I thought its about time to start its own thread to document its life under my ownership, I am the third owner. Previously I owned a 1997 Toyota Hilux Surf which we bought in Botswana, it had the 3l 1KZTE engine and was a great machine. The Mrs drove an Izuzu KB300 double cab. We decided that we wanted to upgrade and I spent a few months looking at various vehicles but in the end it all came down to the 4.8 Patrol or the 76 series 4.2l landcruiser wagon. I had seen and driven that patricular cruiser a few times before but I had never seen or driven a patrol. I decided to join this forum and was very quickly directed to Tinus who promptly organized for the Mrs and I to go and look at a patrol in JHB. We had no real intention of committing to a deal and the intention was to go and look the patrol over and go for a test drive and then go away and compare the 2 vehicles and then make a decission. Well after 2 hours and a quick test drive in June 2018 we decided to put pen to paper and buy the patrol. It was a no brainer and it still baffles me to this day why Nissan didnt put more effort into promoting the patrol in Southern Africa, what a weapon of a vehicle and you get alot for your hard earned money. The patrol had a full service histrory through the dealer and then through G Tech and was completely stock asside from the roofrack and awning. The previous owner very kindly took the vehicle to Summit for me so that they could fit a BZT bullbar before I collected it from him, again Tinus helped me to organize this. The patrol had 217 000km on the clock,
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In early 2019 I deided to start turning the patrol into a proper touring vehicle. I started by taking out the passenger seats and making a false floor out of shutter board and rubber gym flooring which I mounted our fridges and dual battery to. We can access the fridges through the back doors, one as a fridge and the other a freezer. I run a national luna battery box that houses a 100ah BlueNova litium ion battery which is managed by the 25amp National Luna DC/DC charger. I also modified the roofrack to accommodate an AS NEW eezi awn RTT that I found abandond in the store room at work, the owner long since gone.
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In September 2019 I started having heating troble witht the patrol. Nothing like serious overheating but the temp guage was climbing higher than normal when speeds eceeded 100kph and outside temps were more than 30 degrees. Between November 2019 and February 2020 I replaced the fuel pump with a Bosch pump, the water pump, the radiator, the viscous fan hub and all the water hoses with terrain tamer hoses amd the main engine wiring harness. I also upgraded the viscous fan hub which made a huge difference. Problem was solved, here is the link to that topic:
https://patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=8650
This brings us up to now, April 2020. This month I have taken the time to go through the patrol from top to bottom, I replaced all broken or missing trim clips with a kit I had in the workshop, I tightend every nut, bolt and screw that I could reach and I washed and painted the undercarriage with Durram 88. Checked the diff, gearbox and transfer case breathers and I also greased everything that needs greasing and sprayed all the rubbers with silicone. I went through the interior and made sure all the trim and pannels are tight and secure. after spending 9 hours under the patrol I was very happy to see that there are no fluid leaks from anywhere. Im happy with where the vehicle is at the moment but I have many plans for after the COVID 19 Lockdown which will mainly be engine and gearbox maintenance related. I will also be making changes to the rear suspension as it doesnt cope well when it loaded, sags quite alot and it sits lower than the front, Im thinking heavier duty coils and air bags. I will also be fitting long range tanks from Browne Davis (finances permitting) to get rid of having to carry 7 extra jerry cans to acheive more than 1000km range. This will also keep the center of gravity low down and I want to replace the rear bar jerry can holder with another spare wheel mount so that I have 2 spares. I will also be changing the roofrack and awning setup in an effor to reduce uptop weight.
The Patrol currently has 257 000km on the clock, Exactly 40 000km since I have owned it. For interest sake here are some stats from my Fulio app (I only startd recording 9000km after I got the patrol so this is for the last 31 000km:
Total fill ups: 84
Total Fuel: 6466.7
Total Distance 30 937km
Average Fuel Consumption: 4.87kmpl or 20.53 liters per 100km
Total Cost in rands: R91 100.04
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