daily driver

topher_csr · Post by **topher_csr** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:28 pm

hey i was wondering how many of you guys use your xr as your daily driver. i am planning on daily driving mine once i get it done and was wondering if it was a good idea.

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:47 pm

there are lots of people that dd them. however i am of the opinion that if your going to do that you should just keep it relatively stock and just maintain it. i've seen so many posts to the effect of "i am doing a t-5 swap tonight, what do i need to know? also it's my dd so i have to drive it to work in the morning"

i have a new toyota as my dd and the xr is just a toy.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:52 pm

xr4man wrote:i've seen so many posts to the effect of "i am doing a t-5 swap tonight, what do i need to know? also it's my dd so i have to drive it to work in the morning"

Yea, I'm with Ian on this. I too have seen posts like what he references above, and I want to respond... "Have bus fare ready."

An XR can still be a reliable DD, but you've got to be realistic about it.

Maurice S · Post by **Maurice S** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:57 pm

I drive mine daily now going on 10 years almost...it's leaking a lttle bit like at the front seal and the tranny, but otherwise it's been like Lexus or something...*knock on wood*...if you get a nice "un-hacked" one they can be pretty reliable.

mtnXRti · Post by **mtnXRti** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:11 pm

I have three cars. The XR is my primary transportation. To add to what has already be said, I'll agree. Usually not wise to mod your daily driver. I found this out with my Cobra

Not to say it is not do-able. A buddy of mine has a twin turbo set up he made, on his '76 Chevy blazer. 400 sbc. Non fuel injected!!!!! The thing runs like a bat outta hell 69.995% of the time. He drives 10 miles to work and back. I would say that in the last year since he has gotten it going, I have rescued him way more than I care to think about, but he lets me drive it....The thing is nasty on 6psi! He's on his second block, third turbo 350, replaces U joints monthly, wiring issues, vacuum leaks, oil leaks. you get the picture.

Sounds fun to me. Not.

In the past yes but as I get older, I really don't enjoy fixing my car on the side of the road, relying on buds to help if I need it. Let alone the thought of leaving my XR on the side of the road for a night!!!!!! No fricken way.

Mike McCreight · Post by **Mike McCreight** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:31 pm

Both XRs (Summer and Winter) are my daily drivers. It's been 9 years now. No, I wouldn't undertake a T-5 swap, or any other major undertaking on a weeknight, but that holds true for any car.
Take care of it, and it will take care of you.

worked_xr · Post by **worked_xr** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:33 pm

I daily drive mine and I've modified it quite a bit along the way. The truth is that these cars are fine as daily drivers as long as you start with a good car to begin with and choose your modifications carefully. I've had no more problem with my car than I suspect I would with any 20+ year old car really. Sure, maybe a Corolla would be more "sensible and reliable", but I've also seen plenty of Corollas give up the ghost too.

Now this isn't to say my car hasn't had a few down days... there was the turbo feed line replacement that took 2 days (for no good reason) and the clutch replacement that took a day (which needs replacement again after only 1500 miles because it simply can't hold the torque I'm making now), that sort of thing. Otherwise it's been a star and plenty reliable.

So, again, my advice is either start with a car in good condition, or make it a car in good condition, then maintain it a bit more religiously than you would a Corolla, and you'll likely be fine.

EVIL_XR4 · Post by **EVIL_XR4** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:10 pm

Mine is my DD right now. I'm still gonna mod it but i'm keeping it reasonable...just intercooler/computer swap/exhaust/more boost/T5. Anything i can't do in one day i can drive my Mustang to work though so if you have a backup plan like that then you can get away with the more time consuming mods.

milehighXR · Post by **milehighXR** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:48 pm

Mines my DD, and I do however have a backup(will soon have a backup that I actually own). Being Found On Road Dead is always a possibility with these cars more than others so have a cell phone handy, or at least good walking shoes.

What are these "bus" things that you speak of Brad???

deathbypsi · Post by **deathbypsi** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:55 pm

I just got mine on the road back in Aug but have been daily driving it up until this bad snow hit.....or unless it was broken

I would call mine pretty well modified at this point and feel as long as the mods done to it are done right it shouldnt effect it in a negetive way.

mangostick · Post by **mangostick** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:10 am

Mine used to be a dd up until last July. I bought a little fuel efficient runabout to handle the daily mule jobs. I find now that mods are pretty much stress free and there isn't any rush to "get it done to drive to work" going on. A t5 swap you can pull off in a weekend.. but sure as hell not in one night. I'm sure there are those who've tried it though. I'm With Ian and Brad, its just better to maintain and leave stock if your going to use it as a dd. Wait till you've got a primary car to start doing deeper mods on the xr.

worked_xr · Post by **worked_xr** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:02 am

mangostick wrote:A t5 swap you can pull off in a weekend.. but sure as hell not in one night. I'm sure there are those who've tried it though.

I would think you could do it in a day if you were well prepared enough. I'm not going to try to do mine in a day, but I am going to try to be as prepared as possible so that we can get it done in a couple reasonably relaxed days (instead of two 18 hour marathon days).

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:41 am

This thread brings to mind the time I helped my friend Nick swap a 2.3T (from an 85 XR) into his 1995 Ranger. We were pretty naive - thought it was going to take two to three days tops. Weeks later, we finally had the engine in, alternator adapted, heater box modified, cooling system beefed up, everything rewired, the harness wrapped, the fuel lines adapted, fuel pump swapped, etc, etc, etc... what an ordeal. So yeah... don't modify your daily driver. (And if you must buy a Ranger, make sure it's a '94 or older with EFI... just in case. EEC-V sucks.)

Colin

Post by **John Brennan** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:04 am

Up until the last year or so, when I took a job that gives me a pickup and a gas card, my '85 has been my DD since 1998. Now I drive it to my night job a couple of nights per week, a distance of ten or so miles each way, and a difference in altitude of about a thousand feet. It has been, if anything, more reliable than my first one, an '88 automatic, even though I got this one with nearly 100,000 miles on it, and the other right off the showroom floor. Much of that I would credit to what I've learned about their care and feeding (and most of that I've learned on these and similar pages), although you'd expect a certain grace period, say five or six years, of trouble-free operation with a new car that I frankly didn't get...

The old, 100,000-mile '85 has been a lot more reliable than the new '88 was... go figure.

EVIL_XR4 · Post by **EVIL_XR4** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:01 am

Hmm....i don't wanna sound cocky but i bet if i had all the right parts i could swap a T5 into one of these cars in a matter of a few hours. The only part that would throw me off is the special pieces that are Merkur/custom specific...but i can swap a T5 in a Mustang in under an hour. What kicked my ass on this T9 was the whole bell housing attached to the trany thing. With a T5 you can get the flywheel/clutch/bell housing all bolted up and then slip the trany in afterwards...makes it much easier.