Help help help gu 3l just blew up

[craigv]

Hi, Im very desperate for advice, Ive just found out a new 3l motor I installed in the car has just broken its crank shaft and its only down 60,000km, Can anyone tell me where I legally stand I could really use some good advice . The NISSAN DEALER are trying to blow it of as being past the warranty.

Thanks can really use the help
Craig from SA

[macca86]

What was your warrenty and what was the cause of you crank shaft failure I have not heard of this problem before

[Maxhead]

So it was an old vehicle and you had a new motor put in by the Nissan dealer? or was it a purchased from the dealer with 60000 on it and blew.

What model vehicle?

Sorry to hear though mate

[MudRunnerTD]

Yep need some time lines too mate. Was it a new crate engine? Why did it blow?

[Yendor]

Are you sure it's a broken crankshaft and not a broken flex plate?

[craigv]

Well first thanks for everyone replying Ill try to explain in one go, 20,000 WARRANTY ON MOTOR and has been in for 2yrs. so far what happened was driving home the other night and felt a slight vibrating coming through the car on the freeway and thought I lost a weight of a rim, The next day I drove the car out of the yard and the vibrating got worse so I pulled over and checked under bonnet , got back in to turn around and head home and it started to really buck and stalled. Had it towed back to the nissan dealer and noticed some trans fluid on the tow truck tray and then thought maybe torque converter or flex plate let go, Nissan said it was probably the rig gear and after I showed them the fluid said the auto was probably gone and I should sell it as is. So I took it to a Trans shop for 2ND opinion the next day and was told they cant get the trans out because the engine is seized up and they can see the flexplate rocking from side to side when they try and turn it over buy hand thinking the crankshaft is gone.

[craigv]

It is an old vehicle 2000 model and a brand new motor from the Nissan dealer installed. The thing hasnt towed anything , auto and I dont rev it over 3000rpm and serviced regularly.

Thanks for the interest.

[MudRunnerTD]

Ah damn that sux big time mate! I am not sure you have any claim based on those time lines. Bloody bad luck though!!!!

[craigv]

Trans shop is 99.9 percent sure its the crankshaft and. had the starter motor out, they said they have never not been able to turn a motor over before

[macca86]

Sorry you're past your warranty I know someone from Brisbane with a zd30 for sale if you need a replacement. A rebuild would be the go bit expensive. Good luck hope someone can point you to a good mechanic your way

[craigv]

Yeh great Ill buy another one.

[growler2058]

What a frokn bumma.

[Diesel-Mate]

Don't buy another 3L. Upgrade to a 4.2L and it will pay for its self as there designed to reach 1 million kms trouble free if serviced on time. I seen a td42 go for $3000 the other day. And td42 love turbos.

[MudRunnerTD]

Don't buy another 3L. Upgrade to a 4.2L and it will pay for its self as there designed to reach 1 million kms trouble free if serviced on time. I seen a td42 go for $3000 the other day. And td42 love turbos.

Absolutely 100% agree with this post! 100%

[BigRAWesty]

Absolutely 100% agree with this post! 100%

X3

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[pearcey]

Mate get the trans out before making any decision on what the problem is, it may have broken the flex plate allowing the converter to tear up the front seal in the trans,hence trans fluid on the tow truck. Don`t forget high compression motors such as diesels are very hard to turn over by hand. Hope it turn out OK for you

[GUtsy ute]

Mate get the trans out before making any decision on what the problem is, it may have broken the flex plate allowing the converter to tear up the front seal in the trans,hence trans fluid on the tow truck. Don`t forget high compression motors such as diesels are very hard to turn over by hand. Hope it turn out OK for you

X2, get the trans separated from the motor to see the exact damage, if this hasn't already been done.

[craigv]

Well thats the problem the trans tech couldnt turn the motor over using a 3 ft bar to get to the bolts on the flexi plate to release the trans, when he trys to turn the motor you can see the flexi plate trying to move in and out?

[johno90]

Easy way to confirm everything would be to just take the sump off and have a look at the crank. Also just saying ive seen a flexplate fail and dig into the block locking it up.

[craigv]

Thanks Johno thats what I want to hear, The Nissan dealer says you cant get the sump off without taking the motor out? And I ve got the starter out and can see the flex plate, we can see it flexing in and out slightly when we tried to turn the motor over with a bar, my hope is the flex plate is half off and jammed like you said. I needed that little bit off light to give me hope Thanks again.

