Hi, new 2 forum...Looking for info/pics of NL

[1NLofaPAJ]

Hi,
Ben from Geelong...Recently sold my problem riddled 05 CRD KJ Cherokee (don't think the yanks would know how to put a lego car together properly) and am looking forward to returning to the quality and reliability of japanese vehicles (have previously owned 86 sigma wagon and 99 subaru forester).
I am looking for an NL wagon, either in gls or escape guise and would prefer a diesel but may have to settle for a petrol as I havn't seen too many 2.8's for sale! What sot of mileage do the diesels get anyway? Might be better to convert a 3.5 to gas
Has anyone on the forum set up an NL before (pics would be appreciated)?
What are they like...Reliability, consumption, issues, things to look for etc.
Due to potential purchase of block of land, budget is set at max of $14000...This sort of coin get me something decent
Cheers in advance for any assistance you guys may be able to provide

[Lambie]

Hi Ben

I have a NJ not an NL so perhaps I'm not the best person to be replying...

My 2.8 ITD ( now with 160K on the clock) seems to get around the 11.5 to 12.5 l/100km on the highway without trailer - put anything on the back ( even a loaded 6X4 trailer) and it seems to climb towards 13.5 to 14.5 l/100km.

Having said that, towing our heavy off road camper I usually budget on 14.5 to 15.5 l/100km.

There seems to be alot of 2nd hand pajero's on the market so I would have thought that 14K should see you get something OK.

Please - someone else - can you make a comment about the compatibility of the NL 3.5 litre and Gas?? - is this a 'no no' or is it ok??

Good luck with your purchase!
Lambie

[6G74]

The petrol NL's were pretty economical on a trip, just over 10 ltrs per 100. If i were faced with teh same question i would chose petrol without question.... simular economy, simular torque, better power and performance, more refinement, quiter etc.

And the 3.5 sohc as used in the nl is gas compatable

[Pickle]

14k Should get you a reasonable NL Ben. No problems with them on gas.
Dave

[1NLofaPAJ]

Thanks for the replys guys...Sounds like a good thing!
Would still love to see a couple set-up or in action...For inspiration

[allanmac]

Ben,

A few pics of my NL. 1st one is before suspension upgrade, 2nd showing the difference along with my 'offroad' wheels & tyres. Last 2 are out doing the tracks






I am very happy with mine, Takes me where I want it to go, & it generally keeps up with the yotas & Pootrols, even though I have no intention of pushing the boundary. I have fitted a front airlocker which helps overcome the lack of articulation & allows me to travel nice & slow.

Fuel economy is reasonable, about 13-14lts per 100ks, but like some others who tow, starts drinking the stuff, especially when towing an 18ft ski boat.

IMO, a very under rated vehicle.

Cheers

[CRH]

14K will get you a good NL, but be prepared to look for a while and bargain hard. I spent nearly 3 months driving around looking at crap that was advertised as A1. People see what everyone else is advertising their cars for and think that is the going price. They don't realise these cars aren't selling for anything near that.
I got mine for 14K. 112000 ks in excellent condition (apart from this vibration which I think I will have worked out for $300) not a mark underneath, inside or out. There are good ones out there, but don't be in a hurry to buy someone else's problem. Oh, and 9 out of 10 cars have leaky cam seals.

[Alex86]

hey,

nice setup allan, very nice!

bit of a late reply, apologies.

i picked up my 99 NL Escape for a little over 15.5 with 88,000k's; only minor paint chips asyoud expect from a used car, it runs well and the interior is in good order. apart from a couple of minor addons ive done its all standard at the moment. only noticed heavy duty pedders shockers thats non-standard.
mine and my parents 98 GLS (theirs is auto) get anywhere from 12-14.5L/100km, depending on how its driven, and thats city consumption. i never got mine out for a long run before i left aus, but the parents got theirs down to about 10.5 or 11 without no trouble.

