NISSAN PATROL GQ

POSTIVES

• TOUGH, RELIABLE ENGINES

• LEGENDARY OFF-ROAD ABILITY

• EASY TO MODIFY AND REPAIR

NEGATIVE

• TRUCK LIKE TO DRIVE

• HIGH FUEL CONSUMPTION

• ROUGH RIDE WITH WORN SUSPENSION

When it comes to off-road durability and reliability, Nissan's Patrol has long been regarded as one of the finest 4WDs you can spend your money on.

Nissan has always offered tough, reliable wagons, and the company had nothing to lose with the launch of the GQ in 1988. The cash-strapped Japanese manufacturer didn't have a huge development budget in the 1980s, so the GQ ended up being a very clever redesign of the MQ.

Launched to combat the ever-popular 60 and 70 Series LandCruisers, the GQ wagon went on to become one of Australia's most popular 4WDs, and is still highly sought after.

With a few years and many miles under their belt, buying a GQ isn't as straightforward as you might think. If you land a dud, you might be up for thousands, so what should you look for when on the hunt?

ABOUT THE GQ PATROL

When Nissan launched the GQ Patrol series in 1988, it did a very good job of hiding the fact that the model was actually a substantially revised MQ/MK Patrol. With a slightly different grille panel, new interior and an all new four-coil rigid-axle suspension, the Patrol also featured brand-new engines to compete with Toyota's much larger capacities.

If you line up an older MQ, every panel of the GQ is actually the same, as is the basic chassis. Nissan very cleverly adapted an all-new four-coil suspension to the basic chassis of the MQ, which later turned out to be a very clever engineering move. Apart from the grille, a few minor details and the interior, the GQ is the same rugged vehicle the MQ/MK was.

Nissan's ute range offered a full suite of suspension packages (four leaf, coil leaf and four coil) meaning every base was covered for almost any buyer. Ute models lagged behind the wagon by around 12 months, meaning many mechanical options have been swapped over the years, making it difficult to buy parts for a specific vehicle.

Engines available were either the RB30 carburetted six (of Commodore and Skyline fame), TB42 carburetted petrol-six, EFI TB42 or the new TD42 diesel, with only the diesel and EFI offered from mid 1996 after pollution laws killed carburettors.

The GQ utes continued until 1999, when the all-new GU model replaced them, and apart from a few minor trim updates, the series remained unchanged for this period.

MECHANICALLY SPEAKING

When it comes to reliability and durability, the Patrol is one of the toughest 4WDs you'll ever own, and it's dead simple to work on. With a few years and many miles on the clock, however, there are quite a few things you'll need to look out for and possibly be prepared to work on in the near future.

Starting with the engine, both the petrol and diesel are closely related to each other, with some of the toughest internals of any engine ever produced. Neither is too sophisticated, and rebuilds are simple but rather expensive.

If the engine smokes on start-up or under load, they may be getting tired, so you'll need to budget for repair work. In the case of the diesel, this will easily top $5000 if you need headwork done. Considering these vehicles are only worth up to $10,000, you need to weigh up your options carefully.