D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

...so I pose the question to current D4D owners, do you have any regrets going the diesel over the V6?

No... none at all. However, if I had the money, I would have happily had one of each in the driveway.

[don1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close don1]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

So will contaminated unleaded.... what's your point?

fuel injector of the d4d is design to be so precise to deliver high pressure of diesel..so any minute particle will stuff up your injector

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

fuel injector of the d4d is design to be so precise to deliver high pressure of diesel..so any minute particle will stuff up your injector

You're overstating things just a little....It'd take a bit more than "any minute particle".
It’s not like you have to dodge D4Ds stopped with contaminated fuel on outback roads. The chances of getting a bad batch of fuel are remote, let alone with a contaminant that will get past the filters.

A tank full of contaminated unleaded is going to ruin your day in the middle of nowhere just as much as a tank full of contaminated diesel and having been the victim of contaminated unleaded I can tell you; you will still need a tow... there’s nothing you can do away from a workshop.

Mick

[lippa Member Find all posts View Profile Close lippa]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

bought a new v6, traded it on a new d4d, havent looked back for 1 milisecond, does any one know what the engines weights are? :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

[gxlkeb Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close gxlkeb]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

It all depends on what your using it for. I had a D4D and down traded to a V6. 1st thing I noticed is that the V6 is by far a nicer drive. Much smoother, quieter and quicker... however you cant beat the fuel economy of the D4D and I miss the torque when towing.

[Chuck Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

NO

[Jimmy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Jimmy]

Re:

No not really as I would have been doing these k's regardless of what I was driving. I once drove close to 20,000 km in one month back in June 2002. Man I was sick of the drive between Alice and Adelaide that month I can tell you.

Crikey Mav, that's gotta get you into the winner's circle. I wonder if anyone can top that???

Mate, that's a bloody big region you must be servicing.

LFaR. (Who works from home so the k's get clocked up much more slowly)

Not me, but my father in law once drove 28,000 k's in 14 days! Hard to believe but he has the pay sheet to prove it paid in $ per klm.

Jimmy

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: Re:

my father in law once drove 28,000 k's in 14 days!

Thats 2,000km per day. Even at a constant 110km/hr, that's over 18 hours driving every day. :shock:

[xvprado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xvprado]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

does any one know what the engines weights are? :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

The D4D is about 70kg heavier

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: Re:

my father in law once drove 28,000 k's in 14 days!

Thats 2,000km per day. Even at a constant 110km/hr, that's over 18 hours driving every day. :shock:

mighta been a bit of creative accounting in those log sheets :wink:

[Lakey Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Lakey]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

I had a D4D on order in 08 and had never driven a Prado. I decided that I should probably drive one before handing over $50k but our fleet man only had petrols in demo. One drive and 1/2 hour later I had cancelled the D4D order and put my name on an in stock petrol GXL, delivered 3 days later. For me the V6 is a great drive, heaps of power and a blast in soft sand as well as being quiet. I must admit I dont pay for fuel so fuel economy was not a factor. Resale value was also not a consideration as I bought the car for enjoyment now rather than what may happen on the future.


Lakey

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

Horses for courses I reckon.
I have been driving diesels for 30 years, and would not go back to a petrol ever. That is not saying that every deisel I have driven has been great.... far from it really. This latest D$D is a fantastic engine though, no questions. Sure there have been a few injector problems with some of them, but as far as I can see, and from research before purchasing mine, it seems that there are actucally very very few problems with the injectors when compared to how many vehicles are out there. My brother works as a manager for Rio Tinto, and he was unaware of the injector thing, having heaps of D4D's in the fleet. He bought a D4D prado for himself in 2007, and it was from my experience of driving that vehicle, that persuaded me to buy one, having driven a diesel `80 series and diesel pajero for the past 14 years.

As far as I am concerned, you canoot go past 410NM at 1600 revs. I live in Blue Mountains NSW. I tow a heavy trailer at least twice a week, and as long as I don't get held up in traffic etc, can tow the trailer all the way up the mountain in 6th gear, at or about 1600rpm, which is fantastic. Great economy, and the ability to switch back a cog and gun it if needs be. Petrol drivers don't usually have the skill and experience to get the best out of a diesel, but if you think you have the driving skill, or wish to learn, then you will never regret going for the diesel IMO.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

Hey Guys…..

