blown 3.0TDi engine

thanks for the tip. Have posted same on that site but no replies as yet.

engine had 141k. never driven in traffic. never stacked Towed camper trailer for 20k after first 20k of its life. Use Fuchs oil. Oil and filter changed every 7-8k, twice as often as recommended in hand book. Serviced by me. Went near Nissan with what turned out to be a faulty air flow chip but they changed the intercooler for good measure!?! That's the only work it has had done. Factory built date June 2000 roaded in Australia August 2000 so it didn't sit around too long.

Only warranty work at first service was the shorter dipstick and sensor change which added almost 3 litres the oil capacity. The next warranty was a new radiator at Mt Isa at about 21k.

This caused by the engine over boosting, all nissan 3L owners need to fit a boost gauge and when the boost gets up to 24psi get the vehicle looked at by a dealer,the vehicles should only run at about 14-16 psi,shorter dipsticks were fitted and a different grade of piston is used in later models but is still caused by too much boost

HI Pastie,
I don't want to open a can of worms but you seem to be pretty sure about your response.

Can you tell me why you have attributed the overboost factor (alone) to piston failure (i.e. holes and/or melting)?
The alloys used in pistons can take significant amounts of heat so there is either a cooling problem (lack of oil), a density problem (pores in alloy) or a reduction in cylinder volume causing increased compression (due to soot build up).

I've heard that there is an oil channel located directly underneath the piston head, has anyone seen one to confirm this?

okay. Thanks. Looks like a good trip.

I did approach the local Nissan delaership but their advice was since it was out of warranty the course of action planned (to replace the engine) was what they recommended. Not in writing of course. Can't manage without a vehicle where we live so was in a hurry and did the change over in 7 days.

Hi Trevmari

What did Nissan quote you for a new motor or fix the existing one >???

Where you are what is the overall opinion of the Nissan 3 liter diesel

The local Nissan dealer can't do much for you. You need to chat to customer relations in Melb.

Leroy

The local dealer didn't give a quote on fixing the engine, only the price of a new one. That was $14.5k plus GST plus labour plus there wasn't one available in Australia.

Nissan Melbourne is who I have taken the claim up with plus a range of questions which they have pointedly ignored in their response.

apparently a new short motor is now $6.5k so I don't know how they could quote $14.5k. That price was posted here recently.

Leroy

paid about 8.5 with exchange and 6 months warranty. A bit stiffer than normal it seems but the replacement was pretty new.

I am gathring data about these engines, would you mind filling in my survey and returning to me at admin(at)djolsen.com

Survey is at http://www.djolsen.com/nissanpatrolsurvey.doc