help please!

[timmy]

ok here goes, im looking at a 1990 gq 3ltr petrol/gas its pretty much stock has done 280.000 only ever been down the beach as far as off roading is concerned and appears to have been looked after, just wonder if there are any inherant problems with these models thanks

[Finly Owner]

Hi and welcome Timmy. Someone will undoubtedly give you the juice soon. Me I'm an early freak sorry. Hey don't forget to go to intros and tell us a little about ya self. Friendly and informative mob here. Enjoy the humour and ride.
Tim

[Finly Owner]

OK sorry next thread is your intro. DUUUUUHHHHH!

[YNOT]

G'day Tim, welcome to the forum.
GQ Patrols are a good reliable truck with few inherant faults. Closely check for rust in the body and chassis, and check the driveline for oil leaks.
The diffs and transfer case are very strong, but the 3l (RB30) is fitted with a smaller gearbox than either of the 4.2l engines. This is not really a problem, as it's still a good gearbox and the carby fed RB30 is not likely to stress it much.
The engine itself, apart from being under powered, is quite reliable. There is a simple modification that can be done to the carby to increse power, but don't expect miricals!

Tony

[Bernard]

I had a 1991 3 ltr petrol/gas. I bought it new and sold it at 350 km. In that time the body remained in mint condition (I had the paint treated at new). It had the original clutch and muffler at sale. The engine compression was beginning to drop. The carb. tends to block up and not perform well if LPG is used all the time (as I did). I replaced the engine pipe twice, and the water pump once. I now have a 4.2 petrol gas and enjoy the extra power. Still cheaper than an old diesel to run. Trust this helps.

Bernard

[YNOT]

This is the RB30 carby mod I was talking about.

Start by removing the air filter from the top of the carby. Then undo the 4 carby base bolts (nuts actually), one of the nuts you will have to lift the carby up a bit to get it right off. The carby can then be moved to one side without having to disconnect anything else. Be careful when you lift the carby and try not to damage the base gaskets.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0558.jpg

The bit you need to modify is the heating element in the spacer directly under the carby. Disconnect the wires going to the heating element and carefully remove the spacer. This is what it looks like when you first remove it.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0559.jpg

Carefully drill out the pins surrounding the honeycomb element, and push out the element. The can looking thing on the other side just pushes out.http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0560.jpg

And what you're left with should look like this...
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0562.jpg

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Tony

[timmy]

cheers guys this is the sort of stuff i need to know having not had patrols in my life!?
just remembered a small leak in the transfer case, is this likely to be a problem? also brakes felt a little soft on test drive, other than that seems like a sweet ride...

[timmy]

should mention also am a qualified mech (10 years ago) so fairly handy on the spanners if anyone needs to ask me anything in general

[timmy]

[QUOTE=YNOT;6513]This is the RB30 carby mod I was talking about.

Thanks tony this looks like a pretty simple mod does it have any side effects like poor cold weather starting or fuel mixture issues?

[YNOT]

The only time this is likely to cause a problem is in zero or sub zero temperatures. And even then it will just take a bit longer to start and run a bit rough for a few minutes.

With your transfer case oil leak, we would really need to see a photo of the leak to know how serious it is. Replacing seals on the transfer shouldn't be a problem for someone with your qualifications.

Brakes may just need a change of fluid, or it may be a bit more serious, hard to know.

Tony

[timmy]

thanks does'nt look like a bad leak, just some bleeding into the dirt as for the brakes i think a set of pads/rotors and/or should do the trick and a fluid bleed. as for the engine sounds ok but who knows? at least a head gasket is an easy fix, just hope its nothing worse glad to have someone around whoi knows the motor, cheers

[timmy]

should i leave the wiring attached to the heater matrix thingy or just tape it up and bin it off?

[YNOT]

Just tape it up.

Tony

[Maxcom]

Hi Timmy

Check the chassis very carefully. The chassis do not like salt (neither does the body for that matter) one of the main reasons you will not normally see a Patrol in an underground mine.

[myaccount69]

3 litres are guttless!

[patch697]

3 litres are guttless!

Many like them as thay suit there purpose & we are happy to have them here....

Regards
Paul

[Maxhead]

3 litres are guttless!
They all have their place and can be made to go hard

[YNOT]

They all have their place and can be made to go hard

Stage 1; Fuel injection. Drop in an RB30E from an R31 Skyline or VL Commodore.

Stage 2; Drop in an RB25DET from a R33 Skyline.

Stage 3; Put the RB25DET top end on the RB30 bottom end for more torque.

Stage 4; Start modifying your RB25/30, the sky's the limit (speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?).

None of these will ever have the absolute bottom end torque of the big sixes, but they'll have a hell of a lot more power!

Tony

[jamied]

Hi. does anyone know if there is a difference between the heads on the patrol rb30 and that of the vl, vl turbo and the skylines??? I dropped an engine from a vl in m patrol but just bolted carbi manifold back on. I'm thinking about rebuilding the head from the original engine (from the patrol) and putting it on the bottom end out of vl (now in patrol) putting on the efi and turbo. Can this be done? is there different compression ratios or anything??

[YNOT]

As far as I know the RB30 EFI and Carby heads are the same. The naturally aspirated and turbo engines had different compression ratios, the turbo being lower. You could still run a turbo on the N/A bottom end but you will need an efficient intercooler and possibly retard the timing a few degree's.

Tony

[Mav]

3 litres are guttless!

I take you've never seen a Boosted one:wink:

Mine has an RB30et in it, from a VL, never had a power problem:bananarock:

Depending on price, i'd buy it, then put the complete Injection and Turbo set up off the VL on it, as long as you get the 4WD cheap, it will work out cheaper than a 4.2, and the extra advantage is there will be more power than a 4.2, with around the same Economy:icon_victory:

People are right though, and off boost Tourque is not great, BUT a set of 43% Transfer reduction will fix any of those issues, even running 37's.

About the only differance is the Turbo\NA Head has differant Cam, some say the NA is better in a Boosted 4WD as the Tourqe comes on sooner.

Chris

[Finly Owner]

This is the RB30 carby mod I was talking about.

Start by removing the air filter from the top of the carby. Then undo the 4 carby base bolts (nuts actually), one of the nuts you will have to lift the carby up a bit to get it right off. The carby can then be moved to one side without having to disconnect anything else. Be careful when you lift the carby and try not to damage the base gaskets.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0558.jpg

The bit you need to modify is the heating element in the spacer directly under the carby. Disconnect the wires going to the heating element and carefully remove the spacer. This is what it looks like when you first remove it.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0559.jpg

Carefully drill out the pins surrounding the honeycomb element, and push out the element. The can looking thing on the other side just pushes out.http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0560.jpg

And what you're left with should look like this...
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/tonyh01/IMGP0562.jpg

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Tony

another one for YNOT Helpful posts file