This website, 4wheeldriveguide.com is administered by Jade Cloete. I’ve been an avid petrol-head and off-road enthusiast all my life. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that was fond of camping, overloading, and exploring the great outdoors off the beaten track, so the 4WD and off-road lifestyle is in my blood.
Education and Career background
I studied Electrical Engineering for 4 years and then Studied I.T for an additional 5 years. I was working in the I.T industry for the last 22 years doing Development, Web Publishing, Database Administration, Business Process Modelling, and Unix scripting. I am a qualified Data warehouse and Database technician and performed Technical Operations and DBA (Database Administration) Support at the highest level for many years at international companies like Sybase and SAP.
4WD Platform
Over the last 24 years I’ve owned a series if diverse 4WD vehicles and therefore had the opportunity to troubleshoot a wide variety of technical and mechanical issues. I hence decided to develop this platform to knowledge-share and unpack technical 4WD related issues in a simple and accurate manner to assist and educate other 4WD owners. I thoroughly research 4WD guides, manuals, forums, and even liaise with mechanical experts to understand the issues and possible solutions available. One of my mates owned a 4-Wheel Drive repair workshop, so I’ve learned plenty from him over the years. All gathered information then gets consolidated, summarised, and packaged into an easy-to-read resource for everyone’s benefit and ease of understanding.
My Resources
I, Jade Cloete developed a few helpful resources to assist owners with common problems related to their brand of vehicle. The one was a helpful service guide for Ford Rangers 3.2 owners called the “Ford 3.2 Tdci Diesel Engine Oil Change Guide“ which you can download free here.
The second was a “FREE Jeep Wrangler DIY Diagnosis Guide” which was designed to assist Jeep Wrangler owners troubleshoot some common problems. These are helpful DIY Solutions you won’t find in your owners manual.
Other resources include the cost breakdown when considering a 2×4 to 4×4 conversion which you can download here for free
A few of My previous 4WD’s
Over the years, I’ve owned a mixture of different brands of Four-wheel drive vehicles, and my hobby quickly developed into a passion for all things off-road.
Over the years I embarked on many multi-day overlanding expeditions and off-road trips. Each time we complete another off-road adventure I learn more about the mechanics and dynamics of 4WD vehicles.
My previous off-road vehicles ranged from a V6 Petrol Pajero to a Diesel Defender. I also owned an automatic Land Rover Discovery LR3, Double Cab D4D Toyota Hilux N70 4×4, VW Amarok 2.0 BiTdi 4Motion, and back to a Hilux N70 4×4. I will share everything I’ve learned over the years by owning, repairing, customising, and servicing these vehicles. I have mates who own other brands such as Ford Rangers, Jeep Wranglers, and Land Cruisers and we share information with each other regularly.
After the SUV’s I decided to move to the Ute segment for a bit. My first 4WD Ute/pickup/bakkie was a Toyota Hilux 3.0 D4d. It offered a good mix of loading space, practicality, off-road ability, and reliability.
I later owned a manual transmission VW Amarok 2.0 BiTdi with 4Motion. It is a truly special vehicle with proper off-road abilities and rear lockers. The Germans did and excellent job for their first 4WD Double Cab. The Amarok is spacious, comfortable, and as reliable as they come. The Amarok Manual comes equipped with a low-range transfer case and rear lockers. Also includes off-road ESP and off-road traction control. One of the first in its segment.
I hope you enjoy the stay as I share all my experience and knowledge about off-road related subjects and technical 4-wheel drive topics.
Contact Details
For any questions or queries, you can reach us directly at:
email: jadecloete78@icloud.com
Postal Address: Tramore Rd, Southfield, ZA, 7800
Mobile: +27829275223
Happy wheeling and Safety first!!!