hi from brian in blue mountains

[brianc]

Hi all,

My name is Brian and I'm from the Blue Mountains, just to the west of Sydney. Im a keen 4Wd'er and have owned a heap of 4Wd's over the years, including (in order: x-trail (which got me hooked), TJ Wrangler, two hilux's, another x-trail (for my wife while I was overseas), BJ70 cruiser, Bj73 Cruiser, and a GUIII patrol.... but then the call to return to the city saw me trade the GUIII for a little sedan.....

Im fortunate to be in a job which allows me to drive a range of 4WD's for work in some interesting terrain, both in Australian and overseas; but for the past year I've been stuck behind a desk in the middle of the city and I've had enough..... so I'm back off to live in the desert again soon.

The x-trail (quite a good car really) got sold last night and I've got my eye on an 2008 ex NSW Police CRD Patrol. I know what you are all going to say but its cheap, strong and got all the gear I want and with the roads we will be travelling on, anything better is only going to get trashed anyway.

I came across this forum because I was researching the ZD30 engines when I was deciding what 4WD to buy.

I think I'll be accessing this forum regularly and asking you guys for help in setting up the patrol for some long range driving.

[Dhuck]

Welcome to the forum mate

[Bigrig]

G'day mate - welcome aboard and top intro. Great people, information and laughs on here mate, so feel free to join in and make the most of it. Enjoy!!

[Bacho86]

Welcome to the forum Brian! Only just joined myself, but already received some great advice and information!

[growler2058]

Gday mate theyre a good friendly mob here full of useful info and advice, welcome aboard

[Bob]

Welcome Brian. Join in and enjoy

[molongmick]

Welcome to the forum, plenty of good advice here.

[katwoman]

Welcome Brian,
if you cant find it here, it's not important. Enjoy your stay..

[NissanGQ4.2]

Welcome 2 the forum Brian,

Great bunch of guys and girls on here always willing 2 help out when they can

How close 2 Warrimoo are you?

Enjoy the forum and what it has 2 offer.

Cheers

Todd

[Sir Roofy]

welcome aboard brian enjoy your stay here

[YNOT]

Welcome to the forum Brian.

Tony

[DX grunt]

Welcome to the forum, Brian

Take care out there.

Ross
DX grunt

[big_fletch]

Welcome to the forum mate

Fletcha

[mrcrazydude]

Welcome to the forum!

[Finly Owner]

Hi and welcome to Nissans Nut House Brain

Tim

[rfrom7inoz]

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy!

[nowoolies]

g`day Brian
welcome on board mate
heaps of laughs and bucket loads of info here enjoy
nowoolies
Paul

[Maxhead]

G'Day and welcome to the forum Brian

[brianc]

Thanks all. Im in a mixed mood tonight. Someone bought the Patrol I was looking at just as I rang up to say that I'd take it. Anyway, I really need something to drive, so I scanned the internet and found a 2007 CRD DX patrol in Adelaide for the right price. I'm not sure whats crazier in peoples eyes; buying an ex police car of buying an ex rental sight unseen..... anyway, I've booked a flight to Adelaide on Saturday, jumping in and driving straight back to Sydney. I'm sure its going to be an adventure (one way or another!)

[Bigrig]

Thanks all. Im in a mixed mood tonight. Someone bought the Patrol I was looking at just as I rang up to say that I'd take it. Anyway, I really need something to drive, so I scanned the internet and found a 2007 CRD DX patrol in Adelaide for the right price. I'm not sure whats crazier in peoples eyes; buying an ex police car of buying an ex rental sight unseen..... anyway, I've booked a flight to Adelaide on Saturday, jumping in and driving straight back to Sydney. I'm sure its going to be an adventure (one way or another!)

Irrespective mate - good on ya for being positive about it!!! Safe travels and what modifications do you want us to spend your money on first?? LOL!!

[GUtsy ute]

Hi Brian,
Welcome to the forum,mate.
So what did you buy, an ex police or an ex rental one?
Either way, you will have a top rig, look foward to seeing and hearing what you do to it.
.

[Dark 1]

Welcome mate, have a poke around & join in when your ready.

[brianc]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the welcomes. In reply to the questions, which one did I buy; I ended up agreeing to purchase an ex rental one. Im on a plane in the morning to Adelaide and getting picked up by the dealer. We are going to the yard where I'll give the car a quick go over, then hand over the cheque, jump in and head straight back to Sydney.

Because the car has no bar work, I'm not going to travel after dark. I'll stop in at Menindee for the night (I lived there for a few years - its an awesome spot) then power on back to the Blue Mountains on Sunday.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about mods as I go along. I think I'll start with the obvious (front bar/towbar/lights) and a DVD/navigation sytem combo (my son is adamant the new car is going to have a little TV in the back). Then I'll start looking at tyres (depending on what these come with) and suspension.

I'm also interested in some minor engine "mods" as described in this forum.

