Hi everyone....I have a puzzling problem and my mechanic recommends I speak with you

[Charch]

Hi,

I own a 2004 gu diesel patrol. I have a problem that no one can definitively give me guidance on. Firstly, there are 420k on the clock.....the clutch was redone at 300k. A month ago I was driving to Noosa from Brisbane. My main tank drained by the time I got to Mooloolaba and I flicked to reserve. When I got to Noosa's main drag whilst in second I lost compression and the car died but didn't stall, I couldn't get the revs above 1500 for a minute and then it came good! I had to pick up my kids at double island point.... So I persevered untroubled until I had to get off the beach. When I engaged low gear I had a repeat of the prob and had no revs to get me off the beach. I got towed off. I found that I could drive my car in 3rd 4th and 5th at 50ks or so so I nursed it home to Brisbane. I refuelled at Cooroy....I thought maybe a dirty fuel line? Whilst on the highway I found that my car went from 50 and bumbling along to intermittent spurts to100 with no prob whatsoever!! First impressions were the air sensor...replaced that$750 and it drove perfectly for a week. Then, the problem returned.....low compression/revs and intermittent spurts of normality. Computers are saying no problems detected. Diesel specialist is thinking it has something to do with the crank(and in all honesty I didn't quite understand) but isn't certain, but he did say I'm up for big money (5-10k)more than likely and to flick the car. Finally, whilst trying to get my car home it drove perfectly then started the compression problem only to have it completely stop with all the warning lights around the corner from the mechanics. Mechanic reckons that now at least maybe the computer can pick up a fault!! Anyone out there with similar experience??

Regards Anthony

[BigRAWesty]

Which engine are you sporting bloke??
And any mods to the engine?

[Bigcol]

Hi,

I own a 2004 gu diesel patrol. I have a problem that no one can definitively give me guidance on. Firstly, there are 420k on the clock.....the clutch was redone at 300k. A month ago I was driving to Noosa from Brisbane. My main tank drained by the time I got to Mooloolaba and I flicked to reserve. When I got to Noosa's main drag whilst in second I lost compression and the car died but didn't stall, I couldn't get the revs above 1500 for a minute and then it came good! I had to pick up my kids at double island point.... So I persevered untroubled until I had to get off the beach. When I engaged low gear I had a repeat of the prob and had no revs to get me off the beach. I got towed off. I found that I could drive my car in 3rd 4th and 5th at 50ks or so so I nursed it home to Brisbane. I refuelled at Cooroy....I thought maybe a dirty fuel line? Whilst on the highway I found that my car went from 50 and bumbling along to intermittent spurts to100 with no prob whatsoever!! First impressions were the air sensor...replaced that$750 and it drove perfectly for a week. Then, the problem returned.....low compression/revs and intermittent spurts of normality. Computers are saying no problems detected. Diesel specialist is thinking it has something to do with the crank(and in all honesty I didn't quite understand) but isn't certain, but he did say I'm up for big money (5-10k)more than likely and to flick the car. Finally, whilst trying to get my car home it drove perfectly then started the compression problem only to have it completely stop with all the warning lights around the corner from the mechanics. Mechanic reckons that now at least maybe the computer can pick up a fault!! Anyone out there with similar experience??

Regards Anthony


Which engine are you sporting bloke??
And any mods to the engine?


I'm guessing its a 3L
I didnt think the 2004 4.2L had an Air Sensor......... but I may be wrong

the bit that puzzles me is this bit.........

My main tank drained by the time I got to Mooloolaba and I flicked to reserve.

probably dragged up a lot of crap out of the Main Tank............ and also out of the reserve tank

also, Anthony
best to pop over to the Introductions page, and introduce yourself
might get a few more thoughtful people come and answer then

[BigRAWesty]

Yea unsure about the sensor..
But I'm also leaning towards a gut load of dirty fuel..

Maybe the pick screen is blocked..

The other thing I was thinking is maybe a hole in the line somewhere. And your getting a varying amount of air in the fuel lines and now it's let go.
If it is a leaking line you should be able to see a wet fuel patch on the lines somewhere being deisel.
Unless the issue is in the tank..
The pick up is easy to get to threw the cargo bay floor.. lift the carpet / vynal and you'll see the access point..

[Charch]

[QUOTE=biggqwesty;641596]Which engine are you sporting bloke??


Thank you for a reply!!

Yep, 3L st. No mods......I'm not passionate about mods but I love 4wdriving. I first thought it had something to do with dirty fuel. People are a bit lost in their diagnosis because there's something going on with the computer....not picking up anything. Would a diesel have a fuel filter??

I'm going armed today with your suggestions but am open to more if they are out there!

Thanks for your time in reading my dilemma

Regards
Anthony

[Charch]

Yep, will do tonight. Thanks for your time!

[BigRAWesty]

Yea every car has a fuel filter.
Our cars being right hand drive the fuel filters are located top left hand side of the fire all..
Just look for what looks like an oil filter with some hoses coming from it.

[threedogs]

Hi Charch dont forget to pop over to the intro's when you get a chance.
Its just something the forum ask of us all, polite and all

[Robo]

It does sound fuel related.

seeing ya have 420 thou ks on the clock.
might be worth going around as many earth connections as you can find and give em a clean.
for that matter check for loose connections, or wires shorting out.

[happygu]

Sounds like limp mode ... when it does it, take your foot off the accelerator completely, and then reapply and see if that is why it is coming back to full power. If it is, then it probably is limp mode, and you need to track down why.....

