Am I mental considering this?

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roswellj

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So I was going to pull the trigger on a D40 but after having a look around I've found that I can get a 2014 d22 with canopy, bullbar and a few extras that's done less than 100,000km for a couple of grand less than a manual d40 without canopy and bullbar.
Basically we are wanting to get a Ute for our regular drive as well as doing a round aus trip for me my wife and our dog towing a probably 2tonneish van.
We don't need anything super fancy but is the d40 really worth those few thousand dollars extra (especially when you start adding in all the extras like a canopy etc on top). I mean with that extra money I could do some mods to the d22 to get some extra power out of it and I've seen a few people towing in the old 3litre version online. Doesn't seem to be much talk about the d22 as a touring Ute.
So is there any major reason I shouldn't be saving myself money and buying the cheaper car with more extras?

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It really comes down to your preference. If you can, take both of them for a good test drive. That's the only thing that's going to help you decide. You may find you prefer one over the other, but it is a big decision, so there's no point in spending less on the D22 now and then regretting it and wishing you'd spent the bit extra for the D40 in the beginning...

For only 2 people a D22 wouldn't be too bad, there isn't much room in the back seat. The other thing to keep in mind is the D40 runs coil spring over shock absorbers in the front and leaves in the back, whereas the D22 runs torsion bars in the front and leaves in the rear. That's what makes the D40 more comfortable, plus the extra cabin space, mainly in the back seat.

They can both make good tourers, it just comes down to what you prefer. I've driven mine across Australia from Perth to Mt Hotham in Vic and while it isn't the most powerful thing on the road it still only cost around $1000 for the whole trip in fuel which was about 8000km. I wasn't towing though, so that will make a lot of difference.

Basic mods on either of them can make them a lot nicer to drive as well. Just changing the stock exhaust out on mine for a 3" straight through made it a lot better all through the rev range. I find it doesn't labour as easily anymore and starts picking up boost a lot earlier.

Just some more to think about anyway, good luck with your decision...
 
I've driven both now and honestly yes the d40 is a bit more refined but not by an amount that makes it a deal breaker over the d22.
Does anyone actually know what physical differences there are between the d22 engine and the d40. On paper it just looks like a detuned version. By putting some performance upgrades on would I be stressing the engine of a d22 beyond what a d40 already is? Doesn't make sense to me for them to manufacture the same engine to two different specs.

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d22 have a fixed vane turbo and are 96kw
early d40 have a vacuum operated variable vane turbo, 126kw
late d40 have an electric operated variable vane turbo, 140kw
injectors, etc will all be different.
and you can have an auto, a big plus in my books!
 
The turbochargers are quite different, the D40 runs a variable-vane turbo producing up to around 24psi of boost, the D22 runs a wastegate turbo producing around 16psi (please feel free to correct me on that) of boost. You could put a VNT turbo off a D40 onto a D22 if it fits onto the manifold and use either a Dawes valve or a Tilix valve to control the boost level but I doubt you'd find one to fit the D22 exhaust manifold.

There are a couple of other differences.

D40 has a larger alternator (130A vs the D22's 90A) allowing more electrical devices/lights. Remember these are peak amps and not what you'll get at idle/cruise. I have replaced my D40's alternator with a 150A unit.

D40 has a longer wheelbase by about 100mm making it more stable when towing, but loses a small amount in turning circle.

D40 has a fraction wider wheelbase (23mm more) and its suspension (coil over shock) makes it even more stable compared to the D22 (it's minor, but it's there).

D40 has manual or auto, the auto being preferred for heavy towing since the manual has a dual mass flywheel (cannot withstand "riding" the clutch much) where the D22 only has a manual version with a single mass flywheel.

Both variants have low range 4WD. Neither have LSD centre or front diffs, only the rears. Both have weak front diffs which benefit from either an autolocker or air/electric lockers. If the car has NO locker, consider getting air from ARB because it adds a compressor which could be helpful if doing sand/extensive off-road (for airing up the tyres).

Some D22s came with a second battery (NOT a deep cycle) in the engine bay, the D40's engine bay has barely enough room to add a AA battery let alone a second 12V battery. Both models can tolerate batteries above the wheel arch in the tray (this is how I do it).

