Nissan 3ltr blow ups.

Hello Angler,
I possibly will and how right you are regarding the value of money ,how does yours handle the towing duties with your caravan? I assume the pic is of yours.
Thanks Alan.

No problems so far. Mine is an auto and I reckon this may alleviate any overloading of the engine a little. I get around 16L/100 towing the van. The van is close to 2200 Kg ATM with 270Kg on the towbar. Open road with just tow of us on board we get close to 10L/100. Round town I manage to get 12L/100.
I now tow with the overdrive turned off as the EGT is much lower at 450 and the boost drops to 10psi or so. In O/D temp is 500 most of the time and boost up to 15Psi.
Revs increase from 2200 rpm to 3000 when out of O/D at 95Kph.

He would probably want to find out why the hose came adrift.It could be over-boosting.

Hahahahahahahahah very good Stefan.

Sorry,
meant to enquire what "trawling" entails on this forum?
Thanks Alan.

Alan,
Trawling is one of the terms used to describe the malicious posts of someone who is just trying to stir the pot. They put up a post about a subject that they know will bring out the worst in certain people who are quite one-eyed about the marque of vehicle they choose to drive/desire.

As such, when someone puts up a new post like you have done, especially when it's 2nd or 3rd hand info, then various people (usually those who own one of the troubled vehicles mentioned in the post), will jump down your throat, claiming/asking whether you are trawling for a bite....like throwing a baited hook into a sea of fish etc.

Hope this explains it.

I am a bloke who sits in the Nissan camp, but quite openly admit I would NEVER buy a 3 litre Patrol. I also admit to agreeing that the new Toyotas seem to be a very desirable vehicle; but (to me) overpriced. I would have one if I were rich...hahaha

Roachie

ROACHIE

"Trawling is one of the terms used to describe the malicious posts of someone who is just trying to stir the pot."

..................................................... this has to be KEV! :-O

Westozal,

There are also the people that get some sort of satisfaction out of other peoples misfortunes eg,motors blowing up,submerging vehicle in acreek.burning etc.

Of course it never happens to them but seldom do they
assist with the problem which is what this site is all about.NOTE:I,m not including you in this category.


Cheers

Gidday Roachie,
Thankyou for explaining "trawling" to me.
I wasn't intending to faciliate a vehicle comment war as I in fact like my Nissan but am concerned re the above issue.
It always seems to be in the back of my mind and I suppose seeing a post re a later model having engine failure prods my latent nervousness re this vehicle.
As such I guess I do seek solace in comforting comments from others regards the Patrol or in fact consider the rather expensive idea of replacing the aforementioned Patrol.
I really dont have any particular replacment in mind either as this car does as I want in the main.
Regards Alan.

Boy this site can be such a revelation.Roachie has come out and stated that he is a wanna be Toyota owner. OMG How the wheel turns.

Woops, I need to withdraw my comment above. I just realised that Roachie was posting his Friday Funny but under the wrong Post.LOL Never mind Bill, There is always next week.

This indeed has been done to death. I have a 2003 3.0 approaching 200,000 kms, LPG fumigated. It has never been to a Nissan dealer and never will.

So far so good and if its meant to go bang it will, if its not it wont. FOr each one that does blow up I am sure there are 100's if not 1000's that dont, so I reckon its luck of the draw or something.

I have read about all this for the 4 years I have owned the truck now, but ultimately there isnt much I can do about it. Yes I could sell, but whats the point given the amount of money you will loose on the sale, after all the mods etc etc.

Ill deal with it, when and if it even happens I guess. Until then I have no complaints whatsoever about the truck, except that the seating position could be higher, just like my old 1996 Pajero, now that was a car that I damn regret selling.......

JMHO....such is life.....

I totally agree with you Richard, that for every one reported blowing, there a many more out there still going strong. Even if you had to replace a motor in a Nissan, - you'd probably still be in front. They are that much cheaper than a Cruiser to start with and the difference increases for those using borrowed money. We have a Patrol (3 ltr td auto) and a Cruiser (manual). I prefer driving the Patrol, and as well my husband finds it roomier. Our daughter sabotages any attempt to sell it. Guess which one has done a gear box and blown a motor - the Cruiser. Yes it is the luck of the draw.

