Nissan Patrol?????

[baggins]

Hi guys,
After many years of suffering the sling and arrows of Solihuls finest, my bank balance has finally over won my heart. i'm currently looking at a 2.8 nissan patrol. have read lots of good reports (mainly from Australia) but thought i'd check in here and see if anybody has any experience of them, advice and tips.

Cheers

Baggins

 

[crosslandkelly]

They do seem to be the vehicle of choice over there. Have you looked on the Nissan Patrol owners website. I have an 03 L200 double cab for over a year now and not a bit of trouble with it. The big Japanese 4 x 4's are pretty bomb proof, but expect high running costs, just like all 4 x 4's.
If the model you buy come with alloy wheels and locking wheelnuts, get rid of the locking wheelnuts and replace them with standard ones. Why? I hear you ask, well eventually, 1. you will lose the key 2. the key will break and 3. no self respecting wheel thief will be stopped by them. Can you imagine sitting at the side of the road with a puncture and no wheelnut key. It happened to me.
Ps, the l200 seems to be the vehicle of choice in Afghanistan, go figure.

O

 

[Laurentius]

I don't have anything to say about Nissans because I have no experience, but when it comes to reliability my 1993 Mitsubishi Pajero is the best car I have ever owned. It has needed a minimum of maintenance compared to british and german built cars I have had before and passed it's MOT first time last week. At 21 it is coming of age

 

[Chiseller]

How's the turning circle though ? An orbit the size of a small county in my experiences......thats only a drawback if your doing offroading in woods or valleys.

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[Chiseller]

I don't have anything to say about Nissans because I have no experience, but when it comes to reliability my 1993 Mitsubishi Pajero is the best car I have ever owned. It has needed a minimum of maintenance compared to british and german built cars I have had before and passed it's MOT first time last week. At 21 it is coming of age

How's the turning circle though ? An orbit the size of a small county in my experiences......thats only a drawback if your doing offroading in woods or valleys.

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Not meant at nissans.....only the mitsus


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[crosslandkelly]

How's the turning circle though ? An orbit the size of a small county in my experiences......thats only a drawback if your doing offroading in woods or valleys.

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No 4 x 4 has a great turning circle, though some are better than others. Wheel base has a lot to do with it as well.

 

[decorum]

... thought i'd check in here and see if anybody has any experience of them, advice and tips.

She might not see this thread, so perhaps drop Turbogirl (Sally) a PM? .

 

[crosslandkelly]

She might not see this thread, so perhaps drop Turbogirl (Sally) a PM? .

Doh, should have thought of that myself. Cheers decorum.

 

[Ecoman]

Get a Toyota 3rd Gen Surf, Landcruiser or Hilux and you wont go wrong. Mitsubishi Shogun/ Pajero is a great choice too and bullet proof (watch for rot though).

Nissan Patrols are a great truck and you get a lot for your dosh, not overly powerful though as its only a 2.8 and the LWB ones with all the extras can be a heavy old bus. Mechanically mega reliable but bodywork lets them down all too often. Get a nice one and your laughing.

 

[Chiseller]

No 4 x 4 has a great turning circle, though some are better than others. Wheel base has a lot to do with it as well.

Beg to differ .....my experience says daihatsu s have a tight turning circle and I've had a lwb zuki that was great ......

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[Countryman]

Running costs are astronomical but they are very reliable.

Several people recommended me the Surf when replacing my Landrover. Worth a look at.

Day to day cars: we just went all Nissan and that's been a good choice.

If you want a surprisingly good test drive go look at a Nissan X Trail. A very capable and capacious soft roader that won't break the bank, will keep you comfortable and that will do about 40mpg.


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[Chris the Cat]

Best pal has one, fantastic vehicle.
I say that as a LR110 driver.

Best.

Chris

 

[ozzy1977]

The turning circle on my series 3 was measured in time not metres. What is your budget?

