patrol clutch

[dinky]

I have a 88 patrol wagon that has done 2 clutch slave cylinders in 2years,no problem to fix.A mechanic tells me my clutch is on the way out.He said they are a real pain in the bum to do, knowing i wanted to do it myself with mates help.He recons he would never do another one ever,something about to hard to put gearbox back in.To do it do i pull out the gearbox or the motor dont know what's worse, or do i just keep going through slave cylinders at $44 a pop every 2 years till the clutch finally goes hopefully not when im towing boat or caravan.Any ideas or knowledge on this is much appreciated.Dean

[DazSamFishing]

I'd go to a clutch/transmission mechanic. Sounds like your mechanic doesn't have the experience to do it. Also depends on your budget - I'd go a new clutch - I've had a nissan clutch replaced (not a patrol); it wasn't too expensive considering I had a heavy duty plate fit. If you get it replaced - you won't have to worry about any issues for a long time.
daz

[Aunty Jack]

I have a 88 patrol wagon that has done 2 clutch slave cylinders in 2years,no problem to fix.A mechanic tells me my clutch is on the way out.He said they are a real pain in the bum to do, knowing i wanted to do it myself with mates help.He recons he would never do another one ever,something about to hard to put gearbox back in.To do it do i pull out the gearbox or the motor dont know what's worse, or do i just keep going through slave cylinders at $44 a pop every 2 years till the clutch finally goes hopefully not when im towing boat or caravan.Any ideas or knowledge on this is much appreciated.Dean

l had to replace the motor on my 1988 patrol ,
so the box came out with the motor.
They are extreamly heavy I would think twice before going solo.
I was able to use a mates work shop, and get a bit of a hand here and there for a couple of bucks.
Best tip dont drop it on yourself
and useing a bit of dowel line up the pressure plate the clutch and the fly wheel before refitting good luck l dont envey you at all.

[BenDover]

Yes, patrol gear box's are a pain. The problem is to get them in and out. There is a system you can use where you have to drop it and roll it to get it out. Its all about angles and an art. Plus its heavy as. Most dodgy mechanics belt the crap out of the gearbox well to get them out. Then you have to belt it back over to actually be able to use your foot rest.

I wouldnt bother taking the whole engine out. And mechanic who knows what he is doing with a patrol should know the system.

[Noelm]

all big 4X4 gearboxes are heavy, the Patrol is no different, as long as you can get the car up nice and high, have a good floor jack and make up a "jig" to hold it all nice and straight when on the jack, then it is all just "nuts and bolts" hire or buy a clutch aligning tool, a dowel will work, but it only neeeds to be a pussy hair off centre, and you will never get the gearbox back in again, or you could just take it to a clutch specialist and pay! OH and never heard of a faulty clutch causing slave cylinders to bugger up, but I guess anything is possible.

[GBC]

Nissan allows about 2 days to do a patrol clutch. Like Bendover says, they need to be rotated six ways from Sunday to get them in and out, and they are very very heavy (like 300 odd kg?) so don't even think about doing it on your own without mates.

Removing the box involves rotating it clockwise and sliding rearwards, rotate, slide, rotate, slide etc etc etc. Getting it back in is just a complete bloody nightmare (only tried this once with an ex mate........)

I'd ring around and find a gearbox pro who can do it in a day.

[tunaticer]

They are like any other car in that your tongue has to be on the left side and your nuts have to be twisted three times to the right to get things in line. Apart from the weight issue it is not too dis-similar to most 4wd and half the 2wd's for that matter. Your mechanic just wants the cream and not the whole meal. There are much worse things on vehicles to repair especially some of the euro cars, we thought the nips had small hands and four wrists the euros also have three elbows too.

[FNQCairns]

The patrol gearbox is the mutha of car gearboxs, forget the weights but it is the heaviest of all non true trucks + if memory serves there is a twist needed in the refitting ...anyway pull the engine IMHO at least that is what I will do next time, if I need to pull the gearbox only for some reason then a mechanic can do the job I will happily pay.

cheers fnq

[finding_time]

When i had my clutch upgraded in my GU , it was done by my wifes cousin, he did his apprenticeship time at nissan, and is a made keen 4wder his present vehicle has been , cut, lifted, locked and is running about 4 times the HP it's was produced with, he loves working on 4by's plain and simple!!! All of that said i still had to pour a case of xxxx and half a bottle of rum into him to get him to do the job and i paid him full price!!! ANYONE who say it's just like another 4b simply has NO idea about the job, there's a knack to it and even when you know the knack the weight of the bloody things makes it tricky. As alluded to above there about 25% heavier than the equilivant 4B!

Pay some one! And pay them well!


Ian

[Alchemy]

Leo Kelk at United Brake and Clutch did mine a couple of years ago. I had them fit an Exceedy Safari Tuff clutch. They are at 56 Morley Street, Coorparoo. Phone: 07 3397 0977. They also did the brakes and bearings on the boat trailer before I moved north. Can't recommend them highly enough.

PS; even freighted my sensa-brake unit to them from Townsville when it surprisingly had issues!

Regards,
Dave.

[alfish]

Hi dinky
I had the clutch replaced on my 89 maverick swb about 2 months ago. after a year + of being a pain in the bum to engage gears the throwout bearing died. all up was 1200 to fit a new hd clutch from a mob in albion. if you end up not wanting to diy.

cheers
al

[Steeler]

Hi Dinky

B sure to fit a Exedy/Daikin clutch kit to the patrol,the Clutch Industries ones ( old PBR ) are not worth a pinch of u know what.

If doing it yourself make absolutely sure of the alignment of the new one, the manufactures are pretty quick to reject a claim ( and rightfully so ) with the slightest of dust on them from misalignment when fitted.

Hope this helps.

[BenDover]

True to say about all 4x4 clutch's arent the same. Patrol is a nightmare compaired to others to do yourself. Should be around the $600 - $700 labour only range. And if you get a clutch shop to fit it then you will have a warantee if something isnt right. And they can fix things. Eg.. Clutch might not be disengadging propperly and clamp pressure is down. They check all that and fix it.

Just get the clutch shop to do it.

[DAZMC1]

The slave cyl problem is usually only a $5 bucket inside that gets hard because the cyl is right above the exhaust and the heat plate does jack. As with the clutch always use Daikin, thats what is in it origanally,but go heavy duty.Ive done a few GQ,s theyre not that bad but most of the ones I done had a 2 inch body lift which made things easy. At least theyve got a solid flywheel and not a dual mass flywheel,now theyre a pain in the arse!

[dinky]

Thanks for all the info & your opinons guys.It seems way easier to get the pros to do it.You never know after many bourbons i might give it a go, hope my mates are feeling strong lol. The misses recons get a new car,i say no way.Once again thankyou.Cheers Dean....