Deisel or Petrol... Auto or Manual

[Old.Tony]

Just on the subject of the DPF - approaching 12,000km on my Nav now and never once a hint of trouble. At least half of that was towing a 1,800kg van (see the several pics I placed in the gallery here). The Christmas 2009 trip was over 4,000km with the van on the back 99% of the way (we took it off at Mudgee and did about 200km without it for a Hill End visit).

My DPF warning light never came on once. However, I am conscious of what needs to happen for the regen cycle to happen. The regen cycle is going to happen no matter what, because soot is going to build up in there - you need to give the car opportunity to deal with that. The requirements:

1) Vehicle under light load
2) Engine temp in normal range
3) Engine RPM at 1600 or greater ( or > 80km/h road speed in top gear)

I achieved this with the caravan on the back on highways without any trouble - just don't push the car hard and it all happens.

In my mind, if you give the car the opportunity to deal with the DPF itself, it should never become a problem. Having said that, 12,000km is nothing really, so the proof will come in, say, another 90,000km!

 

[KraftyPg]

In my mind, if you give the car the opportunity to deal with the DPF itself, it should never become a problem. Having said that, 12,000km is nothing really, so the proof will come in, say, another 90,000km!

Until such time as I have trouble with mine I'm treating it the same way. I know there is some people with horror stories about their DPF just like there is horror stories about nearly every car part made by every manufacturer and while I will read such comments I'm not going to be making rash decisions like taking it off or bypassing it until it's proven to be a major fault.

As stated in another thread Nav's are getting more popular on the road and for every one of us on here with a D40 and DPF there must be atleast 5 others in the real world driving around with the same bits on their cars, if they were a huge problem that effected everyone something would be getting done. While some people don't like them and don't want them that's all good and well everyone is free to modify their cars as they see fit (not interested in legal or not legal mods in this case) but just because your car has a DPF doesn't mean it's going to cause you problems.

 

[ants_oz]

I don't have a DPF on my Navara. I do however, have two of them on my Mercedes. After roughly 45,000km, faultless performance with no detectable "burn off" cycle or such. Perhaps some of the troubles Navara owners have experienced with their DPF's are isolated incidents and are the result of impacting factors...

 

[Krankin]

Until such time as I have trouble with mine I'm treating it the same way. I know there is some people with horror stories about their DPF just like there is horror stories about nearly every car part made by every manufacturer and while I will read such comments I'm not going to be making rash decisions like taking it off or bypassing it until it's proven to be a major fault.

As stated in another thread Nav's are getting more popular on the road and for every one of us on here with a D40 and DPF there must be atleast 5 others in the real world driving around with the same bits on their cars, if they were a huge problem that effected everyone something would be getting done. While some people don't like them and don't want them that's all good and well everyone is free to modify their cars as they see fit (not interested in legal or not legal mods in this case) but just because your car has a DPF doesn't mean it's going to cause you problems.

I concur.

Same can be said about a lot of other complaints mentioned in this forum,
but keep in mind no two people drive or look after their cars in the same manner, or,
for the most part,
drive in the same enviroments,
and there's always two sides to the story.

 

[KraftyPg]

No one suggested there wasn't two sides to the story however I was suggesting I am taking the side of reading but not jumping to conclusions. Maybe I will be proven wrong and you can have the satisfaction of laughing at me down the track but right now from my experiences the DPF is not an issue to my Nav.

 

[Krankin]

Krafty,
as i said, I agree with your post.

The second paragraph was not in grievence to your post but my addition to it.

Should have written a separate post.
Anyways...

 

[KraftyPg]

I should have drunk less tonight, we all make mistakes.

 

[Krankin]

I should have drunk less tonight, we all make mistakes.

Hope your not driving.

 

[Jason]

I shouldn't have mentioned the DPF.............

 

[KraftyPg]

Hope your not driving.

I was driving the mouse, it might not be as deadly as a vehicle when pissed but just as many silly mistakes happen. Atleast it's not like irc and the likes where once that enter key is pushed there is no going back. I might have to invest in one of those BAC meters for the computer, although then I'd probably never get any work done.

Jason there is nothing wrong with mentioning the DPF, it's the ramblings of a half drunk bored person you have to be careful of. Some people are scared of the DPF others aren't but new owners should probably be aware of it because it's not something too many dealers will mention to you, half of them probably don't understand it to begin with. I know my dealer didn't mention one word about it, not that it would have changed my purchase because I'd already done my home work and understood the what, where, hows of the DPF but other buyers may not do such home work.

The one thing I think is the problem with the internet as a whole is that there are too many cases where only one side of the story is portrayed because bad news always gathers an audience quicker than good news. In the case of the DPF it's easy to find bad stories that have gathered a following but very few of them will tell both sides. It's the same for many subjects relating to many topics.

I think making mention of the DPF and being able to show both sides makes more sense than someone coming along here and only seeing the forum bag out the DPF.

 

[SOLID D22]

Just in case someone is reading late into the thread DPF does not stand for DieselPetolFourby, because the thread is about diesel or petrol. lol

 

[KraftyPg]

Awe crap I've been filling the DPF with unleaded to flush the bloody thing out, obviously I've been wasting both time and money, putting in the second tank for unleaded cost me big bucks. But hey at least the hydrogen filled tyres, the oil in the diesel and the 3 inch suspension drop haven't been as waste of money.

 

[Krankin]

I was driving the mouse,

Ah, thats allright then.
Wouldnt want to lose a regular contributor to the forum,
despite our sometimes differing opinions.

