The GQ Patrol was a tough old bird, but it’s old and buying one now is a gamble. You could consider a Toyota Landcruiser, but again your budget will limit you to an older vehicle and that is always a risk. You could perhaps consider fitting power steering to the XF ute.

Carmakers, and it appears Nissan in particular, choose to hide behind their warranties, which exclude wear and tear items. But I believe you could argue that the extremely short clutch life that many people are experiencing with vehicles fitted with dual-mass flywheels makes them unfit for purpose under our consumer laws. Something needs to be done. Perhaps you could get other owners to join you in an approach to Nissan on the problem.

It's obviously having a problem when working hard under load. Start by checking the radiator for rubbish blocking the core, look for leaks around the radiator, hoses and fittings. Have the dealer pressurize the cooling system to see if there are any leaks under pressure. Make sure they used the correct coolant.