ZD30 preventing mine from blowing up

Hey guys I know this topic has probly been covered a million times but what prevenative matience can I do to my nav to prevent it from suffering like patrols do?. Ive done the egr mod and fitted a catch can a snorkel is also on the way anything else I should be looking at doing to make it live a happy and long life? I change oil and filter every 5,000 as well im probly being a bit paranoid but its the most expensive car ive ever had so just want to make sure I look after it

You already have a lot covered, maybe EGT monitoring?

sounds like you have done most of it. don't forget these don't have quiet the same problems as the patrol.
the other thing would be to do much more regular fuel filter changes and run a decent fuel additive. these pumps do not like fuel restriction.

and make sure the air filter is clean

Have the turbo checked, seems to be one of the more common faults.

Thanks for the info guys il change the fuel filter this weekend I no im probly being anal but just want to look after it

simonk8 said:

Have the turbo checked, seems to be one of the more common faults.

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This is what has me worried. What seems to happen is the compressor wheel shatters and gets thrown through the motor and kills it too. I know how to check my turbo's bearings. But checking the integrity of the compressor wheel is another thing. From what I have read some who have the turbos fail hear a loud squeal before it shatters but I have read some cases which give no warning at all. I guess the only way is to have it x-rayed to look for hairline fracture. That seems like a lot of effort and expense. Or just install a intercooler so it catches it before it goes through your engine more effort and expenses...

i must admit i've never heard of one doing that.
the problem is, is it compressor wheel failing, is it failing due to gulping a big lot of oil or other objects, or simply failing due to worn/fouled bearings.

being non-water cooled and with a big hot cat bolted to its arse, fed thick soot filed oil, it certainly will not like being shutoff without being cooled down.
also there is the issue of injector return line leaking putting fuel into the engine oil. this is/was fairly common and it caused a fair few turbo failures due to no lube on the bearings.

Bugger I never noticed the turbo isn't water cooled!!

From what I've read on the forums I got the impression the compressor wheel fails. Not your typical turbo failure. maybe not... But isn't that what happened to Josh's turbos? I can only see 2 ways for the compressor wheel failing. 1 is the bearing having too much play and therefore allows the wheel to foul on the compressor housing. Or 2nd reason is a weak manufactoring problem with the wheel.

Hopefully it is all down to oil diluted with deisel or dirty old oil.

got any links off the other forums ?

Anyone know what a turbo is worth?

Most guys that have had the failure have said that it happened around the 130 000km mark. I am just wondering if it would be worth replacing the turbo at say 110 000km to avoid the disaster.

turbo would be worth a couple grand. youd be better off putting a better turbo on not just another of the same....not that youd bother winding the boost as the motor cant take it.

Hi Guys

My turbo died at about 45000kms.It was replace under warranty.The problem was that it had a crack in the housing,so that when it got hot the crack opened up.Have a look in the d22 parts section i have listed the Nissan part number for the complete turbo there.

Shane

Nissan turbo is about $1400. It was cheaper to get a whole new unit than just the internals! I couldn't find anyone to supply a bolt on aftermarket one, another type would need to be modified to suit, couldn't be bothered with all that. I will be considering replacing it at about 100,000 intervals, $1400 compared to $10000 rebuild and all the trouble i think it may be worth it. Hopefully in the next 100,000 someone may develop an aftermarket version.

Hmmm so how many people have actualy had turbo faliure's on there navs over 100,000km? Mine's just clocked 92,000 and im starting to think maybe pulling the turbo off and rebuiding/replacing it would be a good idea? like shaggy said $1400 now is alot better than $10,000 later but I dont really want to have to replace my turbo if its not fully justified just like some more feedback on people this has happend to.

Mine failed at 110,000. It is unclear what caused it. Nissan originally told me it was dirt that caused it beacuse they found some in the bottom of the air cleaner, I don't trust those guys though. I too though it was dirt getting in but have since realised it was the EGR clogging up everything. For $1400 you can get a bolt on intercooler which will catch the bits of the turbo if it does fail, plus it will give you some other benifits, ie cooler intake, more power etc. It may be worth taking it off and having it inspected for shaft play.

When mine failed it made a high pitch whinning sound when the engine was under load, was too late by the time I pulled over. If you hear it, stop immediately!

Well i just spoke to a guy a eastern turbocharger's and he's seen a fair few nav turbo's explode due to faulty turbine wheels like most people have said.When he rebiuld's them he uses a aftermarket wheel which he belives is much better and should last the life of the car.Total cost $1150 not including fitting I might pull mine off and get him to check it out and see what its like.This whole turbo/engine exploding thing has me stressing now I thought nissan's were surpose to be reliable that why I brought one lol

I bought a new turbo for my mates Nav from Nissan for $770, he bought it with a blown turbo which was caused by someone kinking the oil feed line which is a pretty common problem.
They are only a standard bush bearing setup you can rebuild for next to nothing, theres nothing fancy about them at all.
You could have it rebuilt and high flowed for $700 from most turbo shops.

The difficult thing about this topic is all the talk about it on the net and its difficult to know what to believe and its hard not to get sucked into all the negativity. What I have seen is that most of the negative feedback from people is in regard to the patrol zd30. From my experience, I have not read about any Navaras with the same problem, ie blown pistons but I have read about a few navaras with blown turbos (my injection mechanic has also blown a turbo). But what you hardly ever hear about is how the vehicle is treated. Mine was serviced at the intervals recomended by the dealer which I think is incorrect, the service manual recomends oil changes every 5000, which I will be doing from now on instead of putting my faith into dealer recomendations. There are a heap of precautions you can take to reduce the risk of failure. This is what I will be doing:

1)5000km interval oil changes (for obvious reasons)
2)Intercooler (to catch the bits of turbo)
3)EGR Mod (to stop putting dirty gases into the engine)
4)Catch can (stop the oil and carbon build up going in the inlet)
5)Exhaust system (breathe easier, allows heat to get away)
6)EGT and Boost guage (to monitor any abnormalities)


But without a crystal ball, how do we know that our engines will last the appropriate time before a rebuild for a diesel, I would say at least 400,000km's, I am not sure any Navaras would have reached this ammount of k's yet. I guess we can't tell as they are not old enough. In 10 years time will people be saying, 'gee, i wish they still made navara ZD30's, they were bullet proof'. Who really knows? It is a bit of a gamble when anything hasn't been proven over a significant period of time. It's just a shame they are so damn expensive to repair.

actually service manual states 10,000km for oil change. i think its 5000 in extreme conditions. trouble is what do you class as extreme conditions.

quite right about not knowing what service and treatment it got and if it was the cause of the problem. trouble is to that people are used to the bullet proof 6's that went and went even with bugger all servicing, so they treat all nissans the same.
then theres the ones who miss the servicing to cut costs then flick off the car before it starts breaking down.

the navara shares some of the problems that the patrol gets. blowing pistons is one of them, its just not as bad due to the lower power.