chris98se

After an accident has taken the life of my 98SE 2WD, Ive been looking for a replacement.

Found a decent deal on a 2000 V6 4x4. I had my dad test drive it (Im in CT, truck is in VA), and he reported back some things that bothered him but he wasnt sure were because he's never driven a 4x4....

1. Steering was very "hard" compared to the 2WD version. Salesman said it was because the gearbox is tighter for off-road purposes, and steering is heavier because of the heavy front end. Anyone driven a 2WD and a 4WD care to comment?

2. During braking, my dad felt the front end get "squirrely".....wheels didnt track straight, and it wasnt a vibration from a warped rotor. Thats the issue that worries me the most (thinking maybe it got hit in the front end?) He was thikning its possible because of the higher center of gravity, but he also thought that was a "stretch" of an explanation.

3. Undercoating......a bunch of it. Thought I read on here that the truck is undercoated from the factory so this could be normal, but just figured Id ask.

Thanks in advance!
-Chris

2001frontiersc

The steering in my 4x4 is smooth as silk. I certainly couldn't describe it as "heavy" or "hard".

Take what the salesman said with a grain of salt. He wants to get paid and will say anything to make his money.

I'd be worried about the "squirrely" front end. If it's happening under braking it could be a bad bushing, sway bar, or other problem in the suspension. This could be hard to diagnose, and likely an expensive repair.

If you live in a salt-prone area, it's possible the truck may have gotten an aftermarket undercoating. Otherwise it's not really noticable.

chris98se

Yeah I never believe new car salesman, much less used car salesman.

My dad suggested I test drive a 4x4 up here, just to see if the feel is the same, or if its noticeable compared to 2WD (my wifes car steering is what I would call "hard" or "heavy"......its not something wrong with it, its just setup to have a tighter feel than my Infiniti. still turns nice, just feels sportier/tighter. Im thinking this might be waht my dad experienced).

The squirelly front end scares me too. a friend of mine had a similar issue on his Durango, after it had been "repaired" from an accident. Thats what scares me about this truck.

Seems that it might not have been meant to be.......could have explained the decent deal on the truck. CarFax was clean though so I guess there really is no way to know about accidents and stuff without figuring it out on your own (or paying a 3rd party for an inspection).

-Chris