SAFE 3.0L TD ?

[money_killer]

hey guys back in the market for a family patrol wagon.

think im going to bite the bullet and get a 2nd hand 3.0L TD wagon for a family car. what 3.0L TD are safe that dont blow up dont want any lemon troubles? any 3.0L 2005 and after ? just want to be clear for my own sake

thanks aaron

[turbo gu]

I would just buy a 4.8 petrol. Why run the risk! or look for a 100 series

[money_killer]

I would just buy a 4.8 petrol. Why run the risk! or look for a 100 series

really havent thought of that but surely they have fixed the lemon problem ?

[thehanko]

They fixed it in 2001,2,3,4 etc etc It seems to be a tapering risk the new the engine is the less likely to have issues, but over all is still a flawed design.

Having said that, I have a customer who works for nissan, he has done 2 engines - even though he worked at a dealer they didn't help him out, so far he is out of pocket over 20k .

For my money I would be too scared to even consider anything earlier than at least 2005 preferably 2006. But to be honest Would just buy a 4.2TD earlier 2000's if it were me.

There seems to be a reasonable amount of success from fitting pyro, boost, oil pressue and temp guages, as far as seeing when things go wrong and stopping before engine damage occurs. That would be a must IMO. It tells you if a sensor craps out - one of the common causes for boost or fuel etc to wind of the charts.

I had another customer who did an early 2000's 3.0 so fixed it and sold it then bought a newer one, at the top of the console they had 4 auber ins gauges in a row which could be covered by a little flick down lid thing - looked smick.

Oh and if you buy one and one day it seems to drive better than ever - stop its about to die.

[nastytroll]

We have a late model ZD30 ute at work that would not start, when started it had a miss. The blokes took it to nissan and got a $22k repair bill. I'm not sure what year it is but it would be less then 3 years old, its still on lease.

[thehanko]

We have a late model ZD30 ute at work that would not start, when started it had a miss. The blokes took it to nissan and got a $22k repair bill. I'm not sure what year it is but it would be less then 3 years old, its still on lease.

not great, they have a 3 year warranty, did it have too many k's or something? either way still not great.

[nabstud]

The CRD model (2007-present) seems to have a good record, none have had the melted pistons (I haven't found any during my internet research). The newer the better though.

[money_killer]

thanks for the replies

[nastytroll]

The CRD model (2007-present) seems to have a good record, none have had the melted pistons (I haven't found any during my internet research). The newer the better though.

We have had alot of issues with our ZD30 utes. All common rail. Turbo and engine issues still a problem. All our utes are dealer serviced and done to log books. All have 2 inch lift and mostly standard aside from rops n tyre carriers on the wagons.

[thehanko]

The CRD model (2007-present) seems to have a good record, none have had the melted pistons (I haven't found any during my internet research). The newer the better though.

We have had alot of issues with our ZD30 utes. All common rail. Turbo and engine issues still a problem. All our utes are dealer serviced and done to log books. All have 2 inch lift and mostly standard aside from rops n tyre carriers on the wagons.

even with the new ones? hmmm first ive heard of complaints about the crd's. not great.

[Skegbudley]

The CRD model (2007-present) seems to have a good record, none have had the melted pistons (I haven't found any during my internet research). The newer the better though.

We have had alot of issues with our ZD30 utes. All common rail. Turbo and engine issues still a problem. All our utes are dealer serviced and done to log books. All have 2 inch lift and mostly standard aside from rops n tyre carriers on the wagons.

I find that hard to believe.

What turbo & engine issues?

[nissannewby]

i have heard of a few of the crd ones blowing turbos however this is in the mining industry

[macneil]

we have the new one piece of shit the old di was way better on fuel and had way more power or thos apparently turning the snorkle head side ways helps the fuel economy.. i tried it it did work still not as good as the di tho...

our old di was sold too a mate they have 2 in the family and not a problem.. if you fit egr block dawes and needle valve it should be right...

[Ashley_bmx]

In the GU tech bible, go down to GU ZD30 Problems. They list in there that 2001 and earlier had all the problems, Cracking no.1 Piston. When everyone mentions that they got there engine replaced under warranty that nissan put a 2003 model long motor in. So i would presume i would aim to buy a GU with a 3litre in it after 2003. Apparantly the sump volume wasnt enough, and the oil temp was getting to high and wouldnt cool the pistons enough. So they fitted a larger volume sump and added a few more parameter sensors (Oil Temp and De-rate Or Shutdown i believe) and a new ECM to suit. If this is the only mod that nissan have made to the zd30 i still would not buy one. Pay the extra and buy a 4.2. Ash

[rob.2571]

mate of mine is a mechanic at nissan and recons that 2004 and 2005 are ok, before and after are no good.

[Bingham]

My 06 went boom.... @ 105 000 .. 2 & 4 piston. Good will on parts for rebuild and 2 k labour bill (otheriwse they were talking 12K). Only cos i kicked, screamed and threatened.

My best advice. Buy one just still in warranty (to aid your budget) then get extended NISSAN warranty for further 3 years (I think $1000 -1500 ish) Maybe. When its gooone sell it. My new one is humming but at 99 999 kms its going going goooone.

