Thread: ZD30 engines

Post 2003 seem ok (so far)..

But it would always be niggling n the back of my mind!

Never heard of a Navara 3.0 going Pop!

From what I have seen is they still aren't 100% sure what the problem is.I have been told that they first thought it was not enough oil being sprayed onto the pistons or the oil level wasn't high enough but later the MAF was the suspect as if it had a fault of some kind it would overboost causing the melted pistons.I personally know one that has hauled a van around for a year with no problem but a another failed having done no work at all,the temp went up with no warning and it started knocking.The thing is that the narvara doesn't seem to have the problem as they are a very popular ute and many off them were in the mines I worked at back east. Pat

They have a reputation for breathing quite heavily. I wonder if this may cause the problem (oil vapour in inlet doing the same job as extra fuelling???)

Maybe a Provent is the answer!

my 02 has 147,000 on it now has had the oil changed every five thousand ks hasnt towed alot but has done mansfeild to tom groggin,numeris trips thru the brindabellas ,tassie sandy cape balfour track and everything else we could find in the three short weeks we had there,a trip to innamincka birdsville painted desert and more recently 7,580kms in days thru the lower end of the territory ayres rock ,kings canyon meriini loop,alice and down to mount dare across the simpson to birdsville and home with five bums on the seats and pretty well loaded. hasnt missed a beat so far love my 130 but the pootrol is faster and quieter

Ahh, the ZD30 hand grenade, just never know when it's going to go off!!

I don't know if you frequent it, but there is a number of first hand accounts on the overlander forums.

Sure there is a report of a late navara diesel on 4wd action forum where the engine failed....

here it is... http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/sh...e=7#post738601

its a 2007 car by the look of it...

Not sure if this is a similar problem?

Originally Posted by justinc

OK, I know this is a LR forum, but can i get some anecdotal and preferrably first hand info about later ZD30 engines and their propensity to melt pistons?
Navarra OR Patrol.
Thanks,

JC

Another engine in my area of expertise!!

Two variants of this engine. One is for the Patrol, the other is for the Navara. The Patrol is a turbo intercooled, the Navara isnt up until i think around 2007 there was some change. A mate of mine has a 2007 inter version in his D40, but until I check the VIN it could be a YD25.

The issues with the first gen ZD30 in the Patrol are extensive! Nissan had a huge warranty issue with them, engines failing after as little as 10,000 k's. A number of problems would arise such as ceramic coatings separating from crowns, crowns melting etc. Main cause is with the MAF sensor. A failed sensor had a habit of allowing the engine to continue fuelling and overboosting and resulting in engine meltdown.
Nissan did extend the warranty terms on these as they got huge comebacks from customers and people threatening legal action etc etc but this as far as I know has ended.

The Navara wasnt so bad I think mainly because of the lack of an intercooler and more sedate ECU characteristics. The Patrol on the otherhand is a heavy vehicle with a grossly undersized engine that had to work far too hard.

I have engine kits for these available with blocks based on the later "adjusted" spec. Need to specify either Patrol or Navara as bell mount is completely different size.

I sat in an 08 model for 4 12 hour days,
it had just on 5000kays when we started,
we towed a TRIaxle car trailer to Donald in Vic
and I would think it was on pretty much full boost the entire time.

sat on 105 which was pretty much flat out but didnt miss a beat, comfortable and quiet.
would I buy one?


as much character as a paddle pop stick.