Nissan Patrol Problems

The old Patrol hand grenade strikes again. There were fundamental flaws with that engine, it's one to avoid. But with yours now eight years old you're going to have trouble convincing Nissan to come to the party with the cost of repairs. They might, however, make you an offer of part payment if you press them hard enough, and that's what I would recommend you do.

I would doubt that Nissan would entertain a warranty claim for a bubbled dash, but it's worth a try if you want to take them on. You could get the dash doctor to have a look at it and see what they think has caused the problem.

I don't believe there are air-suspension seats available for the Patrol. Rather than alternative seats you should be looking at the suspension to soften the ride. Check out aftermarket springs and shock absorbers, and in the meantime put some weight in the tray. In the old days the lads who drove utes would throw a couple of bags of cement in the back.

I wouldn't do it, there's no justification for it. Some people might think there's a benefit in added lubrication of the valve train etc, but that's unlikely as diesel fuel does have some lubrication properties anyway. You might clog up the catalytic converter if you did run it on 2-stroke fuel, and it's likely to result in more exhaust smoke.

Read the report from Howard Ramsay and see you're not alone. The claimed fuel economy is 14.3 L/100 km for your model in urban, or city driving, but it the ultimate real life outcome depends heavily on the sort of driving you're doing. I reckon the dealer is probably correct, there isn't much wrong with your car.

Even though you have new tyres make sure they’re properly balanced; if they are not good tyres of a reputable brand they can be out of round. Also check the diff and Panhard bar bushes for wear, and replace them if they are found to be worn. If all that checks out ok then it’s likely to be the swivel bearing adjustment on the hubs.

It was common practice to idle early turbo engines for one to two minutes before switching off to help protect the bearings in the turbo. It was done to ensure the turbo was not spinning at high speed and was not too hot when the oil pressure and flow was shut off. As you say some people even fitted aftermarket "turbo timers" to delay shutdown for a period after the ignition was turned off. Early turbochargers weren’t as robust or reliable as today’s are and some manufacturers recommended a short idle before shutting the engine down, particularly immediately after operating the engine at high load. Turbochargers and turbocharged engines, such as the 2.0-litre diesel and 1.4-litre petrol engines in the Cruze, have come a long way since those early days, so you don’t have to let them idle for a period before turning them off.

You would expect it to be revving harder with the extra load of the trailer on the back, so that’s normal. I would engage overdrive when conditions suit, like on the flat, and run at the lower speed, but disengage it when the engine starts to labour, such as climbing hills or pushing into a head wind etc.