Slowly Making Improvements to my '69 Patrol

[alber garage]

Leslie in owning many 60's Datsuns I noticed most had 2 opposed threaded holes for easy removal. When replacing one with a new drum I seem to recall they were not tapped.

All four of my drums already had the threaded holes - I assumed all patrol drums were like that. Is that not the case?

[alber garage]

You and your wife are obviously die hard Datsun fanatics. Ben appears to be an infant? And the wife had no problem bringing him along, and driving her own vehicle. She probably didn't want Ben in the Patrols with it's history of diverting from the paved path.

Ben turns 6 weeks this Sunday. We know the 510 is safe so until we can put some more miles on the patrol and establish a better safety record I'm going to keep him out of it. At the very least until he's a little bit older.

[RiverPatrol]

Leslie in owning many 60's Datsuns I noticed most had 2 opposed threaded holes for easy removal. When replacing one with a new drum I seem to recall they were not tapped.

All four of my drums already had the threaded holes - I assumed all patrol drums were like that. Is that not the case?

I only wish... It would have saved many, many hours of hammering, and possibly averted carpal tunnel.

[Esteban]

Congratulations for your supporting family, and for the well deserved prize!

Older Patrols used to have the holes to drive some bolts and help extracting them. Not sure when they changed. It will be of help if the drum is lightly seized. Otherwise you run the chance of stripping the threads while trying.


Did you get just the lining material for the shoes? Did you glue them?

I personally prefer glued instead of riveted, since you can avoid scratching the drums if not attentive to their wear status. However, if you plan to do some forthing, rivets will be best since the lining will not separate due to the thermal shock in the water ( if they are hot before entering).

Fixing the draglink should be straight forward. Post some pictures when you do it.

[waltinamboy]

Very nice!! I'm also working on a '69. I really like your choice of colors - the white top is striking.

[mdawg4x4]

Can't believe I missed this.
The Patrol does look good, but I like the 510. They are as hard, if not harder, to find than the Patrol.

[bosque]

Keep it rolling....and great pics too!

[alber garage]

Had a camping adventure in the patrol with the family. My wife drove a support vehicle too because I'm not quite there on trusting the patrol with my baby yet.









I met up with a jeep club and went offroading for the first time ever. There were some pretty intense obstacles and I ended up breaking something in the rear diff on my 6th attempt climbing up a really steep grade. I can still drive it in 4wd but I am only getting power to the front wheels.

[RiverPatrol]

Great pictures! Great experience with your Patrol and family.

Nuts about the rear diff. Most likely you broke an axle. The axles are very stout on the Patrols, but don't like quickly contacting ground while spinning freely, which is something that can happen when negotiating extreme maneuvers off road. Hint: never follow the Jeeps line ahead of you - your weight is distributed differently and your diffs are aligned differently than a Jeep. Also, they are usually locked, you get to do it the hard way.

[alber garage]

Great pictures! Great experience with your Patrol and family.

Nuts about the rear diff. Most likely you broke an axle. The axles are very stout on the Patrols, but don't like quickly contacting ground while spinning freely, which is something that can happen when negotiating extreme maneuvers off road. Hint: never follow the Jeeps line ahead of you - your weight is distributed differently and your diffs are aligned differently than a Jeep. Also, they are usually locked, you get to do it the hard way.

Leslie,

I opened the rear diff and I found some shavings:



From my very superficial examination I can't tell that anything is obviously wrong:



What is the likely point of failure, given the shavings inside the diff? Also, what is a safe point on the patrol to jack up the frame so I can relieve some rear spring pressure and maybe get better access to everything?