ZD30 preventing mine from blowing up
- Thread starter trb012
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yes.
tho the big killer is actually emissions.
don't forget the ZD30 motor is actually getting quite old now. the design is over 9 years old. the common rail version of it seams to be quite reliable so far.
trb012
Member
Spoke to a mate of a mate last night who's the workshop forman at a nissan dealership. He's seen a few turbo's replaced due to them being noisy or leaking but only 3 that have blown up completeley which he puts down to poor serviceing. He reckn's as long as the oils kept clean and changed every 5,000 there shouldnt be a problem
big_col
Member
Just got the 4wd action mag today and there is a section on buying a d22 used. The ZD30 does not come out in the best of light. I thought the issue was with ZD30 in patrols not Navaras. It's got me rather worried. I service it every 5000K. I got a 2'5" exhaust fitted. Next time I get it serviced I'll see about a turbo gauge and an oil catch can at least. I don't think I can afford an intercooler. Out of my price range I am afraid - but then a new engine after the bit of the turbo go flying off? Ugh. My wife is going to kill me if that happens - of course she is going to kill me when I pay for the gauge and the can. No win.
adamibinfishin
Member
howdy guys,
I was talking to a good mate of mine about this subject before i bought my nav and he's had this problem with a couple of patrols over the years.he told me that the extra weight of the patrols may have a role to play with these engines having problems.glad the one i bought had the oil done every 5000kms.mind you this guy really pushed his cars hard.mines due some shocks but i would really like to sort through any possible future engine issues with mods and maintenance.mines an 02 str zd30 with 115,000 kms,just starting with shocks and tyres at the moment so i will be watching this thread with interest,cheers.
I was talking to a good mate of mine about this subject before i bought my nav and he's had this problem with a couple of patrols over the years.he told me that the extra weight of the patrols may have a role to play with these engines having problems.glad the one i bought had the oil done every 5000kms.mind you this guy really pushed his cars hard.mines due some shocks but i would really like to sort through any possible future engine issues with mods and maintenance.mines an 02 str zd30 with 115,000 kms,just starting with shocks and tyres at the moment so i will be watching this thread with interest,cheers.
As I mentioned before, there is a huge amount of talk about these engines and its hard not to be concerned about the negativitiy directed towrds them. I have just been through the rebuild process and by the time you do it all properly (new everything, filters, belts, stripped bolts, oils (don't forget all these little items add up quickly) recon pump etc.), using a combination of my own and hired labour you are looking at about $10,000 and six months off the road to research, plan, wait for quotes, get other quotes etc.(of course would be less if you pay someone or have alot of time on your hands).
To be absolutely honest, I am still nervous about my car, and the main reason for that is the unkowns regarding this problem. I know for sure that my turbo was the root cause for my failure. The bearings went, and from what I can tell, no bits went therough the motor, so, a new turbo was all that would have been necessary, but, then I would be woried about the unknown of the engine condition, so need to strip it down, so while it is stripped down, may as well rebuild it with new internals and machining........
But what exactly caused the turbo to fail?
I am an electrical engineer and am frequently involved in finding root causes to problems. It is always satisfying to find the exact cause of a problem and fix that root cause, otherwise you end up with band aid solutions or solving the wrong problem. But this is often not easy to acheive particulary the on vehicles. So, I am nervous about these engines because I am not convinced I know what the root cause to the failures are.
For me, stress and worry are only caused by unknowns, not knowing what the outcome to a situation, and having no control over the outcome leads to stess and worry because the question always rolling over in you mind is WHAT IF??? (In this case, what if my engine dies again???). If we can have some control over it or better yet fix a problem, at least we can effect the outcome, and not worry, then happy days.
Well, getting a bit philosophical, but leads my to my main point:
What is(are) the ultimate cause(s) to these engines failing? If we can answer this question, we can solve the problem, and not worry or talk about it and just enjoy our vehicles.
So, a call to all the Nissan/Diesel/Engine/Turbo gurus out ther, what is the problem and how is it fixed? I don't want to hear any more heresay and conjecture, I want the truth, surely somebody must know!
Cheers
Simon
To be absolutely honest, I am still nervous about my car, and the main reason for that is the unkowns regarding this problem. I know for sure that my turbo was the root cause for my failure. The bearings went, and from what I can tell, no bits went therough the motor, so, a new turbo was all that would have been necessary, but, then I would be woried about the unknown of the engine condition, so need to strip it down, so while it is stripped down, may as well rebuild it with new internals and machining........
