Cameron's Desert Ship - GUIII?

[cgm]

Well, didn't get around to do anything like this with my old truck. But, have kind of got addicted over the last week or so looking through the forum and especially at other "members rigs". Thought I'd give it a go.

Tried to come up with a theme, somehow related to being here in Saudi. I know the camels were often referred to as "Ships in the Desert" for their amazing ability to carry people and their stuff across the desert. So, decided to refer to my new Patrol (new to me) as my Desert Ship. The camels are amazing animals when you see them move through the sand, but in this day and age I know which one I'd sooner be riding across the desert. :)

I'll break my starting point up into a few separate posts (easier for me to manage) and start with "What is this thing?"

[cgm]

I've had the truck now about 6 weeks. I bought it from a mate who was leaving. He had the vehicle about 2 years and never got around to doing anything to it. Was originally planning to do a few things, but then he got a new woman back home (in South Africa for him) and his attentions and dollars were going elsewhere. Before him the car was owned by a British school teacher working here. Back in 2005 the British guy took it on an "Empty Quarter" trip that my son and I went on (when I had my first Trooper). Never would have guessed back then that I'd buy it one day. So, I at least knew the history of the car since then. (I'll discuss the Empty Quarter down the track one day, but not to take the focus from the Desert Ship for now :) )

So, this is it the morning after I picked it up. Waiting outside the garage to drop it off for the suspension to go on. Didn't think to get many photos in stock condition and only had it that way for one night ... (hope I've worked out these image links properly ...)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oJ0mY2-7CNs/UC_i8oifmVI/AAAAAAAAANU/5orHOpfuVvU/s800/Image00001.jpg

So, "What is this thing?"

As I mentioned in my Intro, I'm new to Patrols. I definitely loved my Troopers (had 2 of them) and a Rodeo back home a few years back, so I've been pretty pro Isuzu. Feeling a bit like I've changed footy teams just now ... Definitely for me it is interesting to do a bit of basic searching the web to see what I've got. Actually, that's how I came across the forum. So, where did it get me?

VIN Plate:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S0EO-9KojBE/UC_i6Z_vgHI/AAAAAAAAANI/pK1MYUZej-A/s600/vin_plate.jpg?gl=US

The photo is not very clear. Apart from the Arabic, which I can't read either, there are two obvious things - the year 2001 stamped and the VIN number. The VIN is hard to see on the pic. Definitely a different layout to the Aussie model VINs. I did a bit of digging around for VIN decoders and got this far:

http://www.vin-decoder.net/

VIN number JN8FY15Y02X4xxxxx
Region Japan
Factory / Manufacturer Nissha-Hiratsuka
Mark Nissan
Model Year 2002
Engine 2400 cm3
Wheel Drive full
Fuel Type petrol
Serial Number xxxxxxx

Really hoping it is bigger than a 2.4litre engine :P

JN8 seems to be built in Japan, but I don't see any Y61 in there, which I think is on the Aussie models? The year digit corresponds to 2002 model. So seems, that in 2001 they build the 2002 cars ... Always puzzled me that ... So even though it has 2001 stamped on the plate, it is registered as a 2002 model. Probably that also happened in 2002 as well, but I don't know the history that far back. The registration card is also in Arabic, so I'm certainly not going to make any sense out of that either (without some help).

Ok, so the year is sorted, what about the model/series. The sticker on the back says SGL-V 4x4:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M9fi3Lew_mE/UC_i6zSbFEI/AAAAAAAAANM/wxlRKLPH4AE/s600/SGL_V.jpg?gl=US

I really couldn't find much on the net to say what this means. I tried to compare it to 2002 model cars from Australia. I went to drive.com.au and looked at the models from the "value my car" section. Seems there was:

DX, ST, ST PLUS and Ti

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BW9IN44nGow/UC_i5S6Bm4I/AAAAAAAAAM8/jYuRg3d1Zq8/s800/2002_models.jpg

I took a quick look and the features seem to fit somewhere between a DX and ST. For example it only has drivers airbag and no passenger. There is no ABS (a win in my opinion), but it does have electric windows all round, which are all still working fine. The main drag is that is missing Cruise Control. I'd got very used to that on the Trooper. We do regular trips to friends which are 500km each way, so I'm gonna miss that. Will have to go on the wish list, but I can't find any aftermarket kits here, so probably have to import and that will take the price up a bit :(

Anyway, back to what it is? Seems like I have some kind of Y61, that doesn't say so on the VIN and being a "2002" model with a 4.8 litre (after being out on the weekend I am sure it is not 2.4 litres :) ) it is probably the equivalent of a GU III

I'd be really happy if there are any distinguishing shape changes between the series (e.g. lights or bumpers, etc.) that help me confirm roughly where it fits. This only becomes relevant if it affects me when trying to get bits. Especially if I try and get bits from Aus from time to time.

Well, there's my car as it came. Next I'll move on to the basics of where it's up to now.

I had trouble deciding where to put the images and hope that this linking to Picasa is going to work.

Thanks,
Cameron.

[cgm]

What have I done and what's on the wishlist?

