Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

pictures:

front

rear

engine

console/part of dash


a few noobie questions:
the battery monitor next to the gear lever very seldom shows the aux battery charging; only on long trips. is there a problem with the monitor or the battery? is there a reputable place in or around durbs i can have it looked at?
there is a three-way switch on the dash just above the choke. when this switch is up, the petrol guage works normally. when it is inth centre position, the petrol gauge is off (shows empty tank), and in the bottom position, shows full tank. what's the purpose of this damn thing?
all the original rims are apparently leaking on the welds, so the previous owner had tubes in the tyres, hence the mags. is it worth getting the original nissan rims repaired?
yes that's my foot...

Adrian she looks a beaut.

First order of business, get those tubes out of there. I had the same thing when I bought mine, but what you have to realize is that the leak is not on the welds, it is the rim that is busy cracking off. The ring of the rim is a single piece, not a welded construction. If you continue using those wheels like that, the rim will crack further, the tube will extrude through the crack and you will have a blow-out.

You should be able to get those rims replaced by Nissan free of charge, but in my opinion, expressed elsewhere on this forum those rims are not suitable and should be replaced with something stronger if you intend using it as a 4x4 rather than a city car. I have the same mags as you, and have put them through a fair amount of abuse with no problems, I would recommend you keep using them, I think they are stronger than the steel rims.

With regard to the battery system, if you are not actively drawing charge from the second battery, that could well be normal. You should make a point of using that battery once in a while. A correct dual battery installation would have the battery reserved for camping operations etc, and the battery does not get used by the car itself.

With regard to the switch, does your car perhaps have a second tank? Look under the car, the main tank is behind the rear axle where Toyota keeps the spare wheel on their cars, and if there is a second tank it is probably between the gearbox and the rear axle, on the driver's side. If there is one, the bottom position could be the extra tank. If this is the case, you need to find a switch or valve which will allow you to draw from this tank. On my car, this is located on the door's bottom sill, next to the driver's seat.

Also, i notice that somebody has cut an extra hole in the air filter box, at the front. I would close that up, for three reasons:
1) You are drawing hotter, dirtier air through that than through the correct intake which is in the wheelwell.
2) The system now bypasses the cyclonic pre-filter, so the air filter works a lot harder.
3) In deep water crossings, you will get water into the engine a lot quicker.

It certainly is a beauty. Is that a jerry can holder attached to the small barn door at the back? Is that an original Nissan item or aftermarket?

Peter Connan wrote:I had the same thing when I bought mine, but what you have to realize is that the leak is not on the welds, it is the rim that is busy cracking off. The ring of the rim is a single piece, not a welded construction. If you continue using those wheels like that, the rim will crack further, the tube will extrude through the crack and you will have a blow-out.

It sounds as though it is exactly the same thing that Jules has on his rims (the chrome plated steel Nissan originals). Those rims are are constructed by welding the disc into the rim band, creating a T-joint. In Jules' case (and I suspect in your case and in Peter's case) the fatigue crack actually initiated from one of the weld toes in this T-joint. The crack then propagated through the thickness of the rim band until it created an air leak.

The air leak issue can be masked (temporarily) by demounting the tyres and painting over the cracks, but as the cracks propagate, the leak will re-appear. Fitting tubes will also mask the issue, but it is important to understand that you are dealing with a structural failure in progress here. At some point the crack will have propagated around a sufficient distance of the circumference that the band will completely separate from the wheel disc, the result of which can be similar to losing a wheel. Another scenario might be pinching the tube as Peter said, but the end result will be very similar.