Motherhen

Many friends and family own or drive a company 3.0iTD Patrol or Prado and have now deserted the Land Cruiser due to the 200's price. I don't know a 200 owner, nor do I know any 100 series owner intending to update to a 200.

I actually like the 3.0iTD Patrol for its' size and versatility as a family 4wd, but I am not convinced about it as a legitimate regular tow vehicle of a 2 horse float or decent caravan. honestly believe that Nissan has been VERY lazy and missed the dropped the ball with development of the Patrol engine.

From where I sit, the geriatric, 25yr old 4.2 diesel with recently bolted on turbo is shamefully overpriced given its' outdated technology and is well overdue for retirement in current form.

To use the words of Martin Luther King..... I have a dream.......

1. If Nissan applied the 3.0iTD head & management technology to the 4.2 block, they would easily have a ball tearer of an engine, conservatively developing 200kw, making the ULP guzzling 4.8lt redundant.
2. The Patrol would then only need to be offered with the (and extremely capable and versatile) iTD.
3. With the efficiency & cost savings associated with a single engine, Nissan could price the Patrol so that it would kick some serious butt against the Prado and easily kill the 200 in the value for money stakes.

Enough of what ought to be and back to current reality....

A good friend just changed over one of the very last pre D4D engined Prado's with 190,000 km on the clock. Most of those km were covered in Western Qld off the tar, sometimes towing a tandem trailer with 1t+ on board. In the end that Prado looked quite ordinary, but despite the conditions served up to it, mechanically it didn't miss a beat. It was regularly serviced on time according to the arduous conditions regime and I feel this is imperative to its' reliability.

In the same circumstances, I don't think a 3.0iTD Patrol would have "cut the mustard."

The 3.0iTD Patrol has "heat issues." Why else does it have a radiatoor capcity twice the size of a 4.2 diesel?

If I was towing with a 3.0iTD, I'd definaltely upgrade to a decent heavy duty transmission cooler and also use a total fill heavy duty "racing" radiator coolant

Richard & Motherhen got it right.
I was one of the unlucky ones but the price i got my 2003 for and what it cost to replace the motor, I feel I still have a reasonable return for my money, and a vehicle that will now give me years of reliable motoring to come.
Colin.

I dont think the monetary side is the worst, its a ruined holiday or being stuck "somewhere" for weeks while its repaired that really scared me away when I brought my Patrol.

Sure buying the 3lt may get you in front, but Id bet most people wouldnt be thinking of that extra $15-$20k when stuck miles from home without a vehicle for weeks while its repaired.

ddr

Just remember though that the ruined holiday can be and is caused by many other vehicles besides the Patrol. Cruisers, Pajeros, Jeeps, Landrovers all break down.

As I said above for every one that does go bang, there are thousands that dont. I for one am more than happy with mine. Over the last 4 years it has been totally reliable, not missing a beat. Now almost at the 200,000 kms point I am pretty comfortable with it.

If it does ultimately happen to go bang, then yes I will not be happy. Would I get rid of it? No I wouldnt. I sure wouldnt be happy to have to spend another 15 - 18K on it, thats for sure, but even having to do that I would still be more than 20K ahead as opposed to having bought a Cruiser instead of the Patrol.

Again JMHO and my experience.

ddr - of course. We experienced that when the gear all went suddenly on the Cruiser - leaving us stranded a long way from home. Repairs plus cost of recovery big $$s. We were without this ute again for many weeks after the motor went earlier this year. Thank goodness we still had the Patrol - although not a ute, it had to do all the cartage and on farm running until the Cruiser was fixed.

Mh

Hello Borgy,
Got a fair few replies to this thread so obviously there is a strong depth of feeling about this motor issue.
From what i've read etc getting off my arse as you so crudely put it would not make much difference to the end results.
However I do take the point that this issue has been raised prior and I for one won't raise your blood pressure any higher and post a thread on it again. As you are obviously sensative to postings regarding the 3 ltr motor can I respectfully suggest you bypass reading the thread on the above which will aleviate any potential inflammatory comments by way of reply from yourself.
As a conclusion I suppose my dismay was centred around the fact that this was a 2005 model which everyone states is not prone to these failures.
By their very nature I suppose repeat threads on certain topics are always going to occur and I expect that not everyone has the background knowlege or prior reading to avoid this issue.
Regards Alan.

