Thread: Nissan Patrol Zd30

I have owned many 4Wds in my drive time :
Landy S2 Holden 186- 10,000kms, lots of maintenance
Landy S2 Hemi 265 - 12000kms, heaps grunts but chewed clutches
1980 hilux 2lt - gutless, chew juice and swivel seals
1998 Nissan Navara 2.4lt - 250,000kms, no probs went all over Australia @ 22m/pg
Mitsubishi Triton - 21000kms, The MOST Unreliable vehicle ever made
1992 GQ Patrol Diesel - 250000kms, 4.2 lt diesel never had a problem. The lowdown torque, engine braking and off road ability is still the best I have ever had.
1999 Disco 2 - 40000km, electrics c**p, quality control whats that? Hates sand driving and the hill descent should be called a controlled tumble!! Parts availablity is woeful when touring. Still very comfortable and very economical.
2008 Nissan Patrol 3lt CRD - Will wait and see

Also have used a Defender 130 for fire fighting. Obviously the landy designers are dwarfs!!The TDI motor lacks considerably when you require torque for slow offroad work. The turning circle is the worst I have experienced. The light controls are a joke.
The backend drifts when towing. Only good point is it is economical and quite a reasonable top speed.

In my personal experience the most unreliable vehicles are those that have been modified. Dont you think the manufacturers would have investigated the best performance vs reliabilty? Having read alot of posts on this site, Patrol site and Explor Oz it seems the unreliable Landies & Patrol stories are there but not as bad as the TOJO dealers want you to think. As has been said on this site disgruntled owners post on the sites for help and then proceed to fix the faults themselves, often when the posted diagnostic is wrong due to the vague description. If we all sat back and calculated how many Landies and Patrol 3lts are in this world and still running vs those that are not I think you will realise that if you leave the vehicle in its simple form, maintain it and drive to its intended ability you will minimise the risk of mechanical stress to your investment.
When I read alot of the problem posts I read the biography section and read such things as : Chips, bigger turbos, bigger exhausts, bigger intercooler and blocked this and bypassed that. The cost of the modifications vs any saving will often take years to recoup if ever.
In my experience the vehicles I have had that have been modified mechanically have been unreliable in the long run. The vehicles I have accepted the shortcomings of and observed the regular service and maintenance of have done me well for many years.

Originally Posted by 460cixy

4.2 na has allmost identical power and torque to the 300tdi so no i wouldent realy call it outstanding for its size

You're right - its not outstanding for its size, this is one of the reasons for its longevity as its not stressed unlike small capacity high tech diesels which have to work their guts out in a heavy 4WD. And the off-idle torque has already been mentioned........