ADVICE sought PLS... YEP!! ZD30 2003 Nissan Patrol

well, that was a fascinating and well put together read, and I have a TB42 :-) Thanks Lindon and others.

Hi Lindon,

Sorry I can't answer any of your questions, hopefully someone else can.

I for one am interested and yes the more photos the better.

It seems like this is going to be another common fault with them.

Cheers Rodney

Posting this for Lindon and one else who might want to know.
We were talking about a leaking spill line and leaking diesel into your oil. This can also cause air to get into the fuel system overnight resulting in being hard to start in the mornings and having to re-bleed the diesel up. I havent seen any other posts on it so i thought i would get some pics up of the spill line inside the rocker cover.

With the rocker cover off there is a small metal tube that runs across the top of the injectors and bleeds the excess diesel back to the injector pump. The seals on this tube are known to leak and can cause the problems i mentioned above.

I have drawn the spill line in red on the photo below (this is after you have removed the rocker cover)
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/...ISSAN-ZD30.jpg

This is the banjo seal that leaks on the spill line, there is 1 on each injector and 1 on the output of the spill line (5 in total inside the rocker cover). You can buys these seals individually from Nissan pretty cheap.
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/...h/IMG_1511.jpg

While you have the rocker cover off, this is a good chance to replace your rocker cover gasket. Also check your glow plugs for wear (replace if needed) and the glow plug seals that leak on top of the rocker cover. The pic below is the rocker cover intact
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/...g_Rail_Los.jpg

This is the glow plug seal that stops oil leaking out from around the glow plug. You can see them around the glow plugs in the pic above
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/...132762W201.jpg

Hope this helps

Fletcha

Thanks for your input about the spill line Big_Fletch... that's fantastic for us all to know and see...

I look forward to adding more information/photographs when I fix mine in a few weeks...

Lindon

Thanks Superjuice and everyone else who has contributed to this post. I am in the same boat . symptoms were - oil level rising , provent catch can catching more oil residue than '' normal '' and on the odd occasion not starting with gusto , bit of hesitation . currently have cover off , return line off and while I am this far I will do the fuel return line mod as chaz describes . so new seals and stuff tomorrow . AAHH -the joys of motoring .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Superjuice2072

Hi Everyone,

Ok... where to start... firstly, please correct any information in here for others wishing to learn, if you feel this content is slightly incorrect as described, for NEW ZD30 owners may need to know some of this stuff... and I wouldn't want them to get a wrong tangent from me...

Since November (Simpson Desert), I've been having problems, as described previously in this thread. Suffice to say, they have been frustrating and stressful, especially when you have a large fiscal figure hanging over your head ($4000-$8000) to fix the injector pump, and yet I've sensed that there was nothing wrong with the pump. So the pressure has always been, from numerous people and so called specialists, to pull out the injector pump OUT, OVERHAUL, and supposedly, voila... problem fixed!

As I've said previously, Chaz has been an enormous help to me, so I really want to acknowledge his input into this and the solution I've found for my own vehicle/troubles, and hence the learnings I've received, so to speak...

November... warning light on dash frequently coming ON... no power... limp home to east coast QLD... Nissan dealership review for $150, suggesting injector pump failure... January second opinion... another "Specialist injector pump 4WD service centre on the Sunshine Coast" $350, suggesting the same thing... February-March reading Patrol forums, talking with people, researching the net, trialling a number of fault finding tricks and YIPEE, the vehicle seems to be running perfectly again... so far, it IS running perfectly... will keep you informed if this changes... otherwise, ALL GOOD!!