Alan, as i came in on this thread earlier, i will make further comment: If the vehicle was yours - you may have a valid reason to post it on ExplorOz, and i'm sure people would offer good advice to you. However you chose to start a thread on third hand knowledge.

Motherhen

Hello Motherhen,
I have read your followup and possibly agree that you make a point that I hadn't considered regards thirdhand information.
As I stated previously I was perhaps reactive to further information recieved re these motors and potential for trouble down the track in a somewhat later model.
As this forum is open to one and all I dont see why I shouldn't raise an issue if it's pertinent to how I feel or further's others information base. I distinctly feel that this forum at times is policed to an extent by a minority and that if a post is not judged as worthy by members such as yourself and Borgy somewhat terse followups are posted.
I guess by the number of views on this thread that my post is not suffering from a lack of interest and there are some very respectfull and helpfull replies recieved. Perhaps you could reflect on this aspect yourself.
Regards Alan.

Amazing how quickly things can change Alan, in such a short period of time as well......

AnswerID: 305833 Submitted: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 20:31
westozal replied:
Hi,
My mates got a 2000 model man ST 3.0 with d tronic chip.Runs 305/75 BFG muddies now covered 163kms. Not had one problem with it in the four years he has owned it.
Another friend has a 2001 auto some 180 kms again nil issues.
Yet another friend has a 2000 man St and yes had some motor issues.
Another friend(mechanic) 2002 model auto again no issues in its 95kms.
You always tend to hear about the bad things regarding vehicles but when they go ok noone complains and judging the numbers on the road a lot do go well.
Economy roughly 10 to 12 ltrs per 100kms.
Hope this helps.
Alan.


Cheers......Borgy

BTW westozal, just to quote you.....

"By their very nature I suppose repeat threads on certain topics are always going to occur and I expect that not everyone has the background knowledge or prior reading to avoid this issue.
Regards Alan. "

Going by my follow up above, i would say that you had pretty good knowledge....wouldn't you???....Personally i think you may have been trawling, something that annoys the crap out of me, if you cant come up with a "GENUINE" post, why bother???

Allan
After doing a search in the archives, i say you definitely know a lot more about the problems associated with the 3 litre patrols than you make out, so now i am even more convinced that you are trawling, and i also think you owe Motherhen and myself an apology.....well ok maybe not me , but Motherhen at least....

Cheers.....Borgy with very good blood pressure

Hello Borgy,
Yes I have posted on this subject once previously as you so helpfully have pointed out. I have also pointed out that in the main I am very happy with this Patrol aside from the one issue. My previous thoughts re the economy and price comparison stand. I would say that on the whole my thoughts are not biased or designed to inflame one eyed Patrol owners. Perhaps Nissan themselves yes, make no apologies there as I would think at least some Nissan representatives would read forums such as this.
I will admit to being somewhat trigger happy when further information regards this raises it's head as I do not believe that a couple of posts on one subject spread over nearly 6 months constitutes trawling.
Unfortunately one of those vehicles I mentioned has in fact suffered piston failure as well recently.
I,m sorry your sensabilities has suffered by me raising a fresh post some six months later but in so doing I have only supplied further information, not attacked the credability of any forum users such as yourself.
For doing so and defending my right to do so on a public forum I apologise to noone, you will note that in fact despite the attempted censorship I am still not resorting to spitting the dummy.
But as I said previously I won't post another thread on this subject and i'm glad your blood pressure is fine.
When paying a lot of money for a product I would like peace of mind given its looked after properly, not live with the if and when thoughts associated with patrol ownership and the 3ltr motor.
One thought that perhaps we do share is that for now this thread has been done to death.
Regards Alan.

This is true Bruce, but it is Nissan that do not back what they sell.