It took a few weeks from when I agreed with my mate to get the car until we got paperwork and formals in place for me to have the car. So in that time I was able to chase around and find the essentials.

Suspension, Front Bar and Winch
Here there are two main companies bringing in stuff from Aus (or Aus companies). One place has been doing ARB for years and another has been more focused around winches, mostly American brands like Warn and Ramsey, etc. and more recently some cheap Chinese ones. They have had some bars from Aus as well over the years, mostly to mount the winches. I've had Bocar bars in both the troopers and a friend had a TJM Bar from them years back for an 80 series.

The winch shop has recently started bringing in some Ironman products including bars, suspension, winches and other bits and pieces like compressors and stuff. I have done a lot of business with them over the years for the Troopers, so they were my preference if the prices were right. So, lined up standard 2 inch Ironman Suspension (4 springs and 4 shocks) and the Ironman winch bar. I was going to swap the winch (XD9000) from the Trooper, but instead picked up a second hand one (also XD9000) after someone else had left it behind with a friend to sell. I'd already bought a new Contactor Solenoid pack that I was planning to put on the Trooper, so that could go on as well.

Roof Rack
First day I had the car it went to get the suspension with the equivalent of poly airs in the back (can't remember the American brand). Second day it went and got the front bar and winch. On the weekend I swapped over the roof rack. Had a win with that ... made up the rack for the trooper at random size and decided for 130 cm. Turns out to be the exact right size to fit between the sills of the Patrol. So was able to weld some brackets straight on and fitted perfectly. The brackets aren't perfect (hard to fit to the sill and a bit high), but I had them and it's done.

Tyres
Next were the Tyres. This was painful. I spent a lot of time on the forums (and kept hitting this forum a lot from google). Decided that I wanted to go with 33 inch tyres (285/75/16). My preference was for good quality Highway tyres. We do a lot of highway kms and in the sand they are probably better than anything else other than a dedicated sand tyre. I looked a lot but couldn't find anything. Yokohama thought they had some, but when they tried to get them from the warehouse they didn't exist. In the end the only tyres I could find anywhere were some A/T tyres.

Mastercraft, Courser A/T2. No idea really what to expect of them. They seem to be a cheaper brand run by Cooper tires. Don't feel in the mood to start a tyre flame war, so just commenting that it's all I could find. So far between them and the roof rack catching the wind it is very noisy on the highway. In the sand on the weekend it is clear that the big size of these things is good and with 14-15 psi in them, combined with the 4800 you can "go places" (Tyres aside, I think I'm gonna like this truck :) )

Summary:
- Ironman 2 inch suspension (4 shocks and 4 springs)
- Ironman Deluxe Bar
- Warn XD9000 winch (second hand) with Contactor controller
- Homemade roof rack

Wishlist
- Rear Drawers (getting lazy, trying to get some made from ply - will post later)
- Home made cargo barrier (can't buy them in the market here)
- Mount plastic water tank in front of drawers (bought a 40 litre plastic tank for just behind the seats)
- Spacers for spare on rear door and want to incorporate flag mount (move it across from the Trooper)
- Better antenna mount on the rack somewhere
- Mini roof console just to move the radio - currently against the centre console down near the Mrs feet
- Move the Second battery and CTEK 12v-12v charger from Trooper. I have an 80 AH AGM, which I plan to mount "somewhere" in the back
- Specific mount on the roof rack for Hi lift, Max Trax, Shovel and picnic table
- Other things I think of along the way ... :)

Here are a few pics from on the weekend, which show the car "as is" now:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dSeK3UcABFE/UC_jKCePuaI/AAAAAAAAAOU/z3uQh53Eufs/s800/Image00013.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-b_w1lo6sAsw/UC_jLVjnFcI/AAAAAAAAAOc/GhfwRJmbGL8/s800/Image00014.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S0wrNovpAgk/UC_jXF5HkzI/AAAAAAAAAPc/XJdCOCGLf0M/s800/Image00023.jpg

Thanks,
Cameron.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Love the write up and pics Cameron

Thanks for the link to the VIN-DECODER Website, looks interesting and could be very handy to other forum members :)

Does the website give you any more information than what you posted on the vehicle?

[cgm]

Thanks NissanGQ4.2 for the quick response.

I used forums a lot for searching in the past, but not participated much. Funny isn't it that we can all waffle on about our own stuff, yet there's someone out there that actually enjoys looking and reading.

I wondered what this "tapatalk" thing listed on the bottom of some of the posts ... Now I've go that on my Android phone and I can see that I'll waste way too much time in the coming months reading about someone else's cool ideas (and trying to think how I can use em on my truck). :)

Looking at the clock, you're doing an early start (or late finish). Thanks for making me welcome to community.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Its Sunday here, so not really an early start, have 2 young kids that don't sleep in yet..............looking forward 2 that day :)

I edited my original post but you might of missed it, Does the vin decoder website give you any more information than what you posted on the vehicle???

