3ltr patrol towing 2.5 tonne van

cheers . we would love a 4.2ltr of either make but the $ are a bit high and the kms will be high. there is a few 2008 3ltr for sale aswell are they a better motor with the zd30 euro4

4.2 tdi Patrol engine is reliable but they are gutless, buy a 100 series diesel, much better engine and vehicle. Michael

my understanding were that the 3ltr zd30det motors were the time bombs. Are the zd30d and the zd30deuro4 the same aswell.
any info on them would be great.

Cheers buddy
yours is a 4.2ltr is it.

No mate it's a CRD 3ltr now done 120k and still going good.

You can't put a smart fuel module on the 4.2 l motor.

We also found the shortcomings of our 2011 3.0 CRD manual wagon when towing our Jayco Sterling 17.55 OB on some hills.
A 2.75 Beaudesert exhaust, Diesel Smart Module, EGR block, catch can, snorkel, Dawes valve, EGT gauge were added and the results are shown here ...
Rear wheel power up from 77.7 KW to 116.4KW (+49.8%)
RW Torque up from 240.6 NM to 348.2 NM (+44.7%)
Real seat of the pants increases, with no improvement or decline in fuel consumption.

Needed to add that I also replaced the Auto free wheel hubs with Manual free wheel hubs. If taking off up a steep hill needs to be done then low range can be used on the tar seal. Also makes reversing easier with less need to slip the clutch.

Wayne J,
Did you have any other mod to your patrol or was it just the diesel smart fuel module? I have a 2010 CRD manual wagon with snorkel and boost gauge, EGT not yet installed running 2.5" exhaust with standard dump pipe also have a Tunit chip which I haven't installed yet want to have egt probe fitted first.

Tuco,
Did SVS do all your work or did you do it your self as I live in Mossman north of Cairns.

Hi cabhsv.

Yes SVS did all the work on my Patrol.

Unfortunately who ever was involved in doing the work stuffed a number of things up in a big way.

Broke the coolant bottle spigot where the 6mm overflow pipe comes off the bottle. They tried to cover up the damage by superglueing it back together. It didn't work. Initially denied that they damaged it but in the end agreed to replace it with a new bottle.

They did a crap job of fitting the Beaudesert Exhaust. Initially it kept hitting on the rear swaybar. Took it back and they took to it with an oxy and put wrinkle bends everywhere on the mandrel bent exhaust. This second attempt to fix ended up with the tailpipe pulled over so far that it was only 8mm from the tyre! The tyre always ran 10° to 15° hotter than the other 3 tyres. Took it back and the took to it again with an oxy and put more wrinkle bends in it and also bent the muffler hangers. Still less than 20mm from the tyre. We passed through Beaudesert a few months later and took it to the manufacturers. They were appalled at the state of work done by SVS and replaced the damaged tailpipe for free. Replaced the damaged muffler hangers and all sits good now.

The engine kept going into safe mode when under load with the caravan in tow. Took it back to SVS a number of times - not sure what they did, but it didn't fix the problem. Also EGT kept going over 700° on long hills and alarm buzzers drove us mad. Safe mode meant no power and having to find a spot to shut down and restart. Usually happened when there was a 'B' double bullbar in the mirror ! Put up with it, driving us crazy, but eventually took it to Diesel Smart in Mackay who found that all the parameters were set for a Direct Injection model and not our Common Rail ! They also found that SVS has wired it up crap and had a poor earth on the DS module. Has run perfect ever since - no thanks to SVS.

I wouldn't take it back to SVS - too many hassles.

Thanks for the info Tuco,
I have read up on the diesel smart module and don't mind the look and functions of it so I have contacted them in Mackay to find out more info to try and decide how to go, as I have a chip already but not yet installed and may go for a change of plans I do like the tow functions.

No different to any other CRD engine of any brand. Buy any modern diesel and this is a consideration.

A bit too general.
My 3 litre has 600nms of torque and tows just easy as my previous 200 but without the excessive oil and fuel consumption that she suffered.
Brett...

