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Nissan Patrol 2000 Manual Transmission for off-road


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Considering buying a Nissan Patrol Super Safari from 2000 with ~300k km on the clock

How is the manual transmission version for off-roading in the desert?

I've read some things on this forum about 1st being too short and 2nd being too long- is that a dealbreaker? 

Some more context on how it will be used: 

- I'm not an experienced off-roader, and just want a bit of fun. Won't be doing anything too crazy

- Will not be used on daily commute. Just for weekend trips and excursions 

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I was the one who had a 2006 Nissan Patrol 4.5 liter SWB from 2008-2010 where I experience the above mentioned issue.

Having said that, if your Patrol is 4.5 liter engine it will still have same bad gearing, but if its 4.8 liter then it's a different (good) gearing which can stretch 1st gear for higher speed.

4.5 liter bad gearing is indeed a dealbreaker as you will not be able to do any sort of long hill climb, which is quite essential for sand offroading. Even if you think now, that you can settle without it, but soon you will regret having a beast that cannot climb half of what other cars are doing. Been there, done that.

Next anyone considering buying a Nissan Patrol should be 200% sure that it has not been abused, heavily modified and not extensively used for offroading. Patrols are famous for heavily abused or modified (engine wise), and once usable life is extracted, then they sell the shell patrol for road use only. If you buy such shell patrol, then for offroading you will be spending lot more money to bring it back to stock workable state. In short, make sure to get pre-buying inspection done from two different independent places to identify if that Patrol has been modified or used regularly in the desert. If it is, then simply walk away and search another.

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Cheers Gaurav, very helpful. 

Based on your last para, I may avoid the Patrol then and go for one of the other 4x4s you've recommended on another post on this site. Seems like too much risk and potential headache. Might try and find a budget Pajero, Pathfinder or a Prado instead. 

Thanks!

Edited by Absentdriver
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Indeed, 3.5 liter Pathfinder (R50 shape) until 2005 is far better, reliable and capable 4x4 and have good chance of buying a road driven vehicle easily.

For Pajero avoid 2008 - 2011 model for gear upshifting issue. Gen 3 from 2001 - 2006/7 (I think) are pretty good.

Prado will be tad expensive, but if you like them, they are awesome too but stick to VX (6 cyl model) and not GX (4 cyl).

If this is your off-road toy then worth buying the SWB option in case you consider Pajero. Buying SWB in Prado VX will be extremely rare to find one and even super rare to find clean one.

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58 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Next anyone considering buying a Nissan Patrol should be 200% sure that it has not been abused, heavily modified and not extensively used for offroading. Patrols are famous for heavily abused or modified (engine wise), and once usable life is extracted, then they sell the shell patrol for road use only. If you buy such shell patrol, then for offroading you will be spending lot more money to bring it back to stock workable state. In short, make sure to get pre-buying inspection done from two different independent places to identify if that Patrol has been modified or used regularly in the desert. If it is, then simply walk away and search another.

Hi there, this is a very good advice.  I have a Patrol SS SWB Y61 2017 and I guess I was lucky to find it without modifications and in perfect condition, I did install a few things here and there, which I think is just part of the fun of offroading.

I am happy it and so far I have not had any issues.

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1 hour ago, Gaurav said:

Indeed, 3.5 liter Pathfinder (R50 shape) until 2005 is far better, reliable and capable 4x4 and have good chance of buying a road driven vehicle easily.

What about post-2005 Pathfinders? I can see some cheap ones knocking around for <20k AED online.

Also, would love to get a SWB because they look super fun but the 4-doors are a must. Makes it much easier to go on trips with a group!

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Post 2005 Pathfinders are not bad, but not very good either as compare to R50 shape. You might spend some money in improvising its ground clearance and other minor issues. I personally haven't seen many of that shape pathfinder in UAE Desert, and few joined here too in the past but for short term only.

If you have budget till 20K, then you can also search for Xterra (road driven), which are practically very good offroader and many offroaders here are driving it regularly without much trouble (in stock state).

Why I mentioned SWB is to achieve a better power to weight ratio which is key in sand offroading for better climb capabilities, which will become your pain point in some LWB vehicle due to underpower power to weight ratio, especially in LWB Pajero and Prado.

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Just now, Gaurav said:

Post 2005 Pathfinders are not bad, but not very good either as compare to R50 shape. You might spend some money in improvising its ground clearance and other minor issues. I personally haven't seen many of that shape pathfinder in UAE Desert, and few joined here too in the past but for short term only.

If you have budget till 20K, then you can also search for Xterra (road driven), which are practically very good offroader and many offroaders here are driving it regularly without much trouble (in stock state).

Why I mentioned SWB is to achieve a better power to weight ratio which is key in sand offroading for better climb capabilities, which will become your pain point in some LWB vehicle due to underpower power to weight ratio, especially in LWB Pajero and Prado.

Super helpful. Really appreciate it!

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  • 8 months later...

Bumping this thread with an update. It took me quite a while but I finally bought a 4x4!! Settled on a 2014 3.5l LWB Pajero. Managed to get one for under 30K AED. Thanks @Gauravand @Mario Cornejo for your advice above

Went for a light bit of offroading this weekend near Masafi which was great fun. Hopefully will join you guys on a proper drive soon ;)

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