Member - Roachie (SA) replied:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like you have a fault with the timing mechanism........IE: the timer in the "ticking time bomb" is malfunctioning. Usually, the timer will be quiet and you won't have any warning that the bomb is about to explode. You're lucky!!! My advice? Get rid of it asap.......

TIC (of course)........;-))

gompy replied:

Don't start a thread like that, all the ZD30 knockers will out in force!!
time bomb, hand granade, get rid of it, buy a 4.2 etc etc, BORING!
Just go to the Patrol 4X4 forum, at least you get a proper answer.

gompy replied:

Don't start a thread like that, all the ZD30 knockers will out in force!!
time bomb, hand granade, get rid of it, buy a 4.2 etc etc, BORING!
Just go to the Patrol 4X4 forum, at least you get a proper answer.

Member - 'Lucy' replied:

Gompy

I would never ever dare question the veracity and/or the credibility and competence of members Roachie, Brew and Willem in relation to all things Nissan.

Being a Toyota man through and through I don't even know what this ZD30 thing is, but it sure doesn't sound too good.

I suppose thats why all Nissan owners have that super duper Road Side assist package that the RAC in each State comes out with - so that they can get recovered from anywhere if necessary.

Good luck with it Rob and if it happens , well, we all know that Chit happens and just treat it as a 'life experience'

Happy fathers day all

Olcoolone replied:

Gday all, in the June 2007 issue of "Australian 4WD Monthly" they had a special on the patrols and they even made a strong mention of it it there, especially engines made before 2001.

Hopefully with you guys letting him know before it happens might even save him alot of money and inconvenience.

There is plenty mentioned about Patrols breaking in this forum over the last month.

Regards Richard

pjd replied:

it could be the std factory nissan death knock

3.0turbob replied:

Thanks to all that replied. I was prepared for the doomsdayers, and I hope I'll get it sorted soon.

Rob

Nav 8 replied:

G`Day Rob
Now that you have read all the other posts and are starting to panic it may not be that bad. First thing , take it to a diesel mechanic and have it checked out. This symptom can be caused by a sticking injector, eg. the fuel not atomising and causing detonation. It can make a hell of a noise and can sound like real trouble when in fact it is a simple case of an injector repair. Regards Nav. (Old diesel mechanic)

TerraFirma replied:

Don't panic, could be something really simple and probably will be, 9 times outta 10 if it were serious you'd know about it by now. Get a mechanic to check it out. Those poor old 3.0L Patrols are starting to get a name for themselves..!

madcow replied:

At then end of the day all brands of vehicles have some form of fault. Sadly our culture here in Oz allows the dealerships to do warranty repairs but no provision is allowed for a loan vehicle. Go to Japan and the service is quite the opposite. They are a great believer of "saving face". We are a victim of the "she'll be right" attitude sometimes! Sounds like an injector issue (hopefully)

nowimnumberone replied:

ill put my money on the clutch/flywheel
being a duell mass type when the fluid gets lost between then they will know as if one flywheel is catching up to the second half if you know what i mean.
reason im putting my money on the clutch we just did one last week with same symtoms.
expensive job though $2000+
cheers

goingplatinumcomau replied:

This was in the Paper.
"I recently purchased a a 3 Litre Diesel Patrol. The vehicle was purchased from a car yard and I had a pre inspection. Last week, on returning from the long weekend the vehicle stated to blow heavy smoke. I immediately switched the vehicle off and pulled over to the side of the road. Yep it was a tow truck job.
The statutory warranty had expired by 400 km. I put the vehicle in for repair to find out that I had blown a piston in number 4 pot and number 2 had a hole in it.
I have since been advised that this problem is common place for the 2000 model 3L Diesel and this expensive repair is carried out regularly.
I am disappointed that Nissan are not interested and will only discuss the matter if I have the full service history of Nissan dealer service. I did not own the vehicle prior to 3 months ago. My question being if Nissan was aware of a well documented problem why did they not recall the vehicle and replace the problem components. I own a Nissan X-Trail as well from new. I now have serious concerns related to Nissan customer service and care for their customers. This will influence future purchases. Let this be a warning to all who buy a 2000 3 Litre Diesel Patrol to have the head removed and the pistons checked prior to purchase it will save you around $6000. Very disgruntled Nissan customer" P Bates, Mooroolbark VIC 0407 131119

Dingo77 replied:

G'day Rob,

Sorry to hear of your trouble, I wont get into that bagging game but I'll try to help you at least.
Based on first-hand experience I can definitely say its the dual-mass flywheel -yep it'll set you back about $2K (parts) + labour. You can use a solid state one instead but you'll feel more engine vibration, if you do decide to go solid you'll need a different clutch for it. -look at the exedy range.
Cheers.