HAVING completed a 20,000km overland journey from Putrajaya to Paris in my Nissan Patrol GU Y61 ZD30 (I call it ZedDee) at the end of October 2019, I welcomed home my trusty 4WD at Port Klang in mid-December and wanted to give it a much-needed overhaul.
This is the same vehicle that, in 2008,
also took my late husband, our then 3-year-old son and I on an epic 18-month journey across Europe, through the Middle East and right down the eastern side of the African Continent, before we shipped it to the United States to continue our travels there.
And while already having more than 270,000km under its belt, no major overhaul work had been done since it was purchased in 2008 as a two-year-old Nissan-approved used car in the United Kingdom.
Chats with friends in Sabah finally led me to order the replacement wear-and-tear parts, ahead of my vehicle's return, from Ade of Tough Diesel in Kota Kinabalu. Some parts were not readily available in Malaysia as it was the sole Patrol GU Y61 with a ZD30 DDTi engine.
I had been told that Ade would know a lot more about my car than anyone I had ever spoken to in the past. I was ashamed to admit that till that point, I barely knew much about it myself.
His words, "I would be really keen to make your car look like a real GU Patrol", were something that would remain at the back of my mind for the next few months.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, interstate movements were restricted. I had left my GU with a workshop run by a family I know instead of my go-to garage in Tanjung Malim, Perak.
The truck was to have had all fluids and lubes changed, a brake pump leak fixed and the injector nozzles and timing chain changed.
It was during this period that someone made an offer to buy my Toyota Land Cruiser Mark II with its 1Kz engine. This was my "combat car" used on hardcore offroad tracks.
As I had not driven off-road for almost two years, and knowing that keeping it was an unnecessary expense, I accepted the offer thinking that I could replace it in better times.
There was a brief period when inter-state travel restrictions were lifted in late August 2020 and I took the opportunity to drive the GU to Pos Bering in Kelantan. It handled the river crossings and obstacles well, even with its touring setup.
What it lacked, though, were rated recovery points and clearance with its long wheel base and two-inch lift. I was also worried that when driving on rough terrain, the weight of my fully loaded vehicle might cause something to break.
I contacted Ade of Tough Diesel again, looking for a heavy duty rear bumper and rated recovery points for my GU. He then showed me several options and suggested upgrading the suspension system as well.
"Why would you need a second car for the combat stuff?", he asked. "Your GU is more than capable of handling both touring and hardcore drives, in comfort and style".
This was the start of the grand plan to turn my GU Patrol into a hardcore tourer.
Financially, it wasn't something I could afford to do all at once and so we listed down the priorities followed by the "wishlist" and planned how to make it work within my budget.
Nissan's ZD30 engine is sometimes referred to as the "grenade engine". Ade insisted that I tried to understand what would kill the engine and what could be done to remedy this.
Before any suspension or parts upgrades could be ordered ,I had to learn how important it was to monitor the Boost, EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), water and ATF (automatic transmission fluid) temperatures and have a good quality catch installed.
Frankly, why spend money on cosmetics and clothes when you're not going to look after the heart and soul?
To Ade, installing and monitoring those gauges were a basic necessity. I understood now why some vehicles I travelled with ended up with blown auto transmissions and, at that point, my perspective shifted with regards to both my vehicle and my own self.
My first lot of Nissan goodies arrived just before Christmas 2020. They included a front air locker with a heavy duty airline kit and an adjustable heavy duty draglink in preparation for the suspension system upgrade, new rear signal lights and kingpin assembly, hub seals, front and rear bearings and rated recovery points.
We were still in lockdown in February last year when my GU returned to the same workshop to have the newly delivered parts, including the heavy duty metal bumper, installed, as well as to fabricate heavy duty side steps.
In October, my car was finally returned and invoices for work done on it paid. I had missed my truck and couldn't wait to drive it again.
The first thing I did was to call Lam Kuan Hoe, a lead trainer at M4TREC (Malaysia 4WD Training & Experience Centre), in Semenyih.
I was keen to learn how to use my newly installed front air locker properly and safely and the Roller Ramp at M4TREC was the perfect tool to test and understand the concept of a vehicle's differential, traction aids, and torque distribution.
Around the same time, Ade told me that the Trans Borneo Expedition was to go ahead in December last year. We had talked about this previously and on how I should ship my GU over for the event.
With international borders still closed, the event would be held within Sabah instead of traversing through Kalimantan as in previous years. However, it would still be an ideal opportunity to have my gauges and suspension system professionally fitted, and for me to test the setup.
It must have been fated as a day or two later, Ade's friend and customer who was relocating back to Sabah said he was shipping his vehicle from Port Klang in a fortnight. It was substantially cheaper for me to send my truck across in a shared 40-foot container than it would be for me to do so in a 20-footer of its own.
I made arrangements to attend the full-day Professional 4WD Off Road Driving Training at M4TREC and was thankful that I did.
I came away armed with new knowledge, corrected bad habits, and gained much more confidence in what my car was capable of and myself as a driver.
My front airlocker, though, didn't engage. Lam suspected that there was a leak in the air line and Ade said he would sort it out after my truck had arrived in Sabah. The cars had to be at port in a week and I would need to pack my recovery and camping gear, plus everything else we could think of before then.
While the truck was in transit to Kota Kinabalu, we worked out what suspension upgrades would best suit my usage and budget.
"Horses for Courses", Ade reminded me whenever I got carried away looking at the many options and possibilities before me.
I received links to tutorials and reviews to watch on YouTube, to understand how the different available systems functioned. What Ade made sure of was that the aftermarket suspension parts we chose were much stronger than the factory parts to cope with the most punishing hardcore terrain, as well as the moon-like craters on some roads in Sabah.
We eventually settled on what was needed. Timing was tight but Ade assured me he would do his best to have my truck ready for the event.
However, the excitement and anticipation I felt when my GU arrived at Tough Diesel was shortlived and was replaced by disappointment and shock. When my truck was lifted on the hoist, it was found that not all the items I had bought previously were installed.
I managed to retrieve most of them from the workshop and had them sent over to Sabah. Several other issues were realised but thankfully remedied in the early stages.
I received updates via videos and was sent photos of the work in progress. This made it possible for me to experience the build first hand despite being on the other side of the South China Sea and was unable to witness the process in person. I realised how valuable communication between the builder and the vehicle owner was.
We would not have been in the predicament we were in now, racing against time to get more than we expected done, if only I had understood more about my own vehicle, checked to make sure everything I had listed was done, and all the parts I bought installed and not stored away without my knowledge.
It was solely through long hours and hard work that Ade and his team at Tough Diesel managed to have my truck ready when I arrived in Kota Kinabalu three days prior to the expedition.
I was warned not to expect the same truck I knew and to erase all muscle memory of driving it. Indeed, it had a totally different feel and handling. It was an amazing, new improved version of my old car.
Through the suspension upgrades alone, I learned the importance of having a builder who takes the trouble to calculate the GVM (gross vehicle mass) for the coils required, and to have the suspension professionally set up for the desired lift height.
The lower trailing arms needed to be set to achieve the correct rear pinion angle and to make sure the wheelbase was back to factory specifications in order to achieve the right driveline geometry. The gear ratio, too, was changed to compensate for the bigger tyre size. There is no shortcut to building a car that has great stability, comfort and reliability.
And, most importantly, I realised that owners should make the effort to know as much as they could about their vehicles and how to use what they have to their full potential.
As Ade said to me many times throughout the building process: "Don't be the person with all the gear and no idea."
Alison Sandra Murugesu is a bike-riding, truck-driving mum who is trying to find a balance between earning a living and living a life.