Now Own A Patrol But Thinking Defender

[maysy1]

Hi Guys,
I currently own a 2004 3.0 Patrol, I have modified the engine due to not wanting to drive around with a cold sweat(re known engine probs:eek:) So-Far I have deiselgas, tdi boost controller, catch can and boost gauge-soon to also have egt gauge. It has been good to me and the family and for the vehicles size is quite spritely to drive. Not to mention a capable off-roader. Had a drama with the egr valve but this has been fixed for good(blocked off+lower boost). Since they brought out the 130 Defender I have been known to lurk around the dealership drooling at the mouth thinking this is the beast for me:D. So many years later and after saving for 13 years and driving hepas of crap we found ourselves wanting a 4wd, but one that had a 7 seat capacity due to my large family(now down to 5 people instead of 7). So we bought a Patrol. Now some of you are going, man why did he buy the grenade. But my research indicated that after 2001-2002 Nissan had fixed the Grenade issue and I didnt want to pay the same money for a vinyl pack Landcruiser hence the Nissan was taken home and loved.

However, I just cant get the Defender out of mind and really want to get one. Not to mention I am still worried about the Patrol's engine and never really felt confident in it and its longevity. So after all the longwinded explanation could the Landrover Gurus tell me what to look out for when looking at these and is there any engine mods that assist in the Defender having a bit more get up and go and also in terms of longevity? Now dont get me wrong I am not saying I want a fast car but one with just a bit more drivebility. I am also thinking about taking the diesel gas off the Nissan before I sell it and putting it on the Defender. Would this be ok if things were re-tweaked on the gas set-up? Thanks for assisiting me guys and I apologise if I am rehashing an old thread.

[Pooh]

I'm no guru, but when I was looking for a tourer I had the same thing happen to me, no matter how many 4wd's I looked at, I was always comparing them to the Defender.. In the end I'm happy to say I went for the 130 and have never looked back. Also thanks to forums like this one, any problems or issues you do have, there is always someone that will give you a friendly wave and help you out (or share your pain haha).

[Allan]

When I bought mine I was lucky enougth to be able to afford any 4x4 on the market at the time. Having previusly owned a Series 1, 2, 2a and Defender 300 TDI, I went through the DVD promos for Range Rover, D3 etc then spotted the Defender SVX and I would not swap it for any money; both on and off road, it is awesome plus it stops traffic as it is almost like driving a Ferrari into a shopping centre - impressive but embarassing!

Allan

[Blknight.aus]

ask Greyknight about what you can have done to a landy....

I'll be over in perth octoberish and might even be able to organise you getting a drive of his deefer.

[2stroke]

I've got the 130 dual cab loaded up for the red centre and Simpson trip tomorrow and can't imagine how I'd fit everything in anything else and then there's the economy. The vehicle weighs about 3200kg loaded including humans, 165L diesel, 70L water, spares, food etc. I'd be breaking the law in a Patrol.

[PAT303]

The D/gas would switch over and it gave mine and added boost,not tyre shredding but you notice it,you can chip them but many people who own them don't bother as they are happy with them as stock but thats your choice.As per reliability mine is 11 years old and it has been the best vehicle I have owned and I would take it anywere,only once has it not being able to be driven and that was a couple of months ago and was a cheap fix,thats my only problem as I'm finding it hard to part with it as it just doesn't cause me any headaches plus my family grew up in it.As far as the Patrol goes I think it is a shame that a good vehicle has been allowed to fall into ruin by the ZD30,they are better than the cruiser for less money but that engine has given it a reputation that will be hard to shake. Pat

[maysy1]

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to have a sniff around a few Defenders. Good to know about the dgas as I will be fitting this to the Defender. Might as well for the money I paid. Even if it helps keep the donk cleaner and gives a tad better performance I will be happy. Might see you around the traps guys. Take care.

[spudboy]

Are you looking for a new or second hand 130?

If new, the latest 4 cyl motor has got plenty of grunt straight from the factory (in a relative land rover way :) ).

The previous model was a 5 cyl and can be chipped massively to go from something like 85Kw to 140Kw with a bigger intercooler. Note that pre-2002 TD5s do not have flashable ECUs, so the earlier ones require a new ECU if you want to chip them.

A few people here have tried diesel gas and had varying success. Do a search and you will find a few posts that discuss this.

Hope you end up in a LR (at last)!
Cheers
David

[maysy1]

Hi Spud
mate a good bit of info re d/gas and chip. That is the sort of stuff you need to know. So anything after 2002 is where I will look. In terms of performance.....well I will get to know a few things first, by asking the right questions then closing the mouth to listen. Then worry about mods later.................anyone want to buy a good used Patrol with all the fruit, minus the dgas:wasntme::angel:

[spudboy]

You can still chip a pre-2002 TD5, but you have to swap out the ECU. Someone like Triumph Rover Spares in Adelaide do them on a drive in-drive out basis for around $600-ish (from memory). I don't know, but I'd guess they unsolder the original chip, and re-solder in something with an updated EPROM.

The bloke to talk to here is called Tombie2 (Mike). He upgrades ECUs and will have all the answers.

[101 Ron]

I own a DC 130 and I love the dynamics of the vehicle.
The steering, suspension ,brakes, payload are above average.
Landrover could have the world at its feet except for one thing.
The pommie build quality.
Expect to be under the thing fixing it .
( yes I am going to cop some flack on a landrover site,,,,,the truth some times hurts)
They have gone back wards and fitted the rover diff to the later 130s instead of the salisbury and the front CVs no longer have oil level plugs.
The rear seat passengers still have little foot room.
The front inner guards have gone from gal steel to plastic , etc
The Puma engine models can have build quality issuses.
The fact is why landrover doesnt sell defenders in Aust in numbers is they do not have japanese built quality and design forsight.
Now after saying that when the going gets tough and the load is heavy the defender is hard to beat.
It is also a pity that landrover Aust didnt continue the 4lt series of turbo Isuzu motors to the current day as no matter how many bells and whisles the a small 2.4/2.5 litre motor has it is hard to replace the power delievery down low and though the rev range of a larger motor working easier.

