Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Greetings, I have a conundrum for all you boffins on this site. There is probably a simple answer and I will put it down to a senior moment.
About 2 months ago on a trip to Pretoria, I noticed the oil pressure dropping on the gauge. It then went back to normal but my friend Kenda, noticed it always seem to drop on up hills. I stopped a the first garage we came to and sure enough, the dip stick registered no oil. Panic. There is no smoking or oil leaks so I wondered where the oil had gone as I had only recently changed the oil. Luckily I carry spare oil so was able to top up. The next morning I checked the oil level and it was way over the top notch. I hardly use the truck but always check the level and once its warm it always shows lack of oil. Now my fear is that these 3.0 L diesels are prone to grenading . Is it possible that the oil is not returning to the sump quick enough. Sludge? Every car I have previously owned, by the time the petrol attendant had filled the tank, the oil was back in the sump and the reading on the dip stick good. But not my Troll, the pump attendants always say it needs oil but every morning its full.
As far as the oil pressure gauge is concerned, it has packed up completely so it was probably packing up already on that trip to Pretoria.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Groet, ek het 'n raaisel vir alles wat jy boffins op hierdie webwerf. Daar is waarskynlik 'n eenvoudige antwoord en ek sal dit tot 'n senior oomblik.
Ongeveer 2 maande gelede op 'n reis na Pretoria, het ek opgelet die olie druk val op die meter. Dit is toe terug na normaal, maar my vriend Kobus, dit opgemerk altyd skyn te laat val op teen heuwels. Ek het gestop n die eerste garage ons het tot en seker genoeg, die dip stick geregistreer geen olie. Paniek. Daar is geen rook of olie lek so ek het gewonder waar die olie het verdwyn as ek moes eers onlangs verander die olie. Gelukkig dra ek spaar olie so was in staat om bo op. Die volgende oggend het ek nagegaan die olie vlak en dit was weg oor die top. Ek het skaars gebruik die vragmotor, maar altyd die vlak en sodra sy warm dit toon altyd 'n gebrek aan olie. Nou is my vrees is dat hierdie 3,0 L diesels is geneig om grenading. Is dit moontlik dat die olie is nie terug te keer na die oliebak vinnig genoeg. Slyk? Elke motor wat ek het voorheen besit, teen die tyd dat die petroljoggie het die tenk gevul, die olie is terug in die oliebak en die lesing op die dip hou goed. Maar dit is nie my Troll, die pomp attendants altyd sê dit olie moet maar elke oggend sy volle.
So ver as die olie druk meter betref, het dit opgepak heeltemal so dit waarskynlik oppak reeds op daardie reis na Pretoria.
Baie dankie by voorbaat.
Regards.
Barry

Hi Barry
How much oil does your motor take?
And do you have the right dip stick ?
Nissan made them shorter so the engine
Oil capacity increased
Regards
Juice

AFAIK a sump capacity increase was one of the improvements Nissan made circa 2003. Some engines do struggle to get their oil back in the sump.

Thanks Juice and Peter for that information. I did buy a new dipstick for it using my Vin number as the previous owner had shorted it against the battery terminal and it was hanging by a strand ready to fall off into the sump.

Kind regards.

Barry

Out of curiosity, and not wanting to brand bash at all, what oil do you use? You mentioned a sludge build up and that also makes a bit of sense to my blonde brain.

If there is a sludge build up, how does one get that shhhhhhhhstuff out?

Hi Cedric. I use Castrol Diesel oil, the one in the red plastic container as was recommended to me years ago by an editor of a car magazine. Would like to hear from the members what they have found out to be the best oil. Curiously, the garage in Johannesburg where I took the Troll for the oil change, taking my own oil filters etc, insisted they flush the engine out before putting in the new oil. I forget now which product they used, but thought I would go along with it as the Troll has hoovered up a lot of dust in the 27 countries in Africa its been to and although I change the oil regularly, its quite likely to have a sludge build up. One theory I had was that the engine flush just moved the sludge around and is perhaps blocking or impeding the oils return to the sump. The next time I see someone with a 3.0 l Troll, I will ask them if I could just check their oil level as a comparison to mine when the engine has been running. Maybe someone on our forum with a 3.0 l could check theirs and come back to me.
My next step will be to do another flush and check for any improvements, although I do want to eventually open the engine up for a proper inspection before I venture off again as my confidence in the truck has diminished lately.

Kind regards.
Barry

I was chatting to Juice ( Greg )who also has a ZD30 Patrol, and he mentioned something that also makes a bit of sense to me, but may be a shot in the dark.

If the oil that is travelling around the motor needs to get back to the sump it does so via channels in the head and block. I don't know what the channels are like on a ZD motor but if oil runs down into the sump it needs to be replaced by air, and if the tappet cover vent/breather pipe is blocked, will there be a vacuum created making the oil less likely to quickly move back down to the sump?

Just as a quick and easy test, try open the oil filler cap within a few seconds of turning off the engine and see if that makes any difference. Like I said it may be a shot in the dark. If it works and the oil level is at its correct level, lets say 1-2 minutes after turning the engine off then maybe it isn't such a crazy idea, and it costs nothing.

Thanks Cedric. What a coincidence, a friend of mine who used to be a mechanic told me the very same thing this afternoon, except he never mentioned the quick test you have. Left the truck in Durban today as the Carnet has expired and it needts to be inspected by customs next week. When I travel down to Durbs from Hibberdene to get the inspection done, I will carry at that test and report back.

Kind regards.
Barry