2005 3L gu - general advice required

[4range]

G'day all,

My 1st post to this forum - I am a current Range Rover Owner so flame me as much as you like, cause I still reckon its a top vehicle no matter what anyone says.

Any how, to the question at hand.

I am looking at buying a low km 3.0L GU - I know nothing about the patrol apart from everything I've read here, good & bad - its taken ages to read all the info too so I've noted that there's a lot that been said that is not complimentary!!

Having said & read all of that, I am still considering buying the 3L.

the vehicle in question is an Auto & I want to know how well they go off road (not talking rock climbing comps here). - The Rangie (1988) is more than capable in the auto so how would the Patrol compare ?

Please dont tell me to buy a 4.2 - as the 3L is the right price & the right change over with the right bits on it.

Thanks

[MyGQ]

the 3L engine is a Grenade, they have had major problems with them in the past, and even now they are still having issues with the latest line of them

expect 120-150,000K's before to shits a piston and possibly throws a leg out of bed.

When they go though, they have some good power figures, in fact they can beat a 4.2L N/A diesel quite easy, and with an Auto on it, rock climbing will be easy

[4range]

Thanks for the response Mygq,

rightly or wrongly, reading through all the posts in this forum, I am reasonably satisfied that with proper (careful) maintenance that the problems may be largely avoidable - maybe I'm dreaming, dunno !

I must admit that I am not fully convinced on the Nissan but it's a DX and at the right price with low K's & still with manufacturer warranty.

My main concern is that it will be as capable off road as the Rangie is ( shouldnt be too hard as the Rangie is 20 years old & now pretty asthmatic.)

Any way I am driving the car at the moment & I am impressed so far - except for the lack of creature comforts !!!!

[Nev]

When they go though, they have some good power figures, in fact they can beat a 4.2L N/A diesel quite easy, and with an Auto on it, rock climbing will be easy

Mate, from experiencing the performance of the 3L I would dare say it would leave my Safari intercooled TD42T for dead, they go hard. Yes there is the question mark over longetivity that you've obviously read about but there is realistically very very few failures in the later models when you consider how many of them are on the road. Get it, do the safety mods like boost and EGT gauges, dawes valve, block EGR and perhaps fit thermo and just drive and enjoy. As for offroad ability, I've never driven a rangie but being solid diffs at both ends, having good travel (front lacks a bit though) and a pretty good auto box I highly doubt it will be any worse. The 3L is torquey when on boost but seems fairly smooth in its power delivery.

[4range]

Thanks Nev,

One of the other things that I am having difficulty in rationalising is the fact that the DX has NOTHING in terms of creature comforts - for a vehicle of this currency. My 20year old Rangie has more !!

I would have to think about retro fitting seats & the like - as you can see I am still not sure - coming from vehicles with power windows, mirrors central locking, adjustable seats ...blah blah blah.

Maybe I am getting soft.

[Nev]

Thanks Nev,

One of the other things that I am having difficulty in rationalising is the fact that the DX has NOTHING in terms of creature comforts - for a vehicle of this currency. My 20year old Rangie has more !!

I would have to think about retro fitting seats & the like - as you can see I am still not sure - coming from vehicles with power windows, mirrors central locking, adjustable seats ...blah blah blah.

Maybe I am getting soft.

Some may say you need to harden up mate but most people that will tell you that own a DX. I was considering getting a DX when I bought mine as they are considerably cheaper but ended up going an ST and to be honest, very glad I did. But it all comes down to what you believe is value for money. If you can live without the mod cons then you save money and it is less to go wrong with electric motors etc. I admit it would be bad to be stuck with with your electric window down in the middle of the outback....

[drew4130]

Mate, from experiencing the performance of the 3L I would dare say it would leave my Safari intercooled TD42T for dead, they go hard. Yes there is the question mark over longetivity that you've obviously read about but there is realistically very very few failures in the later models when you consider how many of them are on the road. Get it, do the safety mods like boost and EGT gauges, dawes valve, block EGR and perhaps fit thermo and just drive and enjoy. As for offroad ability, I've never driven a rangie but being solid diffs at both ends, having good travel (front lacks a bit though) and a pretty good auto box I highly doubt it will be any worse. The 3L is torquey when on boost but seems fairly smooth in its power delivery.[/quote]

Screw the same boost a ZD30 runs(15-17psi) into a 4.2td(7-8psi)and see what happens

[cooki_monsta]

give the zd30 some time, everyone seems to be pre concieved with its showroom bugs of the first release, by now they go quite well for a little donk, how ever only time will tell if it can stand the test of time

[Yom]

They fixed the direct injection melting issues alright.

(by ditching it and trying out common rail injection for a change and using emissions compliance as an excuse )

In all seriousness you've got a pretty slim chance it will blow up. Scarey thing is that if it is going to blow up on you in the near future the damage has already been done and there's nothing you can do to stop it and apart from stripping it down for a look inside there's no way to be able to tell if the pin has been pulled. Lets put it in perspective though - you've got no way of knowing if the pin has been pulled on ANY second hand car you're purchasing. All part of the risk.

But anyway even the most religiously serviced examples could have their pins removed. Its just a design trait of the fuel management on this motor - all it takes is one sensor to not tell the truth 100% of the time, a blocked airfilter/exhaust or even a bad batch of fuel and you could be on a path to holey piston town (population: you).

[Bingham]

mate, i just sold auto 04 3l and just bout 06 3l auto......

i would not but the manual personally, lag boost lag boost......

auto holds revs in boost is more pleasant to drive faster, fine/great offroad.... the only thing you will on first drive notice they do feel fairly dooey. you get used to planting it a second or 2 before you want to go.

use low range in real boggy stuff as always if playing about just to keep revs up and all good.

and i just got the st again and money well spent...... new shape started late 04 for the record.............

[Swerve]

Mate,

I got a 2003 GU ST Auto 3L. Bought it with 51k 2 years ago and now got 107k. Love the car and the auto is great.

Around town shes sweet, turbo pullls hard when you kick her back and great offroad. If your happy with the hand grenade tag they are great cars.

There is a great document you can download from www.patrol4x4.com with all the mods you can do etc.

http://users.on.net/%7Easchulze/ZD30/ZD ... Colour.pdf