Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

New (used) Patrol owner checking in!

I used to hang out over at the 4x4community forum and I normally drive a fairly basic Hilux. For reasons I still quite don't understand I bought a "project Patrol" or as my friends would say the wrong Patrol. I specifically looked for something that I can tinker on and work on my mechanical knowledge. I got myself a 2005 4.8 GRX Auto that has seen better days. I want to slowly repair and mod the Patrol into something I can use over weekends on tougher trails that the Hilux can't quite handle.

The Patrol I bought has a few issues, most were electrical which seems to stem from wires being cut to install the trailer plug, they rubbed through caused a short. Mostly fixed and even the central locking started working again. The biggest one is the R/H locking hub has a crack in the casing from what I suspect was a bolt being overtightened. I went to the local Nissan dealer and replacing both free wheeling lock assemblies comes to almost 10% of what I paid for a whole car!

Long story short, we do we get parts for our Patrols? Do we import?

Commercial Auto Parts in Jhb sells manual locking hubs for R2000. The are actually an upgrade on the standard auto locking front hubs.

https://www.commercialautoparts.co.za/

Some guys have bought from partsouq.com
For second hand parts contact dawid 0(83) four 99-one 588

I'm on my first TB48 Patrol.

AUTO-ELECTRICAL
My primary takeaway is that, despite being bulletproof like the other patrol models, it is susceptible to electrical/electronic hassles.
I've had to do more auto-electrical fiddling with this patrol than any other car I've ever owned, and frankly I've lost a bit of faith in it from a reliability point of view, always wondering When it's going to throw a fault at an inopportune time.
Seems like you are already aware of the electrical achilles heel though, and managing it.
And the circuits are integrated and all go through the ECU so often a fault could be caused by a random "unrelated" issue on the other end of the car. I once replaced the roof light bulb, on the advice of an australian forum, and it fixed a problem!

Still on the electrical/electronic subject, if you have any issues with your auto box don't panic and don't immediately suspect mechanical problems. The auto box is a maze of electrickery so diagnose that route first, it's likely just bad connection somewhere on the car (see Manual below to diagnose)

WORKSHOP MANUAL
There is a workshop manual available for download somewhere on this site that is very comprehensive....BUT....it covers many models and regions. When you google for help on international forums bear in mind that not all 4.8's have the same wiring, or the same electronic modules in the same places. Nor the same colour coded wires.
When I was doing some complex fault finding I had to take bits of info from several different places in the manual to make my own wiring diagrams on a whiteboard for my particular car.
So be super careful before cutting and splicing wires, and double check everything against photos online.

PARTS
For help, info, parts, Tinus Lotz is the first go-to guy. He's a walking encyclopaedia when it comes to patrols and quite likely knows the history of your one. And he's always offering deals on parts and accessories too.

I buy parts from onlineautoparts.com.au ( a lot) and from partsouq.com . Both suppliers are really good, have quick delivery times, and good prices. Between the two, one just needs to pick the permutation of delivery cost vs what you're buying to put a parcel together that works out best economically. I usually go to onlineautoparts first and if they don't have it I go to partsouq. For onlineautoparts I take the more expensive delivery option of DHL, because the are jacked up and fast delivery, and just fill up with smaller consumable parts until the cost of ZAR vs Kg's works out economically. Partsouk works out best if you're buying one-off parts.

WHATSAPP
If you're into the annoyance of whatsapp groups there are two patrol groups, a north and a south, that between all the banter actually have some good information, networking, and special offers, etc from time to time. Could be worth your while. Tinus could add you if that is your thing. And there are quite a few guys on the groups from the Freestate

LOCKING HUBS
People are always saying that the locking hub replacement is an upgrade, but I'm always hearing guys moaning about breaking them and needing replacements. So just be aware of that. Don't throw away your old parts you might end up using them again one day. The standard auto hubs can be modded to make them locking hubs, removing the problematic auto aspect, and despite what some people may say I don't recall hearing first hand reports of them breaking

And welcome to the Patrol Forum Family !!

Welcome Francois. Post some pics of your truck.

I think most of the stuff has already been mentioned. David Volschenk for second hand spares. Tinus if you don't come right with David.

And www.partsouq.com is excellent. Not only for being able to purchase parts, but also for tracking down part numbers and alternative part numbers. Once you've got the part number, finding parts becomes quite a little easier...

I ordered a steel rim for my old man from PartSouq. It was shipped, cleared customs and delivered to my door in Brits in three days. Despite paying a fortune on courier costs because of its monstrous weight, I only paid about a third of what local Nissan quoted me for the item. Local Nissan could not even tell me when they would have stock...

Thanks for the awesome responses!

Honestly the electrical issues I think were the most unexpected. Fixing the issue with the indicators also made the central locking work again. I can already see this is going to become interesting.

I got some front hubs on the way from Commercial Auto Parts, really helpful bunch, came in at R2000 for a set of manual locking hubs. The original auto hubs will go in the parts drawer in the back! Big thanks for the suggestion!!

Something I did not expect is the ability of the guys at Autozone to track things down, the local branch found me some front and rear break pads and bonnet lifters, will be there tomorrow morning at 9am. Just looking for some discs for the front, they seem quite rare. The previous pads were so badly worn they started chewing on the discs. Going plan B for now and having them skimmed to get the roadworthy sorted, will replace with new asap.

In all honesty this is really a Patrol that no-one wanted due to the condition, but I took the plunge as I wanted a "hobby", almost sure I am going to regret this later on! Will post some photos as soon as I have the wheels back on

I am sure I will be posting more questions all over the place soon!

For brake discs, chat with Tinus. Terrain tamer does these.

Edit: Actually, for brake pads too. Terrain tamer brake pads are waaay better than the OEM pads in my honest opinion.

Thanks Ian, I think I need to slow down, I am rushing things! Just going to get the discs skimmed for now to pass the roadworthy and then I'll chat to Tinus. It's just the brakes and windscreen (R1600 from PGGlass) left then I can do the roadworthy and get the patrol registered on my name.

Hello yes give me a call . Please remember the manual hubs need 2 sets of spacers that is not there on the auto hubs . Hope you enjoy your patrol ...