Where has your pathy been?

[vicandug]

Hi all

We used to have a patrol that would go anywhere anytime.  It never let us down.

We now have a 2011 pathfinder Ti 550. I think I have mentioned before that we were going to buy a cara....( I know it's a bad word on this forum ) and that's the reason for the pathy but now we have come to our senses and getting the camper so we can do more fun stuff.

We are getting closer to delivery of our camper trailer and, well, I was just wondering can the pathy go all the places the patrol did.  I have been told they are under rated but I have been looking at videos and haven't found any pathys doing creek crossings and the hard stuff. 

Do you have a pathy?

Where has it been and did it survive?

Do you have a video to share?

Did you have to modify the car?

Thanks heaps

VicandUg

[Beachman]

I would have thought the pathfinder could go where any newish 4WD goes.  Only real difference over your old Patrol is I imagine the Patrol had more ground clearance, so unless your planning on dragging your camper trailer over heavily rutted tracks, then you shouldn’t have too many drama’s.

[Diver]

One of the 4wd shows on TV has a Pathy along with patrols and cruisers.  It has slightly less clearance but is close to any new IFS 4WD.  The pathy keeps up with pretty much everything thrown at it. 

I used to own one of the 3.3 litre Pathys  R50 model I think it was.  Gad a raised suspension and engine chip.  That could go pretty much anywhere I pointed it.  The Ti 550 would be a very nice tug.

Check the PCOA forum

[DropBearRacing]

Whatever you do make sure you put a big a$$ bash plate under that front mount IC, they hang pretty low and would be one of the first casualties when you venture off gravel roads.

[Pete_R]

Put some AT tyres on it, a 2" lift kit, & depending where you want to go, maybe a bash plate & you'll have a good offroad vehicle. BTW, if you are going to put a snorkel on it, don't get the Nissan one as they don't seal properly.
Come & visit us over at Pathfinders Club if you need more info or want to chat to some other Pathy owners - http://www.pcoa.org.au/index.htm

[dazzler]

We had one of those australian delivered Terrano's with the TD engine that we used for driver training along with a GQ 3.0l petrol.  That Terrano was pretty bloody capable and not much different to a pathy.  I think the light weight is a winner.


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[vicandug]

THanks

Ug has told me that our next tyres will be All Terrain. I have told him about the lift kit and bash plate. We were talking about getting a snorkel today. 

On another subject Nissan charges way too much for a service.  $810 for a 40k service and they recon they need the car for 5 hours.

pfft

[DropBearRacing]

On another subject Nissan charges way too much for a service.  $810 for a 40k service and they recon they need the car for 5 hours.

pfft
[/quote]

It costs that much because the motor is built in France and they have to teach all their service tech's french to read the service book

Don't you have fixed price servicing??  We do with the X-trail.

[vicandug]

Dogsta

I thought we did but its been a different price every time.  We got it as a demo model so maybe not. 

I have thought about finding someone else to do it but then if they stuff it up I figure its easier if the stuff up is done by Nissan…. at least while its under warranty anyway.

Vic

[cyberess]

Yeah -- used to have a R51 ST 2005 2.5L Diesel manual -- The Spanish version.

First up was a little disappointed with it's off road ability -- I actually purchased it at auction, with just 26000km on the clock, and on my first few outings, I soon learned that the ST models only came with a open diff. Later I had it lifted, added Tosca bash plates and a ARB rear diff locker..  then it was good off road. I own it for about 2 1/2 years, heaps of trips with the Topend 4WD club.

Comments:
What I liked:

• The 2.5L diesel engine could really get up and go, with good topend power, and the 6 speed gearbox was real slick
• It could sit on a 160km/h no probs if one wanted (I don't think that I could afford the fuel at those speeds).
• It was a 7 seater, where the rear seats folded neatly in to the floor (very handy).
• It was quite good off road once lifted, snorkel added, bash plates added, and a ARB diff locker added.
• The Smart bar that I had on it
• Getting off road with all the other vehicles in the our 4WD club no problem -- it ended up being a very capable off road vehicle
• It's a rather good looking vehicle

What I disliked.

• The R51 was a bit like a reverse Tardis, big on the out side, small on the inside, particularly in the rear seat area, I mean it's quite tight to sit 3 adults across.
• The bottom End power was not good, and it would stall easily --  It was O.K. once used to it, but if using it for 4WD work, one must select low range early
• The Electronic low range selector was a bit slow -- People who were following me wondered why I stopped so long at edge of a creek crossing  -- It's because I was selecting low range.
• The shape of the rear doors  -- they might look real fancy -- The amount of times I bashed myself in the head with them, and it's always happened at the wrong time.
• I had real paint issues, the clear finish just pealed, on the bonnet, and a number of other places, and the paint was soft  and faded in quite a lot of places -- I had heaps of scratches all over mine It was looking rather rough when I sold it   (I do believe that Nissan may of fixed the paint issues on the later models)
• On corrugated roads the the Wipers kept coming on caused by the wiper stork switch (design feature )
• I found the engine bay, and the dash very tight and difficult to work on  --  for instance, I lost the low speed on the fan for the air conditioner, I started to pull apart the dash -- I would have ad to rip everything out to get to it -- gave up and lived with out low speed on the air con fan, not good when you live in Darwin.
• I found the fuel consumption was real bad  --  I tried many times to fix the fuel consumption -- The main issue was the range I got from the fuel tank
• Under the bonnet -- why so many specialized fuses? I mean I could not buy spare fuses  -- they they blew for any reason, in the bush I would have been modifying the electrical system to try and fit a normal fuse
• The area where the battery fitted -- I could only fit the original style of battery back in.
• The rear independent suspension, was extremely difficult to  get aligned once I had the vehicle lifted, getting 20000K out of tyres sucked 
• Had quite a few door handle lock issues, front and back doors (Still managed to fix them myself)

Oh I better stop this list  --   I didn't mean to get carried away. The problem is I could add more things that I disliked.  but really it ain't that bad, it never let me down and I never had that dreaded clutch issue..   I think it was still on the original clutch when I sold the vehicle  --  I think about 140000Km on the clock.

If you are planing using your pathy for bush work get yourself on the  Pathfinders' Club of Australia forum http://pcoa.org.au/forum/

Oh some pics  -- Don't have any video




 

[marvellous_matt]

My experience is a bit different to Cyberess, with fuel economy anyway. we have an 06, (I think) and the 6 speed box is great. fully loaded for touring with a roof pod and swag on the roof we get about 12l/100km sitting on 120. 80 l tank is a pain for big trips though, I carry 45 L(diesel) in jerrys when needed. Ours is lifted, bull bar, winch, snorkel, rear wheel carrier. I drive prados and cruisers when doing remote work in Central Oz, I would be happy to take the Pathy anywhere I take them, probably a bit slower though. I have not had any trouble not having a diff lock, however its mostly rough dry stuff here, I imagine lots of uneven wet stuff would be different.

We crossed the Pentecost on GRR a few years ago, plenty deep (maybe 600mm) for a desert rat, no worries.

I have only just got a camper so I cant comment on how it goes with a bit more load.