But what exactly caused the turbo to fail?
I am an electrical engineer and am frequently involved in finding root causes to problems. It is always satisfying to find the exact cause of a problem and fix that root cause, otherwise you end up with band aid solutions or solving the wrong problem. But this is often not easy to acheive particulary the on vehicles. So, I am nervous about these engines because I am not convinced I know what the root cause to the failures are.
For me, stress and worry are only caused by unknowns, not knowing what the outcome to a situation, and having no control over the outcome leads to stess and worry because the question always rolling over in you mind is WHAT IF??? (In this case, what if my engine dies again???). If we can have some control over it or better yet fix a problem, at least we can effect the outcome, and not worry, then happy days.
Well, getting a bit philosophical, but leads my to my main point:
What is(are) the ultimate cause(s) to these engines failing? If we can answer this question, we can solve the problem, and not worry or talk about it and just enjoy our vehicles.
So, a call to all the Nissan/Diesel/Engine/Turbo gurus out ther, what is the problem and how is it fixed? I don't want to hear any more heresay and conjecture, I want the truth, surely somebody must know!
Cheers
Simon
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simply put Nissan have kept there mouth shut on the exact cause of the problems.
nearest I've heard is some one high up in Nissan AU who apparently said it was crap pistons.
turbo failures, apart from build faults, would mostly be caused by shutting off motor before its cooled down. that usually results in bearings going.
what doesn't help is nissans 1/2 throttle = full throttle setup. you may think your doing those last few km's at part throttle but actually your near or at full throttle.
i've noticed via the EGT gauge that it doesn't take much to get it hot and it takes a while to cool. yet drive around town and its almost as cold as idle and thats with dump pipe. having a big hot cat on the back of the turbo will be worse. turbo will get a lot of heatsoak from the cat.
it would be interesting to fit a temp gauge to the outside of the turbo and see what the temp does after engine shutoff.
nearest I've heard is some one high up in Nissan AU who apparently said it was crap pistons.
turbo failures, apart from build faults, would mostly be caused by shutting off motor before its cooled down. that usually results in bearings going.
what doesn't help is nissans 1/2 throttle = full throttle setup. you may think your doing those last few km's at part throttle but actually your near or at full throttle.
i've noticed via the EGT gauge that it doesn't take much to get it hot and it takes a while to cool. yet drive around town and its almost as cold as idle and thats with dump pipe. having a big hot cat on the back of the turbo will be worse. turbo will get a lot of heatsoak from the cat.
it would be interesting to fit a temp gauge to the outside of the turbo and see what the temp does after engine shutoff.
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trb012
Member
Well im still not sure on mine after talking to a few people.Im starting to think maybe pulling the turbo off and getting it freshend up may be a good idea id rather spend $1000 now than $10,000 later. But like a few people have stated no one knows if that is the exact cause of the problem its a bit of a catch 22 situation I love my nav its a great car to drive but now im in two minds wether to keep it or not?
felixblack
Member
i'd guess 10,000km oil changes isn't the best for a turbo's bearings when it comes to a deisel engine due to the soot. again pushes the need for egr removal and 5000km oil/filter changes.
tweak how long to you let the engine run before shut off?
tweak how long to you let the engine run before shut off?
Deejay
Member
Hi Guys,
There seems to be so much talk of the 3.0 engines "blowing up", but I have only really heard of a couple on this forum and none elsewhere. I mean how many 3.0TD powered Nav's are on the road? There must be tens of thousands across Australia. We hear of a couple and we instantly hit the panic button. I'm sure that Toyota, Mazda and Mitsu etc have their fair share of lemons and failures as well.
Engines don't just "blow up" without a reason. The reason is usually wear and tear which comes from dirty or poor grade oil and a hard time driving eg poor maintenance and driver abuse.
The best thing you can do to prevent your engine from failing is change the oil regularly (5000km is a good start) and use the best quality oil you can find. There was a thread which had a link to a download of an independant oil test recently. It is worth a read of the test and buy the top performing oils, not necessarily the top brand name (read the test and see why).
Change the filter at 5000km as well and keep the temp within normal operating range. Allow the engine to idle down for a couple of minutes if you have just given it a flogging before switching it off. If you drive hard and are always in a hurry, add a turbo timer.
