TD 4.2 TDi upgrades

[dpetersen]

Gday all!
As some of you may know iv recently purchased a 2006 4.2tdi wagon. Completely stock, only a set of rear draws. It also has bubble dash. 217000ks.
IMO I got it for a pretty decent price.
Now I pick the car up from Melbourne in a month or so and will be driving it back here to Alice Springs. I have access to a hoist and workshop here but I am moving back to Melbourne in the middle of the year so I am planning to do a lot of work here while I have the workshop. I have budgeted about 4-5k on what I would like to do.
I have a lot of questions and am hoping for your help.
First of all, apologies for the long winded post.
I currently have a gu3 zd wagon, have owned for about three years, so there’s a few bits and pieces I’ll be pulling off that before I sell it.

Catch can - provent, will be removing from zd 30.

Ecu talk - will be removing from zd30.

Egr block - cheap from eBay, thoughts?

Diff breathers - cheap from eBay, thoughts?

Window tint - tint professor melbourne, have budgeted $300.

Snorkel - no idea. Aside from looks is stainless much better? Currently have Ironman on my zd30 with no complaints. No idea what to budget.

Bullbar - I have a TJM T13 or 15 on mine at the moment and like it so I am thinking a TJM T13 for the new car. Estimating around $1700?

Exhaust - 3inch. Can pick one up from 4wd supacenter for around $700 but I have read good things about beaudessert aswell, I think I read they are around $1100? What are your thoughts?

Dual battery system - currently have a red arc system in the zd and no complaints.I really only run my fridge from it. Can’t remember what it cost. Budgeting around $700 including battery.

Roof rack - currently have a steel full length tradies rack and love it. Would like the same. No idea where to go or budget.

Suspension - currently running a 2inch lift from Ironman with foam shocks and steering dampener. I think I paid around $1100. No complaints so wouldn’t mind the same or similar.

Drivers side wind deflector (full size as I am a smoker) - Nissan?

Servicing - pretty much always do it myself, oil, oil filter and fuel filter every 5000. What’s the deal with the two oil filters? Are they both the same part number? I usually use ryco filters, what are your thoughts? Are Nissan better? Much more expensive? 10.5 liters is what I have read the car takes. I have tried many different types in the zd and found Castrol gtx diesel 15w40 to be best. Would this be the same for the td?

Intercooler - are the tdi ones as crap as the zd’s and prone to leaking?

Bubble dash - I did read a while ago that Nissan were helping in some way with this. What’s the story with it now?

Again I’m very sorry for the long post! I’m excited to pick the car up and get strait into working on it!
I’d expect I’d be able to do nearly all the work myself. I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality but sometimes with 4wd parts I find you can end up paying a fair bit more just for the brand name. Example - I have had my thumper air compressor for nearly three years and can’t fault it, cost less then $100!! Hence why I am after your advise.
Thanks heaps, Daniel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mudski]

Gday all!
As some of you may know iv recently purchased a 2006 4.2tdi wagon. Completely stock, only a set of rear draws. It also has bubble dash. 217000ks.
IMO I got it for a pretty decent price.
Now I pick the car up from Melbourne in a month or so and will be driving it back here to Alice Springs. I have access to a hoist and workshop here but I am moving back to Melbourne in the middle of the year so I am planning to do a lot of work here while I have the workshop. I have budgeted about 4-5k on what I would like to do.
I have a lot of questions and am hoping for your help.
First of all, apologies for the long winded post.
I currently have a gu3 zd wagon, have owned for about three years, so there’s a few bits and pieces I’ll be pulling off that before I sell it.

Catch can - provent, will be removing from zd 30. Use it on the TD

Ecu talk - will be removing from zd30.Sell it

Egr block - cheap from eBay, thoughts?Leave it

Diff breathers - cheap from eBay, thoughts?leave them. Not expensive to buy

Window tint - tint professor melbourne, have budgeted $300.sounds a bit cheap

Snorkel - no idea. Aside from looks is stainless much better? Currently have Ironman on my zd30 with no complaints. No idea what to budget. bear in mine the custom snorkels that dont use a ram head and point back create a lot of induction noise. I have a Radius Fab snorkel but with a 4inch ram head. Budget for a custom snorkel around $700

Bullbar - I have a TJM T13 or 15 on mine at the moment and like it so I am thinking a TJM T13 for the new car. Estimating around $1700?

