TOB replied:

Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are talking about. Buy a Patrol and be very happy with it. The 3.0 is a ripper engine with heaps of power and excellent fuel economy.

TOB

Member -ace ( SA ) replied:

Led, iv'e had my 3ltr for a couple of years now and have never experienced any fuel pump trouble, great vehicle, great fuel economy and plenty of diesel power.

Paul's lot replied:

I have no doubt that there are plenty of people with 3.0lt Patrols that are awesome but do some real searching and you will discover that ther are a small number of these early ones that simply go into self destruct mode at around 100,000km. You will find Nissan even issued a statement on the problem claiming it to be overcome. It only happened to the odd one here and there just as it was only a small percentage of Gen 111 holden V8's thatbleepthemselves but that is not to say that you should write them off. Good luck like anything "do your homework"

Roachie replied:

Led,
The subject of the Nissan 3L has been done to death....see the archives.

I recently did a first aid course and one of the blokes on it with me was the local Nissan dealership's service manager. He is a great bloke and he's the one who offerred to have my 5th gear fixed up (GU 2000 model 4.2 T/D) before it even gave up.
I asked him the other night whether he'd ever seen any 3l Nissans bite the dust. He said no he hadn't. He also reckons the problem comes from people pushing them too hard. He said there is a "splash" oil system whereby oil is "splashed" up onto the bottom of the pistons/crankshaft. Originally the dipstick was too long meaning not enough oil was in the sump to do the job and when they were pushed hard, they self-destructed.
I don't know that that was the sum total of there problems. A mate of mine in Yass has a 2000 model and it just died on his missus one day in the middle of town. Nissan came over from Canberra and took it away on a truck for about 6 weeks. It came back good as new with the fuel pump having been totally rebuilt in Melbourne. I don't reckon he or his wife flogs his patrol. He hasn't had any worries with it since then....that was around late 2001 or early 2002, with about 60,000klm on the clock.
Cheers,
Roachie

Phil G replied:

Led,

You also mention the 3 litre Prado. It was released in March 2000 in Australia, but has been around overseas much longer. The 1KZ-TE motor first appeared in 1993 in Hiluxes overseas. They are a very smooth, hassle free vehicle. Max torque is at 2000rpm and at 343Nm is about the same as the Nissan and Jackaroo. Go 1300km on the standard tanks and share a lot of parts with other Landcruisers. Fuel consumption varies but usually 11-12.5 l/100k in my experience.
Usually benefit from a 40mm suspension lift, upsize the tyres to 265/75/16, and thats about it. No problems with the local fuel.

Test drive both, and come to your own conclusion.

rolande replied:

Congratulations to all!!!
Very sound info and not a bad word amongst them, wish more posts were answered this way
Rolande

Member -Bob & Lex (Sydney) replied:

The problem with our fuel was too high a sulfur content but this is now ok. I think we are currently Euro 2 spec & changing to Euro 3 in July. As you can see from Member pic we have a 3.0ltr & are very happy with it.