in due course mine will get the bullbar and a few other things before i come back to aus and drive it north.

have heard the 3.5's run no worries on gas. looked at it myself but decided against it because ill be taking it in remote areas and i want the petrol mileage.

look at a lot of vehicles, narrow the possibilites down then get one or two checked out by your mechanic that you can trust whether they say "yeahits ok" or "nar its crap".

below is mine.. i miss it

[1NLofaPAJ]

Some great looking NLs there guys...Cheers heaps for all the advice, much appreciated!
Still looking, in no rush so I should get meself a goodie

[cutting it]

Have the NL escape myself.. with all options.. get about 12lt per 100km... haven't really towed anything heavy though.

Found it to be a great car.. my only addition is the 2 way radio...but i haven't really gone far either... bit i will.. one day

Ray

[actpaj]

G'day ben, first post for me on here. Have you considered an nk, i have owned my 3.5 '97 glx for 12 months now and am very impressed. only drama has been the valve stem seals, $750 to replace, @175k klms, have been told this is a fairly common problem with the petrol models. 13-14 lt / 100 km around town, bout 11 on the highway, tows great, off road exeptional even with h/t tyres (will upgrade when they wear), did postmans track after 3 inches of rain, mate in 05 hilux needed 3 recoverys from yours truly! cost me 11.5k and was money well spent. i was planning to upgrade after 2 years but will be holding on to this one 4 a few more yet.

[1NLofaPAJ]

actpaj,
Looking at the NL for the safety aspect (airbags/ABS) although I slightly prefer the look of the older paj's (pre NL).
Still looking!

[actpaj]

fair enough mate. a few decent ones on the trading post in sydney 4 under 14k, bit far from geelong though.

[pajchick]

Looking for NL

Hey Hey,

Noticed you were looking for an NL, I have one for sale, check out the market place. If you email me I can email you pics and tell you more about it.

Cheers

Kim

[NotaClue]

Looking for an NL?

I bought an NL about 3 years ago - Petrol 3.5 etc pretty stock standard. 100K. We bought it becuase the VN commodore I had was slowly falling appart after having been dragged down one too many dirt tracks.

Since it's my only vehicle it does a fair bit of running around town with the wife and kids and not as much leisure driving as I'd like.

We had LPG added. This cost about 3K in 95. Today with the gov. rebate prices seem to have sky rocketted a bit.
The system was installed behined the rear axle where the patrol had been and the pterol tank was cut down and fitted beneath the left side rear seat. Petrol tank now takes about 48 ltrs - goes about 300Ks around town and gas tank holds 64 useable ltrs and go about 320Ks.
Obviously distance changes depending on the driving / towing / air con etc being undertaken.

We have taken it through the big desert and Vic Mallee reigon late 2005. Towing a 6x4 trailer with all the kiddies gear and camping gear in it and on the roof rack with air con on full blast. At one stage I was wondering why the power was slowly decreasing. So I hopped out to check and found that I was ascending sand dune tracks with the trailer pushing a small mound of sand in front of it due to its low clearance. The amazing thing is it never stopped.

Again, this machine has nothing special added to it and still did an amazing job.

My advice (I'm no expert) would be to check out a deisel and research the deisel / LPG conversions which are now available - If LPG is what you're after.

The problems with the NL Paj I have come across, are mainly due to sloppy engineering of the v6 engine. As mentioned previously in this thread, it has a tendancy to leak oil but if you're willing, as I was to fix it yourself, $200.- should resolve pretty much all those problems. I have just recently completed replacing nearly all the gaskets, seals and O rings myself. The design of the engine also doesn't lend itself to simple "quick" maintenance so if you want to do something yourself be prepared to spend some time on it.
Aside from those issues, the NL does a pretty decent job in the bush (or in the deserts for that matter) and being quite narrow is able to fit into some tight spots the larger 4WDs can't navigate through.

Good luck in your search