You can watch the Top Gear boys attempt to kill a Toyota SR5 (to us, HiLux to them)
No embedding allowed, so
Personally, and while I do love every Toyota I’ve ever owned and still want one, I do believe that given a diesel version of Buddy the Jeep (so that it didn’t explode when set on fire) that a Cherokee like mine would do just as well. Which is why I bought it.
When riding in the late model suburban of Dave the GM Guy while at Boomershoot, I noted that Buddy was practically primitive as you could get without going back more than three decades in comparison. He doesn’t even have intermittent wipers (and even the HiLux had those).
I watched those vids last week. The “mechanic using no spare parts and nothing but hand tools” seemed a bit suspicious, especially after they dunked the truck in the ocean, and then spun the starter afterwards to clear the de-ported cylinders. That HAS to result in a melted starter, then it’s game-over.
That starter would have had to be washed in clear fresh water, then air-dried, preferably after using some electronic contact spray on the armature. It MIGHT be done without dis-assembly of the starter, but I don’t know a mechanic who wouldn’t tear the starter down after salt water immersion of several hours. The process of drying out the starter without chemicals and compressed air would have taken days.
I know this shit because I have gotten several boats, including two diesels, running after sinking. In all cases, I put on a new starter to get the engine going, and benched the wet ones for later work after pickling in fresh water.
Sorry, I smell a rat. Eyes DO deceive us, and the producer of that show knows that.
I don’t doubt your experiences, RD, but they did have 50-75 spectators standing about watching them work on the truck.
They did admit to using WD40, which would qualify as both “chemicals and compressed air” as you mentioned. Once they got the truck off the beach they could have easily removed the starter for the days-long extensive drying and still met the reqs.
The Top Gear boys do stage some things, like the ‘accidental” burning down a of a pair of camper trailers, but I’m going to take them at their word on this one, as the difference between your experiences and this one is that you cared about the stuff you were working on. These guys didn’t have to be so thoughtful about it.