GAZelle Next - features of the operation of a Russian truck

Light trucks of the GAZ brand, known collectively as the Gazelle, have long become a symbol of Russian small business. Despite periodic complaints addressed to them, these cars are found simply in huge numbers on our roads.


All this hints at one thing - the Gazelle is a sought-after truck. The appearance of the new generation model Next has turned the unsightly car into an almost ideal one, in terms of its technical characteristics it is not inferior to foreign analogues.

The new Russian truck got rid of the main disadvantages of the Gazelles of past generations - it became economical and capable of transporting bulky goods. Owners praise their cars, but popular rumor often sees the GAZelle Next as the same old car, only with a new cab and body type, and even with an incomprehensible Chinese diesel engine. Let's try today to deal with the features of the operation of a light Russian truck.

A short digression into the history

The first light trucks began to be assembled at the Nizhny Novgorod plant in 1932. This is a GAZ-AA lorry, which was later renamed GAZ-MM. The car went through the war and helped to restore the destroyed country.



In 1949, the production of one and a half stopped. The Soviet Union did not experience problems with gasoline, respectively, the country also had no need for light trucks. The Gorky Automobile Plant made attempts to produce the GAZ-56, but the model never went into mass production.



Work on the light truck began in 1988. A few years later, the designers created a future bestseller, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed that the project would be abandoned. The economic situation of the Gorky Automobile Plant was deplorable, but in 1994 it was possible to launch an onboard GAZ-3302.



In 2013, a light truck of a new generation appeared - GAZelle Next. This car forever changed the idea of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe outdated Gazelle by that time. Despite skeptical prophecies, the new car interested buyers from the start of sales. Over the past years, the model has proved that it is no worse than foreign cars.

Diesel engine features

Gasoline engines are also found under the hoods of the GAZelle Next, but the most popular among buyers is the Cummins ISF 2,8 diesel power unit. He is loved primarily for his efficiency and reliability.



The very first complaint about this engine is that it is American, and even assembled in China. Skeptics believe that such a motor is unreliable, and it will be difficult to get spare parts for it.

Cummins ISF 2,8 for almost 9 years of operation on the GAZelle Next has proved its worth. There are no problems with the details, and most of the issues with this engine are related to non-observance of service intervals and savings on consumables.



The first characteristic problem for Cummins ISF 2,8 is premature wear of the cylinder-piston group due to dust ingress. This is not a design miscalculation, but the result of buying a non-original air filter, which does not match the housing in size. Not all dust is retained, grains of sand enter the motor. The engine begins to lose compression, which is unacceptable for commercial vehicles.



It is not entirely clear why saving on an air filter, which originally cost about 1 rubles. But some owners do just that, which is fraught with premature engine failure.

Finding experienced hired drivers for light trucks is difficult, often you have to hire young, newly licensed drivers. They do not know the peculiarities of the operation of diesel vehicles, for example, that they do not like to drive at high speeds at minimum engine speeds. This results in low oil pressure when the crankshaft bearings are loaded.

Officials use Lukoil for maintenance - good oil, despite the budget cost. The main thing is to change it every 10 km, and not twice as often.

The problem is that according to the regulations, the service interval is 20 km, but in working conditions in the city it is better to halve it. Such reinsurance will help extend the engine life to 000 km.

Timing drive for Cummins ISF 2,8 chain. It does not cause problems at all until the overhaul of the motor, which, with proper maintenance, takes care of half a million kilometers.



There are no problems with engine attachments either, except for the starter. Its average resource is about 6 years of operation, but this does not apply specifically to the motor, however, as well as the generator resource.

The only “signature sore” of the Cummins ISF 2,8 engine is EGR. After 50 km, sometimes this system becomes clogged. This can be avoided if you read the GAZelle Next instruction manual and follow the prompts on the dashboard. If this point is missed, the EGR problem is solved by cleaning the system and valve. The moment that many simply put a stub, we will not consider.

Under no circumstances should you fill Cummins ISF 2,8 with diesel fuel of unknown origin! This is a modern power unit that does not accept this! But these recommendations apply to all turbodiesel engines from different manufacturers. Sometimes one refueling with diesel fuel, drained from a diesel locomotive and purchased cheaply, is enough to "get" for the repair of fuel equipment.

Transmission and hodovka

Having learned that the new GAZelle Next is equipped with a simple five-speed mechanics, which was also installed on older models, some immediately refuse to buy. But this manual transmission, as it turned out, was seriously improved. Now it does not cause problems with bearings and gear teeth. Perhaps the secret is that the old Gazelles were often loaded in excess of the norm, 3 tons each, and they try to save new cars.



The rear axle and driveline are reliable, like on the old Gazelles. But this is subject to work without constant overloads. The hodovka of the car is fully designed for our roads, and with proper maintenance, there are no questions about it. Even the front independent suspension, which was not previously on Gorky's light trucks, proved to be reliable and inexpensive to maintain and repair. But the car has become much more comfortable for the driver.

How are you with corrosion resistance?
Seeing a Gazelle untouched by rust is akin to a miracle or an indicator that the driver takes care of the body of his car day and night. Creating a new generation model, Gorky designers decided to completely get rid of this problem.

The GAZelle Next body does not lend itself to corrosion for a number of reasons:

• ? Bilateral galvanized body panels
  
• ? Plastic fenders and front of the "muzzle"
  

Even after an accident and loss of paintwork, the “naked” parts of the body do not rust. There are no problems with the car frame - it is not prone to cracking and also does not lend itself to corrosion.



As a result, it turns out that the Gorky Automobile Plant was able to make an almost perfect working truck. Of course, if you look, you can find flaws in the GAZelle Next, but even Mercedes are not without them.

The cost of servicing and repairing a car is more expensive with each visit to the service station than for the old Gazelle, but this car breaks down many times less often. The only drawback of the model is the high cost even in the used market. But this just speaks of the demand for the car.