| NISSAN TITAN |
Subject: NISSAN TITAN by rklessdriver on 2009/7/14 18:46:10 I guess this is gonna be a bash post on Jap trucks... but not really. One of the Marines that works for me was cool enough to loan me his 2006 Titan 5.6L V8 truck to drive to Ga so I could trailer my 92LT1 6spd back up here to NOVA. Now I've towed my Corvette to and from my dads engine shop in Ga about 4 times since building the engine in it due to various crap you would expect with releation to the failure of engine parts being pushed past their limits. At any rate I used my 02 Tundra (4.7L V8) once before I sold it last year and my Jeep Cherokee (4.0L I6) the other 3 times. Now it's a pretty long haul from my current home in NOVA to my dads shop in Willliamson/Zebulon, Ga. It's a very scary haul using an under powered, under braked, under suspension'd 1995 Jeep Cherokee. So I was happy I was able to use a "full size truck" this time around. Ok now that you got the back story. The good about the Nissan Titan 5.6L. Power. The DOHC 5.6L V8 has plenty of power and coupled with the 5spd auto tranny it pulled almost every hill between here and there 70+mph and if I timed it right it rarley kicked out of 5th gear. Suspension. I never felt like it was overloaded once we hooked the car and traile r to it. It also rode very, and I mean VERY nice for a 4WD truck, loaded or unloaded. That's about it for the good. Now for the bad. Gas mileage. Sucked. 20mpg unloaded turned into 16mpg with just the 16ft open car trailer and then 12mpg dragging the trailer and my 92. Not horrid (and really good unloaded IMO) but darn I rember my dads old 77 Ford F250 (we towed our oval track cars with it back when I was a kid) got 10mpg, had a 460 with a 3spd C6 Auto and had way more power. I would think we could do better than 12mpg 20+yrs later but I guess not. Not to worry as my old Toyota Tundra only got a wopping 14mpg towing the same trailer and my Corvette... kinda down on power compared to the Titan as well so.... Brakes. Sucked almost as bad as my Cherokee. You need a brake controller if plan to tow anything bigger than a motorcycle trailer with a Titan. My old Toyota had much better brakes. Now for the kicker. The truck ran great for me. It cost me a fortune in gas but ran great, used no oil, coolant temp always just under half way, surge tank always half full - everything was perfect. Kid calls me yesterday to tell me the Nissan is over heating for some reason... a mere week after I gave it back to him. I go over there and the dam thing is out of coolant. I put some water in it and start it up, nothing leaking. So I fill it up with water get it hot and put the cap on to let it start building pressure. Water starts pooring out of the lower radiator tank. YEP its cracked all to hell. So the kid buys a new $180.00 radiator and I agree to help him install it. Took me about a 3hrs with hand tools (him helping was a "slight" hinderance) only thing that had to come off the engine accy drive was the fan/fan clutch. All in all not a bad job excepet for the hose clamps for the tranny cooler.... Some of those are hidden in a small crevice between the radiator and the core support and a real SOB to get off/on if you don't think to do it before you bolt/unbolt the radiator from it's mounts. I go and do some internet research on these things today and come to find out, about everyone of them ever made bust the lower radiator tank in the same fricken place at right about 85-90,000 miles. His Titans mileage you ask... 86,096 when I returned it to him. At least it waited and didn't strand me on I-85 in BFE. Will |
