The old Jackaroo TD 3.0 problem

What sort of oil ??

Nothing over 10W 30 or 40.......

Indeed re the $$ - Holden / Isuzu are obliged to fully rectify the injector reliability problem because it is acknowledged as safety related - IE, if the injectors fail in the described manner, the engine can speed up unexpectedly - might drive someone into a collision etc. Expect though that you will have to press the point - I got a letter inviting me to contact a dealer to have the injectors finally fixed - after that stage, nothing happened for weeks ("we are waiting on Isuzu for the parts etc etc etc") - classic runaround - they thought they could spin it out for months - got onto Dotars and 'stirred some possum' - that quickly got me a booking and the work was done.

Hi Guys,

I am an ex Holden dealership Service Manager and I can confirm that the 4JX1 engine injector/seal issues have plagued many people including the dealership network. Some people do tend to forget that the dealership did not actually make the vehicle that is probably driving both them and the owner to drink.

You MUST use a good quality oil 5W30 ina 4JX1. Nothing else. This is because of the design of the high pressure fuel pump and its operation particularly on cold start.

It is also desirable to change the oil and filter frequently and regularly.

Unfortunately the recall(s) for the 4JX1 (and recalls generally) are very specific and do not allow for pre-existing faults however related to be repaired under warranty by the dealership unless prior approval is obtained from the manufacturer. Without that approval the manufacturer will not pay the dealership for any of the work carried out on that vehicle because the correct processes have not been followed.

May I also suggest to 4JX1 owners that good quality clean fuel is also necessary for this engine.

MikeH

The 4JX1 was a real let done for Isuzu, them being the biggest diesel motor builder in the world, they went with Caterpillar in developing this fuel system well Cat did the developing.
I have two of the previous engines the 4JG2 a 3.1 indirect injection turbo, great motor cause its old technology.

Cheers Bruce

Hi Dave,
You are absolutely entitled to ask for information regarding recalls from any Holden dealership regarding any outstanding recalls for your vehicle and once asked the dealership is obliged to follow up.
When the injector recall (as opposed to the injector seal recall) came out there were huge issues with supply from CAT who make the injectors. NB this was a world wide recall. In many cases it was only when customers raised hell that Holden would supply from a reserve stock.

Unfortunately even if the injectors have been replaced there can still be problems. Irecall several cases where we had comebacks from faulty "new" injectors. If your problem is one of these then the dealer should be able to get approval to replace a faulty injector as a supplementary claim.

Going back to the oil- the high pressure pump operates from oil flow and pressure. If the cold rated viscosity is too high the pump will not work causing cold start issues.
FYI the first digit in an oil rating ie 5 in 5w30 is a measure of the oils ability to flow through a series of small holes at 0degC.
If you live in a cold climate area you could run the engine on 0w30. many modern engines run on this oil.

One of the issues with the 4JX1 is the bores in the cylinder head into which the injector sleeve is fitted. Sometimes even with new sleeves and injectors fitted there can still be fuel bypassing into the coolant or oil. It is the latter that triggered the recall because if the fuel fills up the sump the engine can feed directly off the fuel/oil mix through the pcv system and the result is the engine runaway situation. We had a few of these. Quite exciting on a road test.

SO

keep an eagle eye on your coolant and oil levels. If either show an unexplained increase (NB only check when cold) find out if there is any fuel present. If there is talk to your local Holden dealer. If it can be demonstrated that the fault is still recall issue then it has to be done again and in some cases Holden have come partially to the party in replacing the cylinder head. But i did have to fight really hard!!!

There are also issues where the fuel pressure sensor and oil sensor can leak down the inejector/engine harness corrupting the information to the ECU. this can cause all sorts of issues that can be hard to diagnose.

When the 4JX1 is going well they go really well. However there is always the threat of all these problems occuring or re occuring. You might want to consider changing to a 4WD with a simpler injection system.

All the best

Cheers

Mike