Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

My TD42 top showed a crack when pressure tested, should I buy genuine Nissan? I got quotes from Nam and Sa but they seem to differ quite a lot. If anyone bought one recently, what did it cost and was it complete or bare?

Hmmm.... this is a tricky one, as I have done both.....hahaha

I bought a new (non genuine Nissan ) bare head from Alert Motor spares. Everything looks perfect etc but never looked at the water ports to ensure that they were drilled through 100% into the water chamber of the head. This is where the problem came into my life. To cut a loooooong story short, that head cooked and landed up cracking. When I took the head off to investigate why it cracked, I found that ( if I recall correctly ) the water ports around the No 5 and No 6 pistons on the head not the block were blocked. They had not drilled through the steel properly so water couldn't flow into or out of the water chamber in the head, That head cost me R 6 000 if I recall, and Nissan wanted R 12 000.

In the end I bought a genuine Nissan Head and never looked back again. ....... BUT I don't believe that there is anything wrong with a non genuine head..... just make 150% sure that everything has been done correctly, as one assumes that this would be correct, and even if we had pressure tested the new head, we wouldn't have even picked it up.

If the head is cracked, the valves etc should still be fine.

A bare head will come with precoms already fitted. I would suggest using a Genuine Nissan Head Gasket ( Frans told me this, and if Frans says it then best to listen to that man cause he knows these motors backwards !!)
Also use genuine Nissan Antifreeze/coolant ( a lot more expensive, but again its correct for the cast iron head and block)

I did all this and have not had any overheating issues at all. Ok I do have a mother of a radiator in mine, but would be a good idea to check the viscous fan and blade, and take the radiator to a specialist to flush and clean any gunk out !!

Thank you Ricster, what type of radiator have you got? I am thinking if replacing mine together with a electric water pump to prevent heat soak from Universal coolers, removing the viscous and installing electric fans as well and then maybe a oil cooler when the new rebuilt goes in

But something thats bugging me quite a lot is if its worth spending all that money on the diesel, and petrol is R9,89 here a lt. Maybe rather go V8?

Pleasse do not replace the viscous fan with electrics. Electric fans powerful enough to keep that motor cool will kill your battery in no time at all, and they are very hard to find!

Ditto on what Peter said !!!! stay with the viscous fan !!

The radiator I have in mine, I was told comes from a Cabstar, but I have also been told that it isn't, so not sure. Here is some info on radiators that may help you.

http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.ph ... 2+radiator

All the other stuff you mentioned will not be needed ( in my opinion) if you have the bigger radiator. My old viscous was locked up ( previous owner ) and when I replaced it this December, I expected to see a slight temp rise..... but it still stays exactly the same, and I gain the few Kw from having a proper working viscous !!

The other thing..... ensure the thermostat is working or try get a thermostat that opens at a slightly lower temp than the standard spec. The 4.2 diesels take something like 14 L of water. That's a LOT of water so if everything is working well, you should have no problems and the costs will be greatly reduced!!

I have an oil cooler fitted on mine too ( by previous owner ), and I assume it makes a big difference..... can't give an opinion there. Have a read through this for some info

http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.ph ... =20#p13578