[threedogs]

Great write up. IMO it looks like very early GU, steel rims etc, whats got me is,
how come spare on rear door is inverted? Some handy storage space there.
Like your roof rack,will be doing similar myself soon, on Rhino racks
See what you mean about the SAND PIT, its a biggie eh
No lights in the bumpers either,?Chrome mirrors + door handles

[cgm]

Yeah, that day will come. My teenage daughter will sleep until the afternoon now if she gets a chance. Certainly not gunna get woken up by her anymore. :)

No, I tried several of them and they didn't have much more info. A couple just a few different bits, but not of more interesting or specific Nissan options.

There was also a link on Wikipedia that explained the overall layout of the VIN in more detail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Identification_Number

There was also an old thread on the forum that came up in a search:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?1420-VIN-Number-History-(Vehicle-Identification-Number)

But, I couldn't find anything anywhere that listed the specific Nissan section that might explain which options it has, etc. When I was looking for new exhaust and stuff, they definitely wanted to plug in the VIN to ensure they gave me the right bits for my car.

[NissanGQ4.2]

I wish they slept in *L*

IF you want PM me your VIN number and I'll see what I can come up with.

You can download a program called Nissan Fast, and it might help you get more info.

The software is available on this forum but

1, you need 25 post before you can download it

2, Only has the Australian Catalogue at the moment so won't bring up anything for your car.

I have most Catalogues here, so can look it up

Cheers

Todd

[MC97GQ]

Hey Cameron,

Nice rig mate, I also like the look of the GQ that seems to be leading the way, Mate your sandpit makes the infamous Stockton beach look like a kids sand bucket.

Keep the piccies coming mate.

Mark

[cgm]

... I also like the look of the GQ that seems to be leading the way ...


Hi Mark,

Yep, this things needs a proper write up on it's own one day. It belongs to a British mate of mine who's been here for more than 15 years. I first came over here on a short couple of week consulting trip in 2001. Due to Andy's great hospitality and important strategy to show me that there are some real positives of living here, first weekend we were out in the sand. I grew up on a farm with a Volksy as a paddock basher, but I'd never got into 4x4 as a hobby. That first weekend here in the sand was the start of the end for me - ha ha ...

If my truck turns out half as good to me as that thing has been to him I'd have to be happy with it. (but he's always done the maintenance and I think that's the trick)

Here's another teaser pic for the GQ shorty fans. I'll collect a few more and give a bit more info one day. It's been all over the place that thing:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5RibF29qDlw/UC_jQD0SoQI/AAAAAAAAAO4/UwvnyRJ39Ps/s800/Image00018.jpg

and one more since it was handy:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XjNEm56ova8/UC_jORWisjI/AAAAAAAAAOs/glLp1tsl7t0/s800/Image00017.jpg

Thanks,
Cameron.

[cgm]

Great write up. IMO it looks like very early GU, steel rims etc, whats got me is,
how come spare on rear door is inverted? Some handy storage space there.
Like your roof rack,will be doing similar myself soon, on Rhino racks
See what you mean about the SAND PIT, its a biggie eh
No lights in the bumpers either,?Chrome mirrors + door handles

Hi threedogs,

Looks like I lost my reply to this ... noticed when I replied to Mark, below, that it gave some "token" error. Must have done the same for the reply to this, but didn't notice. Ok, so now I know I need to check ... :)

I'll summarise again.

The cars here seem to be a mixture compared with models back home. For example with the Troopers, you could still get 3.2l engines a couple of years later than when you could only get 3.5l engines in Aus and the US. I don't think they are too strict with safety and emissions stuff either (not sure, just an observation). So, you seem to see the models with a couple of cheap bling items (chrome mirrors, electric windows, etc.), missing a few features (just drivers airbag, etc.) bung em up with a fairly cheap price and out they go.

The tyre was just on the wrong way around as the tyre guy reckoned it wouldn't fit the other way with the bigger tyre. Never tried it, he just bunged it up like this. It hasn't moved, so I haven't touched it since. I plan to space out the holder and incorporate the sand flag holder (move it across from the Trooper), so I'll look at it then.

I had the rack on three Rhino bars with the special fittings for the Trooper. Brought them with me from Aus as I knew I was getting the vehicle already. Would like to have done the same here, but couldn't find any. Might have to make some changes later if I want to put a bit more weight on it as the Rhino bars used to take some of the weight. Let's see ...

Thanks,
Cameron.

[fezz]

The rear corner lights and the front indicator lights being 'crystal' sugests to me GUIII

[cgm]

Weekend Test!

Well, this took a bit longer than expected. I've been mucking around trying to sort out how to manage some video ... Just wanted to trim a couple of bits out and every which way I tried had some complications. In the end worked out I could do that basic stuff on the phone itself. Still not quite right, but it will do for now.

Also never played with YouTube or any of that, so started putting the video on Picasa with the pictures and realised afterwards it wouldn't work, so had to start again with YouTube. No problems, it's a bit basic, but there are a few more pics and vids to check out. Hope you enjoy them.

Weekends
First a quick comment about weekends. For us the country is governed by Islamic law, so that means they have their main weekly prayers on a Friday. So the weekend here is Thursday and Friday and not Saturday and Sunday. Takes a small bit of getting used to, but in the end I still get two days each week, so it works.