Buy a good landcruiser and a smaller pop-top caravan. You,ll spend a lot of time driving and exploring in the car.

Pajero certainly a good allrounder [I owned three between 2003 and 2009 and had good experience towing medium van 2100kg loaded].
They are better suited to towing Vans less than 2.5 t due to the unusually low Tow Ball Mass limit - 180kg if Van more than 2.5t. 250kg if less than 2.5 t.
As Trevor referring to 2.5 t Van, he would likely overrun those limits and have excess tow ball weight. This tow ball weight issue is more likely to arise if Van has front bedroom and front door which means axles set further back transferring more weight to tow ball.

Establishing the Tow Ball weight/mass of the laden Van, is a critical consideration in what Tow Vehicle to purchase.

Later model IZUZU, Mazda Ford Ranger, Jeeps etc can accomodate more like 3 tonne plus towing capacity and 300-350kg Tow Ball weight.

Perhaps a late model of the above may fit Trevors budget and serve the purpose intended.

Bob

im open to all info. the only reason i was looking at later models because all the talk on the earlier 3ltrs being a bit dodgy. i was unsure if the new 3ltrs with the euro4 are any better,trying to gather as much info as possible. The van we are looking at is a retreat daydream which is at the top of 2.5tonne loaded. so the more knowledge i have on the patrol the better. looking at spending around the 25k mark so the 4.2ltr is out off my price or they 250kms+ on them.
cheers

Hi Trevor

Ours is January 2002 built, so an early one of the "fixed" series; series III, with series II being the one with the most failures. As an auto it can legally tow 2.5 tonne, whereas the same motor in manual is rated to tow 3.2 tonne.

Our caravan is 3 tonne when loaded for a big trip - something we could not do with the Patrol.

Are young considering auto or manual?

Did it cope with towing? Yes, and if it has its way, would look for its favourite speed of 120 kph :O, on suitable terrain. It was slow on windy hills where you could not get a run-up such as in Tasmania, but these roads would slow most caravanners.

Drawbacks? We did not risk stressing the motor by towing that weight through soft sand or other conditions which would make the motor work too hard. The rating on the gear box is I understand because of the lack of braking ability of the gearbox. With electric braking on the caravan, this was never tested. However the gearbox was tested on two occasions, both after taking a wrong turn, with a standing start at the base of very steep climbs. It was very slow and we believe this was due to the gearbox struggling with the load, almost like driving an auto car into a brick wall; the motor doesn't stall, but the car doesn't go forward very far.

Fuel consumption? When towing our Bushtracker, we averaged 5 kilometres per litre. Not towing 7 - 8 kilometres per litre. Our smaller camper prior to the caravan made some, but not a lot, of difference to the fuel consumption. It is more fuel efficient than our present tow vehicle, an F250.

How did we protect it? In view of the hand grenade tag, even with the later series, we fitted and EGT gauge and if it went too high, cut back on the pedal. Also a boost gauge; again if it went high, cut back.

This vehicle has to be the most reliable we have ever had. Now at 180,000 or so, it has had no mechanical failure or work done other than normal servicing.

I would not like to use a 3 litre for heavy towing long term; it it likely to have a reduce motor life.

The old 4.2 motor goes on for ever, but is a 'slug'.

I meant to add that on the two occasions we had the hard climbs, if we had known, putting it into low range at the start would have worked. One was on a windy dirt road, and although the other was on a sealed road, the steep part was only for a short way - and until we could turn around as we had taken a wrong turn.

We are now looking at the manual because of the 3.2t towing. they seem to be a bit cheaper and like you said with steep starts etc. may be a safer long term option. Do you know if any what difference there is between the zd30det ,zd30d and zd30deuro.

in have a 4.8 patrol now and i know the v8 petrol landcruiser is up there with my car with the fuel consumption. My brother sold his 100s v8 because off the fuel reason. I think after talking to knowledgable nomads in my caravan travels the diesel is def the way to go.