Ive been exclusively using that on my older range rovers! Anyways the point is correct to consult your owners manual, but sad thing is no one does. All manuals, all those that I have seen recommend different viscosity oils for different ambient temps the car is going to be driven up. Usually contains a small chart. In the UAE we can get away with 40w as its hot most of the times. You can even use 50w in peak summer time like now.

What about the 3 digit Rolls Royce driving scammer ? http://m.gulfnews.com/xpress/news/beware-conman-who-drives-a-rolls-royce-in-dubai-1.1818752

Since this uses voltage, wouldn't it drain the car battery if the car is left standing for a while? Specially here whwre the tint will have to be activated even when parked because of the sun. Just saying.

Wasnt there a recent law introduced, that allowed people to service cars outside and not have their warranty voided?

First world problems! I mean come on, seriously?

Bose developed a better system 10 yrs ago,always, wondered why it never made it to the market. Not only does it work for potholes but also bumps and cornering. Although now cars do have active cornering suspension https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eSi6J-QK1lw

so you can imagine the other one is also in similar shape