Exhaust - 3inch. Can pick one up from 4wd supacenter for around $700 but I have read good things about beaudessert aswell, I think I read they are around $1100? What are your thoughts? I cant really comment on the 4wd SC pipes, not much to go wrong but the only thing to look out for is the flanges where the pipes join together. Might be a weak spot. See what sort of warranty they have on their pipes too. I run a Redback branded system...

Dual battery system - currently have a red arc system in the zd and no complaints.I really only run my fridge from it. Can’t remember what it cost. Budgeting around $700 including battery.

Roof rack - currently have a steel full length tradies rack and love it. Would like the same. No idea where to go or budget.stick with what you know maybe on this....

Suspension - currently running a 2inch lift from Ironman with foam shocks and steering dampener. I think I paid around $1100. No complaints so wouldn’t mind the same or similar.if your happy with this then buy the same I guess. There is better out there, but more $$$

Drivers side wind deflector (full size as I am a smoker) - Nissan?

Servicing - pretty much always do it myself, oil, oil filter and fuel filter every 5000. What’s the deal with the two oil filters? Are they both the same part number? I usually use ryco filters, what are your thoughts? Are Nissan better? Much more expensive? 10.5 liters is what I have read the car takes. I have tried many different types in the zd and found Castrol gtx diesel 15w40 to be best. Would this be the same for the td? Ryco is fine, Genuine is also, same as Fleetguard. Your two filters should be the same, the earlier TD42 GU's used two different filters... The GTX Diesel would be fine. You could use RX Super, can be had in 20L tins and is cheaper this way.

Intercooler - are the tdi ones as crap as the zd’s and prone to leaking?Yes

Bubble dash - I did read a while ago that Nissan were helping in some way with this. What’s the story with it now? They arent any more. They are about $800 new to buy. Not sure on what it takes for the remove and refit though.

Again I’m very sorry for the long post! I’m excited to pick the car up and get strait into working on it!
I’d expect I’d be able to do nearly all the work myself. I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality but sometimes with 4wd parts I find you can end up paying a fair bit more just for the brand name. Example - I have had my thumper air compressor for nearly three years and can’t fault it, cost less then $100!! Hence why I am after your advise.
Thanks heaps, Daniel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Enjoy your TD42!

[happygu]

Don't worry about the diff breathers .. factory ones are OK ... money saved.

Roof rack will fit the new one ... money saved

Bullbar is personal choice .. some like Ironman, some like TJM, some like ARB. My preference is for a steel bar, and I personally like the look of the ARB Bar, but they all do a job.

Suspension is also personal choice, and you will get hundreds of different opinions saying theirs is the best at various price points ... I can tell you the brand of mine which i am happy with ( $1450 ), but as long as you don't go super cheap you will be ok with whatever you choose .. just get the appropriate load rating for the weights in the vehicle.

3inch exhaust is good for the 4.2 ... again don't go the cheapest, but go for something that is recommended by others who have had theirs on their vehicle for more than one week and you will be fine.

Snorkel ... I would stick with the Safari or Ironman in the plastic, as it will be a cheaper install, and do what you need it to do on your budget. Stainless Steel is only for looks, or for larger air intake for further mods.

Window Tint may be more like $450 so be prepared for it
Nissan may not help with the bubbled dash anymore as the grace limits for their 'generous' offer of replacement have well and truly been exceeded.

[Cuppa]

ECU Talk wont be of any use on a 4.2TDi - info from the OBD connection is very limited (from memory just revs & battery voltage).

Do get a 3" exhaust BUT do also budget for a manual boost controller + dyno + EGT /boost gauge. I have a Genie system which I'm happy with. Make sure you get a dump pipe with fitting for EGT gauge already welded in.

Re Window deflectors - I bought mine from Supercheap auto about 3 years ago, they work well & have remained solidly attached despite the occasional contact with undergrowth on narrow tracks.

My dash is bubble free, but I have put a dash mat on it to hopefully keep it that way. I guess one would be a cost effective means of hiding existing bubbling?

10.5 litres oil capacity is a PIA ..... but it is what it is. Oil choice is a personal thing, but I reckon 5000km oil changes are the best reassurance regarding long engine life. I've always used Penrite HPR15 semi synthetic. Hurts the wallet a bit at oil change time but I reason the early demise of the motor would hurt a lot more in a vehicle I expect to keep to an old age. On the one occasion I had to stretch the 5000km out to 7600km I took solace in the fact that I had the HPR15 in it.