Summer
Next a comment on the summer, to put our current test in perspective. Practically summer starts here around mid to end of May and lasts through until about early September. It tends to ramp up quickly and drop off slowly (just my own observation). Peak of summer is from mid June until mid August (kind of just edging out of the peak now). During peak summer that means it probably will be above 45 C every day and many days up around the 50 mark. It probably won't get much below 30 C (maybe some nights 26/27 or so) for the whole of the peak of summer, even overnight.

It doesn't make much sense (at least to me) to head into the middle of the sand in 45+. I'm not very fit and don't enjoy digging sand in the winter, let alone in the summer (these days with maxtrax, winches, straps and other cars, you can mostly get away without digging, fortunately). In spite of summer have to do a test of the new car somehow.

Good thing is I have a few willing friends. Especially as there isn't really a lot else to do here if you're not into 4x4. To avoid the main heat we agreed to meet at a servo near the desert at 6:00am. Head in and play around for a few hours and try and come out by about 10:00am. It will probably only be low 30s when we start and by the time we come out it should still be in the 35 - 40 range. Not too bad. We went out a couple of weekends ago (same timing) for a basic test, but had a couple of minor things to cut the trip a little short (e.g. poor little kid with a tummy bug spewed in one of the cars). So we went again over the last weekend to find a few better climbs and soft spots to prove the car was useful.

Some Pics
I used a couple of the pics in the section above. I'll put a few more here. This seems to be the natural habitat for a Patrol:

:smiley_thumbs_up:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QNxModp5r5A/UC_jIZtHCJI/AAAAAAAAAOM/ShmDuf0K5oo/s800/Image00011.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-msgUe4aNN0M/UC_jTPUMqcI/AAAAAAAAAPE/dV1E0PM3H2k/s800/Image00020.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1HPAlZCWo5Q/UC_jUfII6WI/AAAAAAAAAPM/jOZX14NoH7M/s800/Image00021.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RKODGdJfyZw/UC_jZiGNQrI/AAAAAAAAAPs/kcevWV6MFtE/s800/Image00026.jpg


I don't yet have any decent ones of it stuck, but they will come, I'm sure ... Ha Ha

No need to test this one - it's proven itself already

Ok, it is nice to catch it stuck every now and then * smile * (but that tends to be what happens if you lead)

You can't see the ridge to the left of this. The angle is not the best, but usually with a bit of momentum you can get away with a small bit of angle, but you have to keep in mind that the sand might be like this - Soft!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HKsU6uGCbM8/UDD7Rx8viaI/AAAAAAAAAQU/-xA5WBX6yFI/s800/soft.jpg

Toy Truck or Real Truck?
We had four vehicles on the last trip. Two toy ones and two real ones. You decide which are which :)

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zcAmgNBlHvI/UDO53KoCMcI/AAAAAAAAAU4/jPlT0RG99PI/s800/flux_800x600_267x200.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g576j7t1UHc/UDO5uh6n69I/AAAAAAAAAUg/TXIkMxU1AsI/s800/jeep_248x200.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l94ANWXZCi8/UDO5y_L8wUI/AAAAAAAAAUo/KkgrwSG2Ux4/s800/Image00013_267x200.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oOYaaGQd_tE/UDO51gVq6aI/AAAAAAAAAUw/BuwAYwco0Mg/s800/Image00018_267x200.jpg

The radio controlled car will literally almost go anywhere and go there fast. But this thing also amazes me. Completely stock, but it has a good power to weight ratio and just simply does most things. If it was modified it would be awesome as just a weekend play toy. Could never fit anything in or take it on big touring duties, but just for the weekend ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7xG9kWYVTs&feature=g-upl

Big Slipface
There are a few attractions to this particular place. One is that it is quite close to town and you can be out in the sand in about an hour. The other is that it is quite hilly. So instead of just some nice dune lines with soft sand, some of them are right on the edge of a big hill. You can get a "slipface" of soft sand that extends 150-200 metres. This place was the end goal for the day. Really nice ...

Started with the "Real Car". It went out of range by the bottom of the hill, so he had to run down to the bottom. He was trying to drive back up, but having problems. Turned out that it has the power and traction to drive back up, but when it powers up the hill the front wheels only just touch. This causes it to loose steering. Sadly, I got distracted as it didn't look like it would make it and I missed it when it actually got to the top. So this is what you need, the power to weight ratio of this thing and you can even drive up a slip face!!

A few Vids

This one was first down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8rjAxArc-g&feature=g-upl

Then the Shorty. The Shortys tend to kick around a bit more - can see it as he drives over. Got to be prepared to speed up a bit if necessary to keep it going straight down - not always intuitive when you first do this.

(sorry about the sound - car alarm went off in the middle of it all. Needs some background music instead)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTfvUPaC3rI&feature=g-upl

I'll leave the Jeep off, one foreign video already in this post might be enough.

Then the Desert Ship ...

