ZD30 VS 3.2 litre Diesel

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Lucas

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Howdy folks,

new to the forum, im after a navara as a good all rounder and i keep seeing the 3.2litre popping up. i am after your opinions on the pros and cons of the ZD30 and 3.2 litre diesel engines.

also has anyone experienced any direct misfortune with either engines with reliability or "grenade" experiences like the ZD30 in GU patrols?


i'll start....

i dont think a 3.2 engine was released with a factory turbo kit.

I appreciate your input.
cheers,
Lucas
 
i think theres a factory 3.2 turbo in the navara but its a rarity. tho what i did hear was dealers where fitting turbo kits as Nissan was getting thumped as every other manufacture had more powerful turbo motors.
however the terrano 3.2 turbo can be swapped over.

3.2 is the old indirect injection (IDI), basically its a big brother of the TD series. so it looses a bit in fuel consumption and the non-turbo can't match the ZD30 for power. the 3.2 turbo however is more powerfull than the ZD30 but expect it to use more fuel.
interestingly the 3.2's have a different driveline to the ZD30. similar to what the v6 petrol models get.
also the 3.2 injection pump wears out fairly quick. other than that i think the motors are fairly solid.

ZD30 reliability is an interesting one. pre-04 have poor pistons which end up melting. tho no official word from Nissan that the motors had any faults whatsoever !
the injection pumps and injectors are expensive and can fail so it pays to look after them. biggest problem is crap fuel. the old 3.2 and 2.7's are not so fussy on fuel quality.
 
tweak'e said:
i think theres a factory 3.2 turbo in the navara but its a rarity. tho what i did hear was dealers where fitting turbo kits as Nissan was getting thumped as every other manufacture had more powerful turbo motors.
however the terrano 3.2 turbo can be swapped over.

3.2 is the old indirect injection (IDI), basically its a big brother of the TD series. so it looses a bit in fuel consumption and the non-turbo can't match the ZD30 for power. the 3.2 turbo however is more powerfull than the ZD30 but expect it to use more fuel.
interestingly the 3.2's have a different driveline to the ZD30. similar to what the v6 petrol models get.
also the 3.2 injection pump wears out fairly quick. other than that i think the motors are fairly solid.

ZD30 reliability is an interesting one. pre-04 have poor pistons which end up melting. tho no official word from Nissan that the motors had any faults whatsoever !
the injection pumps and injectors are expensive and can fail so it pays to look after them. biggest problem is crap fuel. the old 3.2 and 2.7's are not so fussy on fuel quality.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tweak,

this is the sort of info i was hoping for. very informative!

cheers


has anyone had problems with the ZD30? i have seen many 02-03 St-r's with about 140-180k klm's but am i buying a ticking time bomb?
 
Lucas said:
has anyone had problems with the ZD30? i have seen many 02-03 St-r's with about 140-180k klm's but am i buying a ticking time bomb?
Click to expand...

yes.....KABOOM !

seriously check if its had pistons replaced or set aside budget for a rebuild.
however i suspect theres a lot that haven't and probably won't go bang but that depends a lot on other factors. i suspect fuel quality to be one big factor.
 
I had the 3.2 litre Nav for over five years and in that time it never gave me one ounce of trouble. I had a tear in my eye the day I sold that. It may not be the gutsiest engine out there but just change down a gear and it'll get you everywhere you want to go. So many good memories.
 

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