Fuel Consumption on a 3 litre Ex Telstra Patrol.

[Simon Wilson]

Hey Guys my name is Simon and i,ve just joined the Forum. I am looking at buying a 3 litre Ex Telstra Patrol and was wondering what the fuel consumption figures were like. Its quite a heavy vehicle and not very aerodynamic. Also would this be a suitable vehicle to set up as a tourer. Is there any thing to look out for when purchasing these second hand. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Many Thanks Simon.

[Dhuck]

Welcome to the forum mate.

[Simon Wilson]

Thanks mate

[TPC]

Hi mate, there are a few ex Telstra Patrol owners on here but I think most have 4.2's.
I have a 3ltr wagon and get about 13 to 16 l per 100

[Fireblade]

I have a zd30 crd wagon and get about 15litre per 100. Bullbar, brush bars, lifted and roof cage probably doesn’t help fuel economy though.
Things to look at though for the 3l Crd
common for the exhaust manifold to warp away from the head symptom is a squeal/skreetch when reving a cold engine..

intercoolers crack where the core is welded to the tank, you might see oil near the joint. If you do then it will be loosing boost and might be abit under performing.

Recently I had a alternator pulley fail, and cause the belt tensioner to snap a pivot bolt. Also the auto tensioner are known for leaking and make the belt a tad loose can also cause squeal.

Big one I had when I brought mine was a timing cover leak, when cold it leaked coolant and when warm no leaking coolant but oil started to leak. It leaked oil and Copland down the passenger side of engine and was visible between the sump and a/c compressor. Big job to fix some say engine out due to the sump can’t come off without removing the gearbox but I did it in the car and only removed the timing cover, had the help of a 10year Nissan tech.

the fuel primers (hand primer) common to fail

I also have a diesel leak from a hose to the injector pump, I did research and found others had that issue also

Obviously modern common rail injectors don’t last forever so if high km injectors May be failing but see how it drives,idles.
Again modern diesels can all suffer Rail pressure relieve valve failures and suction control valve failures I’ve seen these fail on the zd30 crd, suction control valve less common though.

I haven’t toured with mine it’s a school drop off and shopping car for the wife and it’s had a lot of maintenance but still has failures. Makes me nervous to think how these engines go subjected to the hardships of touring use.

I was told by a mechanic before buying a patrol that I better get use to seeing the inside of a workshop (a joke) well lucky for me I do work on the car myself and I kinda enjoy it.
All cars have issues though I still like my 3l common rail
Off the top of my head that’s what I think off
All this is said not to discourage just to share, some patrols have more issues than others you may be looking at a good one.

[pollenface]

I average about 14.6L/100km with a chipit performance chip (already there when I bought it)

Stock tyres, stock exhaust, only simple rhino racks. I usually get about 600-620km before the fuel light comes on.

At 182,000kms mine is showing symptoms of a warped exhaust manifold.

[Simon Wilson]

Hey guys that is all valuable information and is much appreciated thanks to everyone who replied cheers simon

[Cuppa]

G'day Simon, I have an ex Telstra ute with a Rossco's canopy, set up for long term & remote area touring. It is a 4.2 though, so not directly relatable to your question about fuel consumption. That said my fuel consumption (towing a Tvan) is not that different to what others have said they get from their 3 litre wagons, which surprises me. I have recorded our fuel consumption on a phone app over the past three years as we travel around Australia (see Blog link at bottom of post). Bear in mind a few factors. The 'Telstra' body is wider than the cab. I have a canopy roof full of solar panels, plus one on the cab roof. We are relatively heavy & with all tanks full & supplies restocked travel at just below our extended GVM of 3900kgs (including tow ball weight of the Tvan -105kg). In addition the Tvan loaded comes in at between 1100kg & 1200kg, so a total rolling weight of around 5.0 to 5.1 tonnes. And yet our average fuel consumption is in the high 15's (litres per 100kms). Lowest has been just under 13 & highest just over 20.

I suspect that the big difference between how I achieve that sort of consumption compared to the lighter, non towing 3 litre vehicles is speed. We enjoy taking things slowly, we have no need to rush & on sealed roads would probably average only 80kph or a bit less, when towing (which is around 80% of the time), & between 80-100kph when not towing. I rarely rev the motor above 3000rpm, & tend to drive more to the EGT gauge with it averaging around 300deg.C.

As to the suitability to set up as a tourer - I think they make a great deal of sense. The canopies are solid & well made & offer a lot of room to set up your custom interior. They (or at least my one) come already fitted with dual tanks for longer range, dual spares, & a Warn winch, a bullbar & a 2" lift. All essentials for the sort of travelling I wanted to do. There is the downside of compromised rear vision, but Nissan mirror extenders on both side are not expensive ( if the vehicle you have doesn't have them) in addition to fitting a rear vision camera (as opposed to a reversing camera) make it good.

I am not sure if the 3 litre models Telstra used had either coil rear or leaf rear or utilised both on different vehicles. You need the leaf sprung version for it's higher weight carrying capacity. Even with my factory standard
GVM of 3400kg, it was easy to exceed this. Ours came in at 300kg over GVM, & whilst I could reduce this a bit it would have been impossible to lose 300kg without ripping everything out & starting again. Hence the (expensive) GVM upgrade. We do however have the ability to stay off grid for up to 6 weeks. If starting over & staying more simple/basic & could remain under the factory 3400kg if careful, but then I wouldn't have what we have which allows us to do what we do in the way we like doing it! Check out our set up at http://cuppa500.com/Blog/modifications/

There are two makes of canopy that Telstra have used as far as I know, the Rosscos that I have, & the Obeico. There are a few minor differences between them (eg how the driver side canopy door opens & the design of the swing down spares carriers), but basically they are very similar. If I were looking now, the choice of canopy would be secondary to the vehicle condition.

The two things I would change were anyone to give me a magic wand for christmas would be to somehow make the cab more spacious, & to have more comfortable seats. (Oh for adjustable lumbar support). But overall I love my Patrol & it has never failed to impress me with it's off road ability, even with the weight & Tvan behind. On every occasion we have been faced with an off road driving situation where if there had been a chicken track I'd have taken it, but had no choice other than to push on, the Patrol has not let us down, leaving me with the sense that the car is far more capable than I am .... which is just the way I like it! The 4.2 is a great motor off road. I don't know about the 3.0s, especially if towing. I'm a bit out of touch with prices, but I'd suggest that if you can find an ex Telstra 4.2 TDi with less than 300,00km on it for similar money to what you are looking at spending on a 3.0, at least include it in the mix of possibilities. It won't be as quick away from the lights, but it'll be a far better tourer if off road & remote are to be part of the dream.

[Simon Wilson]

Hey Cuppa thanks for the post thats good information to help me make my choice. Cheers Mate Simon.

[Cremulator]

*slow clap* great rephrasing of Cuppas post AI bot. You just gave yourself away...