I really love that you can see so clearly the "fluid" nature of the sand and the wave going in front. I reckon you could almost get out and swim down. You never really get a sense of the angle or perspective in pics and videos, but I think you can imagine it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6CeGY47etU&feature=g-upl

One pic from the bottom, gives a small perspective. You can just see me about to come over the edge. There's another video floating around of me coming down, but my mate is on vacation, so I'll put it up one day after he's back

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yoZpNdC0Svo/UDD7TWaFgVI/AAAAAAAAAQc/RI62bUxBkfM/s800/height_perspective_big_slip.jpg

And one small clip from the previous time that someone took as I was going over the dune.
(Sorry, YouTube offered to fix it for me. I said yes - won't do that again)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLqaXnRYSsw&feature=g-upl

Conclusion - Did it pass the test?

Of course!!!!! (Should I feel guilty about changing teams?)

Man, I think I'm gonna like this truck! :thumbup:

[NissanGQ4.2]

Pretty bad when your out in the middle of the desert and somebody tries to steal your Patrol *L*

Lovin this thread, keep the pics and write ups coming :)

Cheers

Toddie

[MC97GQ]

Hey Cameron, that awesome.

Keep the info coming mate, it's a blast to see what people are doing in their Patrols on the other side of the world.

Thanks mate

Mark

[cgm]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll keep pottering away with the posts. It's nice to think someone will read them ... :)

[cgm]

Hi Guys, been very busy and haven't posted any updates for ages. I've managed to squeeze in quite a few mods since my last update, but haven't found the time or motivation to get them here.

Thought I better put something up. This was yesterday, so I'm out of sequence, but will try and catch up on some of the other mods through the week.

Was trying to finish the wiring for the rear battery (will post it later) and thinking about where to put the Air Compressor. I have plenty of space under the bonnet, but I tried that here once before and it just doesn't work. As soon as the hot weather comes it trips the thermal cut-out too quickly and then just never cools down enough to come back on. Last time I had it mounted between the fridge and the rear quarter window on top of the shelves. I was going to do that again, but it was nagging me that it takes away a flat surface that I could put something else on or pack on.

As you all know these little guys get very hot too, so you can't stack on them after they've just been used. I know the ARB ones often get mounted under the seats for lockers and such, so I thought I'd try that. Out with the seat then and here is where I ended up.

(Remember it's a left hand drive car, so it is under the right side passenger seat).

I wanted to mount it quickly without a huge need to make up some fancy bracket. The floor is not too flat under there, but doing a real rough "will it fit" test it looked like there was a chance. I realised that the base could be moved 90 degrees, so that I could still potentially screw the base down flat with the compressor on it's side, so that was the start:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-64NzjCoHgB4/UGsvNvAxx0I/AAAAAAAAAVo/beqI25kmX0I/s800/sm_20121001_172831_640x480.jpg

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p1I8E0tX0pM/UGsvLlTU-TI/AAAAAAAAAVY/5o7EJ0Y2Lvc/s800/sm_20121001_172821_640x480.jpg

Got the seat out, lifted the carpet. Can really see it is all sorts of angles and levels. Had a bit of wood lying around (that I'd grabbed from the slats when the neighbours threw out a kids bed). Here it can be hard to find things, especially wood is hard to get and expensive. Thought I could somehow screw something to the floor to make it flat and then build on that:

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2k9kBsLpfjI/UGsvlE2Ml3I/AAAAAAAAAV4/Q_G8-0jSA4I/s800/sm_20121001_183926_640x480.jpg

Next layer on top of the carpet:
http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wH1W0RwbaX8/UGsvmpAW3-I/AAAAAAAAAWA/AI_Ec9nYxaY/s800/sm_20121001_184700_640x480.jpg

Drilled a few holes in the base plate and screwed it straight to the wood:

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TwZ769I2Eto/UGsvnhROgpI/AAAAAAAAAWI/f1nCSq-6y7A/s800/sm_20121001_185221_640x480.jpg

A wider view of the situation:
(Note the red wire going under the door kick thing - that's the main wire running back to the rear/second battery)

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zZKpZL4Uh5U/UGsvo9OOEbI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/cgqx5AQHMPE/s800/sm_20121001_185252_640x480.jpg

Cut a bit of the insulation out and soldered straight onto the main/heavy wire running past. There is a fuse inline on the compressor, but it is not showing on the picture, being tucked under the carpet:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dHYdnygeN4I/UGsvqV-SdRI/AAAAAAAAAWY/8A11-92ObDk/s800/sm_20121001_191647_640x480.jpg

End result - just fits!:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2_TYJHXG_Pk/UGsvr9xozwI/AAAAAAAAAWg/02nH5IJ5YQ4/s800/sm_20121001_193518_640x480.jpg

For now I'll just hook my hose on and out the door. I see problems with that long term with the door blowing shut in the wind, so I'll have to look at running a bit of hose out through the floor to a mounted connector I think. Hope it doesn't get too hot to melt anything under there. :p

I proudly showed it to the wife and what do you think she said? "Why didn't you mount it under your seat?" Ha Ha, not too sure really :)

[MEGOMONSTER]

Good job, looks a little close to the sponge under the seat. As for the position, just tell the Missus she'll enjoy the vibrations, you'll just probably need to give her a pair of ear muffs.


