Hi, my 2004 D22 STR 3 litre Di ZD30 motor with 332000Kms blew a piston last week. I've received quotes up to $7000 for a full engine rebuild plus clutch worse case scenario. This is too much money and as a struggling farmer during drought times this money could be better spent on fixing fences, water, and keeping our livestock alive. So what is the thing to do? We had the turbo replaced in 2018 because it died. the year before that the injector pump. The injectors were rebuilt in 2017. The radiator was taken out and cleaned in 2019 to keep the temps down. The EGR pipe cracked and was replaced in 2018. The flexi exhaust pipe was replaced in 2018. The inner and outer boots were replaced in 2018. Now we discovered the front wheel bearings are cactus. How much more do you throw at a ZD30 motor when they seem to be notorious for failing at almost every level of the engine? But we've sunk so much money into it we'd get nothing for a trade-in, $500 from the wrecker who'd make a lot of money on parts wrecking it. What is the cost of an engine rebuild and how kms will they go for after that? What's involved in a rebuild? Can I do it myself? What tools do I need? What about a rebuilt motor or a low kms 2nd hand engine? The Navara Zd30 seems to be a black hole for money. What is a better, more reliable, durable and robust 4x4? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, ByabarraNavara
Lot of this is just normal wear and tear. Though even then, it doesn't seem "typical" for a well maintained D22 and the engines aren't notorious for failing (unless they are in a Patrol).
Things like wheel bearings should be repacked and replaced at certain intervals. If you have got that many kms out of a set, you've done quite well. Rubber boots being changed at this many km's isn't that bad either. Fuel quality and how often the filters are changed makes a difference to longevity.
As to the underlined, that could be the source of your current problems. None of these little diesel engines fare well if they get too hot. If that's happening, there is something very wrong (unless you're towing up a steep hill on a 44 deg. day).
It's not worth getting radiators cleaned, you can buy a brand new quality aftermarket radiator for about the same price as having one cleaned. It would be worth looking at the water pump too and and there can be other problems if it's getting too hot. Every time they clean the scale/build up out of these alloy radiators they aren't going to be as clean as a new one and (assuming it's done properly to begin with) there's always a chance of pinholes/leaks. If the factory gauge indicates overheating that's not good as they seem more a "cracked head/engine failure" indicator anyway.
Obviously none of this helps with your predicament, but there's no cheap way out of it.
A 2nd/h engine won't be cheap (seem to be around $5 thou), and you won't really know what condition it is in. Then you have the cost of getting someone to swap the ancillaries over and install it.
Unless you are very good with tools and have plenty of spare time, wouldn't bother rebuilding it yourself either. It will be cheaper, but perhaps not that much cheaper and there's an awful lot of work to do this. Rebuilt engines can be alright, but never last the way originals do.
When original parts start going any time after 300,000kms, that's not really that bad for any vehicle. The cost of repairs might be worth more than the vehicle itself in this instance, so it might be better to cut your losses rather than fixing it.