I would also urge you not to use those rims or at least to have the cracks ground out and professionally repaired.

thanks for the advice, peter and gerrit.

the rims are at a repair shop. the insides were a bit rusty, so they're getting blasted, and when they're back we'll make a decision about how to proceed. they have no tyres on at the moment. the fact they had tubes in at all prompted me to get the mags.

the second fuel tank has been removed. there are some empty brackets under the right hand side in front of the rear axle, but clearly there's no fuel tank . the changeover valve is there, under the driver's seat, but the tubes on it have been cut and tied back.

how do i close the hole in the air filter? piece of rubber and a cable tie?

still not sure about the battery monitor etc. will take it to battery centre or somewhere to have the aux battery checked.

i think the jerry can holder is an aftermarket installation. there's a van der linde conversion sticker on the other rear door, so i think it may have formed part of the conversion. not sure what else was converted

i had a good look in the engine compartment yesterday, and the concertina pipe before the air filter is shot as well.
and lo and behold i have an air compressor in the engine bay i just need to find a hose for it. the brass nozzle is visible on the bottom right, betwen the radiator and the aircon pipe.

Adrian what a pitty the second tank has been removed

I would be inclined to plug that hole by cutting a 20mm thick plank, varnishing/painting it well and then gluing it in place with Sikaflex or Pratley Wandafix.

The concertina tube, is that perished or was it damaged by chafing against the auxilliary battery? If the second, I have the same problem, but you can glue it with Pratley Wandafix, and probably just mount a metal shield on the auxhilliary battery's bracket to protect it (I must still do this myself).

I suspect you are right that the jerry can holder is aftermarket. Does it open with the door or must it be opened seperately?

I might have a hose for your compressor. Not sure where you are, but if you are on the east rand you are welcome to drop in to see if it will fit?

Hi Adriaan,


Great Troll. With regard to the dual battery system, it looks like a old National Luna. I have the same unit in my troll and it has worked reliably for the last 12 years. The problem with the display not working could also be the connections. Have a look at the female side in the display unit. Some clever %%$## bent one of the pins on the inside after a service. Check the pins .

thanks for the offer for the hose peter, but it'll be quite a trip from durban to come fetch it! i'll have a look at midas or autozone here for another one.

the concertina tube is perished, and quite badly. it's quite brittle, i think if i glue it it'll just break again. i'll have to replace it...

the jerry can holder opens with the door.

i get the feeling the compressor works off the aux battery, which is flat as a pancake. the battery guy did a gravity check, and the float didn't budge. i think the display is working, it's just showing a pap battery

i'll do the wood plug thing; good idea

Hi adrian

King Caractacus wrote:the concertina tube is perished, and quite badly. it's quite brittle, i think if i glue it it'll just break again. i'll have to replace it...

I once met a guy in a parking lot who told me that on one of his three Patrols (lucky bastard) he had replaced that whole section of pipe (both concertina sections, the mounted box section between them and I suspect also the cyclonic pre-filter with a stainless steel tube, and he claims that it made a huge improvement to his fuel consumption. He claims that that and Ignitor electronic ignition improved his fuel consumption from 6km/l to 7.5km/l.

Now while I am sceptical about the scale of this improvement, and while I personally would prefer to keep the cyclonic pre-filter, I do think that replacing the section between the pre-filter and the air filter box with a tube with a smooth inside could improve the fuel consumption.

I am not sure how much the correct pipe would cost from Nissan, or even whether it is available, and also I don't know how much of a hurry you are in, but perhaps one of us should make a mold for a glass-fibre replacement pipe?

The National Luna system has a timer switch which is supposed to switch on about 5 minutes after the car has started, I do not know if this could perhaps be fauly and take much longer to switch on? Personally I am not a big fan of the national Luna system because the Cole-Hershee solenoid used in this system can create a substantial voltage drop between the charging system and the auxhilliary battery, and therefore I recommend that if the system you have will cost substantial money to fix, you rather consider replacing it with either a DC-DC charger or a PBE system.

well, the GQ is long gone, and after a couple of years without one, Tinus helped me get a proper vehicle in my garage again

4.8 GRX, courtesy of Leon
Thanks Izak for the rear seats

Machine of note well done guys