Sent from the secret chambers of our secret society, on a secret iPhone, with a secret pin code and eye retina scanning from a secret peep hole, just don't tell anyone OK, cos it's secret........

[threedogs]

Great pics, something had to be expensive over there, wood , eh go figure, lol
what about running the hose through a grommet through the floor and "TEE"
an outlet front and rear. Then you'll only need 2 mtrs of hose to reach all corners.
Plenty of room underneath for a slimline tank against the chassis rail to.
Or you could run ENDLESS AIR ??

[cgm]

... looks a little close to the sponge under the seat ...

Yeah, pretty close. I'll watch it carefully the first few times and see what I reckon about leaving it there.

tapatalk on galaxy note

[cgm]

Great pics, something had to be expensive over there, wood , eh go figure, lol
what about running the hose through a grommet through the floor and "TEE"
an outlet front and rear. Then you'll only need 2 mtrs of hose to reach all corners.
Plenty of room underneath for a slimline tank against the chassis rail to.
Or you could run ENDLESS AIR ??


Not too many pine plantations I guess. It's illegal to chop any trees but they still cut any little tree down for camping firewood.

I like the idea of the tee. There are a couple of plugs/grommets just nearby under the seat itself. Will look more closely at those and the tee might fit nicely through the hole. Let's see ...

Endless would be nice but out of my league. Just planning to pump tyres at this stage.

tapatalk on galaxy note

[cgm]

One friend looked and asked if the compressor could run on it's side. I never thought about that. I assume these things have no oil and it makes no difference?

Anyone know for sure?

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[my third 256]

hey with door closed put hose through window that would work fine
nice write up mate love the piccies and vids
stephen

[cgm]

hey with door closed put hose through window that would work fine
nice write up mate love the piccies and vids
stephen

Funny isn't it. Now that you mention hose through the window, it should have been obvious. I tried the hose through the window on the weekend and it was fine as an interim until I work on an outside mount.

Thanks for the input.

[cgm]

Been too busy to keep up with even reading the forum the last couple of months. Got a couple of weeks off, which is a blessing, as they don't celebrate this time of year here in Saudi.

I was forced back to the forum yesterday ... For all the wrong reasons ... On the way home from a long trip yesterday, changed into 5th and it was a short lived experience. Wasn't sure how bad things were initially, but soon realised it was only 5th.

I had a vague feeling I had read something about 5th having issues, but didn't take much notice at the time. After 30 seconds of searching it was clear. The model is a 2001 on the plate, so I've definitely got the old bits in the gearbox. There are some nice photos on the 3rd post of this thread, which show the issue:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?1587-What-to-keep-my-eye-on-Preventative-Maintenance&highlight=preventative

I've got it with a mechanic today and hopefully he'll have the box out for me to take a look at this evening. Can confirm that this is the issue (as if it needs confirming ...) and then work out what to do. Probably better to fix it I think. I can get a second hand box from Japan for about 7000 SR (which is about $1750), but I won't know for sure if it has the old main shaft or not or what condition it was in. Labour is generally ok here, so probably will go with a fix.

Wish I didn't need to, but it is great to be able to come straight to the forum and find out what's going on.

Will wait and see once he gets it apart. Hopefully I will get some pictures.

[93patrol]

Nice ship mate and i hope you get it back up and running soon without to much drama

[cgm]

Well, it is definitely the classic 5th gear issue. Mechanic was going to pull it apart today and we'll go together tomorrow to Nissan and try and get the parts. Hopefully that will be smooth.

Here are a few photos and a short vid, showing how "smoothly" the gear can turn on the spline (wish it didn't!).

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1xIJntkO_k4/UNm73u_8jRI/AAAAAAAAAXk/05wS_OeQ8co/s800/5th_1.jpg

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wZIdsF2l6Bo/UNm75MWk9-I/AAAAAAAAAXs/4kOnutLMnOM/s800/5th_2.jpg

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ijs6yUeuSnk/UNm70f7o_SI/AAAAAAAAAXU/adHrkKTLurc/s800/5th_3.jpg

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jHHAsdAr9TA/UNm72OPYNKI/AAAAAAAAAXc/bDJiUxNizOU/s800/5th_4.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w2BrmtPvXSc/UNm76ueFzpI/AAAAAAAAAX0/DW2VX7Vh-tg/s800/5th_5.jpg

And the Video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpFOIUenE_0&feature=youtu.be

[Stropp]

Bugger that's no good, hopefully the rebuild goes smoothly and she is back on the road.

[cgm]

Parts (main shaft and gear) are not all available in Riyadh. With our weekend starting tomorrow probably means I will have to wait until Saturday or Sunday to get them sent. Oh, well...

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[Bulbous]

Might be worth looking at coming across to the UAE - there are differences in how they service/fix these batrols.
I know that in KSA the dealer will happily take a bent diff tube apart and just replace the tube. In UAE they want to replace the whole front end, but are quite happy to sell the parts to do it yourself.
Purely for reference - Diff tube is 3500 AED and readily available, I know cos mine is bent to hell and needs replacing.