1. Placed a Walbro lift pump to vehicle - Outcome - vehicle was still running poorly frequently to infrequently, but I seemed to have some hope that it might be helping the vehicle overall - Pump has been great for priming the fuel filters and for positively pressurising the fuel lines to check for leaks - found a very small weep of diesel up around the filter head - so fixed - easy
2. Changed out at least 2 fuel filters since November (1000-3000klm) - first replaced out Wilpena Pound - it looked like it had dirt in the fuel that was removed - not heaps by my experience, but nonetheless, looked like red dirt - replaced second fuel filter yesterday just because I was getting more desperate to fix this vehicle - I initially thought the first filter change would be sufficient, at the time - again, another Nissan fuel filter placed in yesterday - seems to be more red dirt in the filter coming out - no rust - so I may need to replace this fuel filter AGAIN in time to come soon - will see... talking with Chaz, experience suggests that the ZD30 may require MULTIPLE fuel filter changes before problems resolve - so, always be mindful of MORE than one fuel filter change Lindon...
3. Oil level in sump, and hence on the dipstick, MAY be increasing... not sure yet... but will continue to review... talking with Chaz, if this IS the case, diesel may be leaking into the motor, thus affecting the quality of oil and lubrication, not to mention volume in sump... will need to check oil before starting from now on for a few months, to check whether the oil level is increasing, compared with decreasing... my understanding - fuel goes to injector pump - fuel then to injectors - remaining fuel (now HOT) that is NOT used during combustion returns to fuel INLET side of pump via return line - there is a "spill line" where diesel can make its way into the rocker cover, and importantly, can also suck air back down into the injector pump, thus air going past sensors to give a FALSE reading of injector pump failure... now, my explanation of spill line, etc might be a little naive still, but suffice to say, this is a vital piece of information to know about these ZD30s... thanks Chaz... this can be fixed with a number of inexpensive parts and small modification... and if the fuel continues to leak into the oil level, then at least I know how to fix it in the future, by pulling the rocker cover OFF, and finding the leak, and fixing...
4. Now, other than the fuel problems as above, and replacing fuel filters, I decided to place a new MAF sensor and new air filter into vehicle anyway... I will continue to mix/match the older air filter and MAF sensor over the next few months to see what happens... these two were still in good condition by the naked eye, but changed them to see whether there was any improvement...
5. I also had a secondary problem which had to be found... there had never been a lack of boost at any point, until just the other day, so I pull the inlet off the turbo and viewed... ran the vehicle at idle and the turbo fan spun fine... the fins appeared ok and the spindle was firm with NO play... because I have vacuum hoses going everywhere with Dawes boost controller and needle valve, I checked all the lines, hoses, intercooler & hoses, etc... during the mission I found the hoses good and the vacuum pump working, so pulled the Dawes controller apart to find the small stainless ball was stuck against the rear of the housing, due to a very small amount of oil that had migrated into the line, DESPITE the catch can... is there any way to further reduce the amount of oil that comes back into the air intake, other than the catch can I have already?? Don't know... but it pays to check these every now and then and clean them with something... so that fixed the lack of boost and obviously the rise in EGT...

I realise this is long-winded, but I have found the more I read on the forums, from those who you can trust, the more you can gleam to solve your own problems... thus, I wanted to waffle a bit and expand in some areas to give a flavour of findings, instead of just cold hard fact, which is hard to comprehend and decipher what is happening... feel free to ask questions if you are having problems with your own vehicle, if exactly the same as mine experienced...

Learning so far:

1. Change all filters, especially fuel filter - fuel filters may need to be changed multiple times over a short period
2. It's great to have a new MAF sensor to change IN/OUT to review the present one
3. It's great having a Walbro lift pump to supply positively pressured fuel to the injector pump and to the filter head
4. I've had a water separator on the vehicle since last injector pump build... that has been important
5. I don't have any other fuel filters inline, so that fuel FLOW is NOT restricted to the injector pump
6. Fuel can leak into the rocker cover... so need to check oil regularly, NOT for low oil, but for HIGH oil levels... if needing fixed, it will be a cheap fix by comparison to an injector pump
7. Oil can still make its way back into the vacuum hoses and foul the Dawes controller
8. It's important to have at least one boost gauge and a pyrometer in the ZD30 to monitor the engine, as a bear minimum. These have been invaluable in fault finding the problems too...
9. Don't believe everything Nissan dealership, mechanics, or specialists say... Talk with the real specialists on the forum here... the ones that really DO know these vehicles inside out... I am a paramedic by trade and still learning a lot about diesels, ZD30s, electrical, etc etc... but if I worked it out over a few months, surely there must also be some other people replacing injector pumps for no need too...???
10. There are miscellaneous others, which are important also, but figure I best stop talking and get off the forum, before you guys kick me off...

