Nissan Patrols

PS
spoke to a bloke at Main Beach (gold coast) the other day who'd just pulled his 22!!! foot caravan from Perth. He was totally happy with his choice....
Hard to believe, a 3litre diesel in a 2 ton vehicle pulling a 2ton+ caravan.
Where is the world coming to.
Good luck and cheers.

I'm with you David,,

Hi David, How many k's on your 13 yo Patrol?

Michael
It's old, but it's "young". Don't need it for work, so it often sits in the garage for a week or two- would you believe it has only 120,000 klms. It has probably done atleast a third of that towing, up to and including a trailer sailer that weighed close to 3 tonnes .(yes I know, too heavy!) and possibly nearly another fifth of those k's on dirt. It has never been back to the dealer (not ever) and has never had any problem ever apart from the clock which is useless!! (stuck a $10 LCD one on the dash)(Oh and BP did put new seals in the injection pump for me as it had the dribbles...)
So it's going to be in the family for a long long time yet! Am seriously thinking (belatedly) of putting the boot in to it by bolting on a turbo or superecharger.... very soon!
I've just shouted it new shockers- been fitting them today. And I think it's time to get the viscous fan clutch overhauled as it won't cut in....

Karen and Mark

"""Only problem so far is the water in diesel light that keeps flicking on"""

I have same vehicle and had same problem. More than likely your fuel filter needs replacement. I had same problem with a batch of bad fuel.

Also, stick to OEM filter. One person who had a fuel pump failure had changed his filter to a less restrictive aftermarket filter. Keep it stock.


Sean

Nissan took over Renault

Other way round.... Renault took over NIssan as NIssan were/are going down the gurgler....

Here's my bit for what it's worth. The 3 litre is modern high tech and fully electronically controlled and will deliver precise and clean air motoring along with good power and torque for a 4 cyl. engine. Provided the electronics behave it should be just as durable as the 6 cyl. However, therein lies the demon. If I was stuck in the middle of the Gibson desert, and had an engine that would not start, I would have a 99% chance of getting the old mechanical 4.2 litre going. It can only be fuel or air for the problem. I can't say the same about the 3 litre. I would not know where to start if it did not go. Complicated computers, sensors and probes, any one of them is almost impossible to diagnose without workshop equipment. On the other hand, if your 4x4ing involves city and or highway work, not far from help, then that is not going to be life threatening. But all this will soon be beyond us as stricter air pollution laws and emission standards, will spell the end of the old 4.2 and it's replacment will be just as complicated as the 3 litre, sooner than later.

Bruce

for the benefit of us readers would you be kind enough to post the 8 to 10 problems for our benefit.

Thanks

Sean

off the top of my head.

Air cond pulleys $3000
Cooling system problems
Air Cond problems.
Gearbox problems
clutch(after 50,000 and Nissan told him he should be happy with that MANY klms!)
the usual 3.0 lack of power one, its a computer issue or ECU or something..

There have been other problems, but I *THINK* these ones were all his...

Truckster

thanks for the follow up.


Sean

Trucskter,
How is the prado going to be better in that respect??
When we did the Simpson crossing, we come across a couple with a brand new prado with a seized A/C compressor, had seized just before leaving and Toyota did not have one in the country, had to wait three months for one to arrive....!!!!

On the other hand I had a 4.2 TD patrol GU since new (99) and has not had any problems except for a cracked rim and Nissan replaced them all.
Never had to wait any more than two days for common parts (only needed a fan blade once and I damaged the transfer pump shield on a trip which took a week to arrive.
Will

Two comments.

1st I now own a GU4.2 2001 model. I love it goes hard, very comfortable and should last well, but it does use heaps more fuel than the 3.0 I know that because I have 2 mates with the 3.0 and they get way better fuel figures than I do and one of these guys drives pretty hard at least on the sealed stuff. One of these guys works in the 4wd industry and there are options available to make the 3.0 even better. Neither have had any problems.

2nd I tow a Trak Shak trailer. Have had it since 96. I travel with my wife and three kids. It has been all over Oz, including first trailer to the tip of Cape York after the big wet of March 99. The only problem I have had was the cable for the override brakes broke following two huge stops in the Maytown area west of Cooktown. I drove it from there to Weipa without brakes and had no problems. I have never not gone somewhere because I had the trailer. I have towed other vehicles out of tuff spots attatching the recovery gear to the trailer, no problems.

I recomend you go to a show and look at the range. Find one that suits you. Ask very carefully about the pricing and add the cost of the options you want. Then go to caravan parks and ask people who own them.what they don't like about the trailer and what they would change about it. Remember that they are going to be unwilling to critisize their own decision in buying that trailer. I know I am biased but I do love my Trak Shak. Built in SA they will ship it anywhere in OZ and they are great people to do business with.

Two comments.

1st I now own a GU4.2 2001 model. I love it goes hard, very comfortable and should last well, but it does use heaps more fuel than the 3.0 I know that because I have 2 mates with the 3.0 and they get way better fuel figures than I do and one of these guys drives pretty hard at least on the sealed stuff. One of these guys works in the 4wd industry and there are options available to make the 3.0 even better. Neither have had any problems.

2nd I tow a Trak Shak trailer. Have had it since 96. I travel with my wife and three kids. It has been all over Oz, including first trailer to the tip of Cape York after the big wet of March 99. The only problem I have had was the cable for the override brakes broke following two huge stops in the Maytown area west of Cooktown. I drove it from there to Weipa without brakes and had no problems. I have never not gone somewhere because I had the trailer. I have towed other vehicles out of tuff spots attatching the recovery gear to the trailer, no problems.

I recomend you go to a show and look at the range. Find one that suits you. Ask very carefully about the pricing and add the cost of the options you want. Then go to caravan parks and ask people who own them.what they don't like about the trailer and what they would change about it. Remember that they are going to be unwilling to critisize their own decision in buying that trailer. I know I am biased but I do love my Trak Shak. Built in SA they will ship it anywhere in OZ and they are great people to do business with.

The cracked rims is not a problem as they get replaced by Nissan even when out of warranty as this is a safety issue, this only happens to the steel rims.
If you buy a new GU it will now come with alloys.
Will

Cracked rims are a problem... How would you be if a rim collapsed at 120kph fulla camping gear and trailer??

Nissan only replace them IF you take them to Nissan and only if you know to look for the cracks in the first place.

Truckster,
OK they ARE a problem if they broke at 100kms/h but Nissan is replacing them...
I asked Nissan Australia why weren't they recalling them and they said that not all rims are affected.
In my opinion they should all be replaced/recalled, but Nissan is not the only one on that one, all manufacturers are the same.
this answer is out of scope for what this guy asked anyway, is now aware that the rims could be an issue.
I think that all the answers about these two vehicles are valid and pretty much spot on.

will