troy replied:

Jeff,

Personally I would say no. No its not powerful enough.

The best thing to do is drive it, and then drive a 3.0lt then a 4.2. then u can tell. Maybe it is ok, maybe it isnt, we all think differently. Certainly a 2.8 is a small motor once the rig is all loaded up.

Having said that I have a mate who has one, and is reasonably happy with it. (and is upgrading to a 4.2).

As to value - I am not entirely sure. Best thing to do is to hit the websites, carpoint, carsales, drive, redbook etc, and then get out there and see whats about.

jimy replied:

G'day Jeff, i havent driven the GU 2.8, but i own a GQ 2.8. as for the power, no problems at all off road, it can be a little slugish of the mark around town, but your are rewarded with fantastic economy. I can get around 800klms out of a tank freeway driving, the only difference in the motors is that the GU has an intercooler wich gives about an extra 10kw. straight away. I had a 2 1/2 inch exhaust fitted too, which i would also recomend.

ray replied:

Jeff I have a 98gu DX patrol I agree with Jimy its not quick away from the lights but once it gets moving and the tubo wakes up they run fine. i tow a camper trailer and have no problem on the road keeping up and passing other traffic. Off road unless you are in the right gear it dies very quick.Right gear no problems.Do not fit tyres bigger than 32ins or you will find it even slower to get going.

Grinner replied:

Jeff, the local fire brigade I'm a member of owned one of these for 2 years. What I found was in off road, low speed, low revs situations, it was basically crap. It had no power at the low rev range and the electronic throttle used to surge in these situations as well. On the black stuff at high speed, it was a different vehcile.

I read a while ago in one of the 4x4 mags, about a company (Molson from memeory) that does an upgrade to the electronics that aparently cures some of the aforementioned problems.

The only other problem we had with this vehicle was the rear barn doors when closed would not always turn off the interior lights.

Grinner

John replied:

Jeff,What I would do is find a steep hill stops half way up and try to take off,I had one it wore me out,went back to a Toyota.They are good on fuel but seem to have some head problems.John

Brenton replied:

Jeff i have the 98st 2.8 with intercooler fitted with a power chip upgrade from unichip no exhaust mods (latter?) goes extremely well in
low down power & fuel econ the 2.8 is 6cyl diesel 3.0lt is a 4cyl the power/torque curve of the 3lt peaks quickly and drops off yes on paper it has more power but it is heavier than the 2.8 both are still small hi reving japanese diesels the 4.2 is slower off the mark around town but heeps of grunt.typical p/t curve. problems dust sealing!!!!it seeps thru every where ,front end shimmy front springs sagging ,scratches and dents easily but thats 4wd are for

Bryan replied:

G'day everyone. I've recently bought a 96 DX 2.8L turbo diesel GQ patrol. So far I'm really happy with it although I haven't really ahd a chance to test it out off road, but am planning a trip next month.

Sure, its a little slow to get going but that doesn't bother me. So far, I've got figures of between 600-700km out of a tank (95 litres supposedly but when I fill it up its never taken more than 80 litres, even when the dial is on empty?) for city driving.

Would be interested to hear of other people's suggestions for any modifications to make to improve it's performance? By the way, Motsons who do the power upgrade are in QLD