Nissan Patrol 2008 Problems

Worn glow-plugs will certainly make a diesel engine difficult to start and can easily contribute lots of smoke to the equation. But in reality, you could be looking at anything from worn or dribbling injectors, a blocked air-intake system, a worn fuel pump or simply internal wear in the engine itself. A worn turbocharger bearing or seal can also cause these problems, and don't forget about the simple stuff like a blocked fuel filter.

Trying to diagnose turbo-diesel engine problems from the colour of the smoke emitted is a hiding to nowhere and you'll inevitably find yourself changing perfectly good parts on a hunch and wasting lots of time and money. The best bet is to take the car to a diesel specialist and have the whole system investigated.

Four-wheel-drives like the Patrol tend to do big mileages, so you often see them advertised with overhauled or reconditioned engines. That’s not a problem provided the work has been done properly and quality parts used.

But you also need to talk to the seller and determine exactly what they mean by `overhauled’. A true overhaul will have included reconditioning the cylinder head, boring the cylinders, new pistons, new bearings, rings and even things like a new water pump and fuel pump. The receipts form the rebuild will tell the full story.

Our bet would be on the car you’re looking at having had a piston failure (number three or four piston) which was too common on the ZD30 engine. At which point you need to find out whether the engine was completely rebuilt, or simply had a new set of pistons and a new turbocharger fitted.

If it's fuel-injected pumping it won't make any difference, in fact it could confuse the computer and make it more difficult to start. Check the fuel pressure and depending on the result of that check the fuel pump.

Towing in overdrive really loads up the transmission, so you have to think about how you use it. Generally it is ok to engage overdrive on flat terrain, where the load is not as high, but it's important to disengage it when facing hills. The key is to always be in the correct gear for the situation, rather than leave it in overdrive and forget about it.

I would doubt that Nissan would entertain a warranty claim for a bubbled dash, but it's worth a try if you want to take them on. You could get the dash doctor to have a look at it and see what they think has caused the problem.

The claimed fuel economy for your Patrol is 11.8 L/100 km on average, which is of course just a figure provided for comparison purposes and as we have found out isn't necessarily a very accurate indicator for real life economy. One carmaker has told us that their real fuel economy number could be as much as 50 per cent out. On that basis yours would fit within the possible bandwidth of fuel economy on the Patrol. Check the exhaust to make sure there isn't a partial blockage that might be restricting the flow.

First, establish clearly if the problem is associated with running on LPG. You say it went away when you ran on diesel, so run some LPG through it again and see if the noise returns. If it does head back to the LPG installer, or the Eco Shot people, and have them do a thorough check on the system. It could be that it's getting too much LPG. I am very wary of these systems, because they work by substituting LPG for diesel, and increase the power output of the engine. The idea is then that you lift off the throttle and use less fuel, so reducing your running costs, but many people don't and make use of the extra power instead. As a result some run into engine problems, as is possible with your Patrol.