What to look for when buying a Patrol coily ute

[Braudy]

Hi There.

Due to life changes , I have decided to sell my beloved Bobtail Range rover and get a Patrol ute.

I intend to get a GU so ,1999-2000 ish 4.2 turbo diesel , coil cab . So it will do for work and play . As I know very little about the patrols I thought I would ask here .

So I'm at a car yard , what should I look for ?

Usual areas of rust
What colour smoke ( if any ) should a diesel blow on start up when cold .
What colour smoke is good / bad .
Any things I should listen for when test driving . ( Remember I have a range rover with a 4 speed so are used to sloppy drive trains ) I'm guessing the patrol drive line would be quieter .
Any areas of the chassis I should pay close attention to

Any advice anyone can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[GUGQ]

most diesel's will blow a puff of black/grey soot out on a cold start, I would be a little concerned if there was any blue smoke. Gearboxes in the GU utes can be a bit noisy when crawling along slowly, should quieten down just above idle. From what I have seen, the biggest problem part of the chassis is at the rear coil mounts, check for any cracks around that area, and possibly in the area just behind the cab. I'm not real sure on the rust side of things, but would think it's much the same as any other car, doors, sills, and anywhere that can trap mud and sand

[Braudy]

Thanks , I will add that to my list of things to look at.

Cheers

[Braudy]

I'm going to look at one on thursday it's a GU 1999 . But has a little more than 350000 ks . Is that a lot for a diesel ?

[GUtripper]

I've seen a few with over 400k.
Main issue is to try and find out about frequency of oil changes, 5000 k's is ideal but not always adhered to, 10,000 is ok ish..... Any more you may find lots of sludgy build up in the engine.
That and general condition, look at cracks at upper coil mounts on the inside of the chassis, engine and gearbox noise. Get under it and give tai shafts a shake to check uni condition, drive it and listen for thumps from suspension bushes and shocks, and steering feel, brakes etc.

[thehanko]

I wouldn't have a problem with 350 they are well known to pass 500 untouched - but having said that general wear and tear will see more things worn of course.

Early GU - pre 2002 had a problem with 5th gear - it was modified to have a shorted spline and the spline can be torn from loading up in 5th - towing etc. they went back to the old stronger design again later.

If guying early Gu I would look into the history to see if its had gearbox work - often when repaired they got the better gear put in - which obviously solves it.

excessive diesel smoke - black is usually over fueling (from winding the pump up) or from work out injectors (this will cost $500 - $1000 to rebuild) often done every 100 thousand k or so.