4.2 v 3.0 turbo diesel Patrol

Does the dtronic make a significant difference?

Johnad, the D'tronic stops the turbo lag, increases turbo boost , & someone told me it brings turbo in at lower revs. I think it has a significant inprovement on performance. Regards Bob
Where to next

Good one Truckster.
You should know that they both have the same gearbox.
They BOTH had issues with 5th gear when towing at low speed (lugging)
However Nissan has rectified this with a bigger 5th gear. ( I forget how many mm bigger it is), but I've seen the difference in the flesh, At John Robinson Nissan and it IS noticable.

Matter of fact, why take my word for it ?
Feel free to contact Adrian Prior, Service Manager. Nissan Rockdale
02-95976040.
He's been working on Patrols since Moses, and is a personal long-standing friend of mine.
Call him and ask him about Patrol gearboxes, and early 3.0 oil starvation. Get the facts. Make your decision.
j.

Josh, Ive been around the patrol lists for 3 years, what would you like to know?

There are many more 3.0's failing than 4.2s

I have the facts... Mate also works at Nissan headoffice in the engineering dept..

have a nice day.

Truckster,
The GU2 3.0l has an identical gearbox to the 4.2 GU2.
The ones in 4.2 have been failing as well.
When my 5th gear went I asked to inspect the stripped box. There was an issue with the 5th gear cog where it was splined onto the main shaft. The replacement cog has a longer boss at the spline (about 1/3 bigger). IMHO it was also a problem of manufacturing tolerances where there was insufficient interference in the fit between the 2 components (Ie the fit was not tight enough). Mine failed at 72k's and has since done 70k's without any issues.
The gentleman mentioned above is certainly knowledgable on the subject.

I would comment that the Patrol G/box otherwise is built like the proverbial outhouse.

As for the motors there have been some issues certainly with the GU2 versions which Nissan have honoured - my motor was replaced at 140k's. It does seem that more work is needed to make the 3.0l more bullet proof. As for the size thing - there are thousands of these size motors in the 2-3t delivery trucks doing a mighty job each day. Nissan has to improve matters in this department.

As for towing - the 3.0l will easily handle a large camper - however that said there is a need to keep them spinning above 2-2500rpm or they will bog down big time. (I have the manual)

I concur with other comments re the 3.0l on road being more lively than the 4.2T - have chased a few - the pickup is far better. This is especially true at 100kph. After all apart from the torque band in the 4.2 coming in at 1000rpm versus 2000rpm for the 3.0L the HP and Torque outputs are virtually identical.

Things in life are often a compromise and technology advances. For a new vehicle a 7 grand saving is hard to ignore (plus additional service costs for the 5k oil changes). For people who buy new and run to 100k's then VFM the 3.0l is hard to beat.

As for the problems - well that happens to everyone (eg the 80 series or the Hilux 2.8 etc - I guess that the Customer is now the QA department for a lot of manufacturers)

For long term ownership and serious offroad and towing - yes the 4.2T comes to the fore based on PAST experiences. I do not have any info regarding the longevity of the new intercooled 4.2T and the electronic injection as they have only been about for the last 12mths or so. It is difficult to ignore past performances, however the I/C4.2 is somewhat of an unproven identity. Much the same as one should buy a Commodore because it won Bathurst this year sort of stuff.

If you have any comments to add to this forum for the GU3 3.0l or the GU3 I/C 4.2T, I would be glad to hear them.

Regards

Pete G

Moses had a 3.0l and didnt have an ounce of trouble with it as I remember.Laterally Literal
Seriously Cerebral

Sean,
What noises?
Do you mean the kind of grinding noise at low rpm low speed?
If that is what the noise is forget it, nothing wrong with the gearbox or any of the transmition components.
It is a noise all 4.2s made since day one back in 1988 when it was first released in 1988 and it is due to the harmonics of the engine/gearbox combination.
Will

Will

thanks for that info but unfortanetely not. Dealer says noise is not normal and says box needs to come out. I will let you know.

Sean

Sean,

Must be a different noise then, everytime I am on a club trip or something people tell me "something is wrong with your gearbox" re: "the rumble" but it has been there since new and it now has over 155000kms...
Some Landcruisers do it to, the naturally aspirated 4.2 model one.
Will

Kim,

I agree, most cars these days have issues. Component suppliers are under time and cost pressure and so is the factory. It appears it's easier to fix things after the fact.

We have a 2002 3.0Di Auto which performs excellently, and tows a heavy boat and car/trailer combinations very well.

There have been two problems with it, a rattling passenger airbag and a leaking lift pump, both cheerfully repaired under warranty.

Neither of these items are unique to this model and could just as easlilly affect a number of other Nissans, maybe other brands too including almost certainly the 4.2 Patrol.

The engine woes on the early 3.0 Di may have been poor engineering, but given my experience with other new cars over the last few years continuing individual component failures are not unique.

A new '95 EF Fairmont I had went back for an Air conditioner compressor, two thermostats and housings and a tail light wiring loom. This was regarded as a proven model at the time, and basically the same as thousands of Taxi's.

Recently I've had new Alfa's and have had recalls for power steering hoses and ECU re-programming and in the first one the gearbox ECU failed. These bits were all ZF or Bosch, well known euro suppliers.

A mate has had big gearbox drama's in an X5, so it's not restricted to price!

The only vehicle I've had of recent times that was fault free was a '98 Jackaroo. Then the rocker cover leaked after a valve clearance check and diff oil pee'd out after they put 75W90 in it not 140W. Goes to show, if the car don't get ya, the gease monkeys will!

Regds

Bill