 

[Old.Tony]

So that clarity can get a peek in, DPF stands for "Diesel Particulate Filter" and it's designed to remove the black soot from the exhaust. There's also a CAT, which is pretty close to a catalytic converter, and this removes NOx (oxides of nitrogen) from the exhaust gas.

The problem with the DPF is that if it doesn't clear itself out properly (the "regen" cycle) it blocks up. There are pressure differential sensors on both sides, and if there's a pressure drop across the filter, the car computer (ECU) triggers a regen cycle when it can. If it can't and the pressure drop is too great, it actually inhibits the vehicle and forces you to take it to a dealer.

The thing is, while we've heard these horror stories about the thing making people limp home from whoop whoop, these bad incidents are very rare and may have other contributing factors. Now that I know what conditions are needed for a regen cycle to occur (see my previous post in this thread) I don't have any fear about it at all, because I know I'm giving the car the opportunities it needs to clear the filter itself.

And so far, I've not had any trouble. The DPF is new, but it's not a big scary monster we need to be afraid of.

 

[roundy]

Thanks for the exp. tony... wasn't game enough to ask

 

[KraftyPg]

Ah, thats allright then.
Wouldnt want to lose a regular contributor to the forum,
despite our sometimes differing opinions.

Differing opinions? Nah never had one of those in my life you must be wrong again. At least these days since I stopped using wireless mice I'm tethered to a certain distance from the pc so it's harder to crash and burn.

Back on the DPF: The biggest problem myself or anyone I know has suffered so far with them is in doing oil changes. You must use an oil that is DPF rated (any manual gives a recommendation), now whether you chose to find an oil that has every spec the manufacturer calls for or just some is entirely up to you but it's definitely not the same oil the non DPF engine uses.

As stated this is the only problem I've had and it was because my auto stores didn't stock a huge range of oils rated the same spec as Nissan but in all it's not much of a problem considering the issues some claim to have had.

As much as manufacturers aren't yet putting them in every diesel engine I imagine it wont be long before they start creeping into more of them giving the consumer less choice, so knowledge and understanding of it may be the key.

 

[Krankin]

Differing opinions? Nah never had one of those in my life you must be wrong again. At least these days since I stopped using wireless mice I'm tethered to a certain distance from the pc so it's harder to crash and burn.

Back on the DPF: The biggest problem myself or anyone I know has suffered so far with them is in doing oil changes. You must use an oil that is DPF rated (any manual gives a recommendation), now whether you chose to find an oil that has every spec the manufacturer calls for or just some is entirely up to you but it's definitely not the same oil the non DPF engine uses.

As stated this is the only problem I've had and it was because my auto stores didn't stock a huge range of oils rated the same spec as Nissan but in all it's not much of a problem considering the issues some claim to have had.

As much as manufacturers aren't yet putting them in every diesel engine I imagine it wont be long before they start creeping into more of them giving the consumer less choice, so knowledge and understanding of it may be the key.

1/ Re: opinions......yes then i admit i was wrong. but on the flip side that means that you agree with me.....OH, i almost forgot..."I'm Proud To Be Union"...ETU all the way:aetsch:


2/ Re: Oils/DPF's....Me thinks thats the key to this issue. I've a suspicion that the ones having probs with them might not be using DPF friendly engine oils. You just need to have a look at the thread "What oils are you using" to see the big range of oils being used.
The oils that are DPF friendly are'nt rare, as all the major oil brands have them although they are of the higher cost type, nonetheless they are of superior quality being full synthetic.

 

[KraftyPg]

1/ Re: opinions......yes then i admit i was wrong. but on the flip side that means that you agree with me.


2/ Re: Oils/DPF's....Me thinks thats the key to this issue. I've a suspicion that the ones having probs with them might not be using DPF friendly engine oils. You just need to have a look at the thread "What oils are you using" to see the big range of oils being used.
The oils that are DPF friendly are'nt rare, as all the major oil brands have them although they are of the higher cost type, nonetheless they are of superior quality being full synthetic.

1. Re: You being wrong and me being....well to be honest confused. It's too much effort to back read and get back on track so I'll just accept your apology, the one you might not have given, or the one you might never give. You are welcome!

2. You could be exactly right on the oils issue, I know that although finding oils with a similar spec to what Nissan recommended finding oils with the exact spec was harder. As you say all major brands make such oils but my auto stores (SuperCrap and Autobahn) don't carry any where near the range the larger city stores do and because they concentrate on the more commonly used stuff us DPF guys who do our own servicing have more troubles getting what we need, however it's definitely not impossible.

It really doesn't matter whether you get Nissan to do your service or a private mech the important thing is to make 100% certain they know the car has a DPF. It might sound like an obvious thing but if you don't make sure that the mech doing the service knows he's dealing with a DPF and uses the appropriate oil then you are risking problems as much as they are.

A Nissan mech once armed with your VIN should be able to see easily enough that it's a DPF engine but I still wouldn't risk leaving it to them to remember because I've had one dealer who couldn't reliably tell me (even with the VIN) if mine had a DPF. Although in his 50 point safety check (as referred to in another thread) I'm sure the expert Nissan mech would have found the DPF eventually.

 

[Krankin]

1. Re: You being wrong and me being....well to be honest confused. It's too much effort to back read and get back on track so I'll just accept your apology, the one you might not have given, or the one you might never give. You are welcome!


Damn....now I'm confused

 

[KraftyPg]

Welcome to my world. Fun isn't it.

Anyway I'm outta here, going fishing in my DPF fitted Diesel ute, if only it stood for deep pan fryer I'd be laughing.