Buying a GU

hiya tetley, have had a 3.0tdi GU for a year now and have done nearly 50,000 k without a problem.
that includes a fair amount of offroad stuff, some heavy towing and a few long trips up to the warmer parts of W.A.
i went through the same thing when researching which 4by to get and it all comes down to personal choice.
i found the ground clearance, the best limited slip diff on the market, and its overall feel to be the deciding factors, plus a few other things as well.
do your research make your decision and dont let anyone steer you away from it.
good luck, and whichever 4by you get,,,,welcome to the ranks of the converted.

rick

Hi Tetley
Picked this up posted to the overlanders forum

Rob

you are the 5th 3.0 owner to blow an engine that i know of in aust in
the past 3 months..

the early ones are getting to the age now where they are ready to go.

i would ring val @ nissan headoffice warrenty to put a case to them and
see what they say.

roly
_________________
Wollstonecraft Sydney NSW
2000 GU Patrol with a "few" bits added on... , oh and a new engine
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

plenty of info on this site

http://forums.overlander.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6424&sid=067c63dcb951508dd628f4517c6fa22e

Kimbo

StickwiththeTD42, my old man has the 3L, heaps of little problems, ive got a new ute, the old mans about to trade in. my last truck with the td42 did over 500k being thrashed every day.

Tetely,

We have a 4.5L petrol GU with nearly 90K on the clock. Never had a moments trouble with it. We use it around town and tow an offroad trailer with it when touring (usually offroad as much as possible). LUV IT!

:o) MelissaPetrol 4.5L GU Patrol &
Camprite TL8 offroad camper

lets geta few facts straight rather than heresay.

the early ZD30's were recalled for an extra 2.5 litres of oil capacity in aug-sept 2000, around the same time, new design engines were being fitted to the new cars at the factory.

these new engines have over 25 internal changes includin istons, oil sensors, oil spray patterns etc etc

Nissan are replacing the early ZD30 engines with brand new 2003 long motors, they also supply the new 2003 ECM to go with the new design engines.

this is due to overheating of the pistons resulting in cracking and in my case a hole in 1 piston.

mine was replaced by nissan as "goodwill" as the engine failed on the last day of the warrenty - 3 years.

i know of nissan replacing other early ZD30's with broken piston OUTSIDE OF WARRENTY.

so any car that has a new replacement engine is fine,

the gearbox is similar, in june 2002 a new mainshaft design was available for premature failure of 5th gear. i got mine under warrenty in july 2002 (even with 4" lift and 35's and twin arb diffs etc etc)

Roly

I have had FWD's for 20 years these include 2 petrol 55's and 1 diesel 80's, 96 landcruiser which I put a DTS turbo in. I have also had 4 pajeros 3 of them were diesel one of them cracked its head cost $2500 for me to do it up myself I also put new pistons in it while I was at it. Now I have a 2002 GU series 3, 3ltr diesel with 30000ks on the clock have been towing 18ft van with it no problems yet, but I have taken out the extended Warranty which will take it to may 2006. I am very happy with it and it goes like a rocket. I think it is the best one I have had yet.

Tetley but honestly.
If you heard stories about GU 3l having a lot of problems , would you even consider to try your luck. I wouldn't .
Classifieds are loaded with 3litre TD GUs that seem to be just out of warrenty.
I like a lot of things about GU and would buy one but 3l would not be my first option.
4.2 TD looks like a truck you can take to hell and back and still
drive your family to church on Sunday.

Tetley. Had my 3.0TD Auto for seven months. Now done 33000km. Mostly carrying a fair bit of weight for work. Very economical. Plenty enough power. Have a bit of a problem now. Got leaks in transfer case and auto transmission. First time I took it back to nissan they wiped the fluid off and told me there was nothing wrong. Now after a little complaining, it's going in next Tuesday to be repaired. Otherwise a great vehicle. Goes anywhere and further than any other standard fourby.

Ring Shelley at Nissan 03 9797 4111 she can tell with your vin number if the 3 litre has the modification to the oil capacity.
I have had 4 nissans including 4.2 diesels,the 3 litre is the best yet.
Performance and economy,do not be put off,they are great.
regards

Thanks for the replies all. The bullit was bit and the 4.2 won.
Tetley