Opinions on Holden Adventra & Crewman (poss Cross)

whqqsh, Oct 23, 6:36am
Looking at both of these as going rural & already have a 4wd Hi-lux for going further up the valley & around the farm stuff. The road in isn't the usual flat loose metal, is twisty as hell, not very often graded by the council & in winter does cut up bad & ruts out badly with logging trucks & occasional snow. Wife wants a wagon & I need 4 seats & deck for the dogs so these seemed like a good option.

bjmh, Oct 23, 6:39am
Not a lot of ground clearance and very hungry on fuel

gunhand, Oct 23, 6:51am
Think about if the vehicle will handle the ruts, over and over and over again. bushes, suspension, wheels, tires, computer components and everything else will be taking a constant slamming. Ones just used on the seal have issues as it is so subject the same to severe vibrations and think what the outcome will be. Neither IMO are made for that kinda life, your floor will also take a slamming and dosn't take long to fail a WOF.

lusty9, Oct 23, 6:53am
they're nothing more than dirt/gravel road hacks, suited to highway's but not byways.

whqqsh, Oct 23, 6:56am
agree but the XR6 ute handles the road most of the time, I was just preparing for middle of winter type stuff. & hopefully we won't actually be going out every day. Plan is to go to town once a week & maybe some casual work.

desmodave, Oct 23, 7:38am
Any flavor 4x4 in your budget you like and a dog barrier . Or if your cheap like me 2 lengths of big bamboo cable tied to the headrests .Lots of slippery clay over that way .

serf407, Oct 23, 8:43am
Is the hilux a single cab?
Do the rebody conversion on the Hilux depending on the model?

If is really snowy - 4x4 cab tractor and unimog conditions in the deep snow?
Probably risk a 6 cylinder outback subaru before an adventra?
What do the locals use ? Prados etc?
Any friends towards the main road, park a 2wd car down there and use a tractor, 4x4 UTV or ATV to drive down there.
Detroit trutrac for aus utes
https://www.harrop.com.au/shop/detroit-truetrac-m86-30-spline

whqqsh, Oct 23, 9:00am
sorry guys, don't want to debate the pros & cons of various 4wd vehicles, the state of roads, number of dogs, how many fingers you need to play a banjo with or any other issues, just wouldn't mind any advice for or against an Adventra or Crewman

twink19, Oct 23, 9:04am
my daughter had an Adventura sold it because parts were getting hard to get, apart from that went well

berg, Oct 23, 9:15am
Had Crewmans at work. Pretty reliable with the problem bits being cat converters and diff bearings. Have put half a million kms in Crewmans and never been left stranded on the roadside by one. Seats in the back are bloody uncomfortable and buy a V8 one. The V6 is almost as thursty lol. Would I buy one? No, I've just brought a new D-Max because I like the extra ground clearance and towing capacity

whqqsh, Oct 23, 10:43am
Cheers guys, had heard of the diff bearings giving issues when they first came out, hopefully the wrinkles have been ironed out by now.
Still not 100% sold but this seems like a practical compromise & probably don't need (or want) to go 4wd pickup type truck, especially as we already have one https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/664294190.jpg

poppajn, Oct 23, 2:08pm
x BOSS HAD BOTH, AND BOTH WERE HARD ON REAR DIFF'S

serf407, Oct 23, 4:26pm
VZ ute specs
http://www.users.on.net/~nweber/commodore/vz/news-07.html The falcon commodores have been made by Dana in Australia at the old Hallam plant? Albins might have made replacement diff parts to a higher spec than the original internals. Albins profile grinds the diff parts after heat treating. http://www.albinsgear.com.au/assets/OtherComponents_1_Web.pd
f

https://youtu.be/nkIyzf-7v00?t=4m24s Albins diff parts profile grinding after heat treatment Dana have opened a new diff/ axle factory in Aus in 2017. https://www.4x4australia.com.au/news/1702/dana-australia-opens-new-state-of-the-art-facility

The adventra/ cross four wheel drive system is an adaptation of the Hummer H2 4wd system.
http://www.drive.com.au/used-car-reviews/holden-crewman-used-car-review-20140430-37gr7 (there is a bit about the early LS1's burning oil etc.in one of used reviews) 4wd system https://www.goauto.com.au/future-models/holden/adventra/holden-adventra-awd-system-revealed/2003-09-03/16941.html
Might want to check on the crewman/cross/ adven radiators the vz road cars had some silly radiators in some, a plastic/ metal see what pwr offers.
https://www.pwr.com.au/products/radiators

whqqsh, Oct 23, 4:51pm
cheers,Lots of interesting info on your links :)
Plenty of radiators are ali with plastic tops/bottoms or sides depending on design. The diffs about the only issue Ive heard of & if I buy one it'd be straight into Diffs R Us for a once over. Lee knows his stuff.
Waiting to see if anyone throws up any other issues

kingfisher21, Oct 23, 5:06pm
As long as you don't need the backseat for adults, they are very cramped.

bobwyn, Oct 25, 2:20pm
I have VZ HSV Holden Avalanche crosstrac wagon its now done 150ks all i have had to do is brake rotos $1800 a radiator $375 Rear shocks $350 a few little things lights {mirror Bloody Duck took its self out. being a V8 I dont think its that dear to run my only gripe is the sports style seats love to swap them out for some Calais ones. I dont think parts would be a problem there seems to be a few Wrecking. motor,g/boxes diffs etc

berg, Oct 25, 3:23pm
Hint for adults travelling in the rear of a crewman. The center bolster of the seat back pops out. Stupidity it actually makes the rear seat more comfortable when removed

fordcrzy, Oct 26, 12:58pm
they are VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY hungry on gas. i mean like STUPID THIRSTY. mate had both of these. the adventra was only slighty unreliable and spent maybe only 25% of its ownership time parked up at the holden dealer. the crewman had 2 gearboxes and 3 tail shafts and 2 diffs in under 60,000km s of driving and managed to average a staggering 18liters/100km around town. total pieces of $#!t

bobwyn, Oct 26, 1:32pm
Gezz he must of had concrete shoes on, mine will say 18 when i first fill it up but on a trip comes down to12 to 13 lowest I have seen it 11.2 at 100kph its only doing 2100revs. now tell us how he was driveing it because mine suck it up if I give it the concrete shoe.

fordcrzy, Oct 26, 2:12pm
it was around 12-13 open road and 18+ around town

ian1990, Oct 26, 3:09pm
They are getting a bit long in the tooth now with only average Holden reliability.

I currently have an Adventra LX6 for the past 4 years and now only use it on the open road for long trips hence clocking up about 5,000 km per year.

One of the big issues is the transfer case. Luckily I had an Autosure Warranty so only had to pay $100 for a rebuild.

I happy with mine (the Calais front leather seats in the LX models are pure luxury) and luckily I didn’t pay a lot for it and with the current resale value, any engine or transmissions issues might be a one way trip to the wreckers.

whqqsh, Dec 13, 10:43am
or a cool repower for the tractor lol