I get really P!$$ed at Nissan for there complete arrogance surrounding this and a few other issues relating to them. You of all people know how much I love my Nissans but their service is CR@P !!!

Cheers Trevor.

TREV

totally agree with ya there mate.
they dont seem to think that "word of mouth" counts for anything.

Gotta agree with you guys here. I loved my 3.0GU Patrol, never had an issue with the motor but would not buy another Nissan again due to Nissan Australia's attitude. Have since bought 2 new cars and never stepped foot inside a Nissan dealership. Its a real shame as the Patrol is a great value for money package that I could of been tempted to buy again if Nissan Australia had a different attitude.

Cheers

Captain

The blame rests squarely with Nissan. Yes Nissan handed over responsibility of production of the 3.0iTD to Renault, but that doesn't in any way whatsoever excuse Nissan for their failure to stand by the product they sell.

If Nissan legitimately wants the customer loyalty they need to survive, they need to start treating customers like they are valued.

Addressing engine reliability issues with Renault behind is the scenes has nothing to do with product end users.

Sadly, Nissan's attitude to customer service is the most significant problem of all. Their attitude of putting their head in the sand doesn't make the problem go away, just the very customers they need.

I don’t know where these rumours started, but they have been around for a while. The ZD30 has absolutely nothing to do with Renault. In fact it was released before the Renault merger. Nissan now supply ZD and YD engines to Renault, but they are all built in Japan. The ZD30 is a derivative of the earlier Z24, which was quite a good engine as is the ZD30, but its management system lets it down.

Thanks for clarifying the manufacturer Chaz, I heard it on the internet that Renault was the engine maker so I thought "it must be right" LOL!!

Cheers, Trevor.

The last engine Nissan designed was the 2.7 TD in the Terrano 11 which was built in Spain..no I do not believe that they ever designed any thing after the 4.2. Chaz they have been to busy with the new Skyline mate LOL

Cheers Bruce.

Forgot to say I would like one of those ...SKYLINE ... that is ahahahahahh

The Nissan – Renault alliance started in 1999. ZD30 motors were designed and built for light commercial vehicles a few years prior, but Nissan only started supplying them to Renault in 2004 for the Renault Master and Mascott vans. Nissan supplied VQ35 engines from early 2002, but there are a few engines that Renault are supplying to Nissan now, such as the Almira and Micra 1.5CDi, 1.9CDi and three petrol engines in 1.5 (HR15DE), 1.8 (MR18DE) and 2.0liter (MR20DE) versions for the Primera. The first co-produced vehicles built by the alliance was in 2002 and they are now co- developing a small diesel. Renault have also adopted Nissans CVT transmission technology from Jatco.
Every reference to the ZD30 I have come across on the global scene refers to it as a Nissan ZD30, not a Renault ZD30.

Download THIS pdf document to learn the truth.
This is a very small, but relevant piece of it. It clearly shows that the ZD30 is Nissan and has been adopted by Renault.



I read an interesting article a few years ago about this subject, but cant find it now. It mentioned the origins of the ZD motors and their ancestry, long before the Renault - Nissan partnership.

Must admit Chaz you've got me there

Cheers Bruce

Sorry Bruce, I didn’t mean to push the point, but it just goes to show how rumours can become fact in some people’s minds. Just like the numbers of blown ZD30 motors that get bandied around.

In this day and age, it’s so easy to do a bit of research and find the facts. There is so much info on the net regarding this subject, that I’m amazed people still repeat what they’ve heard and red on forums.

All the best,
Chaz

Fare point Chaz...but no matter how much money I had I would not buy one......but why would I when I have two beautiful Isuzus hahahahahaha.

Cheers and thanks for putting me straight. Bruce

Well Bruce, I’d have to say “when you’re on a good thing, why not stick with it”.
My last 4by was also an Isuzu and there aren’t many days that go by that I regret selling it. Unfortunately, these days I’m past working on cars like we use to and my old Isuzu Elf was very much customised and frequently needed work. I bought the Patrol because I wanted something more comfy without knowing about their issues. I would have bought a 4.2 if they were available in auto. However, now that I’m stuck with the grenade, I’ve done all that I can think of to prevent it from detonating. I’m very happy with it and haven’t had any problems in the 120K and the 6years that I’ve had it, but hopefully regular maintenance, a few serious mods and fingers crossed should keep it going.
Cheers,
Chaz

Not possible unfortunately John, they are a variable vane turbo and it is fueled according to how much air is getting into the engine. If you released some of that air via a wastegate, it would be significantly overfueled and cause even higher EGT's.