 

[Dogoak]

I've had three Patrols, the first was a 3.3D Y60, straight six, gear driven cam so no belt issues, I put 100K on it, 250K when I sold it, briliant basic truck, excellent off road, there was literally nothing that stoped it..
The 4.2 was very good as well, strong and reliable and very capable, I only sold it due to needing LWB.
The last was 2001 3.0tdi which I pimped for the Macmillian UK 4x4 Challenge in 2008. Lifted +2" with Old Man Emu parts, Dastek chip, raised air intake & breathers etc. Nice truck to drive, very capable, quite luxurious. The heads are known to go at around 80K+ (mine did!). Unfortunately it got hit by an HGV when he lost the trailer unit on a bend and it got written off. I couldn't believe how much rust was exposed due to the accident, all on the inner of the panels. I always stayed away from the 2.8's as they were a little underpowered and a couple of friends had head gasket issues. The newer models don't seem to have the same build quality as the older ones.
Your'e unlikley to find any 3.3's around now in good condition but I would certainly recommend the mid to late 90's 4.2. I'd also recommend a Toyota Landcruiser 4.2 VX 80's series (then became 100 series), fantastic engines, the only thing you need to check is if the bottom end bearings have been replaced. Relatively easy job to have done as it can be done with engine in situ (it's a lorry engine really). 3 diff locks, loads of torque, great cruiser for long journeys and not too bad on fuel.

 

[garethw]

Hi there
These are big and thirsty beasts... one of the reasons I now drive a Terrano is the lower fuel consumption. I had two Patrols myself and have driven a mates more recent 3L model. They all really drink the juice .. mine was around 15L per 100kms.. and my mates 3L with a chipped motor must be over 18L per 100ks.

My first was a 3.3L atmo, short wheelbase but a real tractor. Top speed about 60 miles an hour but very good off road. Sold that one with 320,000 kms on the clock as wanted a LWB.

Second one was a 2.8 TD (they never imported 4.2L or Petrol models into France). Great car that would climb the side of a house. I drove my for over 200,000 kms and sold it with 360,000 on the clock and it is still going strong.

The issues with head gaskets were usually down to the poor design of the straight six engine and poor cooling. Prolonged motorway use usually lead to issues as the motor really didn't like it. Later models added a second radiator, which helped a bit...
The chassis and drive train were pretty much bullet proof... the main weakness, as was pointed out above, was rust... the bodywork, wings, sill, tail gate, guttering all suffered and usually killed the car before mechanical failure.

If you fancy a left hand drive there's a 3.3L turbo long wheel base for sale on our 4x4 forum.... all the gadgets and in good condition..http://forum.bivouac4x4.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14820 Only 4500 euros

I loved mine, took me over the Pyrenees with a roof tent and of France & Spain. A real 4x4...
Cheers
Gareth

 

[86inch]

I recently sold my 110, not because i was unhappy with it, but other reasons.. I looked at pickups and all of the usual suspects, Land Cruisers, Shoguns, etc. the final choice was between a 4.2 Land Cruiser VX and a Patrol and I decided on a Patrol simply because it was far better value and my wife preferred them to the Land Cruisers. In the end i bought a 2005 3L diesel SVE spec and i couldn't be happier with it.

Its not exactly economical, most i've done is 26mpg, but i didn't buy it for that. I bought it for camping trips and the ability to get lots of gear in it, and be comfortable for longer trips than the Defender was.

Although i've only owned it a few months so far so good.... its quite honestly the best vehicle i've ever owned. My biggest worry now will be what to replace it with in the future as the Patrol ceased to be imported after 2009 :-(

 

[Goatboy]

Having had a small smorgasbord of 4x4 I find the rice grinders a bit more reliable than a landy (though I've loved my landies they do break a lot - we joke that's why they're called "off-road vehicles" as that's where they spend most of their time - in the garage). The only one to let me down a lot was a Sport-track Daihatsu. But previous poor maintenance may have been a contributing factor. My old 1800 series Subaru's were remarkable capable but the Nissans seem to do it all. Speaking to Sally seems a good idea as she's honest and knows her kit.

Hope all goes well.
GB.

 

[Bungie]

love my 3ltr turbo diesel ute 2010 12lt to 100klm.
Towed a 1.6 tonne camper trailer from Brisbane to Cape York the hard way, and back. Didn't feel it behind me.

and it makes a great flying fox too

A bit long of a video, but taking the Patrol down Gun shot creek with camper trailer. Well at least until got hung up

http://youtu.be/n46fOvWCvMc

 

[Big Stu 12]

I cant comment I am a Landy Owner and a fan... and mine all have been as good reliabity wise then any other motor i ve had, and a I've had a fair selection over the years...

 

[Jonbodthethird]

Will be honest so far my dads company hAs had ten nissan nivaras and every single one has spat it's bottom ends out with in a year of each other. My mate had a patrol and it did the same thing. They just don't seem to build good solid engines. They also use Renault engines I believe in the nivara and some patrols so I've been told.


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