2.8l turbo? is it any good

[nibbsy]

i have heard reports to stay well away from the 2.8 turbo motors. cant really remember what the fella told so if someone has some info on the engine, good or bad, it would be great.
nibbsy

[Phunkshun]

GQ or GU? the GU go hard parents have one and use to tow a 6m fiberglass boat no worries up the ranges round Cairns, just watch the flywheel the dual mass one on my parents one let go and rip the guts out of the clutch aswell around 200,000km other than that they are a nice car and very easy to drive

[MuddyTroll]

My advice is to stay well away from them.
Let me tell you a little story.
I owned a 1997 2.8 turbo diesel GQ RX Limited Edition with 240,000 on it. In 2 years I replaced the radiator, replaced the EGR valve, replaced the exhaust and intake gaskets twice, replaced the turbo dump pipe gasket twice and finally gave up after it spat a timing belt tensioner bearing. The result was a total implosion of the top end of the motor. I also noticed prior to this it was losing compression on cyl #3.
The maintenance work untill it died was all done proffesionally and cost a fortune. They rev higher and so thier life expectancy is reduced and the turbo has to be tuned quite high to make the engine perform to the same standard as the competitors. The extra stress this puts on the engine causes continuous failures and ultimately costs a fortune to simply keep on the road.
I'd had enough and after getting the quote to repair the spectacular failure, I decided that changing the engine for a trusty 4.2 TD42 was the way to go. The motor has been in it for over a year now and I haven't had to touch it at all other than the mods I have been doing to it. The block, radiator, injector system, all of it has been sweet as. I couldn't be happier with it.
I don't know how the new 2.8L and 3.0L turbo diesels go in the GU's but I believe the life expectancy will be much the same.
Good luck but for my money, I'd save for the TD42.
Dave

[MONSTATROL]

My advice is to stay well away from them.
Let me tell you a little story.
I owned a 1997 2.8 turbo diesel GQ RX Limited Edition with 240,000 on it. In 2 years I replaced the radiator, replaced the EGR valve, replaced the exhaust and intake gaskets twice, replaced the turbo dump pipe gasket twice and finally gave up after it spat a timing belt tensioner bearing. The result was a total implosion of the top end of the motor. I also noticed prior to this it was losing compression on cyl #3.
The maintenance work untill it died was all done proffesionally and cost a fortune. They rev higher and so thier life expectancy is reduced and the turbo has to be tuned quite high to make the engine perform to the same standard as the competitors. The extra stress this puts on the engine causes continuous failures and ultimately costs a fortune to simply keep on the road.
I'd had enough and after getting the quote to repair the spectacular failure, I decided that changing the engine for a trusty 4.2 TD42 was the way to go. The motor has been in it for over a year now and I haven't had to touch it at all other than the mods I have been doing to it. The block, radiator, injector system, all of it has been sweet as. I couldn't be happier with it.
I don't know how the new 2.8L and 3.0L turbo diesels go in the GU's but I believe the life expectancy will be much the same.
Good luck but for my money, I'd save for the TD42.
Dave

Dave, did you do this conversion yourself? Interested in any advise you may have. cheers, russ.

[rogantriton]

i bought a 2.8 gu wagon about a month or so back and have been realyl impressed with it, it has done everything ive thrown at it with ease. i even pulled out a bogged cement truck at work the other day (weighing in at a little over 9 tonne ) if it doesnt have a aftermarket exahust on it it wont pull the skin off a rabbit. but apart from the gutless ness of it it is the best car i have ever driven. shits all over my old mans discovery and thats supposidaly a luxury car

[PGS 4WD]

Do a poll.
I bought a good one, $3k blown motor and no first gear, I'm nearly finished with the 4.2 install and gearbox.
Fitted an L76 to one that had a ceased bottom end 6 months after getting a new turbo and reco head 6 months earlier from another workshop. Another with a cracked head, another with a blown turbo, don't forget the dead gearbox one, andI nearly forget the $2500 duel mass clutch.
Personally I'd say they fail more than they should, plenty of people will tell you they haven't had issues, but I wouldn't buy one expecting it to last.

Joel

[MuddyTroll]

Dave, did you do this conversion yourself? Interested in any advise you may have. cheers, russ.[/quote]

Yes I did. Had the unofficial help of a mechanic mate though. There were some minor issues with the engine mounts not quite matching and so had to be engineered to suit and the 4.2 gearbox has a different clutch lever config. The front and rear tail shafts needed engineering as the lengths wern't quite right and the end plates had a different bolt pattern. I kept the original diffs as the ratios went better with the 35" muddies I have fitted.
The newly engineered engine mounts sit the motor slightly back and high compared to standard ones so I had to modify the Radiator fan cowling a little.
All in all I feel that these mods are minor considering the money I was laying out just to keep the 2.8 on the road. A small problem really considering that it hasn't cost me a cent in breakdowns since.
Also, in addition, the fuel economy is about the same. For the driving that I do, the little 2.8 had to be revved quite alot to extract the ponies from the motor. This was burning alot of fuel. I was getting around 480km out of a 90lt tank. The 4.2 doesn't have to work so hard and I don't need to rev it so much to get the same results so I end up getting around 530-550km per tank.
Just as a foot note, I live in the Collie hills in WA. There isn't a flat straight piece of road within 45 minutes of home so I needed an engine with the torque to get over the hilly terrain. I am repeatedly impressed by how easily the 4.2 does this.
I smile to myself every day that I have made the right choice not to stick with the 2.8.
Dave