[Diesel-Mate]

Thanks Johno thats what I want to hear, The Nissan dealer says you cant get the sump off without taking the motor out? And I ve got the starter out and can see the flex plate, we can see it flexing in and out slightly when we tried to turn the motor over with a bar, my hope is the flex plate is half off and jammed like you said. I needed that little bit off light to give me hope Thanks again.

You can take the sump out with the engine still in the car, sounds like the Nissan dealer wants to take the easy more expensive road. If it does come down to a blown engine definately go for a td42 motor they just have a lot more to offer and don't rely on computers to run.

[happygu]

The easiest option will be to take the engine and auto out as a single unit, and then try to get them apart.

Even if you manage to pull the sump off the bottom, and find the crank OK, you will still need to get the trans and motor apart to fix....

Mic

[craigv]

Thanks, You know, The point is if its the motor again Im not paying Nissan anymore money if they cant build a modern motor thats reliable. Its great for Nissan dealers to make money out of rubbish they sell,
I was assured the problems were fixed in the later motors but what you read they havent, since taking the chance on a new motor I converted It to a dual cab thinking I would be keeping it for the next 10 years but now it looks like ive got a dual cab with a bung motor and trans because of a crap engine.

[89gqpatrol4x4]

real bummer mate! I feel for you!

[Yendor]

My fingers are crossed for you mate, hopefully it is just the flexplate.

[Parksy]

Really hoping that it's just the flex plate. Do U know if it's a genuine nissan unit? Helped a Mate install a heavduty flex plate on a holden 308 and within the first or 2nd start it chipped a tooth. Heavy duty or not if it's not genuine it's a bigger risk.
When doing up the bolts for the flex plate, they are done up the same way as you would do a car tyre, in a criss cross patern. It's possible that some young apprentice has just quickly chucked it on without torquing everything down properly. Same with installing the engine onto the transmission. The stall converter should be installed onto the gearbox as far as it will go, then engine bolted to the transmission. The stall converter should turn freely otherwise there's problems. Should be no binding. Then of course the stall converter is bolted to the flex plate.
If not done in this order, can only spell disaster.

The fact that you've spotted trans fluid is a good indication that the seal between the transmission and torque converter is gone. I'm thinking more a gearbox change as opposed to a busted engine. Though you might get lucky and only need a new seal for the tranny.
If this is the case, then it's a sure sign that the installation wasn't done properly.

Never heard of a crank giving up, but there is always one.
Fingers are crossed for you.

[mudski]

Sure doesn't sound like the donk to me. Never heard of a crankshaft busting in one of these engines. As for the TD42 conversion. While its a better motor its also a crap load more in $$$ to do over a ZD30 rebuild. Yes the TD42 is a better motor but in some cases the cost just outweighs every factor.
Good luck OP in your findings.

[craigv]

No its all genuine,The worst part about it is the NISSAN dealers service department dont seem to care that a motor they supplied has seemed to have gone in under 60000km.

When I had it installed I had to chase them to find out what oil to use and how to run it in, when the 20000km warranty was nearly up I called to see if I should bring it in for a check they said its not needed and dont worry about it.
When they first said it was the trans I was happy how nuts is that !They say you should have your Nissan serviced and repaired at a NISSAN dealer, yeh so they can cover up all there mistakes and work out how to blame something else.

[mudski]

No its all genuine,The worst part about it is the NISSAN dealers service department dont seem to care that a motor they supplied has seemed to have gone in under 60000km.


What do you expect them to do? Its out of warranty.

[Rumcajs]

I personally also don't think that it is a broken crankshaft, however the issue here is that it is costing you money either way.
Patrols aren't cheap cars to maintain especially if having no mechanical skills or right friends and paying dealerships premiums than have lousy techs or useless apprentices with attitude
working on your pride and joy.

Nissan hasn't fixed anything, the truth is that ZD30 is not known for reliability and quite known for high cost of repairs, it seems it works out for Nissan in a handy way to maintain nice profits on a dreadful/questionable product (engine). They also generally don't care what they sell as long as they have "folks" coming and buying the "cool aid".

Nissan should have been burned for ZD30 saga long time ago but thanks to lousy consumer laws in this country they are getting away with it. Mind you it is not just Nissan who is getting away with chit like this, look at the other car makers and shenanigans they're up to.