FITEKS (UAE)/FATAKS (KSA) don't need 5th gear anyway. petrol is still cheaper than water here so just use the first 4 gears and thrash it. Trust me they love it :D

Whatever you choose, good luck with your Batrol and keep us posted.

[cgm]

Still waiting to hear back from Nissan about the parts. They originally said Saturday or Sunday. So, if I don't hear anything in the morning I will chase them. Only have to send them from Jeddah (on the west coast), so shouldn't really have to take this long, but what can you do. I'm not getting it fixed at the dealer, just chasing the parts through them.

[cgm]

Got the parts today. One bearing was still not here, so they were not planning to let me know until that arrived!

Mechanic told me to just chase that bearing through a local bearing shop and with the rest he could start getting it together. So hopefully, in a couple of days I might get it back on the road. I saw the pile of parts where he had the gears all out and I hope he is up to putting it back together again - looks like a jigsaw puzzle to me. I have a camping trip invite for the coming weekend (need to leave Wednesday morning as our weekend is Thursday/Friday), so hoping I will still make that.

The shaft and gear came as a kit and were thankfully the correct new parts with the longer/wider spline. Very happy with the price of the parts here.

- Main Shaft and 5th Gear as a kit: SR 573 / AUD $143
- Some bearings and oil seals: SR 240 / AUD $60

While it was apart needed to do the clutch.

- Clutch: SR 512 / AUD $128
- Pressure Plate: SR 558 / AUD $140
- Clutch Bearing: SR 94 / AUD $24

All sounds pretty good to me. Expected a lot worse.

[Stropp]

Wow cheap as for the parts, hope it gets sorted.

[cgm]

Dropped in yesterday and seems to be progressing. Hopefully it will be ready by this evening so I can still go camping tomorrow.

The last pile of puzzle pieces I saw seems to be back in with the new shaft, so looks like it is coming together:

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z9XYFhZTxYU/UOKRmhm_WWI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/35r6WJYjbJg/s800/sm_20121231_170528_640x480.jpg

It definitely has the wider spline on the shaft:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-05MCnkvwIbE/UOKRojNO36I/AAAAAAAAAZY/Ueri6lkk4nU/s800/sm_20121231_170536_640x480.jpg

A few other bits and pieces to finish it off:

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dJBlnzF-6pw/UOKRqaU-eUI/AAAAAAAAAZg/sYoGwPvLI5k/s800/sm_20121231_170548_640x480.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sffNVOMkz1E/UOKRsC4yegI/AAAAAAAAAZo/kS0HdMRMSI8/s800/sm_20121231_170603_640x480.jpg

[cgm]

Diff tube is 3500 AED and readily available, I know cos mine is bent to hell and needs replacing.

How did you manage that? Or can I guess from the avatar pic with all 4 wheels off the ground? :D

[cgm]

It's back on the road. :)

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8KNhG-IWnd0/UOMv1qew82I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/VViIQ3C-qvk/s640/20130101_164512.jpg

Very pleased to say that everything seems to be fine and it is driving nicely and has all 5 gears!

This could have been much worse. If ever these "bad" things happen in a nice way, so far this seems to be it. I had a couple of weeks off work (because they would wipe my holidays if I didn't take them). That gave me the time to chase around and get all the parts and keep things moving. Also gave me the time to read the forum and keep on top of what was required to make sure it was up to standard.

The labour was about SR 2000 / AUD $500, so all up it cost me roughly SR 4000 / AUD $1000. This includes fixing the gearbox and replacing the clutch and pressure plate. The value in AUD is a bit fake because of the high AUD. The exchange rate is about 4:1 when it should be 3:1 or less. At 3:1 that would be about $1350, which is still really cheap!

Very nice to have it back.

[Bulbous]

How did you manage that? Or can I guess from the avatar pic with all 4 wheels off the ground? :D

Yep - that's how I did it. That was the third jump. I only found out afterwards that it wasn't a good idea. :(
That diff tube is the weakest part of the Patrol drive line so no jumping.

[Bulbous]

Good news, glad to hear that you're back on the road.

[cgm]

For those that are interested I put an update to the thread on the Under Seat Compressor (external connectors).

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JM2wCCrhaFM/UObyQX01khI/AAAAAAAAAd4/EcLLtVvCWR4/s288/sm_20130102_133434_640x480.jpg http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EyhNqUulYH4/UObyZTGSocI/AAAAAAAAAeg/vbhJ9uc1Gsc/s288/sm_20130102_162136_640x480.jpg http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4RzLdv8DkkM/UObya4rfSQI/AAAAAAAAAeo/Fpl3FYf-sb8/s288/sm_20130102_174034_640x480.jpg

Link is here:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15186-GU-Under-Seat-Air-Compressor&p=313671#post313671

[cgm]

Added a thread for the water Storage and Pump.

