Nissan D40 Diesel - Water in Fuel $5500 Repair

[Antennaman]

What did the inside of the filter look like?

Guess the filter was doing it's job.

About to go on another big trip with it, will be draining the tank before I do, & then see what it's like when I get back.

[LeroyPatrol]

Yep, neighbour has priced up a Ford Ranger, the Navara can hardly pull his caravan anyway.
30litres/100 when it does.

Another friend opts for his Ford Ranger as a Tow Vehicle over his Toyota Landcruiser 4.2TD
Towing a 10meter fully enclosed car trailer, with race car and workshop inside.

Step Dad tows a 22ft caravan with the Ranger. He upsets the truckies on the hwy because they think he will slow them down as they try and overtake on hills lol. 16l/100km when doing 100kph on the hwy.

Leroy

[Rick]

Guess the filter was doing it's job.

About to go on another big trip with it, will be draining the tank before I do, & then see what it's like when I get back.

Looks to me hasnt been changed in a long time

[lsemmens]

Interesting, the comments about the Navaras, my experience has been (not in the last 15 years, though) the petrol Navara was almost unstoppable. When we started out tree lopping in the 90s we used a Navara and trailer to cart away our "work". Day in, day out of hauling several tonnes (often all at the same time) of tree to the tip. We parked that ute up at 300,000km where it sat for several years until a bloke offered to take it off our hands. Jumper leads did not start it, but a bit of fuel down the carbie and a short (100m) tow down the road and he drove the thing home. We did end up with several trucks and a couple of chippers in the end, but that is irrelevant.

I was talking to a contact only a few days back about his Isuzu D-Max and he swears by it. Very reliable and economical he claims 7l - 100km with or without his caravan on the back. My I45 Hyundai does that, my Petrol Jackaroo double that!

[ol' boy]

I was talking to a contact only a few days back about his Isuzu D-Max and he swears by it. Very reliable and economical he claims 7l - 100km with or without his caravan on the back.

I find that statement very hard to believe

[Thala Dan]

I find that statement very hard to believe

Agreed.

I love my Colorado to bits (rebadged D-Max).......but that figure strikes me as quite unrealistic.

I towed a 22' Coromal all around Australia with the Colorado, and kept detailed records of fuel consumption and mileage.

On average, the Colorado (D-Max) returned 8-9L/100 km without the van (occasionally 7-8 on a good uninterrupted highway run), and 14-16L/100km towing the van on a variety of roads, invariably bitumen.

All towing was done at around 85-90km/h, and generally at consistent speed with minimal traffic.

There is a common mistake I found occurred amongst Colorado/D-Max owners.

The instrumentation allows two fuel consumption readings....L/100km or km/L.......either of the two readouts is selected and becomes the default display by pressing and holding the "zero reset" button.

So at, for instance, 20L/100 km........the readout will show 5km/L if it is set to that parameter.

When displaying km/L, the more fuel you use, the lower the km/L figure that is displayed.

Several Colorado/D-Max owners we met, who made extravagant mileage claims, were in fact misreading the km/L figure as a L/100 km figure, without realising they had inadvertently changed the parameter being displayed.

Looks good, but I'm afraid it ain't so.

[Rick]

OB has all the result!

[ol' boy]

I never believe that published rubbish Rick
I found all i needed here:

Only one engine is available in the D-Max, a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel. This is a proven engine that has been in use since 2006. It was revised for this D-Max, which arrived in 2012.

It consumes about 8.0 litres/100km in official tests (urban and country combined), with little difference between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions, or manuals and autos.

In real-world driving, you can expect about 9.5 litres/100km from a D-Max.

Most models are available with a five-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed conventional automatic.

I find the figures of all these new CRD in the 2.5 to 3.0L range to be around the same.
Trouble is, they all quote good stats when empty, its when you load them up the figures can really jump into the red.
Example, a VW 2.0 TDI gets great figures when empty, 7's all day long, but tow a pop-top, its 14.5L/100k
Similarly, a Nissan 3.0 TD Patrol, empty, 13-14L/100k, add a fridge, swag, camping stuff, it 16L/100k, tow a 4WD Camp Trailer, its 19L/100, tow a Caravan, its 23L/100k.
(actual stats from a friend who has one all of the above configurations)

This is where a Toyota Landcruiser 4.2 D or TD, might get 16L/100K's empty, but it doesn't change much when loaded.