Your other possibilities are the TPS ( Throttle Position Sensor ) ... this could be dirty, or a little worn and not always getting good contact. You can check this by checking your accelerator pedal for sideways movement, and check the physical connection of the pedal contacts.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?1130-Cleaning-Throttle-Position-Sensor.

It may be the Crank Angle Sensor, it could be your injector pump, it may be a boost leak, stuck vanes in the turbo, etc, etc ..... I can't see it being the crank itself or anything internal to the engine .... that doesn't make sense at all

[threedogs]

I think its a combination of things, do you have you an after market intercooler fitted.
if not is the one you have now covered in oil.
Id be replacing your fuel lines, cheap enough to do
Do one thing at a time as well

[Charch]

Thanks Callen. My mechanic checked that. Fuel is pumping thru with no air in it.

[Charch]

Thank you three dogs. Good advice. I will call mechanic tomorrow and get that ball rolling.

[Charch]

From memory the intercooler is the original. Why would it be covered in oil? Thanks threedogs

[Charch]

Ok, is that easy enough to do or should I take to auto electrician? Thanks robo

[Charch]

Thanks happygu. Maybe I misheard the crank possibility. I'm not mechanical at all to be honest. I don't actually understand how things work....I'm a teacher at a special school with a fear of doing anything mechanical...because I usually make things worse!!!! I will pass on your guidance in the morning. Definitely food for thought! Thankyou for your time. Actually, thank you to all who are making suggestions. So many potential issues!!!

[Rumcajs]

Wow, firstly congrats on getting ZD30 to that sort of mileage, 420,000 km without blowing up is unbelievable.

Secondly, crank angle sensor is probabby what the mechanic had in mind but I find it curiously strange that a professional has advised you to seek assistance from an Interwebz forum! Please see real pro. Any error with crank angle sensor will log the fault ot DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code) and it will stall the engine immediatelly. Throttle position sensor fault would cause the engine RPMs to drop to idle immediately and log the fault. Does the engine check lamp (MIL or malfunction indicator lamp)actually lights up when iginiton key is turned on?

Thirdly, unless you/your mechanic can see what the engine ECU sees while operating you have no hope of identifying what is the problem and just trowing parts at it will be expensive exercise. So using software and the interface like ECUTalk would/could shed a light on the problem if one understand where to look.

As other have said check basics first, could be a loose/corroded wire/s (earth or positive) or worse given the kms possibly injection pump.

Regards

[Bigcol]

but I find it curiously strange that a professional has advised you to seek assistance from an Interwebz forum! Please see real pro.

As other have said check basics first, could be a loose/corroded wire/s (earth or positive) or worse given the kms possibly injection pump.
Regards

as Rumcajs said,
find a mechanic who knows the 3L - or you will be forever handing over hard earned coin....................
you brothers wives nephew may know how to turn a spanner on a D9 dozer, but a 3L is a special bread of "fer fooks sake.........what now......"

do a ring around of your local mechanic's, and ask - "what do you know about the Nissan 3L...???"
if they tell you its crap, hang up and try the next person

yours has done 420K - thats alot in anyones language, so it could just be a combination of several things starting to go pear shaped

your fuel filter should look something like this
62527

the black button on the top is for priming it
the blue bit in the middle is the filter itself
the white bit at the bottom is the water trap & bleed

this could be U/S (un serviceable)

again, as Rumcajs said, you need the diagnostics to tell you whats going wrong / on......... hence the need for someone who does know the 3L engine

[Robo]

Ok, is that easy enough to do or should I take to auto electrician? Thanks robo

Not being and elec my advise would firstly disconnect the battery.

Then Have a looksee around the engine bay + under dash, even behind the kick panels, any where you see a wire or even a few terminated onto the body or chassis is an earth loosen not breaking the wires of course, sometimes they can stick to the nut or bolt and turn with it.
then give contact surfaces a clean and do back up, easy.

Oh "Tip" see below the little Thanks square, give it a click, this registers a thank you point to the person helping you.
Then there's no need to post a thanks each time, unless you feel compelled to of course
cheers

[jff45]

As Rumcajs said, before you start changing parts following wild guesses, get the fault codes read first and go from there.

[threedogs]

From memory the intercooler is the original. Why would it be covered in oil? Thanks threedogs

I would imagine if its 430Ks old it would be leaking big time.
leaking may equate into loosing boost and higher egt's.
Personally I think your intake needs a birthday [de coked]
plus a new tigged OE intercooler.
Plus some gauges , whats the plan, are you keeping it??

I did a crank angle sensor when my alternator failed, motor went into limp
lift the foot and start again not pleasant but drivable

[tuckertrucker]

Sounds like limp mode ... when it does it, take your foot off the accelerator completely, and then reapply and see if that is why it is coming back to full power. If it is, then it probably is limp mode, and you need to track down why.....

Your other possibilities are the TPS ( Throttle Position Sensor ) ... this could be dirty, or a little worn and not always getting good contact. You can check this by checking your accelerator pedal for sideways movement, and check the physical connection of the pedal contacts.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?1130-Cleaning-Throttle-Position-Sensor.

It may be the Crank Angle Sensor, it could be your injector pump, it may be a boost leak, stuck vanes in the turbo, etc, etc ..... I can't see it being the crank itself or anything internal to the engine .... that doesn't make sense at all

yeah if it were in the engine itself then you'd know about it. For it to reduce RPMs then you'd certainly be able to hear it or feel it. Its got to be something impacting the combustion.

[Charch]

Thanks for the advice!! I can't believe how much knowledge, passion and love there is out there!!!!!

Charch