"Water Tank and SHURflo pump in GU with tap on rear door"

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VdG7SyxCbFc/UObv56OzWCI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/Mhp5xtZkmRE/s288/sm_20120916_172033_640x480.jpg http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/ http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YRuL91LvMvk/UObwhyzztuI/AAAAAAAAAcw/jk1AkZzXpss/s288/sm_20130104_150144_640x480.jpg

Link is here:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?17288-Water-Tank-and-SHURflo-pump-in-GU-with-tap-on-rear-door

[cgm]

Oops

Suppose I should have looked what was on the other side first. Just got it perfectly in the wrong spot. :icon_bonk:

There had been a bit of rain last week, so the sand was relatively firm under the surface. Didn't hit the "wall" too hard, but did push the bar back a bit on that side. Will have to loosen it off and line it up again.

We dug out the front and tried to go forward, but ended up literally balanced on one back and one front wheel. Could rock the car back and forward. Where are the lockers when you need them? Gravity always wins in the end.

Haven't used the shovel in a long time and with the heat starting to build up had to take 10 mins out at the end to still be able to breathe!!

Had to give in to the winch in the end - forgot to get a photo of that.

Had about 15psi in the tyre. From the last photo, I was very lucky not to push the tyre off the rim.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-md6jYbo9YZw/UVhDgqBcrZI/AAAAAAAAAgk/Ct7leJh9Gds/s640/sm_20130329_111021_800x600.jpg

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GIzyQW0ZMrs/UVhDiXQ6RtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/XXA5adXpC3k/s400/sm_20130329_111034_800x600.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PZXbkSBKWqk/UVhDjQhzmKI/AAAAAAAAAg0/lbQnrIl9wYg/s400/sm_20130329_111126_600x800.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fu3T1yMp1xQ/UVhDk-iJPkI/AAAAAAAAAg8/q4UnfRi5lts/s400/sm_20130329_111822_800x600.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cgM_XSUEkOE/UVhDnG2UxfI/AAAAAAAAAhE/7FcMoZaGx5M/s400/sm_20130329_111925_800x600.jpg

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5YRHFpy_C0w/UVhDo0mncaI/AAAAAAAAAhY/Vb6sHXV5SUQ/s640/sm_20130329_111839_800x600.jpg

[cgm]

Haven't been here in this thread for a long time. I notice that Google lost the plot on all my old photo links. Oh, well.

Don't have the Patrol anymore and back in Oz now. Was bumping around on the computer and got distracted looking at old stuff.

Feeling homesick now. :)

Joined a couple of things together just on Youtube itself (really need to find a video editor). Thought I'd throw a couple of things up incase anyone is interested.

3 Generations of Patrol (Old one, New One and GU one - GU is just right ha ha). The sound with the wind, etc. is pretty ordinary, but when the Y62 takes off to shoot over the dune it does sound pretty cool.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1V-NsKRXHw

The Y62 was incredibly powerful, but the reality of it's first day in the sand was a lunch time repair using cable ties to hold the rear plastic bumper together.



I think I might have put some of these up before, but I'll link them here again anyway.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP-w_Y-sHxw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6CeGY47etU

[NissanGQ4.2]

Shame google has stuffed up all your pics :(

Any plans of getting a patrol now your back in OZ???

[cgm]

Shame google has stuffed up all your pics :(

Any plans of getting a patrol now your back in OZ???

Hi Todd, have the same issue as everyone else. Patrols are too popular and therefore too expensive.

I'd love to have a Patrol and still dream I will down the track. But having had a GU, would find it hard to do the GQ as a daily driver (Driven my mates old GQ a few times to know that). Daily is about 95% of the driving. Had no chance on the short term to afford a GU with all the goodies you get used to. My GU over there was a bit rough around the edges, so I didn't feel I needed to be precious with it, but I had most things done to it. Would be hard to go back either without the goodies or to a GQ. It was a completely different equation over there. Car was cheaper, fuel was almost free and even the goodies were cheaper. Plus over there didn't have much else to do, so justified it.

This is the ideal solution ha ha. A play car and daily driver, but there will be quite a few of us dreaming for a while yet before that happens. It is the way to go though if you can work towards it.
"Its a Nissan! =====> Its a Keeper!! ....... Got a TD42 in it BONUS!! ....... I'm a lucky bugger! I've got 2 of em!"

I bought a Jackaroo for now as it was fairly well kitted out already, low kms and known history. It is comfortable to drive on road and can do 90% of what I'd like to do offroad. Maybe with a few more mods (e.g. front Lokka and proper tyres) it will do 95%. It's a bit thirsty, but I'm still happy that I can have it. Much prefer the compromise and have something rather than nothing. Hopefully it will last a few years at least

Will hang out for my GU one day. :) The 4.8 was really nice from a power point of view, will try and head down that path. They are so thirsty that most people who have them probably try not to drive them too much. Maybe in another 5 years I can get a good one that has lost value but still has low kms?

[mudski]

It was 15 years for me between Patrols. I even kept my personalised number plate from when I sold the car back then and hung them in my garage as a reminder of the good times we had. Now those plates are on my Patrol I have now.
One day mate. One day...