Re the stock TDi intercoolers. I was told they were fine provide boost pressures are kept below about 15psi. Above that their crimped construction can fail, & thus a fully welded item is better. I run a max boost of 13.2psi (stock was only about 7psi) & have had no problems with the stock intercooler.

[Cuppa]

Ryco is fine, Genuine is also

I beg to slightly differ Mark.
I used Ryco for some time until switching to genuine Nissan ones after I picked up a few at a good price. However I ended up returning to Ryco after finding that it took almost twice as long for oil to come up to pressure when starting than with the Ryco's. Not saying the Nissan items are no good, just that I don't believe their anti drainback feature is as good, & given most engine wear occurs at intitial startups I made the switch back before using all the Nissan filters I bought.

[Hodge]

Hey mate. Firstly it's not a long story at all, it's always good to ask these things. Thats where this forum comes into it !! Thats what were here for.
I'll give my opinion / experience as I have pretty much the same car.

Catch can - Just re-use the one from your ZD30. Simple. You just may need some different size hoses.


Ecu talk - Don't need it... Apart from engine temps, I don't think the 4.2 computer reads much more...


Egr block - Costs peanuts... Also remove the butterfly valve out of the EGR pipe. Hit me up when you're ready I have some photos of it being done on mine.


Diff breathers - If you do plan to do some water crossings these may pay off. Takes 2 stubbies to do as well. The breathers for the gearbox and transfer case are a bit more involved as there is a adapter needed from steel pipes to plastic, or whatever the new breather type is.

Window tint - Tint proffesor Somerton done mine. $280. This was in late 2015. Front windows darkest legal. And all rears limo tint.


Snorkel - Don't muck around with cheapos. Use Safari. My opinion. Circa $400 for part, maybe $600 to get fitted.


Bullbar - This is a horses for courses... If you like the TJM one, stick to it.


Exhaust - Yup go 3". I've my 4.2 is the 3rd 4x4 I've had a beaudesert fitted on. 4.2 system I fitted up my self. Not hard to do at all. My one cost me, $1200 from Beaudesrt. That included a muffler AND a straight through pipe. So I could change to my liking... Straight through sounds awesome! But it is very loud...


Dual battery system - This is another horses for course. Get what you can afford to suit your needs. My redarc BCDC systems never failed me... 700 for battery and a bcdc charger is very reasonable. Can get a nice setup for that $.


Roof rack - Another horses for course. Get one to suit budget. You can go full el cheapo eBay / Kings ones or pay more for branded ones. I've got a ARB Aluminium one. Cost a fair bit though...



Drivers side wind deflector - I've got the genuine ones. No issues, albeit to me the wind shear sound is annoying...


Servicing - I service mine by my self. I use genuine filters all round and have been using Magnatec oil every 5000k. Never had an issue.


Intercooler - My factory one didn't leak, nor have I heard about them leaking. I think it's only the zd30 ones... It's done the job. But I found when the car is being pushed the heat soak lingered for ages... I upgraded to a cross country one. Expensive , but the EGT's now are extremely tamed.


Bubble dash - Yup my dash is fully bubbled. I have a dash cover so I cannot see 90% of it. So I'm not too worried about it. I've hit Nissan up for it when it went to get the airbags done. And they didn't want to know me.

[Rossco]

Hey mate sounds like a good bus, good luck with it. Seems like everyone's covered it pretty well guess a lot of things come down to personal choice & in general you get whay you pay for know I've learnt the lesson of buying cheap rubbish before. If your after some breathers roadrunner do a nice kit recently got one for mine & happy with it. . .

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[dpetersen]

Thanks for the replies so far guys!
Was thinking of keeping the ecu talk mainly for the coolant temp so I can use a double pillar gauge in the future for egr temps and boost.

Will be researching each product individually before I purchase them to make sure they’re exactly what I’m after.
Might look into a couple of second hand arb or tjm bars while I’m in Melbourne picking the car up to save a few $$$.
As far as iv searched I can’t find any major common problems with the tds. Really looking forward to having a car that I have a bit more confidence in as opposed to the zd!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AB]

Hijack but welcome to Melbourne when you arrive too mate, keep your eye out on the forum we do a lot of meet ups down here so feel free to jump in and come on a trip with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dpetersen]

Hijack but welcome to Melbourne when you arrive too mate, keep your eye out on the forum we do a lot of meet ups down here so feel free to jump in and come on a trip with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks AB, would love that!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk