76 Pinz 710k Highway Travel
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:07 pm
Hi everyone, I'm a proud 76 710k Pinzgaurer owner as of February 22. As I'm sure all of you owners are I'm very excited to own this amazingly well engineered vehicle. I'm totally taken by it's capability & functionality. I was lucky to get mine stock spending it's time in the Swiss Army (mostly in a depot) till 2020. Going through the records & driving this amazing vehicle is such a great experience. From the time I became interested in getting one to now I have tried to learn as much as possible about the Pinzgaurer. I found & contacted Vince of Real 4x4 who recommended I get ahold of Andre at Fat Fabrications who recommended I contact Rick for A SSI system. I'm working with Vice to get a solid 24 volt winch. Was so fortunate to get on Andre's east coast tour. That experience was so valuable! I learned so much more about my vehicle & I contacted Rick, purchased & installed his well engineered SSI system. So much more yet for me to do.
This brings me to my questions. After getting to know & driving my 710k around 500 miles I decided to take it on a longer journey. I planned, took tools, fluids, manuals & a small collection of spare parts. I drove from Glen Mills PA to St. Clairsville OH. The drive to Ohio was about 370 miles one way. Giving the vehicle a good check over I was on my way. I've read & have received a bit of advice about highway driving with the Pinz. Most people state it's alright to drive at the higher speeds (55-65 mph) I read where the top speed is 168 mph. I had planned to take back roads with lower speeds but opted to take the PA turnpike to get there sooner. I obviously didn't run at the 70 mph speed limit but did drive at an avg of 60-65 mph. The engine ran great but the drive train was loud & vibrated a speed. I did stop at several rest stops to rest the vehicle & fuel up. Upon arrival in Ohio I noticed some slight oil weeping on the inside front drivers side portal plate drain hole. I checked fluids & all was ok except had to add nearly 2 quarts of engine oil. The next 2 days I spent doing mild to moderate offloading. The vehicle did great! Time to go home to Glen Mills PA. Aside from a miss & backfire I attributed to a loose carborator solenoid wire all went well with journey back. During the trip though I did notice more oil leaking from the front DS portal. After getting back from over 1000 miles I got under the vehicle & noticed several new oil weep trails. Aside from the front DS portal the oil pan & rear differentials showed fresh oil weeping. I checked the fluids all was ok. Tightened the oil pan. Surprisingly didn't have to add engine oil or any for that matter. I wiped the oil weep locations then drove 30 miles on back roads at lower speeds up to 50 mph. Got back & no oil weeping. The vehicle ran great. So after all this message my question is what is in your experience & knowledge the maximum sustained highway speed for the 710? I had drive train vibration but test drove with Andre & he felt is was normal & showed me that driving in four wheel drive greatly reduces it. Another note. I topped up fluids before my trip. I know this topic came up before with mixed comments. Could I have over filled my front axle fluid causing the portal weep hole leak? I am planning a longer trip to a north east Maine. Want to take lessons learned and not risk avoidable damage to my vehicle
This forum has been so very helpful. Thanks to everyone for your post, contacts & feedback! Any help with my understanding & maintaining this amazing vehicle is appreciated.
Thank You,
Bob V
This brings me to my questions. After getting to know & driving my 710k around 500 miles I decided to take it on a longer journey. I planned, took tools, fluids, manuals & a small collection of spare parts. I drove from Glen Mills PA to St. Clairsville OH. The drive to Ohio was about 370 miles one way. Giving the vehicle a good check over I was on my way. I've read & have received a bit of advice about highway driving with the Pinz. Most people state it's alright to drive at the higher speeds (55-65 mph) I read where the top speed is 168 mph. I had planned to take back roads with lower speeds but opted to take the PA turnpike to get there sooner. I obviously didn't run at the 70 mph speed limit but did drive at an avg of 60-65 mph. The engine ran great but the drive train was loud & vibrated a speed. I did stop at several rest stops to rest the vehicle & fuel up. Upon arrival in Ohio I noticed some slight oil weeping on the inside front drivers side portal plate drain hole. I checked fluids & all was ok except had to add nearly 2 quarts of engine oil. The next 2 days I spent doing mild to moderate offloading. The vehicle did great! Time to go home to Glen Mills PA. Aside from a miss & backfire I attributed to a loose carborator solenoid wire all went well with journey back. During the trip though I did notice more oil leaking from the front DS portal. After getting back from over 1000 miles I got under the vehicle & noticed several new oil weep trails. Aside from the front DS portal the oil pan & rear differentials showed fresh oil weeping. I checked the fluids all was ok. Tightened the oil pan. Surprisingly didn't have to add engine oil or any for that matter. I wiped the oil weep locations then drove 30 miles on back roads at lower speeds up to 50 mph. Got back & no oil weeping. The vehicle ran great. So after all this message my question is what is in your experience & knowledge the maximum sustained highway speed for the 710? I had drive train vibration but test drove with Andre & he felt is was normal & showed me that driving in four wheel drive greatly reduces it. Another note. I topped up fluids before my trip. I know this topic came up before with mixed comments. Could I have over filled my front axle fluid causing the portal weep hole leak? I am planning a longer trip to a north east Maine. Want to take lessons learned and not risk avoidable damage to my vehicle
This forum has been so very helpful. Thanks to everyone for your post, contacts & feedback! Any help with my understanding & maintaining this amazing vehicle is appreciated.
Thank You,
Bob V