School me on 1995 Nissan Patrol GR (Y60) 2.8 TD

[ryanh1006]

Hey y'all, need some help on evaluating a 1995 Nissan Patrol GR Y60 2.8TD with 5 speed manual. I'm the owner of a recently started tour business in Kyrgyzstan. We do mostly yurt camp tours and backcountry expeditions along with Jeep and car rentals for those who want to self-drive. We don't have to drive fast (highest speed limit is 90 km/h in the whole country). Currently we have two 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRDs (which we love for a lot of reasons, but they are a bit small), a 2003 Subaru Forester 2.5 non-turbo, and a 2003 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi wagon. We're thinking about the Patrol because it has more seats and can haul a lot more gear. This particular example also has a roof rack and reasonably large tires (31/10.50/15) and other nice features like a rear diff lock. Axles look to be nearly unbreakable on this model and the motor has plenty of power for what we do. I'm a fairly proficient mechanic (but mostly on gas/petrol motors). I was looking around the car bazaar today for more Jeep GC CRDs and found this. I drove it and everything seems to be in order. I understand the heads can break, but this one has no undue smoke, no water in oil or oil in water, and starts/runs smooth. Here they're willing to go down to $7200 for it which is a fantastic price (owner has a newer TLC 105 coming and just wants a little cash). What should I watch for? Any thoughts on this model that I need to think about? Especially from a business perspective. How rebuildable is the motor? If we eventually blow it up can we put it back together easily? How many suspension parts interchange with Y61 parts? (they are a lot more common here so the parts are easier to get). If you booked a yurt camp tour in Kyrgyzstan and the tour operator showed up in this, what would you think?

Thanks in advance for the help! (and eventually I'll get back to posting in my "Life's an adventure expedition" thread over in the ongoing adventure section.

Here's a picture of the Y60 in question.

 

[motas]

They are very popular here in australia. If no one here knows much more then head over to the australian forums. Theres plenty of parts available here and im sure anywhere they were sold to fix everything on them. They are very reliable and I dont know of any major flaws in them. The diffs are a simple swap for y61 units and i think the suspension is very similar if not identical but you shouldnt have trouble getting any parts. The only concern I would have from a business perspective is fuel efficiency being a big heavy brick, comfort being reasonably old (depends on clients) and how much it will cost to upkeep. They are very reliable but nothing is immune from maintnence especially as it gets older.

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[ryanh1006]

They are very popular here in australia. If no one here knows much more then head over to the australian forums. Theres plenty of parts available here and im sure anywhere they were sold to fix everything on them. They are very reliable and I dont know of any major flaws in them. The diffs are a simple swap for y61 units and i think the suspension is very similar if not identical but you shouldnt have trouble getting any parts. The only concern I would have from a business perspective is fuel efficiency being a big heavy brick, comfort being reasonably old (depends on clients) and how much it will cost to upkeep. They are very reliable but nothing is immune from maintnence especially as it gets older.

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Fair enough. Basically every car here that isn't brand new (and there's very few of those) or Russian (plenty of those) is an import. So parts supply depends on popularity. We can get engine/trans parts for the Jeeps because they are Mercedes inside, but suspension parts take about 2-4 weeks to order. There are only a handful of older patrols, but a good number of Y61s which is why I'm hoping for interchangeability. Fuel economy isn't too big a concern. If I can put 5 clients in it comfortably it's still more efficient than running 2 Jeep GCs plus paying two drivers. Comfort is a bit of a concern, but the seats seem ok to me, not the luxury of our GCs but a far cry better than a 2000 work model Hilux (another option we've thought about). We're planning on adding air conditioning, so I think that would be fine. As far as rebuild stuff, labor is insanely cheap here, $40 will get you all for tie rod ends replaced and an alignment on a Jeep GC, but parts are usually the problem.

We'll be using it on safari type trips to yurt camps without toilets, so that should probably factor into the comfort equation!

More thoughts?

 

[dcproven]

I remember some of these had a vibration/jerking issue on the road, I think it was ECU problem, but other than that, I've heard they are very sturdy... never owned one, so take that into account.

 

[Mrknowitall]

I remember some of these had a vibration/jerking issue on the road, I think it was ECU problem, but other than that, I've heard they are very sturdy... never owned one, so take that into account.

I cant imagine a Y60 having ECU problems- the RD28 wasn't electronic until 97. Lots of the 2.8 patrols are becoming quite cheap in western europe because of emission standards. Pretty unbreakable all in all. Just stay away from the 3.0L Y61s

 

[KMM4x4]

Classical frame jeep! At us on open spaces of Russia such meet. The truth over the years them becomes less. Decay on a body the continuous.

 

[ryanh1006]

Definitely dealing with a bit of decay. Finally converted it to 2.9 Ssangyong/Mercedes TD and it is much more reliable. Still not the level I need for my business so it's going up for sale.