Cheers

Captain

John, have a look at THIS.

A VNT is much better than a wastegated turbocharger, but Nissans control system is rubbish. Taking control away from the ECU solves the problem.

david mc
It,s not friday yet, so no more jokes until then mate, you know the rules, ROTFLMAO.
Colin.

Hi Dave,

If they won't fix the problems within the normal 100 thou warranty what the hell is giving the mongrels another 1500 bucks gunna do for one's piece of mind?

Regards, Trevor.

I agree Brew.

I have just had a new neighbour move in next door with a 3lt, "it runs sweet" APPARENTLY, but tell the truth it just doesn't sound right so I have passed on this website for him to do some research with. Hope he finds his answers before he has to open his wallet.

Cheers, Trevor.

Hi Brew69 and all interested others,

If the prevalence of blown up ZD30's is as high as 1 in 2 as you sort of guess, why hasn't someone contacted a high profile aggressive law firm (eg Slater & Gordon) and started a "Class Action" to bring action against Nissan.

They (S&G) would love a case like that, high profile, lots of media coverage and possibly, just possibly, they may achieve something for their clients.

Just my thoughts.

And FWIW I drive a Disco 2, which is not without a problem or two of it's own.

Disco.

Second hand or third hand cars are worthless and GU 3-0 are worth even less than that! To sell it and change over is financial stupidity, as mentioned above, so the only option for us owners is to keep them, hope that nothing happens but deal with it if it does.
Apart from the engine they are a good vehicle. They are not as comfortable/economical as a Falcon or Commodore on the road but they are a great back road cruiser and capable off road chariot. The best thing to do is keep it, use it for what it is designed for but have a fall back plan if a major breakdown occurs. This applies to any vehicle you have but due to the GU 3's track record you tend to think more about it as it can happen without suddenly and without much warning. Having lived through it once, and I was very lucky as I was 10kms from home, there are subtle warning signs that I now can decipher. Expensive lesson? Well yes but I have spent just as much on other activities like computer programs, caravans, eating, so it does not ruin you financially either. It may inconvienience you if it is your only mode of transport or you are away but worse things can and will happen in life.

Brew,

"I'm guessing it's probably 1 in 2."

So a half of all those 3ltr. Patrols one sees all over Australia have had, or are about to have, major engine failure.

I'm guessing you have no idea.

Breakerman

Breakerman,
whats important here the number's, or the fact, that a lot of these engines ARE blowing?????

I'm guessing you have lost the point.
Colin.

Disco,

Unfortunately with the indifferent service history of vehicles it is usually a case by case scenario and Nissan knows it. Even each Nissan service dept. use different oils for example which is to the benefit of Nissan Aust, in these situations.

Cost me 3 grand to get a nice "Thank you for once again being screwed by Nissan" type of letter when I went down the lawyers path. After this, when 5th gear stripped I didn't even bother with the solicitors even though this too is a "common" problem in the vintage vehicle I have, cheaper just to suck it up and fix it PROPERLY myself.

Cheers, Trevor.

Colin,

I'm guessing you don't get the point. A number of these engines have blown up to about mid 2003 Series 3. How many since then and how many as a proportion? You don't know yet you assert that you do. Nobody's perfect. Of course, one is too many but this alarmism is not based on hard fact. There are many hundreds (probably thousands) of 3ltr Patrols out there running well and which will continue to run well. If the situation was as you describe there would certainly be a class action against Nissan.

Breakerman.

Breakerman
WTF!!!!
I described nothing, I Said nothing, All I know is my one did.

To suggest otherwise AS YOU DO is foolish and head in sand stuff.
Over & out

Yeah, and on this forum alone 35 people have suffered the same problem with their ZD30's blowing up.
Regards Andrew.