thoughts on the 2.4

hi ya

what do you guys think of the 2.4 petrol fronty, they do not seem to have many probs if you look down the postings, they do not sell very well , not like the 2.8 diesle and the 2ltr petrol, i have one my self at first i thought it was a gas guzzler, but afer a good service it is not to bad, 30 miles to a gallon on a run, for a 2ton truck i do not think is to bad, whats your thoughts on this less talked about fronty.............pete

Parents had one that saw around 300k before it gave up, excellent motor, very reliable and pulled like a train. Much better than their 2.2i they replaced it with.

Had one a few years back and used it for a trip through Europe with a caravan in tow. It performed really well, had loads of snow for a few months in the alps and does really well in 4WD with that as well . Only problem I found it it seemed a bit under powered especially with the caravan in tow.

They can be a bit thirsty, but you expect that from a really old large petrol engine. However they are very simple, and old school technology ... i.e. big is best. Plenty of torque to pull the +2tons of Frontera around and all its luggage and the caravan. Gregster has one as a play toy as well down in the woods. He is still trying to break it and he abuses his toy trucks to the max.

Gotta say I wasnt impressed with my 2.4 as a road car but that was comparing it with my 2.8 lwb, but I have to say it shocked me off road as to how good it was.
The lazy 2.4 was unimpressive on tarmac, but the backs of torque pay dividends on the hills off road. I would seriously rate it as high as a 2.8 for offroading.
My 2.4 engine brakes well, no need for brake assistance, and will climb most of this hills in the woods in second gear without bogging down.
It even climbed some of the real steep ones at idle, with both my feet planted firmly on the carpet (sorry mud in the footwells)...nothing short of amazing...I thought it would stall, the revs dropped to probably 500rpm but it kept going.
I reckon for torque low down they knock the spots off a 2.8 even, the 2.8 coming into its own when it comes on boost a bit higher up the rev range.

Am seriously considering cutting a foot or so out of the middle of my 2.4 to give it a shorter wheel base...it will be unstoppable then.

Fuel consumption on road was heavyish, but you would need to do a fair few miles to make up the difference in purchase price between one of these and a 2.8
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Offroad I reckon I get better fuel consumption than I did out of a 2.0i, mainly cos it doesnt have to rev and most stuff can be tackled at just above idle.

Granted mine wasnt a gem of a 2.4 to start out, bought for a donor interior for £150 with no T&T...and an easy decision really to turn into a plaything as if I sold it as a road car it would probably made £350-400 max...I decided the better option was to have fun with it for a year or so offroad, then sell some stuff off of it, and weigh the rest in when its dead...I would get roughly the same return for it, albiet having lots of fun in the meantime.

I would deffo buy another one, you can get a gem of a 2.4 for about 1/2 the price of a doggy 2.8, certainly a good buy if you arent going to do loads of road miles and lots of offroad ones. You cant really fail with them, as they are worth more in parts and frag than they are complete and on the road, so a no brainer really.

Had mine for 2 and a half years now and wouldn't want any other.
Ok, it's needed a bit of work on it but, I am the 14th owner!
It clearly hadn't been loved but, it still hasn't let me down.
I use it as an everyday car since I had to sell the 2.0L sport last year. Even on short trips, I'm getting 22-24 mpg.
As long as it passes the MoT this month, I will continue to be one happy bunny!
I,m that happy with it, if it fails, I will sorn it and get it fixed up so it will pass it's MoT. (what I'll do in the meantime,haven't figured that one out yet)