Patrol dreamer!

[MB]

G’day Nick mate!
IMHO no donk (engine) is ever bulletproof, 3.0L variants/4.2variants etc.... Of course the 4.2 kept radiator clean IMO has a much better chance of 1,000,000km hopes.
Any piece of machinery expected to do long years will benefit greatly from correct planned usage choice and scheduled maintenance followed again IMHO :-)
Welcome to Australia brother! If I personally were to travel hard again with family now the 4.2 stocky would be my preferred Nissan donk out there. Cheers!


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[Nick-o-larse]

Maybe waiting a bit longer for the 4.2 donk would be the better option. Cheers mb

[MB]

Big beautiful country new brother, enjoy it, stress free ;-)


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[JackCollo]

Maybe waiting a bit longer for the 4.2 donk would be the better option. Cheers mb

Defs get the 4.2 don’t waste your money on a three litre if you could have got a 4.2 like I did basically but I’m upgrading mine so should be sweet build time


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[MB]

Feel for your recent troubles Jack mate, never meant this like that, we’ve had 3.0s and were awesome for their needs is all honestly meant brother!


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[4bye4]

G'day and welcome to the forum.

[drgtr]

Welcome Nick.
Hope all is well mate

2 to 3 months ago I was exactly where you were at!

I came from a 120 v6 Prado which I loved but the rear diff was so weak. I broke that just on fire trails and broke a CV.

Always admired the Patrols afar because they look tough and knew they have tough Drive trains.

I always knew the 3 litres could be an issue and yes the Common rail versions from 2007 have had no horror stories yet but they do have their own issues.

I ended up buying a 2003 Model Td42ti with 180 000kms for $29 000.
It had the following:

3 inch exhaust Taipan XP
Harrop E locker on the rear
Fridge Slide
Larger Aftermarket Top Mount Intercooler

Was owned by a diesel mechanic and was a daily for his wife.
They bought a new Y62.

I looked at the common rail versions and I could of picked up a 2010 model for 22k!
an equivalent 2003 model yes would of been half the value of my clean TD42ti

I was scared when I first bought it not knowing anything about Patrols.
I thought I did enough research so I knew about Patrols and their problems.
Boy was I wrong but I been lucky. Im a fussy buyer/owner.

I got her Dyno Tuned and the tuners said my car is immaculate and best part the Injectors and Pump were in excellent condition.


Now onto the Patrol Models themselves.
As I said I thought I knew enough to stay away from problem 3 litre ones by going with the 4.2td


3 litres are potential grenades. Some make it through their life no problems but some even with NAD kits still explode.
The later 3 litre common rail seem fine from a grenade point but some suffer from being really thirsty and the other expensive issue is they leak coolant from the
timing cover and apparently who engine has to come out to get a seal changed. Wow. Expensive too.


Now to the Patrol in general regardless of engine. These are the idiosyncrasies I seen:

- Up to 2001 Manual gearboxes had a short spline on the input shaft which if people tow in 5th gear or keep loading it up will break . You will lose 5th gear but continue on up to 4th gear until you repair it. Later models had longer splines and yes you can retrofit to fix.
- Door lock issues. There is a bolt that breaks on the locks. That happens on all GU models Then drivers door is stuck. You cant open the door at all. There is a mod if you can manage to get door open and fix it permanently or you can proactively do the mod.
- NATS Nissan Anti theft system faulty and car cranks over but wont start. Light on top of dash stays on. On the 4.2models we get lucky. We can smash the black box behind the Pump open and wire the power directly to the fuel shut off solenoid.
-Rust! the GQ rust everywhere and on the roof through sweat. The GU rust at the radiator support big time if alot of water and salt crossings. The rear Barn doors rub the paint off and rust too.
-Rear Spring Towers. You can google this one. Massive crack if 4wd alot and have weight on the rear. Its a weld job or strengthen with adaptors
-Death Wobbles. Usually its one of the bushes for panhard rod or one of the suspension components. Pulling out Shims from steering knuckle is only a coverup for the worn bush issue.


Personally if I was you. Stick with a td42ti that has the intercooler and upgraded 5th gear.
You can know if 5th gear on early model is on its way out by dropping the gear box fluid and its rusty in colour.

Find a clean one. A fussy owner one. Pay that bit extra. Yes there are cheaper ones out there but they been bunged up and detailed for sale.


All the best and I hope this helps you.

[drgtr]

And remember with the idiosyncrasies

Not all GU patrol suffer from this.

There are thousands out there and they are fine.

To identify common problems. Those are whats out there.

[Nick-o-larse]

Wow thanks drgtr. Will definitely use this when I finally get looking. Was camping over the weekend and someone had the 2006 3L. Loved it but did say it was very juicy.

[Nick-o-larse]

Still dreaming..

And I believe Iv'e narrowed my search down to a GU6 / GU7 3.0TD, Auto..

I figured I'll be more on road than off road and as much as I love a manual, auto is the lazy option.

Will see whats out there when the time comes though, no nearer yet!