It's really not that hard to look after your engine and I'd be very surprised if you would blow it up if you follow those simple rules.
I certainly wouldn't stay awake at night worrying about it, the engines aren't that bad.
Just my 2 bobs worth, keep the change!
Cheers,
DJ
There seems to be so much talk of the 3.0 engines "blowing up", but I have only really heard of a couple on this forum and none elsewhere. I mean how many 3.0TD powered Nav's are on the road? There must be tens of thousands across Australia. We hear of a couple and we instantly hit the panic button. I'm sure that Toyota, Mazda and Mitsu etc have their fair share of lemons and failures as well.
Engines don't just "blow up" without a reason. The reason is usually wear and tear which comes from dirty or poor grade oil and a hard time driving eg poor maintenance and driver abuse.
The best thing you can do to prevent your engine from failing is change the oil regularly (5000km is a good start) and use the best quality oil you can find. There was a thread which had a link to a download of an independant oil test recently. It is worth a read of the test and buy the top performing oils, not necessarily the top brand name (read the test and see why).
Change the filter at 5000km as well and keep the temp within normal operating range. Allow the engine to idle down for a couple of minutes if you have just given it a flogging before switching it off. If you drive hard and are always in a hurry, add a turbo timer.
It's really not that hard to look after your engine and I'd be very surprised if you would blow it up if you follow those simple rules.
I certainly wouldn't stay awake at night worrying about it, the engines aren't that bad.
Just my 2 bobs worth, keep the change!
Cheers,
DJ
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lately i've been using the egt gauge and waiting till it drops below 150. typically if left long enough ie 5min or more it will drop and stay at 100.
if i've just come down a hill before stopping temp is at 150 or even lower. but if there is a small rise it will be at 200 and will take a while to cool. typically 30-60secs.
i haven't had any big loads on lately to see what it does fully loaded.
before, light runs left it idle for 30 secs, heavy loads, couple of minutes.
tend to leave it eunning a bit more in summer. you guys in insane hot land may want to double that time !
D
Dave
Guest
My D22 gets 1 minute turbo timer after every trip bar really short trips.
Dave.
Dave.
i find length of trip has little to with it. its really what sort of driving you have done in the last 1km or so, even the last hundred meters.
if you have a small rise just before you stop its as hot as if you have been booting it for the last hour.
if you have a small rise just before you stop its as hot as if you have been booting it for the last hour.
joshy
Member
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My nav was serviced every 5000 on the dot.(by nissan tho) and it was always left running when i stopped to cool the turbo down. It didnt stop the turbo from going at 32000k's and didnt stop the 2nd turbo from going at 32100ks and then the motor spitting all the bearings out. Now because i go all out with my mods i can understand that it can look like i thrash it but offroad im all about only using enough revs as needed and it doesnt go near that red line. The motor is just poorly designed, trying to pull too much power out of it. Id say the turbo falls into the same catergory.. Theres gota be something going on for a turbo to only last 100k's...
both turbo's failing plus bearings.....that sounds a lot like diesel in the oil. unfortunately sometimes the seals on the injector return/spill leak or seal on front of injector pump goes.
when was the fuel filter changed ?
it could have been return line seals, priming the fuel into the new filter causes it to leak into the oil so they start having trouble after the fuel filter change. hard to tell, first fuel filter change is 20,000km for severe.
Laith
Member
160k on mine and still going strong.
I wouldn't say I drive it gently either.
I have had all the standard mods done on it since approx 70k. And it gets turbo timed for a minute or 2 almost every shutdown.
I wouldn't say I drive it gently either.
I have had all the standard mods done on it since approx 70k. And it gets turbo timed for a minute or 2 almost every shutdown.
D
Dave
Guest
One thing I have always found with mine is everytime I put a couple of tonne on a trailer behind mine it always goes better afterwards and gets better economy aswell.
If you have no need to towe a trailer take it on the sand dunes and get the motor working, mine always goes better after a trip to Stockton aswell.
Mine is up to about 137,000km's now and 99% of those km's are driving more then 30 mins non stop up to a hour or 2.
Dave.
If you have no need to towe a trailer take it on the sand dunes and get the motor working, mine always goes better after a trip to Stockton aswell.
Mine is up to about 137,000km's now and 99% of those km's are driving more then 30 mins non stop up to a hour or 2.
Dave.
felixblack
Member
so how can you keep an eye on this? can you smell the deisel in the oil?
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