The vehicle:
I bought my Pathfinder brand new here in New Zealand in 1999. It was regularly serviced by the dealer every 10,000km and was at the dealer for it's 150,000km service. No.1 piston blew when the dealer service team were checking the compressions as it had started up rough when the went to move it into the workshop and they thought it best to check prior to doing the service.
The vehicle was used mostly for longer trips, eg Hamilton-Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington and in 2006 to the South Island in the "Big Snow" (Included all the passes - absolutely great in the snow and ice using A/T mode 4wd.) It has also towed a trailered Mini to Hastings and back and my Trailer Sailor from Whangarei to Hamilton and to the local lake and twice to Tauranga and Taupo, and once to Rotorua. Both trailers are braked. The vehicle did not do any serious 4wd work, however we were often using the A/T mode in the wet and the 4wd in the paddocks.
I do not think this is much hard work for a diesel, our old Wolseley 1800 did the job previously.
The Problem
For what I gather from Aussie forums and speaking with the dealer's service team, the local wreckers and other owners this is what the problem is:
The engine crankcase breather is connected to the air induction system on the intake side of the air flow meter. This means the meter gets fouled by fumes from the crankcase. The computer gets incorrect readings from the airflow meter and adjusts fuel and boost levels to the incorrect readings. Thus the boost goes astronomical (the service technicians said they had readings on 15psi and the 25psi) and finally a piston blows. There was also talk that the fuel in this situation is not "misted", ie is a jetted into the cylinder, landing in the same place all the time. In the end the engine blows.
Some of the symptons are things such as intercooler pipes sliding off, engine running ruogh, and higher than standard boost pressures.
Note that in Aussie there have been a number of similar blow-ups in Patrols with the ZD30 motors.
The Solution
Over the eight years we have had the induction pipesslide off a number of times.
We have had the airflow meter cleaned several times and at least one if not more new airflow meters fitted at hundreds of dollars at a time.
Nissan have come up with a revised crankcase breather pipe which changes the position of the connection to the induction plumbing. This was done on my Pathfider at 138000km for $862.
I understand there are now pistons with stronger tops used in these engines along with changes in the computer settings for the fuel and induction system.
Nissan NZ do have an "Out of Warranty Assistance" program which may be of some help. Conditions apply though.
Our Engine
After inspection we were told our engine would need reboring, 4 pistons, injectors, airflow meter, drive belt tensioner etc, total around $13,200 and have the injector pump serviced. After the Nissan assistance a miserly $1450 would be taken off the bill for the airflow meter and some oil-jet assembly parts!
Our solution
As you can guess, we were not impressed at all with this Nissan.
We bought the vehicle for the long term. We were wanting 10 years out of it and intended to assess it at that time as to wether to keep it or trade up. We were two years to the day away from that point.
The dealer suggested the trade-in value prior to the engine going would have been around $8000 - ie $5,000 below the cost of fixing the engine! While the Nissan dealer was offering a warranty on the repairs it was parts only so if the engine went again it was still a major cost to us.
Second hand engines are apparently around $5000 if you can find one, however you may be no better off as what you buy may be about to blow anyway.
A local wrecker offered between $4,000 and $5,000 for the vehicle in parts. He already had one ZD Pathfinder in his yard from another local Nissan dealer, and during the week we have been dealing with our cot case, another blown ZD turned up at our dealer.
We have opted to quit the Pathfinder, ultimately getting $4900 from the dealer plus we have made a claim for our RUC charges (about 9700km unused) so we should get some $5100 all up. We think the market price was between $13,000 and $15,000 and had it insured for $13,700ish.
We have probably lost out by some $8,000 to $10,000.
We think 150,000km is a pitance for a diesel vehicle to cover before needing a major repair.
We have now purchased a new Kia Sorrento. It has similar power and torque output as the Pathfinder, but only a 2.5litre engine. So far, the fuel consumption is better on our Hamilton-Tauranga run.
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