Saying that: "it has always been serviced at Nissan or according to Nissan specifications" means/is misnomer basically it means nothing.
I feel sorry for you but like it or not you gonna have to produce some cash again. That is the nature of the beast.
Cheers

[craigv]

The warranty isnt the point, the point is to many people put up with crap and give up while companies like NISSAN and dealerships keep making money from something that was ment to be rectified.
Looking into the legal side of it I was assured by the service manager the later motor that I installed was changed in design and are more reliable then the early models, so the first one lasted 180000km with the wrong type of oil being used and this one lasted 60000km with the right oil so Ive got a case if it comes to it.
Bad publicity goes along way,
A old girlfriend once told me the squeeky wheel always gets the grease so Im going to start chirping!!! and I think sleeping around helped her two.

[mudski]

I totally agree with you Craig, Nissan do get away with a lot. But I very much doubt you can do anything. Good luck though with your efforts. A client of mine is the Department Of Sustainability and Environment. They have probably 100 GU utes across Vic all parked up in each depot with Out of service Danger tags on the steering wheels. They have had countless issues and Nissan won't come to the party even for them. So I really do hope you get something good out of this.

[craigv]

Hey joker, Thanks for the interest I think its going to be a long drawn out situation, the dealership still havnt looked at my bus but the longer it takes them the worse it will look for them.

What is ticking me off now is Ive found an off road shop that says its easy to put in a 4.2 with the auto for not more then I paid for this rubbish. The problem with Adelaide everything a bit different seems to hard and nobody will give it a go or they dont pass on the work.

Ive gone from going to work with the dog in the back of the bus to dropping the daughter of at school in and OUTLANDER, and a dog depressed in the kennel!!!!!!

[Bloodyaussie]

Bite the bullet and get yourself a cheap shitter for a $1000 till this gets sorted... the car will probably last long than 60,000km!!!!!!

[threedogs]

X @ with Mudski Goodluck,but see or read about it all the time here of PPL getting the run around from MR NISSAN
Do your 4.2/auto conversion and tick the no box when you get to Nissan. It always ends in tears. Even when they are
wrong they are right. rrrrrs holes.
Problem is if they say yours is U/S then the thousands around the world will follow suit
There is no way in Hell they are going to set a precidence with 1 motor failure M2cW

[craigv]

No tears hear, This dosen't concern Mr NISSAN this is the dealership that supplied and installed the motor, that assured me it would be better then the last one,
I had other options

Just to clear something up Im not on here crying just interested to see what others have done and gone through, if they(the dealership) want to be ass h--- about it Ill give it a go and go to court it wont cost anything if you go the right way about it.

My next step will be to write on the side of the tray what has happened so everywhere it gets towed to sees the dealers name and whats happened along the way.

And yes I am buying another car today to start going back to work, It pisses me of that I have to tell my daughter sorry the holiday we had planed for next month is off again because to car dad paid thousands of dollars to fix is f---d again when he should have dumped it last time.

[Gu01patrol]

Hi, Im very desperate for advice, Ive just found out a new 3l motor I installed in the car has just broken its crank shaft and its only down 60,000km, Can anyone tell me where I legally stand I could really use some good advice . The NISSAN DEALER are trying to blow it of as being past the warranty.

Thanks can really use the help
Craig from SA

The best i can recommend you do is contact the ACCC or the department of Fair Trading in SA or You have The Motor Traders Association (MTA) and inform them of whats happen, they will take the case on based you have the right to claim, i had something simalar with a engine rebiuld i was quoted $5K for the work i required when completed they try to charge me $8500 after taking it the the ACCC the matter was resolved very quickly in our favour i might add

Regards
Paul

[craigv]

Thanks Paul good to hear, Thats what everyone should be doing Ive been told even after a warranty has finished you have the right to claim if the item hasnt lasted an expected time.

The end out come is the crankshaft has gone and the flexplate shattered breaking the torque convertor so I dont think I can prove what went first anyway, one thing I have been told by a couple of Trans shops is its quite common for the flex plate tp go so anyone getting the trans repaired should have a heavy duty one installed to cover them selves,

[NP99]

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=963175&nodeId=cbe0411ccf8d0b8fbf2bdbacea75046f&fn=Consumer%20guarantees%20a%20guide%20for%20consu mers.pdf

This link might help,,,

[NP99]

Another good link......
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-07/broken-but-out-of-warranty-you-still-have-rights/2749924