Thread: D3 or Jap 4x4

Gday and welcome to the forum.

I have a petrol V6 and, though the bowser hurts my hip pocket sometimes, the actual running costs are pretty reasonable. You also don't have to worry about cracked oil pump casings, turbos and actuators, gunky EGR valves (it has one but it doesnt gunk up with soot), cracked manifolds, expensive injectors and high pressure fuels system etc. The petrols also don't mind the shorter school runs on a regular basis.

There are a couple here who have owned both so hopefully they will drop by and share their experience.

There are a number of threads on here about the same sort of dilemma - you can use the search function in the bottom left of the page or just type "aulro" before your query into google and it should work.

If i get a chance I'll find a thread i started for you to read though

I would!(follow heart and go with D3).

I think Patrols have to be one of the worst vehicles in therms of refinement and smoothness.
Brother had one(4.8 Ti), sold if after many overheating issues, and the inability to deal with the death wobbles successfully.
But, what he likes more about the D2(TD5) compared to the Patrol is how much smoother/more refined it is.

Same here.
Even my D2 300 Tdi feels nicer to drive than his Patrol did once up at freeway speeds. 300 Tdi is very rough down low and around city street speeds tho.

His Patrol was one of those Ti models with all the gizmos, like aircon in the rear, and electrically operated cigarette lighters and other trivial useless stuff.
All those faux luxury goodies couldn't hide the fact that it's based on a pretty crappy platform to begin with.

When set up with decent suspension they're very capable off road too, no question about that.
Funnily, my (personal) mechanic is a Patrol devotee and is always trying to convince me of getting a Patrol "coz their bullet proof reliability", but last time I visited he had his Ti apart doing head gasket too.

From what I've been told, 3.0 turbo diesel Patrol motor aren't considered bulletproof.

Welcome aboard.

Originally Posted by theh33d

we are now camping again even though the wife swore she wouldn't as every creature in Australia just wants to poison you (her words)

Not true!

Some want to eat you!

All i will say is stay away from the 3.0 ltr Diesel Pootrol .
A good mate of mine has had one that has done 270.000 k and is now on to his 3rd motor
So if you want one i know where there is a cheap well cared for 3.0 ltr pootrol with a good motor for now
All seriousness the D3 is offering fantastic value for money , I hear the V8 is the pick out of the petrol`s and obviously the diesel is the pick of all but if serviced correctly will last for longer than you think .
Id go drive both and come back here with your idea,s before you make the leap into the unknown

Thanks folks

I had a chat with a mechanic at work the other day who loves the Patrol and mentioned that I was looking at a D3. He was amazed at what you can get for your dollar.
He then advised me that he loves Patrols but stated that the 3.0 TD was a throw away motor after 250,000k and should look for a decent 4.2TD as they will go for ever. The chance of finding a decent one is highly unlikely.
I will test drive both D3 this weekend and take it from there.
The more I look into the D3 the more it seems to be the way forward on my budget.

Originally Posted by rangieman

... I hear the V8 is the pick out of the petrol`s ...

It is the better petrol motor though has a timing belt instead of a chain in the V6, as well as a plastic thermostat housing which is prone to cracking. But it has more power and torque and a better sound.

Another thing to consider is that the 2005 to somewhere in the 2007 (i think) range had the original canbus system, which meant that if a brake globe blew the fault could cascade through the system causing a bunch of other errors. A new canbus system was installed somewhere in 2007 (i think) which solved this problem, and also added a couple of other little niceties (like auto windows for the passenger). Unfortunately i dont think the V8 was offered when the new canbus system came along.

Originally Posted by theh33d

stated that the 3.0 TD was a throw away motor after 250,000k.

Shucks. I guess with my D4 at 240,000km I'd best throw it away now. Shame as it's been a great car and seems to run perfectly? I'm so confused. Thank god for such qualified mechanics, I was about to service it again but now I'll save my money.

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Shucks. I guess with my D4 at 240,000km I'd best throw it away now. Shame as it's been a great car and seems to run perfectly? I'm so confused. Thank god for such qualified mechanics, I was about to service it again but now I'll save my money.

I think the OP was referring to the patrol not the disco