Advice needed on the purchase of a GU Patrol 3.0ltr

yeah I know all about the 3.0ltr reliability problems, prepared to risk it as I'm going for a later model and although it still can be an issue, the occurrences of engine failures are not as common.

Did you see the dyno charts he has for the 4.2's? If you see these I don't know why you would consider a 3.0.
I agree that if Mike doesn't know what he's talking about no-one does.

Did you end up with a 4.2? and are you southside or north?

Regards, Trevor (Northsider).

Hi Trevor,
Yes at the time I did buy a 4.2 turbo diesel nissan, as I was a full time share trader at the time things change financially week to week and so I was forced to sell it (bo hoo) I now have a GQ patrol that is running on gas. As you can imagine it was hard to go backwards but the fuel economy in the GQ is good though.
Wazza

Southside just up the road from Mike Vine

Hi

When I bought my 3L t/d Patrol Auto (VERY happy with it by the way) - I had arranged a trade-in of previous vehicle. Between deal and actual handover, a work colleague became interested in car. Yard was happy for me to sell it privately and just apply $ to new car. Worked out well for him as the car was in great condition and he saved Dealer margin for no benefit.

Not sure if it is too late in this case, but thought I would mention it.

On the 3L, auto is very good in the sand - and yes, my wife would not drive manual so that counted out the 4.2 debate. I have no regrets, - have recently installed dtronic which I also found good.

ALan

Was gonna suggest the same thing.

C'mon Rick, be a nice guy :-) sell Damon the wagon for 28k and then renegotiate a 'no trade' deal on the new one, in my experience you will get a better price without a trade anyway.

Avagoodn
Pezza

Don't keep one long enough to need injectors add up to $2000 each if you do

Advice on buying a 3.0l ZD30 Patrol.......... Dont!!!
Look on this forum and then go to google and type '3.0l ZD30 Patrol' and you will agree with the above.

The auto 3.0l Patrol I drove annoyed the cr@p out of me as it was reluctant to kick down and in normal driving refused to change gears until it had atleast 3000rpm on the board (even when I would take the foot off the accelerator it would not upchange!). This is too far high for my driving style and will lead to very short engine life (not that its very long anyway!) so people like to drive on the redline all day and reckon with no-ill effects but time shows this cannot be sustained. The 2-3 change as well is huge difference as it leaves the 4 banger very off boost and is just as effective as applying the brakes to kill acceleration. I spent 9 months investigating all medium/large 4x4's that would suit my requirements and in the end settled on two: 100series and GU Patrol. I couldn't afford the 1HD-FTE Cruiser and the 4.2l Patrol (Petrols for me are not an option), and after reading this I was not going to touch a 3.0l Patrol if it was bought for me. I ended up with a 2.8l TD-6 Patrol and although it has a reputation of needing a decent right foot poke to move this is different in reality. I have never exceeded 3600 rpm (Big Red sandhill !!!) and the amount of times it has seen 3000rpm I could count on one hand. I never got the whole burning rubber thing but that said the Patrol keeps up with traffic easily and on the highway it has power to burn. That said though I am looking at various way too cure its sub 1500 rpm sluggishness that is a 'standard extra' of small capacity turbocharged diesels(exhaust, chip ect but $$$ restrict that currently). The 2.8 however is a six cylinder with a higher compression ratio (21.5 I believe) than the 3.0l (17.9) so that it is not as noticeable although I am expecting differing opinions on this from the diehard 3.0l matyrs. Basically the more pistions you can have the less the engine will work as the load is more distributed over the engine and not having be reliant on power being given every 180 degrees of crankshaft rotation. (120 degrees with a six, 90 degrees with a V8). Car makers are slowly waking up to this: 2.7l TDV6 in Discos, 3.0l V6 CRD/CDi in Merc/Jeep, 4.4l V8TD in new Cruiser and Nissans new big capacity 6/8 (??) cylinder engine on the way.

This said though I have done a few trips with a highly modified 3.0l (was a manual though!) and was pretty keen on one until the reports of 'grenading' surfaced. I do not use mine for towing anything over 1.5 tonne. Small capacity engines are by designation for light towing only (again those from an un-engineering background will swear opposite), if towing anything over this and want some kind of longevity then you have 3 choices: 4.2lTD 100 series, 4.2l TD GU Patrol or F series.

I hope some of this helps.
Ben

Oh, and look at Trucksters website (www.gupatrol.com.au) for 3.0l confirmation. The later ones are supposedly 'fixed' but no-one knows what Nissan/Renault did to it and only time would tell if this bandaid has worked. Older tech engines may not be the most economical/fastest but thier proven beyond doubt reliabilty is the reason they are still selling in larger numbers than modern unproven/unreliable donks.

Sorry Truckster.
its actually www.gupatrol.com

What a disappointing website from a bloke who has had heaps to say on this forum about 3.0 Patrols!

Kingo

Or me. Are you insane?

sorry to post off topic but interested in your opinion of the pathy, I drove an auto on the weekend and found it to be very quick off the mark, but also very noisy, what is your opinion, thanks Eric.

Hi Eric,
I have had the new Pathie for about 3 days now and have about 450kms on the clock, the noise level in the cabin is much quieter than the Patrol and comfort for driving is fantastic. I got the Ti with all the bits and for a smidge under 60k drive away (bull bar, tow bar, snorkel, winch, lights and roof racks there is not much else around that offers a better bang for buck. The way that I judge the noise level is with my GPS unit in the car, in the Patrol I need an extension speaker and on high volume to hear it but not in the Pathie its only about half volume.
I love the new truck for comfort and fuel economy!
Ben.

I mean for not even concidering the 3 ltr

cheers for that adivce motherhen, your right, and there are positive stories out there for the later models. For the past 6 years I have been driving a 2.8ltr Hilux and to be honest, i have and quite often have to, flog the guts out of that, 304,000kms and its still going strong. I know with the 3.0ltr patrol, flogging it to death will be its death. With all the extra grunt over the hilux, i'd doubt i'd need to give it to it. Steady as she goes. Holding off a few more weeks untill i'm in Perth and then off to Sydney, hopefully some good rigs will come up during that time. If i buy from east, i'll see how i go for transport. It wouldn't be so bad if i lived in Perth but i'm in the North. Tom Price, Karijini country!!

Sydney to Tom Price is a hell of a long way on a rather tight for time scedual