[PAT303]

I worked on toyota's for a while and they are also replacing alot of metal parts with plastic and I have noticed that the qualility has also gone downhill,more and more of their parts are straight from Thailand,they even use electrical tape on the wiring instead of conduit. Pat

[Blknight.aus]

The Puma engine models can have build quality issuses.



thats not just a puma thing...

Its every bloody landrover.

theres a heap of TIC jokes about it..

my favorite being the cats one and the objects visable from space one.

[Psimpson7]

the front CVs no longer have oil level plugs.


Really :confused: Since when?

[Blknight.aus]

bout 96ish maybe a bit later by the time it rolled down to aus

[Chucaro]

Some times I think that my old 109 Stage 1 1978 was better built than my Defe Tdi300 1994 :(
The body on the 109 was stronger. If only the 109 was fitted with power stirring. oh well we cannot have all.
I guess that the County is the King of the series/Defender Land Rovers :)

[Psimpson7]

bout 96ish maybe a bit later by the time it rolled down to aus

Guess I must be confused by the terminology

[Blknight.aus]

they all have a fill plug.

they dont all have a level or drain plug.

the ones that dont have them are the ones that were setup to have the one shot grease from the get go. Some that do have them are one shot from the get go but were put on till stocks dried up.

[carjunkieanon]

[QUOTE=Chucaro;1070605]If only the 109 was fitted with power stirring/QUOTE]

you could probably set up power stirring to run from a pto.

; )

[RMB3218]

As someone who has 3 Defenders from a 1950ish to a 07 Puma (which I no longer have) and has also had a couple of Patrols, stay with the Patrol. I can almost live with the poor build quality of a Defender but not with the lack of backup from Landrover Aust

[PAT303]

As someone who has 3 Defenders from a 1950ish to a 07 Puma (which I no longer have) and has also had a couple of Patrols, stay with the Patrol. I can almost live with the poor build quality of a Defender but not with the lack of backup from Landrover Aust

Yeh Nissan has looked after it's customers well haven't they?.They wiped thier hands of the ZD30,the 5speed Patrol gearbox,the Navara clutch and the chassis crack's.Yep Nissan gives good back-up,back right out the door. Pat

[amtravic1]

As someone who has 3 Defenders from a 1950ish to a 07 Puma (which I no longer have) and has also had a couple of Patrols, stay with the Patrol. I can almost live with the poor build quality of a Defender but not with the lack of backup from Landrover Aust

You should read the Patrol Forum. The very worst complaint from Nissan drivers is the way they are treated by Nissan if they have a problem.

[Shonky]

As someone who has 3 Defenders from a 1950ish...

That's pretty amazing! Your "1950ish" Defender is from 39 years before the Defender existed!

:wasntme:

[maysy1]

Pat,
your comments re Nissan dealers are unfortunatley more close to the truth than not. But this doesent include all the dealers. There is a very good Nissan Dealer in Mandurah which is where I purchased my Nissan from. I remember I had an issue with the egr valve and a Nissan Dealer close to Rockingham but not Mandurah didnt want to know and this was after 3 attempts at getting them to fix it. I was spoken to in a gruff and standoffish manner by their service manager and now only go there to get Filters. Which is a shame as they are closer than the dealer in Mandurah. Funny thing was Mandurah had my car for 2 weeks and didnt give up trying to find the problem and treated me well. So much so I ended up spending an extra $900.00 on servicing and a snorkle. Rockingham Nissan would have got the business but because of dick headiness they didnt and they will never touch anything I own again. The silly thing was I was at one stage going to Purchase a new car through them but the bad thoughts just wont go-away so I will give it a big miss.

Now finding myself wanting a Landrover most likely I will buy a slightly used second hand or demo and chase a aftermarket mechanic to do the work ie servicing etc. While I am here is it possible to have anyone other than Landrover work on the car to do servicing? Obviously they will be a reg mechanic and factory filters be used. Can we do this?????

[spudboy]

....is it possible to have anyone other than Landrover work on the car to do servicing? Obviously they will be a reg mechanic and factory filters be used. Can we do this?????

This is fine. Keep all the receipts. They will need a bit of specialist gear to do it properly (to read the electronic codes etc).

There are a few posts here on the topic, so a quick search will find you a bit more information.

[PAT303]

The european cars in Kal are serviced by the local independant Ultra Tune service centre,my L322 goes there as did the disco and I rate them higher than any dealer I've been too. Pat

[rovercare]

The european cars in Kal are serviced by the local independant Ultra Tune service centre,my L322 goes there as did the disco and I rate them higher than any dealer I've been too. Pat

Your a mechanic and your cars get serviced elsewhere?:confused:

[spudboy]

Have you ever looked under the bonnet of an L322......:eek:

[PAT303]

Your a mechanic and your cars get serviced elsewhere?:confused:

Yep,after spending all week fixing other peoples POS and saturdays as a soccer ref or teaching cricket that leaves me sunday,all I'm interested in doing is going shooting. Pat

[markz]

stay with patrol.
have a look at this thread,
Had to tow 2 Army defenders :) - Patrol 4x4 - Nissan Patrol Forum