Im no expert, but what it seems to me, a lot of these modern Turbo Diesels are stretched to their limits making power and getting a reasonable economy figure, any additional weight or towing just blows them out the window.

The neighbours D40 is great example, his first trip with his new caravan returned an average of 30L/100ks
(admittedly it was a Alpine Trip around the Victorian High Country)

The Missus 3.0 TD will get 8.6-9.2L/100ks all day long on flat hwy driving
(pretty good for a 2.2 tonne vehicle)
But, you push the engine and make it rev, it jumps from 9's to 15's pretty easy.

[Rick]

I never believe that published rubbish Rick

Its far from published rubbish, they are proven results!guess I could say the same to your link!

[ol' boy]

What are you talking about, your link is an Izuzu website, bahahahahaah
Of course its going to look good

Im sure they are good and economical, but i'll take my figures from real end users, than a Lab Test or Spec sheet any day of the week.
There is a 20 page long thread on a 4WD forum regarding economy of the D-Max, most get 8's on hwy unloaded (some are 10.5) and 9.5 average, over 12's when towing.

[Rick]

What are you talking about, your link is an Izuzu website, bahahahahaah
Of course its going to look good

And i'm sure the ACCC would be onto publishing false or misleading information, but guess since you know all the facts and the results I may as well remove my posts

[ol' boy]

And i'm sure the ACCC would be onto publishing false or misleading information,

Yep, they already tried that years ago.





There are many examples if you care to look
Spose you believe everything the glossy brochure tells you too mate

ACCC only look at a vehicle thats rolled on a dyno for 20ks
Id rather listen to a guy who has owned for 20,000ks thanks

[LeroyPatrol]

A mate get's around 8.5l/100km out of his 3yo automatic DMax. He's very happy with it. They are very reliable and prob more so then the Ranger and it was my second choice. My only criticism is the ride is a bit harsh. They also use the same asin 5spd auto as the Pajero which are bulletproof.
My long term avg on the Ranger 3.2l auto is 8.6l/100km. Pretty impressive for a large vehicle.

Leroy

[Rick]

There are many examples if you care to look
Spose you believe everything the glossy brochure tells you too mate

No point looking when we have a forum know it all and google guru is there!

[ol' boy]

No point looking when we have a forum know it all and google guru is there!

An ironic comment from someone often telling members to "Do a Search before asking"
Now now Rick, no need to throw your toys out of the cot.
Never let your Facts get in the way of a good story though.

Re: What's your DMax Fuel Economy like? Best & worst?
Im getting around 10l per hundred on the highway at 100km/h. Im using around 12.5l per hundred if i sit on 110km/h.

Around the city with stop start traffic I'm getting 13- 14l per hundred.

Going off road with low speeds and a lot of idling I'm using around 17l per hundred although this figure is never a good guide to go on.

I have a DMAX 3.0l Diesel with a lot of accessories. Snorkel, 265/75/26 tyres, pioneer tray on roof, ARB canopy and the list goes on. It weighs 2545kgs without camping gear in it or drivers/passengers, hence the fuel economy figures, plus it has the aerodynamics of a brick these days. No engine or exhaust mods have been made.

Overall still very happy with it and still has enough power for my liking.

If I was to average my fuel usage I think It would use around 12l per hundred.

or

Re: What's your DMax Fuel Economy like? Best & worst?
I have a 2010 Dmax auto. Last year nearly every Sunday I would travel from the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne to Bendigo and back which is nearly all freeway apart from the bit going through Melbourne. With a fully loaded work car with ladder on the roof I could get high 8/100 kms. My daily work average varies greatly from high 10s to mid 14s.

Real World conditions, not a 20k Dyno Run in a workshop.

And when you take into account the premium you pay for the diesel engine and the potential $$$$ if water ever gets in
You may wonder where your economy actually is.