Hope my waffle may help some other poor fella out there having problems too... I am looking forward to some 4WDing out Landcruiser Park and Glasshouse now... once the rain stops !!

All the best... I'll post more over the next few months...

Lindon

Attachments are just simple visuals of engine bay... nothing exciting... but gives new people something to look at... I really like pictures and visualising layouts...!!

---

from the picture with coolant surge bottle, it looks like you have leaking coolant into the head area. the amount is very tiny, so you wont notice it easily. however, the surge bottle should be 100% full (cold or hot). not test can find out such problem. it happened to me, eventually replaced the head gasket.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trol3.0

from the picture with coolant surge bottle, it looks like you have leaking coolant into the head area. the amount is very tiny, so you wont notice it easily. however, the surge bottle should be 100% full (cold or hot). not test can find out such problem. it happened to me, eventually replaced the head gasket.....

---

Thanks Trol3.0... good pick up! So, if the cap's integrity is OK and the bottle doesn't have a leak, then the most probable cause is a leaking head gasket, versus a cracked head, yeah?

I will fill the bottle again, and check it over the next couple of weeks to see what results are created... Thanks again...

Lindon

Hi Everybody...

Here is an update for your knowledge and sharing with others...

Today, I pulled the rocker cover OFF and replaced the banjo washers on the spill line. I will summarise for those people reading who may not be aware of the process. With the cover OFF, I primed the fuel line with the lift pump. No leaks visible. Maybe heat is required? I will continue to check over the next couple of weeks.

1. Pull the intercooler OFF
2. Pull the throttle body OFF
3. Remove the rail on top of glow plugs
4. Remove the rocker cover

Tips: Careful when pulling the rocker cover OFF that the little black plastic insulating-type inserts don't fall into the oil. Makes it challenging to find. Also check that the little metal rings on the glow plug seal, also doesn't unclip and fall into the oil, like mine. Double check all of them.

Anyway, some photographs for you to check out, including one of the T-piece, as Chaz describes, to route the fuel from the spill line, back into the return-tank line, by comparison to running it to the inlet side of the injector pump.

If you prefer more information, please give me a yell. Bit late at night and finding it hard to type a big story like I have in the past.

The vehicle is running very well. No engine warning lights. I have the boost set at about 14-15 PSI, EGTs are good, etc etc. I will continue to check on the oil levels to see if the new banyo washers leak. Also, I will continue to check on the water level in the coolant as described previously. Will report back if I notice any changes.

Thanks for everybody's input. I enjoyed the learning but most importantly, your experience and help with saving BIG dollars. If I had followed the advice provided by the specialists, I would now be $4000+ out of pocket. Oh, another thing. I plan to disconnect the lift pump at some point to see how differently it runs, and see if there are any differences or warning lights back ON. Stay tuned.

Kind regards,

Lindon

Ps. having trouble uploading the photographs which are more interesting... pdf, jpg, bmp, gif won't work... keeps recognizing them as tiff formats... will try again later... sorry

Try this:

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5

Hi Gang,

Some further update for you all as a matter of interest...

The vehicle is running well. Very well. I haven't tried driving the car without the lift pump yet, so will get around to that one. But, just wanting to let you know that there still seems to be an increase in oil level on the dipstick, after changing the banjo washers on the spill line.

I dropped 250ml and the stick showed full - took it for a drive - dipped it cold the following day - over full - dropped another 250ml - took it for a drive - dipped it cold the following day - now it is just over full...

Do you think the injector pump might be pushing fuel out the front of it into the timing chain cover?

Kind regards,

Lindon

I had a similar problem with my gu111 with ecu coming on under acceleration and load. Thought it was fuel system injectors, filters,water etc. Took it to Sam Cali at round corner Dural and he I'd the problem with the electronics in the accelerator assembly in the cab. Replaced it and no more problems.
Hope this helps someone.
Cheers
Waza