New to Amarok club and already feeling the pinch…

[TooRhumDub]

Hi everyone,

new to the forum and the Amarok owners club…

i have to admit that to this day I am still navigating through mixed feelings about the experience of owning the big rock.

let me give you a little background:

we live in the country, I mean real back country in remote NSW, in the mountains with one of the most testing road and weather conditions the country offers. From scorching summers, drought to freezing nights in winter, tropical-like downpours that can see our yearly rainfall fluctuate between 200mm to 1500mm. The “driveway” or “the road” as we and our neighbours call it is the final 8km stretch that takes us home. Itwill take you through mud, hard and sharp rock terrains, steep hills, multiple creek crossings that can be as high as a 1,20m deep during a flood.

Every car that goes through this is seriously tested. Up until now we have been using an old hilux (91) and it’s done amazing considering the amount of stuff it has carried in and out whilst we were building our house. Before moving permanently in my wife eventually swapped her Tiguan for an a Nissan X-trail hoping that it would be good enough to take her and the kids to and from town for the weekly trip. It became quite clear after a while that the limitation of the light 4wd weren’t going to last us too long and there is only so much you can do about modifying or upgrading them. On a side note : with a short wheel base and the light weight the Xtrail is actually performing quite well… only the tyres and clearance are the real issue….
So after much consideration of budget, comfort of riding and toughness we agreed to seek an Amarok to become the new family car, because it’ll have the comfort, a good towing capacity and plenty of space in the back that can accommodate room for a dog, drawers, etc…

after much looking around we settled on a 2015 Amarok that had 2 owners, the last being a very nice gentlemen owning a fully equipped garage and a vintage mustang doing all the services himself i felt in confidence when I test drove it. The car was in a tidy condition, with 240000k’s full service history. The seller had just dealt with a serpentine and tensioner issue costing him a hefty bill, so I felt like the engine was entering his second life in time and we were willing to fork out some money for the necessary upgrades and the usual parts that seems to fail these particular crawlers.

we brought it back went through “the road” fine, and I thought "when this thing is going to be rigged up properly the road is going to be a breeze now… score!"

but…

the second day my wife takes it out and comes back an hour later, with a long face. Power steering is gone, battery light is flashing on the dash… I think probably a belt, no dramas, just bad luck and always a pain in the ass for us because getting anything takes time. I found the belt at the bottom resting on the jail bar plate, and realised that the tensioner pulley had just disappeared! Went back to my wife’s track to try to locate it but it just vanished! I called the ex owner and he agreed to foot the bill, so I was almost not too angry at the situation. But the new car buzz went out really fast! In the mean time I knew the car needed a lift kit - it’s a standard for our location - so I took advantage of Easter sales and went on to book a fitting for 2inch lift kit in town the following week, got my pulley and belt in time and after some tinkering I actually managed to reinstall the tensioner ( surprised to see a plastic pulley btw ) amd the belt and got the car going. My wife takes it to the mechanic for lift kit day. On the way down the abs light comes up. She continues. She drops the car off walks out and the mechanic was unable to move the car from there. Right rear piston had seized and as he opens up the all break assembly just fell off.
he can get the part quickly and carry on with the suspension job. I also got him to replace all filters and the engine oil whilst at it to be starting a fresh history of our own.

car comes back after a few days but then a few minutes from home on the way the coolant light flashes. Low coolant level. I top up, and next day again and again it is loosing coolant at a fairly alarming rate. I have noticed the leak but haven’t had a chance to attend it yet. I have been reading about the EGR pump failing also so I am thinking replacing that in the process.

all of this to say, MF when does the bleeding stop with these?

I haven’t even got to install all the bits ( catch can, additional fuel filter, snorkel, breather… ) that I need to be on top of things here and I am already spending time dealing with stuff like this… half of me wants to sell it and go back to Toyota.

is it just the normal for that many k’s or am I just unlucky? I hear some people driving theirs up to 350000-400000 without troubles… maybe is just that people are used to see their mechanic often? Or am just waking up from the dream world where the hilux would always go on without a winge, even with a split chassis, a stuffed carby or a dodge pitman arm those thing just roll on and no beep, no squeal….


is anybody out there using Amaroks for what they look like to be designed satisfied ? Ie not in the city or highways…

thanks for welcoming me ��