Outer Limits 4x4 Board

What are the 2.8 turbo diesels like, are they relible?
Is there anything to look for when buying one?
If anyone has one can they give me any pointers.

Any advice would be fantastic

Cheers

I thought I would get in before the 4.2 gang say don't bother they are gutless. It all really depends on what you are planning on doing with it. I have owned a 1997 GQ II for about three years now and its got 210,000 on the clock and has never missed a beat. It does suffer a little on the highway especially going up hills and I wouldn't recommend one as a tow rig.

Make sure you check the service book to make sure the vehicle has had regular oil changes. The interval on the 2.8 is every 5,000.

Other than that they just suffer from the inherent GQ problems such as rust around the rear windows, they have a crap turning circle and they are crap to drive around town but they do have a lot of character. I have been more than happy with mine and you can flog the guts out of them and nothing breaks.

the patrol i was looking at was a 2001 model and it seemed to pull ok and it wasnt blowing any smoke, however i would probably not be towing any thing with it maybe a boat once in a while. What makes them bad for driving around town?

Is there any difference in models (aside from the shape)?

Forgot to ask that originally?

gilvisentin wrote:What makes them bad for driving around town?

The size, wheelbase, and steering of the LWB Patrols, regardless of engine, makes them a bit of a pig in traffic and in car parks.

However, outside heavy traffic and urban areas, they really hit their stride.

not worried about that I used to own an 84 patrol with 35 tyres that had no turning circle :-) I like driving large 4bys (its the only way) as for any major engine probles to look for theres nothing really to worry about?

2.8L Diesel is more reliable engine than the 3.0L ZD30 as they have never thrown a leg out of bed like the 3L Diesel does.

As for power, they have none, if your towing anything over 700KG, forget it.

they are pretty quick off the mark, especally the GU since they are intercooled to get more power out of them, as for hills, my TD42 without turbo will go up hills quicker than they will, if your just looking for a basic car that you won't be throwing big tyres under, the 2.8 is ok, if you want to go anything more then 33" tyres, your again pushing S**t up hill.

I just got back from a 2000+ klm outback QLD trip and my 2.8 GU didn't miss a beat, drove fine with no drama's what so ever and economy was great. They are torque in boost range, but would stuggle pulling the 2.7t claimed towing capacity. I had approx. 600-700kg, 2 blokes and a dog and I noticed the difference in acceleration, not huge but noticible.
I am a fan of the 2.8, lacks a little below boost, but drives fine from then on and it's not difficult to drive in boost.
Now a mate of mine just got a 4.2td 99 GU after selling his 2.8, I spoke to him tonight and said he was expecting alot more after all the hype, He said it was alot more driveable below 1900rpm, but other then that the power difference wasn't huge.
I know low down power is what 4x4er's are chasing so I would suggest to test drive as you may find the 2.8 is up to your driving style, or not.
My 2cents

i thought they replaced the rd28 with the zd30 in 99?

Mate
They are more trouble than they are worth.
had one and never again got a 4.2 turbo diesel gq and it goes like a
scalded cat and loving it.

my 2 cents

Nigel

j-top paj wrote:i thought they replaced the rd28 with the zd30 in 99?

Nissan first released the RD28T in a GU in late 1997/1998 with an intercooler fitted. My old man had one and it was noticably quicker than the non intercooled GQ model. So much so, I have been thinking about fitting an intercooler to my GQ. I thought the ZD30 came out as a replacement for the RD28 in late 99 early 2000 possibly?

are you sure it was 97? i thought it came out a few years earlier?

MyGQ wrote:2.8L Diesel is more reliable engine than the 3.0L ZD30 as they have never thrown a leg out of bed like the 3L Diesel does.

As for power, they have none, if your towing anything over 700KG, forget it.

they are pretty quick off the mark, especally the GU since they are intercooled to get more power out of them, as for hills, my TD42 without turbo will go up hills quicker than they will, if your just looking for a basic car that you won't be throwing big tyres under, the 2.8 is ok, if you want to go anything more then 33" tyres, your again pushing S**t up hill.

as for your opinion on the RD28s, each to there own,
now, my old man had the GU with the RD28t in it, we used it for evrything, once the hit boost the go really well for a small motor in a big heavy car, as for throwing 33s under it and pusing shuit up hill, i say wrong, we ran 35's 6" lift and all associated bar work to go with it, and it still drove really well once on boost, butwhen not on boost, it was shocking, especially pulling out of corners into heavy traffic,

now, as for crawling off road, there are not alot of time when you have built up boost climbing ledges, so the lack it here, we fitted a set of rockhopper transfer gears to overcome it, and they were great, really transformed the truck,

we then decided to change the diff ratios so they were a bit closer to suit the tire size, we went to 4.88's, made a little bit of a difference to the way the truck drove which we were happy with, minor improvements a alwaysgood,

with this truck we always towed a Jayco camper, when set up weight in at about 1400kgs, and it towed it no dramas, only drama was getting it off the line, they lack a bit here,

since then, we pulled the motor and we have fitted a TD42 and turbo, we now have alot more pulling power down low, and a bit more up high, and the fuel economy is about the same,


if your looking, go drive them and see what you think,

j-top paj wrote:are you sure it was 97? i thought it came out a few years earlier?

I'm taking a guess here, but i reakon the RD28T was first released in Australia in a GQ II in 1995 possibly. The same engine was later released in the GU but it was intercooled and I reackon the GU was first relased in very late 1997. I have a GQ II with an August 1997 build so it has to be later than that!

94/95 sounds about right.
from what i have found out GUs came out in 98 but the earliest build date i could find was december 97

I have a 99 GU 2.8, I think early 99 was the last of them.
They do lack off the line, or below 1800rpm but are a good reliable motor. The injector pumps are easy to mod for big power gains in the mechanical GQ's
A set of rockcrawler gears for offroad and you won't regret it, and because you can get the 2.8 GU for 6-8 thousand less then the 4.2 you'll save the cash to do some mods!

arent there other problems with the 2.8?

mattstar wrote: The injector pumps are easy to mod for big power gains in the mechanical GQ's

The pump has only a 9mm plunger so max fuel delivery from it is 55-57cc per 1000 shots, with IC, bigger exhaust, and adj. pump you gone get 140-145hp, been there done that.

I have done allmost everything you can do to the engine on my GQ RD28T, big roller turbo, FMIC; 3" dump/zorst, custom intake, 18psi boost, injectormods, LPG injection, water injection, 12mm plunger, Exedy clutch, etc... totally smokes a stock LC804.2TD, and I have 6" lift and 35" tires.

Yep... Sounds like a pretty tough, reliable little engine the 2.8

Does anyone know of a good place in Melbourne that can do that sort of work on a 2.8? I am putting 33s under mine in two weeks and have thought about doing some mods for extra power.

they are very common for cracking heads in cylinder number 4 and 6 as soon as they get a little to hot, just let the motor run with the radiator cap off for a few mins and if it startes bubbling out the radiator then chances are it has a cracked head.