3L's are as safe as storm financial.....

[awill4x4]

I'd post the list I started about ZD30 engine failures but I don't think there's enough room with just under 190 members of a handful of forums that have suffered from the dreaded ZD30 disease so I think it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Regards Andrew.

[KiwiBacon]

Here's something really really interesting.

The VP44 ZD30's run the exact same Zexel ECU as my YD22 work car, YD25DDTi van and the YD25DDTi D22 navaras.
Yet none other than the ZD30 have a rep for melt-down.

The tune in the YD25DDTi's is hotter than the ZD30, they run more boost and have slightly more power and torque per litre.

Anyone want to post me an ECU so I can pull the program off it and compare?

[nastytroll]

Had a chat with our feild service coordinator last night and we have had 3 common rail ZD30 engines shit them selves in the last 4 months, all $22,500 rebuilds from nissan. In that time we have also had 5 turboes done aswell. 2 newish navaras, have 6 speed manuals, with cooked engines. This is just in our Qld section.

[KiwiBacon]

Had a chat with our feild service coordinator last night and we have had 3 common rail ZD30 engines shit them selves in the last 4 months, all $22,500 rebuilds from nissan. In that time we have also had 5 turboes done aswell. 2 newish navaras, have 6 speed manuals, with cooked engines. This is just in our Qld section.

That's impressive. What are you using them for?

[chunks]

Just don't do it. Buy something else.

[Skegbudley]

Had a chat with our feild service coordinator last night and we have had 3 common rail ZD30 engines shit them selves in the last 4 months, all $22,500 rebuilds from nissan. In that time we have also had 5 turboes done aswell. 2 newish navaras, have 6 speed manuals, with cooked engines. This is just in our Qld section.

That sounds like car abuse to me.
They just don't die like that otherwise.

[Bingham]

where do we drive the fine line between 'car abuse' and simply being driven/worked hard. If they cant handle it maybe they need to have in fine print 'suit grandads who wont rev over 2500rpm and wont carry more than a load of bark chip... That being said mine gets driven hard and only blew motor in one and auto in other..... Very interesting hearing about the CRD utes as in my thread 6 mnths back was none now it seems a few poping up. Maybe plenty of donor utes for 6L conversions coming,,,

[Skegbudley]

where do we drive the fine line between 'car abuse' and simply being driven/worked hard. If they cant handle it maybe they need to have in fine print 'suit grandads who wont rev over 2500rpm and wont carry more than a load of bark chip... That being said mine gets driven hard and only blew motor in one and auto in other..... Very interesting hearing about the CRD utes as in my thread 6 mnths back was none now it seems a few poping up. Maybe plenty of donor utes for 6L conversions coming,,,

I also drive mine like I stole it everyday. It has never had an issue. As far as I am concerned. They are ment to rev to 4500 so I rev them that high.

As for the CRDs blowing. As you know from Patrol4x4.com It is very rare.
My comments are in relation to such a large number of failures in a small group. Unless the mechanics are faaaarking up. They must be getting abused big time.

[KiwiBacon]

The referencs above to "cooked engines". Overheated to failure?

[nastytroll]

The referencs above to "cooked engines". Overheated to failure?

I don't know details of the over heated navaras. I start a new job on Monday with a ZD30 ute that has just been fixed in Mackay. Hopefully its more reliable than the ones at my old job.

[shorty4x4]

The melt downs in zd30 motors was fixed late 03 and was due to wrong oil squirters allowing pistons to get too hot then the cool fuel would burn a hole straight through, usually number 3.
just look for a 4.2 td and u cant go wrong

[KiwiBacon]

The melt downs in zd30 motors was fixed late 03 and was due to wrong oil squirters allowing pistons to get too hot then the cool fuel would burn a hole straight through, usually number 3.
just look for a 4.2 td and u cant go wrong

That explanation doesn't convince me. If all is well, the fuel spray doesn't actually touch the piston.

[chunks]

The melt downs in zd30 motors was fixed late 03 and was due to wrong oil squirters allowing pistons to get too hot then the cool fuel would burn a hole straight through, usually number 3.
just look for a 4.2 td and u cant go wrong

That explanation doesn't convince me. If all is well, the fuel spray doesn't actually touch the piston.

Not to mention the fact that plenty of post 03 motors have gone bang...

[tweak'e]

theres a ton of theories on why the early ZD30's went bang. the oil increase was a bandaid and it wasn't a bigger sump, they simply shortened the dipstick.
i suspect it simply was poor pistons.
however they still have issues due to the poor control system. it runs EVERYTHING off the MAF sensor, which is well known in most vehicles to go faulty. CRD engines use MAF for fuel but MAP for turbo control.
afaik nissan has never admitted that anything is wrong with them let alone why they blow.

The VP44 ZD30's run the exact same Zexel ECU as my YD22 work car, YD25DDTi van and the YD25DDTi D22 navaras.

and i think the patrol is the only one out of those that uses MAF sensor.

patrol crd blowing up ?? sounds odd. however crappy fuel can cause that. injector sticks and blows a hole through the piston like a plasma cutter.