Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

I am a little confused with my Iron Maiden.... Do they come out standard with the extra "sub tank" or is this aftermarket?. The reason I ask, is that on my dash I have a button waiting to be pushed.... called sub tank.... But, nothing happens when I press it, no light comes on anywhere. So I crawled under and looked at her underwear..... .... and found myself a stainless steel water tank that has a little pump which is activated from a switch on my drawer system. I then got worried... Had I just pumped a shhhhload of water into my diesel..... apparently not, as the motor is still running like a dream. But back to the question of my confusion, there is no other tank that I can see other than the main tank fitted at the back of the patrol behind the back axle. where would this illusive sub tank be fitted.

uhhhhhh - Bro, it is SUPPOSED to have a main [95 litre] AND a sub-tank [35 litre] ± more-or-less ongeveer.
If you look in the behind the lid where the petrol filler hase sits [jy weet, daar waar Samson die diesel ingooi???] - You'll find 2 TWO caps, one is marked "main" and the outher "sub" - IF the sub is filled and you then turn on that switch on the dash - THEN the littel light insde the switch head will come on - and automatically STOPS when the sub tank is empty.

Best - PHONE the previous owner and check if he had the tank removed and replaced with a water tank ...

Here are some threads that might be useful in terms of oils for the drivetrain:

http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=262

http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=334

The 4.2 Diesels use the same FS5R50B manual transmission as my 4.5 and I can absolotely recommend Castrol BOT 130M for the gearbox. In my case it was like fitting a new box, when I changed the oil: the improvement in smoothness was that dramatic. Whatever oil you buy, you need 3.8 liters of SAE 75W90 API GL-4 (Just buy the Castrol BOT 130M). Have a look at this thread:

http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.ph ... 341&p=2609&

The axles don't have special requirements. They use API GL-5 oil and the manual recommends SAE 75W90 or 80W90 oil if the ambient temperatures are below 40 deg C. For ambient temperatures from 10 deg C to more than 40 deg C, SAE 140 oil should be used. I think I would go with the SAE 75W90. The front axle takes 5.4 liters and the rear takes 3.0 liters in the case of the smaller H233B dif (as used on the 4.2 Diesels) and 3.7 liters in the case of the larger H260 (as used on the 4.5)

The transfer case can use either DEXRON III Automatic Transmission Fluid or GL-4 gear oil. I have heard that on some Patrols the automatic front wheel hubs sometimes tend to engage themselves even in 2H with gear oil in the transfer case, possibly because the thick gear oil causes sufficient drag to spin the front propeller shaft, which fools the auto hubs into starting to engage. The agents once told me that different Patrols have different fluids in the transfer (some ATF, some gear oil) and that they just replace with the same stuff that came out when servicing. I will be going for a good quality DEXRON III ATF, but if you go the gear oil route, SAE 75W90 or SAE 80W90 would work, provided it is GL-4. The transfer box only needs 1.9 liters of fluid.

Thanks Gerrit ... I'll look into this !!

Oom... I think they changed the sub tank for a water tank. At the filler cap there are two filling caps, but the one on top now has a big sticker on it saying "WATER ONLY".... so seems like I have a problem....well only if I need more diesel.
I'd like to have the extra fuel capacity more than the water, but don't want to loose the water either....hmmm...I'll have to do some thinking on this one!!

Spoke to the previous owner....he bought it like that.

It's pretty damn easy and not too expensive to get a spare tank made. Ross and I made up two spare tanks (55l each) and installed them ourselves. It take a few brain-cells to work out the design and the pipe routing and to mod the standard '98 (no subtank) filler configuration, but it's possible. It's really nice having that extra tank.....

I'll definitely do a sub tank. It may take a few months, but I think its a must have even for the "economical" 4.2 Diesel Patrol. If you get a chance could you take a few photo's of the tank and setup for me.

It may be easier to change my water s/steel tank into a diesel tank and then make and re locate the new water tank.... hmmm ....lifes little pleasureable challenges!!

Hi Ricster,

Not all Trolls have a sub tank as std. GRX spec does have a 35l sub tank mounted on the drivers side, more or less under the floor well of the rear seats. GL spec Trol`s didn`t come out with a sub-tank (not in 98 anyway). My Troll had an aftermarket 60l sub-tank fitted when I bought it. Since I have a hatred of jerry cans I decided to mount a 2nd tank tank on the passenger side, and had the exhaust re-routed to accommodate the 2nd tank on the passenger side. I did this when I upgraded the exhaust to a 63mm system. With the 63mm system you can get away without using the large first silencer....my trol just has one small box right near the back.

The additional capacity from my second tank is overkill mostly, but there are times when overlanding that I like to spend extended periods in remote areas, often away from a fuel source. I always found it irritating previously to have to curtail game drives and general exploration just to make sure that there was enough fuel to get back to civilization. My total usable capacity is now in excess of 210l, so I never have to worry about how much I drive, and I don`t need to carry jerry cans.

As SRX`y says, we did his tank and my additional one together. Had the tanks made up by Silverton, and negotiated a discount for getting two made to our specs. The fitment was a bit of a fiddle, but well within the ability of the average DIY`er.

Oh ja....I also fully agree with Gerrit on the oils. BOT130M is great, and is what I`ve been running since I got my troll.

CONGRATS RICSTER !!!

I've been out of "the loop" on the forum for a while, now that I'm back online it's great to see that you finally found that elusive Patrol

I hope she gives you many, many years of happiness !

Ricster why go through all that mission and cost, why dont you just convert back to using it as a diesel tank and build a "Plastics for africa / pioneers plastics" tank into you rear drawer setup?

Ha ha ...yeah thanks Dustin... Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace.... but, I'm not gonna say a word about Grace....

Hmmm....Russ, that too is a good idea..... but swambo loves the drawers, and if I so much as go near them .... hell hath no fury like a womans drawers...
I will have to have a look at the pump setup on the water tank. I'm not sure if it could handle fuel. I presume it would have to be a IP "something" pump or proper fuel pump. There is a switch on the drawer system to switch the pump on and off.

More than one way to skin a cat they say !!!