Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Morning all

Please don't immediately ban me for starting my 1st post with "my Defender", but....
At the end of July "My Defender" committed suicide by catching fire by itself, at 04:00, parked in front of my house - and burnt to a puddle of aluminum and a twisted chassis...

Being a life-long petrolkop with an aversion to platkarre, a hatred of anything smaller than an old Valiant due to claustrophobia and a love of the sound of a straight 6, I decided I'd had enough of an oil-burner and I need something with a row of spark plugs.

As (irrespective of whether I wanted it or not) I was due to turn 60, I decided to get myself something for me, from me. So I bought a 98' Patrol 4500 GRX. (Those on the SA 4x4 Community Forum might know it as Petri's "Olive")

I flew up to Jo'burg last week and took possesion of it om Tuesday - a day before my biffday.....and did a quick Joh'burg, Durban, Bloem, home roadtrip! For 3 days I drove it like I stole it, I drove it like an old toppie with a hat on his head and a pipe in his mouth (which I am) and I drove it with a silly grin on my face!

The only thing I didn't like was the leather seats - seat covers is a definite must! The 1st of many questions I will probably post is therefore: Which make would other users suggest, or is there someone that custom makes them?

Regards to all.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Name: Full Name (Nickname/Registered Name) Ettienne de Kock

2. Birthday and Age: 26 August 60

3. Town and Country of residence: Tesselaarsdal (Cape Province)

4. Home Language: Afrikaans

5. Occupation/Business: Semi-retired farmer

6. Family status: Married with teenage daughter still in the house

7. Membership - Other 4X4 Clubs and Forums: SA 4x4 Community Forum

8. Current 4x4: 1 Patrol 4500 GRX (and 4 old Landies)

9. Current Mods: OME suspension, snorkel, dual battery system, drawer system.

10. Mods on wish list: Does a Patrol need front diff-lock?

11. Vehicle on wish list: Got it

12. Previous 4x4's: Ford F250, Hilux SFA, Colt 3.0, Range Rover Classic, LR S2 88", LR FC, LR Lightweight, 3 x Disco's, 3 x Defenders

13. Last 3 offroad or overland destinations: The Bundu

14. Your favourite destination: The Bundu

15. Other hobbies: Restoring old 4x4's

16. GPSr and Map Data used: Garmin, T4A

17. Rate your 4X4 and overlanding experience: Personal rating: Average. Wife's rating: Hooligan.

I hope you have many miles of smiles with your Patrol!

To be very honnest a Patrol doesn't really need a front difflock, but it is very nice to have.

Welkom Etienne. Ja soos ek jou vertel het, ek is nogal verras met my Patrol,

Wat seat covers betref kon ek uiteindelik net Melville and Moon kry. Waarskynlik die duurste maar baie goeie diens en gehalte. Voorste diff lock het jy gesien wat hy doen.

Welkom Ettienne

Krisis, het jy enige idee hoekom die landy vlamgevat het? Dis nie 'n lekker ondervinding daai nie.

Voorste diff lock help verseker. Maar of hy dit nodig het, hang af van wat jy probeer doen. Ek sou se ry hom vir 'n rukkie en besluit dan, tensy jy besonder lus is om die geld te spandeer.

At the risk of getting donnered, the lightweight landy you mention in your signature: do you have any idea how many of them there are in the country? Always thought the early one (with the in-board lights) was the best looking landy of them all. I even tried to build a radio-controlled model of one as a boy. Now that was a case of biting off more than I could chew!

Welcome here nice patrol you got there a real gem in 4.5 not a lot of them in that condision anymore . Also not the fastest but very reliable engine . When you select low range on those the fun starts .
I can hook you up with a set of stone hill covers for very good price they have 5year unlimited warrantee . Busy with 4 sets for guys of the forum as we speak . Pm me your no ....happy patrolling

Tinus lotz wrote:Welcome here nice patrol you got there a real gem in 4.5 not a lot of them in that condision anymore . Also not the fastest but very reliable engine . When you select low range on those the fun starts .
I can hook you up with a set of stone hill covers for very good price they have 5year unlimited warrantee . Busy with 4 sets for guys of the forum as we speak . Pm me your no ....happy patrolling [emoji6]

Ek het al sy no vir jou gestuur...

Hallo Ettienne, baie welkom... en geluk op jou Patrol!

Front difflock is a nice to have, but you will rarely need it if ever. The Patrol has so much articulation in its suspension that you generally always have 3 wheels on the ground.

My personal opinion now, so possibly not the opinion of everyone. I have put my Patrol through some hardcore and heavy obstacles, and can't say that I needed a front difflock. The other concern for me is if you look at the sideshafts of a Patrol vs a Cruiser for example you will see a HUGE size difference. On a cruiser if everything is locked up and something has to break, rather let it be a side shaft. This is a LOT cheaper to replace that a transfer or gearbox. If you lock everything up on a Patrol those side shafts are not going to break. The Patrol gearbox is a tank, and not going to easily break, so I think it would be the transfer box that would get ruined. So far in the years I've been involved with Patrols I have never heard of anyone blowing up a transfer or gearbox, or shearing a sideshaft.

If yo want to do extreme stuff with the Patrol, then rather build a pipe car that you can climb a vertical wall with.....haha

I just don't like the thought of some non-Ninssan thing being double locked and potentially more capable than my beast...