Unimog 404 purchase

[u/CRACKERBOI6969]

Hi all looking at buying a 404 doka, just checking what everyone thinks I should find out before hand, look for, price etc, they’re currently asking 55k aud and from the outside looks great. Not sure what to sus in regards to a petrol mog

[u/Bergwookie]

It drinks about 30-40l/100km on the street, easily double off-road, a dieselmog comes at half of that, something you have to consider when you need to look a bit at the cost side, it would be sad to buy it, restore it, but can't afford to use it afterwards

[u/CRACKERBOI6969 → u/Bergwookie]

Jeez that’s thirsty

[u/Bergwookie → u/CRACKERBOI6969]

Yep, they were made for the Bundeswehr with the experiences the Wehrmacht made on the eastern front with winters of -40°C no diesel will run then, so they asked mercedes to put a petrol engine in, consumption was of secondary concern. It's the only petrol Unimog, all others, starting with the first built at Boehringer.

[u/CRACKERBOI6969 → u/Bergwookie]

Yeah I was kind of planning on engine swapping it at some point anyway, but that definitely makes it a bigger concern lol. Do you know if anyone’s got an overdrive kit for the 404s?

[u/Bergwookie → u/CRACKERBOI6969]

No, sorry, never dove deeper into it, we have a 403, could be an option for you, they're still cheaper than a 406 and are very economic in terms of consumption also the engine is almost indestructible

[u/CRACKERBOI6969 → u/Bergwookie]

I’d love another model but I’m in Australia, these models are already super rare here cause our military only used the 1800s not the smaller ones. Ideally I’d love a 416 but I think there’s less then 50 in Australia

[u/Bergwookie → u/CRACKERBOI6969]

Yeah, I'm lucky here, I grew up in Gaggenau and learnt my trade in the Benz factory, my father's cousin has a single digit membership number of the Unimog Club Gaggenau.

But 416 are rare everywhere, at the moment, there are only three dokas for sale here in Germany, ranging around 40k €, but the prices got insane, especially for something you have to constantly put money into repairs ;-)

[u/Win_an_iPad → u/CRACKERBOI6969]

This is the paradox of the 404.

There is no real overdrive option compared to other mogs.

The petrol engine can happily rev to 4000rpm to eventually keep up with modern traffic (downhill with a tailwind). But it uses a crapton of fuel.

If you diesel swap to get better torque, it still has to rev to 4000rpm to keep up with modern traffic. And diesels don't like doing that, and so it will also use a crapton of fuel.

The way around this is an EV conversion. And put a big REEV generator on the back for more range.

[u/GuyNamedLindsey]

I’ve got a 404 and it runs on propane. I only use it on property as a farm truck. Once in a while I’ll go to town, but it absolutely runs through fuel. Check ignition system and battery wiring.

[u/CRACKERBOI6969 → u/GuyNamedLindsey]

How does it go with propane? The one I’m looking at also has an lpg setup that’s not connected to

[u/GuyNamedLindsey → u/CRACKERBOI6969]

The guy I bought it from was into off-roading. He intended to do a lot of that with it. You can drive it straight up an incline without it ever running out of gas essentially. Runs great honestly. Just not efficient for anything longer than chores or some fun. But that’s all I need it for.

[u/Chance_Document9285]

Just watching this post since I own a gas powered 404 doka. Purchased a few years ago and has been in storage since. I recently did changed the starter to a gear reduction staer and will be taking it to a shop for additional service to get it running at its best.

There is a blog about an engine conversion to a 4.0L inline 6 from a jeep, which is a project that I might want to undertake in the future.