I anticipate that we will be heading out to far north west NSW around August September so I'll have a bit of time to get things sorted.

I'll get some pics of the car over the next couple of days and post.

[NissanGQ4.2]

and were in blue m, how far from Warrimoo???

[brianc]

Todd,

Up around Wenty Falls. About 20 mins or so from Warrimoo.

[snicko]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the welcomes. In reply to the questions, which one did I buy; I ended up agreeing to purchase an ex rental one. Im on a plane in the morning to Adelaide and getting picked up by the dealer. We are going to the yard where I'll give the car a quick go over, then hand over the cheque, jump in and head straight back to Sydney.

Because the car has no bar work, I'm not going to travel after dark. I'll stop in at Menindee for the night (I lived there for a few years - its an awesome spot) then power on back to the Blue Mountains on Sunday.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about mods as I go along. I think I'll start with the obvious (front bar/towbar/lights) and a DVD/navigation sytem combo (my son is adamant the new car is going to have a little TV in the back). Then I'll start looking at tyres (depending on what these come with) and suspension.

I'm also interested in some minor engine "mods" as described in this forum.

I anticipate that we will be heading out to far north west NSW around August September so I'll have a bit of time to get things sorted.

I'll get some pics of the car over the next couple of days and post.


Good on ya mate.
Welcome to the forum.
Look forward to your journey in mods on your truck....

[Clunk]

g'day brian, welcome aboard mate

[brianc]

Hi again,

I flew down to Adelaide yesterday morning. I caught a taxi to the car yard and had a look at the Patrol. Its exactly as I thought it would be - neat enough but definately an ex rental! Although it is fairly tidy it doesn't take much looking to see that its had a hard life. Theres a few niggling vibrations/rattles that will need to be sorted out over coming weeks. I also noticed spots of surface rust on the bracket holding the accelerator and underneath the drivers seats; I'm guessing the result of a very gusty water crossing (no snorkel) or some other top end tale. It made re remember a particular 4WDing course I did during the wet season up that way a couple of years ago involving some gutsy water crossings - then I remembered the course used hire cars from the same company that this car originally came from! Karma? Also, although the car was generally clean there is red dust in all the nooks and crannies, including the air filter (which I'll get to in a moment) It would appear this car has already sampled both tropical life and desert life.

On the way home I got to thinking that I bet the car hasn't been serviced since sometime before it was retired as a rental. I stopped at a maccas and opened the air filter box, then proceeded to tap out about a fistful of red dirt onto the roadway. Luckily there was a small auto store that stayed open long enough for me to grab an air filter and one of those injector cleaner bottles. The rest just had to wait until I could get it back to Sydney.

Even chocked up with red dust and crappy oil; I was pleasantly surprised by how much power the engine seemed to have, a heap more than the ex police car I almost bought. There are also 4 new all terrain tyres that will come in handy.

I was not impressed that the dealer did not have the radio code, and being easter and all; I had to endure a 16 hour trip back to Sydney with only the rattles and other noises for company. At least it gave me time to get to know the car a bit.

The red oil light on the dashboard came on twice during a couple of high speed overtaking moves. When I turned the ignition off the light went off and did not come back on. I'm having a complete service done in the nery near future and hopefully I will be alerted to any serious issues.

But now I've got a very affordable Patrol thats a blank canvas, ready to be built up for desert life for the next few years, that is until it either shakes apart, seizes up or rusts to pieces. Given its apparrent history to date I think that its going to have an easier life with me and my family in the desert than it has had to date.

Anyways, Im back home now with the truck and now thinking hard about where to start. Apart from a service one of the first things its getting is a bullbar; I had a close call with a big roo about 4am just south of Gundagai.

I'll start a thread in the appropriate section and try to get some pics up to start my buildup.

Thanks to all who have welcomed me. I really look forward to hearing your advice in building a practical no nonsense truck for regular desert driving that is wife friendly.

[Finly Owner]

well gutsy buy you've taken on there. I would never(being a hire worker) buy an exrental/hire vehicle. The general sensus is kepp serviced spend as little as possible on it making as much as possible from it.

Hope it all goes well for you.

Tim

[jbm bundy]

Welcome aboard Brian, the reference material and avice on here is invaluable!

[growler2058]

Gday Brian welcome aboard mate

[AB]

Welcome to the forum mate, feel free to ask any questions and join in the conversations.

[timbar]

G'day mate - welcome aboard join in and have fun mate plenty to do see and if u have any problems just ask and im sure u will get an answer ENJOY and WELCOME

Tim

[patch697]

To all new members & those member who have joined in the last 4 months I'd like to introduce myself

Hi all my name is Paul (patch697) & I am the Super Moderator here on the forum. I have been away for a spell & there will be a lot of new members who haven't met me yet so I'd like to extend a worm welcome from myself to you all & if you have any question or need any help don't hesitate to ask.

I hope you all enjoy the forum.

Cheers
Paul