Nissan 3lt turbo DI 2003/2004

So long as your caravan and full payload fall well within the species, you will love you Patrol.

We have a 2002 auto (now for sale). The much maligned ones with the problems (still only probably a low percentage, were built pre October 2001).

Ours pulled our Bushtracker caravan with ease and comfort, but we decided to get the F250 as with the 2.2 t tare, just filling the water tanks within any luggage would bring us near to the legal limit.

Just wait for the 'Nissan Knockers' to tell you every 3 litre Patrol is going to explode!

We also have a Landcruiser, and the Patrol has proven more reliable, more comfortable, and roomier for my large husband.

Motherhen

My parents had a 2000 model and they had a gearbox failure (5th gear) 180000ks, due to not being properly serviced and now the engine has appaered to of cracked it's head, hydraulic locking the motor.
Cost could be over $5k to half fix, others have had total engine failures and spend in excess of $10000 to fix, not fussed at the major dramas his 3.o has caused, he traded it in straight of the back of the towtruck, on, guess what? another 3.0!, this time new
Overall he's wrapped with the way the patrol towed the 2.5 ton caravan around the country, and is happy with every other aspect of the vehicle, so thanks to the mining boom in the west he has the funds to buy a new one, so thats what he did.
The old one was bought second hand (100000) with books, but had evidence of not being properly serviced, so, my BIG tip is to check for service history.
The ones that did fail, where BIG failures and gained the 3.0 a bad rap, heaps out there with big K's and no probs, but a few bad ones with $10000+ repair bills give owners a lot to be concerned.
Shane (pro Toyota)

Some people seem to think that the failures of the ZD30 turbo-diesel are an overblown myth or pure fiction. But do some research with a big bunch of current owners over here:

http://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/

Most of the failures (and they DO range up to at least 2005) stem from the MAF (Mass Airflow meter) becoming dirty and inaccurate, thus telling the ECU that there is less airflow, to which the ECU responds with "up the boost". Spikes of 26psi are not unusual. There should be fail-safes but there aren't. The D21 Navara ZD30's don't do it because they use a MAP sensor instead of a MAF.

The patrol forum guys (and it is aussie based BTW) have some very good info on how to prevent it happening, as well as a lot of background on what does happen when they have a meltdown.

As predicted Maria - here they come! No facts quoted, no personal experience - just read about a few.

As you will have read if you have looked at other threads on the Patrols, we and many others have fitted gauges (as we will do with the F250) to monitor boost and exhaust temperatures. Regardless of the make of vehicle, it is easy to cut back acceleration to avoid stressing the motor when towing, especially with the readings in from of you. We also wanted to fit an auto gearbox temperature gauge, but the Nissan dealer didn't do this when booked in, because 'it has already got one - the light will come on if the temperature gets too high'. We of course wanted to be able to let it cool a bit before it gets too high. If you go for the gauges, insist on the whole three - you can get a trio pod for them. That way you can ensure longevity of the gearbox as well as the motor.

Motherhen