Both variants need better shocks, my D40's shocks shit themselves after hitting some roads (towing) with corrugations. I have ARB's OME Nitrocharger shocks now for several years and they are still going strong, with the springs replaced by ARM's OME Dakar dual rate springs.

Both D22 and D40 have a significant towball-to-axle distance and benefit from a weight distribution hitch (WDH).

Neither variant will survive long with airbags on the rear springs if it is overloaded or meets causeways/dips at excessive speed. This, however, is true for almost any ute. Vehicles with shorter towball-to-axle distances suffer less, and may not require a WDH when towing heavy trailers.

I'd suggest that any D40 that hasn't blown up by now from a timing chain failure is either garaged or not going to fail. Mine has an original timing chain with over 325,000km on it. Of that, we've towed a 1.8T van for maybe 60,000km and our 2.5T van for a further 90,000km.

Sorry about the length, but thought I'd cover as much as possible in one hit.
 
I've driven both now and honestly yes the d40 is a bit more refined but not by an amount that makes it a deal breaker over the d22.
Does anyone actually know what physical differences there are between the d22 engine and the d40. On paper it just looks like a detuned version. By putting some performance upgrades on would I be stressing the engine of a d22 beyond what a d40 already is? Doesn't make sense to me for them to manufacture the same engine to two different specs.

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Yup! I've driven both & there is only a small difference in available power. It's not nearly a big a gap as it appears to be on paper. I had an STR & an STX available for test drives on the same day, from the same dealer, on the same roads & the differences weren't very noticeable. At the time, the D22 was $26,500 drive away & the D40 STX was more a LOT more! Even an ST D40 was more than $10K more than the D22 at that time.
 
We've toured quite a bit with a D22; we live in Adelaide, so all of our trips begin here. To put that into context, this is a list of where we've taken a D22:

Gibb River Road – Bungle Bungles –Parry Lagoons - Old Jim Jim Road – Rainbow Valley – Oodnadatta Track – Mereenie Loop – Palm Valley – Chambers Pillar – Mt. Dare - Dalhousie – Old Ghan Heritage Track – Charlotte Waters - The Painted Desert – Lambert’s Centre – Finke – Cameron Corner – Innamincka via Epsilon – Dig Tree – Milparinka - Tibooburra - Warri Gate – Noccundra – the Dowling track – Hungerford to Eulo -Toompine - Betoota – Windorah – Birdsville – Big Red – Birdsville Track – Roper Bar – Nathan River Road- Lorella Springs – Borroloola – Savannah Way - Hells Gate – Doomadgee – Gawler Ranges – Flinders Ranges–Brachina – Bunyeroo – Aroona – Warraweena – Glass Gorge – Parachilna Gorge – Moralana – Holowiliena–the Wool Wash – Wilkawillina - Kangaroo Island –Arkaroola/Yunta Road - East & West MacDonnell Ranges, Nuccaleena – Morgan/Yunta Mail Run - Mt. Gambier & the SE of SA.

Most of that was towing either a camper trailer, or a caravan.

We had a canopy with lifting windows on our first D22 & the canopy was such a PITA that we traded the Ute on a new one after 2 long outback trips (GRR & Oodnadatta) I have never regretted that.

We run two fridges (actually, it was 3 fridges when we had the caravan) & recharge a 105AH AGM battery from our alternator while travelling & have always had adequate 12v power. We just have the stock D22 alternator in ours & it runs everything a treat.

The suspension is hard on bitumen. You will feel bumps on a bad tar road. Off road, or on dirt roads, the stock suspension works perfectly well. We're still running factory suspension without any issues.

Handling; other than the above, I've never once had any issues with the way a D22 handles, on or off road. Also, it's light, so it's easy to drive on sand.

Your thread has got me thinking about our trips touring with the D22 & I have to say that it's been a hoot!

Apart from being slow & the ride being a tad hard, it really doesn't have any other faults IMO. It's pure old school, with next to no technology and I love that! It has been ultra reliable.
 
Just to follow up on this, ended up test driving again all day Monday and honestly apart from engine power the d22 won in every other regard including comfort and road noise (why do all d40's seem to have injector rattle, would drive me nuts!)
So I got a 2012 d22 with 120,000km, immaculate, well looked after with factory snorkel and an arb bullbar. Picking up a canopy tonight. One happy camper right here!
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