patrol 3 lt turbo going bang please explain

Hi Mick I just traded my Patrol 3 ltr diesel,manual, 6 years old 265,000 Km. only thing I spent on it was for a blocked radiator. Purchased a new Navara and it is the "ducks guts", but if you have kids a need rear seat room maybe a but tight.

Cheers

the three litres are good, it was the 2.8 that went bang on a regular basis.

i am only going on the evidence we see in the workshop, replaced three 2.8 in the last two months, all were around the 150,000 k mark and all had destroyed pistons , only 3 litre had one cylinder compression out of spec.

Mickpaj
It seems series 1-2, 3ltr's had, in some examples, a problem with oil delivery to a piston crown resulting in them blowing a piston. It must be said right now not all had this problem, in fact the greater majority are fine. The problem seems to have been rectified in Sr3 on.

My Sr3 has over 150000km on the clock with no problem, in fact I am grateful to this hysteria for the fact that it seems to have suppressed the prices of all 3ltrs.

For this reason I have a car that is extremely capable for 1/2 the price of an equal tojo.

If you want the full story, do a simple search through this forum.

By far the majority of Nissan owners have a reliable and capable car, despite what non owners will try to tell you, especially one clown known as 'goingplatinum' who only comes out of the woodwork to heap crap on Nissan's and had no first hand knowledge on the subject as is obvious by his silly comments.
Colin.

This subject has been done many times so there is a wealth of info in the archives.
Just a recap, it is the 2001 series II that have been the problem, but having said that there have been the odd lemon in the later series. There is also many reports of 3L clocking up hundreds of thousands of Ks with no drama,
The bad press has come from a number of earlier ones dropping their bundle in a big way; #2 & 3 pistons going bang and the subsequent hassle of dealing with less than helpful, or downright hopeless pigs of dealers. Nissan seems to need a prod with a sharp stick as well to come to the party.
DO NOT buy one without a proper service record, that applies to any vehicle as there will not be much show of any warranty.
I have a Series II 3L auto with a Dtronic and so far has been a good, powerful (for a diesel) and economical touring vehicle with 100K on the clock. Be aware they are very sensitive to the quality of fuel that you put in the tank. I have had to replace a fuel pump due cheap diesel. The pump was only $1600, but the labour was a lot more as the engine is built around it, a bit like some of the aircraft I work on.
To sum up; a series 3 or later with a service record and not obviously having been bashed around the bush will be a good economical touring vehicle which will go most places you want it to, your skill will be the deciding factor. Do replace the OE woeful springs and shockies as it will make a big difference in ride and handling.
Buy and enjoy.
Have put my tin hat on and bulletproof vest on in preparation for incoming flack.
Cheers, Graeme

Well just keep looking somewhere else. You may be lucky and jag a good one but it's a risky bet. Rather your money than mine.

Hi Mick,

The early 3.0TD's (series II) had a habit of blowing pistons 3&4 between 50,000-150,000kms. In Europe they did a recall and exchanged all engines with the later model series III, but in Australia all they did was shorten the dipstick (oil capacity went from ~5 to ~8 litres). While it's only a small percentage of series II's that actually went bang, its a common enough problem that I would avoid a series II.

However, the series III and IV have been modified and I have yet to hear about an owner reported series III or IV having the same problem. Also, I doubt Nissan would go to the expense of exchanging all engines if they hadn't fixed the problem!

I have had my series III for over 3 years and reckon it been a great reliable, economical and powerful vehicle. I have a Dtronic and now have 420Nm of torque, more than a 4.7L V8 petrol landcruiser. It also notably reduces the lack of power just off idle (an auto masks this).

If you search the archives here, you will find an inordinate amount of info about the Nissan 3.0TD that contains a lot of bagging, but rarely does a series III or IV OWNER have anything but praise for the vehicle, only "expert" non-owners seem to bag them!!!

Cheers

Captain