Having read all the previous posts, I can see both point of views of the V6 and the D4D. I'm looking at buying into the 2nd hand market and “had” sort of set my mine on the D4D, but after reading here I’m a little more up in the air now. Currently I own a 105’s Inter-cooled Turbo (Safari) Diesel (Auto) and this vehicle use to be my daily driver until the weekly Fuel costs were getting a bit over the top (poor economy & high diesel fuel costs) . I’ve always had diesel 4wd’s and always have had Solid Front end Suspension (RFS) 4wd’s. To solve the fuel cost issue (& to have a bit of fun in the bush w/o any worries), I bought a “Petrol” IFS ’93 LWB Suzuki Vitara. This turned out to be a great idea with the great fuel economy, cheaper rego, cheaper repairs & mods, no worries with dents/scratches, cheaper to modify and the big thing after modifying the suspension, GREAT off road (even surprised some of the big boys)…. Even with the IFS front end. The Cruiser now sits in the shed and only gets driven on holidays & towing the van. This has been a great experience in the fact that now IFS vehicles no longer worry me and that I’m OK with EFI Petrol Cars.
What I’m now thinking is to get rid of the wife’s Aurion and my 105’s Cruiser and purchase a Prado for the Missus as an everyday driver and then also to be used to do outback trips; tow the van and a little bit of off-roading (if need be).

My concerns are as follows:

Re: D4D Diesel
Looking at keeping this vehicle long-term, what sort of life would you expect out of the motor and how does the re-build costs compare between the petrol vs Diesel should you be unfortunate in this area with your car??
I have a cousin who works in the Filter business and he tells me that he has seen a lot of “Common Rail Diesel” owners of various vehicle makes get a bad batch of Diesel from their local Servo or whatever and the filters have not saved them and they have been up for $10k or more in repairs (warranties will not help you in this situation) – Has this happen to any on here or do D4D owners install a 2nd Filter for safety??
I know the D4D Service intervals are 10k in distance, but I would be a bit hesitate in this as I believe the oils have to hold a fair bit of soot and after 10k, I’m not sure what damage this would do “LONG TERM” to the engine with the vehicle being out-of-warranty by the time anything that “may” happen. Personally I would still be changing oils every 5>7k in distance for peace of mind (remembering I want to keep this car long term).
I’ve read the stories that Diesel’s outlast Petrol’s, but would a “small” 4cyl Diesel really outlast the larger 6cyl petrol?? (Just look at the Ni$$en patrol 3.0ltr vs the 4.0ltr patrol).

Re: 4.0ltr Petrol
After owning my 1st EFI Petrol 4WD, my fear with them has gone when 4wdriving and love the quietness of them, no interior rattles caused from the motor as I have found with diesel cars.
Price of Petrol vs Diesel is not really an issue as I use PULP which is either similar or dearer than diesel.
Economy around town would be better than what I get from my current Cruiser (15>16ltrs per 100kms around town) but I do worry what the economy would be with the petrol when towing the van!!
I do like the prospect of running the Petrol on LPG but unsure if you loose the 180ltr fuel carrying capacity and do you have to continuous use “Upper Cylinder Lubricate” to prevent valves from burning out??
What happens with Petrol’s in regards to getting a dose of dirty fuel…… Is it as expensive as if it happens in the D4D Diesels (Injector Pump destroying, etc)?

I’ve towed with diesel’s(older versions though) & I must say I don’t see why people say they tow better than petrol’s or are better down low when 4wdriving. The diesel’s I’ve had have all struggled but the one thing I guess where the Diesel comes through is when comparing the SAME CAR in diesel & petrol format is that the diesel would always get better fuel economy. That would be the only difference that I’ve noticed….. But I’ve never driven one of these new modern diesels (yet) to compare.

MANUAL vs AUTO is another concern BUT Auto it will have to be due to the Wife driving it daily.

So…. these are some of my concerns…..
(Sorry for the long winded story)

Cheers
Rob

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

D4D Auto, only way to go great on fuel (nearly same as manual) and way better re-sale.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Re: D4D Owners, any regrets not going the V6?

D4D Auto, only way to go great on fuel (nearly same as manual) and way better re-sale.

From the Toyota site, it said that the Auto had better economy..... Is this NOT right ??

Around Town I would have thought the Manual would be better.......