2003 patrol

[ricksue1]

Hi All

We own a 2003 3lt turbo diesel patrol auto that the turbo and engine have given up the ghost and are to be replaced. We are thinking if upgrading to a 2010 manual patrol. Could we get some advise on this being a good move or not. The main reason is to prepare for an extended trip around oz towing our van. The towing rate of the new patrol is 3200kg compared to 2500kg we presently have.

Our patrol has just clocked 180,000km and the new one has about 75,000km.

Rick

[grimace]

g'day mate, 75,000 seems fairly high kms for a 2010 model, does it have warranty still? and is the servicing up to date? these are a good truck although i havn't towed anything yet but i have a few mods like exhaust and chip. if the truck is under warranty this won't be an option for you but it wouldn't hurt to put a boost and pyro gauge just to keep an eye on things, cheep insurance i think. also the manual would have to be a bit better on the juice, anyway just a few things to consider. hope all goes well on the trip and good luck with the new truck! one other thing it pays to get an independent inspection done just to be on the safe side belive me i have been stung twice already!!! cheers.....

[luxo barge]

Being a common rail diesel, it will need super clean water free fuel, or the pump and injectors will die. Water will be the biggest killer as if it gets into the fuel rail it will cause corrosion, and rust particals will destroy the injectors. Soloution to all this will be to run a pre filter befor the fatory filter to stop the water. The two best options would be one of the following... A water watch system, which is a dedicated water seperator with an in cab alarm, or a Racor r230 filter with a water seperator and a water stopping 10micron filter, but no alarm. A racor alarm and light can be fitted to the r230, and there are several options available, the best being the racor rk11-1570 which has an alarm and light for when water is present, and a light for when to change the filter. The filters can be had for $80- $90 which sounds bad, but the Nissan filters can be as much as $160.

Other than the above, fit a pcv catch can to keep the oil mist out of the inlet manifold where it can mix with the egr gasses and foul the inlet manifold and cause poor performance or possibly foul the maf sensor causing boost problems and damaged engine. I would also pull the maf and give it a clean every service anyway just to be sure.

There is a lot more you can do to ensure you get a reliable and good performing engine but if you do the above as a minimum you will get good service without making your vehical illeagal or being anal about it all.

When I make the move to a CRD, I will be fitting a Provert catch can, Racor R230 filter with a Racor R 20T 10 micron element before the factory filter, and will have the Racor Rk 11-1570 fitted to alert me of any problems. I will also carry a spare Racor R 20T filter element just in case.