[gordon_s1942]

My Son swapped his BA Falcon for a 2004 Diesel Nissan twin cab 4WD a couple of weeks ago which seems to run well and I have been reading the comments being made here as neither of us know stuff all about Diesels except for the dangers of either putting petrol in the tank by mistake or water mixed in the fuel !!!
At the moment he is running around like a blue arsed fly regarding the clutch.
It seems a Turbo was fitted (paper work to hand) last year but the clutch wasnt upgraded to suit the Turbo as he thinks its slipping under acceleration !!
At the moment he is getting all sorts of stories that involve the Flywheel, pressure and clutch plates, none of these are cheap to begin with and until its all pulled apart which is beyond his abilities as its a major job, he hasnt a clue what has been installed on the vehicle at present.

He was already to spend but fortunately he ran out of money before he could so I am hoping will give him time to really look at what needs to be done if anything.

[ol' boy]

Has he asked the people on the Nissan Forums?
NavLife is pretty popular, but there is dozens on Nissan Nav Forums.

[gordon_s1942]

The trouble is he is a born bloody worrier and can get very blinkered about things.
He has some paper work on what has been done on the vehicle but when he has contacted the places that did the work, he cannot clearly ascertain just what if anything was done to the Clutch and Flywheel.
One says the Flywheel needs machining and hasnt been, another says it has been machined but shouldnt have been, talk about confusion !!

From what I gather there are 2 types of Clutch's used, a 'Standard' single Non Turbo and a 'Dual' or 'Special' for the Turbo to carry the extra power and this is what he cant find out, which is NOW fitted to the vehicle and of course, the only way to tell is to take the Gear box out which is a Garage job.
From what I understand, something has to be done to the Flywheel as well when a Turbo is fitted but he cant find out if anything has been done or not until its taken apart.
According to the paper work, the Turbo was fitted mid 2015 and driven ever since but it doesnt show the kilometres on the speedo when it was done.

My Son isnt always the most communicative person when your asking questions and its like extracting hens teeth at times getting anything out of him and I know nothing about these vehicles and not just not able to do much in the way of helping these days.

[Thala Dan]

The trouble is he is a born bloody worrier and can get very blinkered about things.
He has some paper work on what has been done on the vehicle but when he has contacted the places that did the work, he cannot clearly ascertain just what if anything was done to the Clutch and Flywheel.
One says the Flywheel needs machining and hasnt been, another says it has been machined but shouldnt have been, talk about confusion !!

From what I gather there are 2 types of Clutch's used, a 'Standard' single Non Turbo and a 'Dual' or 'Special' for the Turbo to carry the extra power and this is what he cant find out, which is NOW fitted to the vehicle and of course, the only way to tell is to take the Gear box out which is a Garage job.
From what I understand, something has to be done to the Flywheel as well when a Turbo is fitted but he cant find out if anything has been done or not until its taken apart.
According to the paper work, the Turbo was fitted mid 2015 and driven ever since but it doesnt show the kilometres on the speedo when it was done.

My Son isnt always the most communicative person when your asking questions and its like extracting hens teeth at times getting anything out of him and I know nothing about these vehicles and not just not able to do much in the way of helping these days.

Gordon,

That dual clutch you mentioned is a Dual Mass Flywheel...designed specifically to take care of the massive torque pulses that can be generated by, in particular, small turbo-charged diesels.

What is the Difference between a DMF and SMF?

The dual mass flywheel was designed to help smooth out the torque produced by petrol and diesel engines, by increasing the kinetic energy stored on the input shaft side of the gearbox and provide easier gear changes.

I remember reading a few years back about all sorts of problems being experienced with these units in Europe, where turbo diesel passenger vehicles were/are more common.

Seem to recall that it was the Ford Anglia that was really giving some people major headaches....and they were talking massive amounts of money for a replacement unit.

I did this research when contemplating replacing my faithful 80 Series after the head went all banana-shaped on me

Was debating whether to stay with manual or go automatic with the replacement vehicle.....after a bit more research on the dual-mass flywheel and its by-then well known problems, and discovering that it was used in most of the then currently available 4WD diesel utes, the decision to go automatic was a very easy one.

[ol' boy]

OB has all the result!

No mate, the owners of the Dmax have the result


I merely took the time to see what owners found, before believing the BS on retail brochures, which is rarely ever correct.