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400,000 km and still going strong


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I am new to the forum (and as good as new to Nissans) so I will give a quick rundown on my rig and why I have it.

 

Recently I aquired a 1999.5 Ti with over 400,000 km (248,000 miles) on the odo. My Partner told me to get a 4x4 after taking a large sedan down a 4x4 track loaded to the hilt with camping gear, including an ensuite, The only rust in the car is a small amount on the front doors around the mirrors. Most things are still working and the features that have failed need only a bit of TLC to get them functioning again.

 

In the 3 months that I have had the car the dampeners (shocks) have been replaced. A poorly executed 2" lift has been sorted out, a new touch screen gps 7" headunit has been installed, LED Lightbar fitted on the front, 2 UHF CB Radio's installed - one for scanning one for chatting, An external Anderson plug has been installed on the rear, 12 volt/Anderson/ dual USB module installed in the luggage area. Rubbish snorkle removed (note to others, do not use irrigation hose as a snorkle, looks like kaka), I also installed a camp awning and finally modified and installed a roof basket to fit between the sunroof and tailgate (we ran out of room on the trip and realised we needed one). Countless other things have been done from removing all the interior (for cleaning) to putting white led's in the climate control and everything in between.

 

After all that we headed North to the Flinders Ranges and a ghost town called Farina.  A week later and 3000 km (1860 miles) we arrived back home (in the week we did a lot of outback touring along the way). The car ran like a dream, it did not miss a beat the whole trip and we averaged around 700 km (430 miles)/tank fully loaded.

 

Now we are back home my next adventure is the bodywork, years of misuse, abuse and a bad hailstone storm has left several (hundred) body defects to repair. I am going to use PDR for most of the dents and good old panel work for the rest of it. This is the first nissan I have owned in a very long time (30+ years), I had forgotten how good they are.

 

All this has been achieved for under AU$7k including vehicle purchase, modifications and the trip. I am looking for a ARB bullbar, but I am not willing to drop the $$$$ on a new one.

 

My ultimate aim is to have a cheap solid reiable outback cruiser that is happy to do all sorts of environments from loose sand tracks, mud bogs, ironstone plains, miles of corrugated roads and enough bulldust (Powdered dirt) to sink the Titanic. Any suggestions besides wheels (I have a larger set but they need new tyres and hub centric rings before fitment) and a snorkel would be appreciated. Positive and negative active critisism is welcome as I really have no idea of what I am doing. Last time I used a 4x4 was nearly 40 years ago and I have never owned one before - I am a newly converted from a V8 cruiser type person to rough roads, distant trails and never ending fun.

 

 

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They do last a long time. I retired my 1994 with over 600,000km on it mainly due to rust (Canada). Bought a clean one that "only" had 200,000 on it but no real rust to speak of.

 

You can probably find an ARB bar used, they pop up from time to time.

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:welcome:

 

There's lots of info here on building up the R50. I don't know if the axle options down there are the same as up here, but if you've got the 4.3 ratio diffs and can find 4.6 diffs at a wrecker, that would be an easy gearing upgrade to offset the bigger tires. (The data plate in the engine bay should list HG43 or HG46.) Might consider a front ratchet locker while you're in there. Hawaiirish has a great writeup for repacking the rear LSD if you've got one of those. (The US-market R50 LSD was nerfed pretty hard from what it was in the WD21, so if yours is weak, there's room for improvement there.) Also look up the missing link to beef up the front end a little. Oh, and a transmission cooler if you've got an automatic.

If you haven't, check for rot where the front strut towers meet the tub. That's where they rot in the northern US/Canada.

Good luck with the hail repair! My last attempt at paintless dent removal left me with a panel that was still dented, but didn't have paint anymore.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/26/2022 at 11:32 AM, Slartibartfast said:

Good luck with the hail repair! My last attempt at paintless dent removal left me with a panel that was still dented, but didn't have paint anymore.


Sounds like it half worked then? your panel ended up paintless...

Howdy Flindersfan, I'm also from Oz with a new (to me) R50 pathfinder. The mods are happening and the offroad trails will be conquered

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