Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Hey guys. I need some advice please?

I bought my Pajero a year ago (98,000kms). At the time, the ride was not comfortable, but I thought I could get used to it. In a nutshell - It has 125,000kms on the clock now. Just had the front shocks replaced with new KYB's. The old ones were completely shot. I've had people look at the suspension twice and they said all is fine (except trailing arm bushes - had those replaced).

ISSUE 1: The car rides very hard. I can feel ALL the little bumps and imperfections in the road. When I go over speed bumps, it sounds like something is loose (bad engine or gearbox mountings maybe?) It has NANKANG FT-7 tyres on (265/65-17), which I'm not familiar with (came with the car). They still have some tread left, but can be replaced. I'm not sure if they could be the culprit. I never go 4x4ing. Only the occasional sand driving in MOZ and gravel roads in Cederberg etc.

ISSUE 2: While driving on the highway (flat road) at 120km/h, cruise control on. Every now and then, there is a "thump" and the revs go up and then down again. I was told this is the final gear engaging and disengaging. Should it do this so easily and often?

So my questions -
Q1: Is it normal for the car to drive so harsh?
Q2: Could it be my tyres causing harsh ride?
Q3: Could engine mountings be the culprit, causing harsh ride and weird behavior (I've been told they're fine too)?
Q4: Could the weird behavior be sorted by a transmission oil change?

Any help or advice please? I'm getting to the point where I'm considering buying something else, if I can't get this sorted

Hi Danie, sorry to hear you aren't enjoying the Pajero. I also have a SWB (2014) with EFS suspension and I would like to offer that you come and test drive mine if you are in Joburg. Then you can compare.

The Pajero is very "connected" to the road so it does transmit a lot of the road into the cabin but it makes the handling so much better. I run my tyres at 2.0bar, check your pressures before ruling the tyres as the culprit.

Let me know if you want to come and test drive my car 083 six oh four 8455. I'm in Lonehill.


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Danie,
An oil change should improve the transmissions behaviour. There is a sort of "lock up" feature build into the transmission which allows a change down if there is a slight load increase. But not to fourth gear. This change should be seamless.

Let us know?
Cheers

Issue 2:
That is the lock-up clutch in the torque converter locking up and disengaging. That is completely normal. What isn't normal is the fact that it doesn't happen smoothly.
I also support the opinion that gearbox oil should be changed - complete flush and filter replacement. I just hope it isn't too late.

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The Paj does have a hardish ride. I have tried to solve it by fitting bigger tires, OME suspension, etc. I found my choice of tyres made a difference. Coopers were very hard, Pirelli Scorpions great on tar but not on corrugations. In the end I have found standard size Geolanders the best bet. I run them just under 2 bar.

What also made a difference was to have the suspension bushes and ball joints checked. I did mine at 100k and now again at 200k. They replaced front ball joints and rear trailing arm bushes. Made a huge difference in the ride.

Thanks for the advice guys! I will definately be doing the transmission oil change asap. Hopefully that'll sort the one issue out. As for the harsh ride - I failed to mention that the ride is better when I overinflate the tyres to 2,5bar. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the ride is then bumpy (obviously) but most of the harshness goes away. This is why I thought it could be tyre related (same issue kennekam had). Kurt I live in the East Rand, so might just take you up on your offer some time. I'd like to also buy a set of dash brackets from you. Will be in contact. Thanks again guys!

Please do Danie, I am more than happy to help even if it is just a chat and a test drive. I can then explain the brackets to you, it's not that easy to install but I can do it in an hour. I just need some time to make a set as I am out of stock at the moment.


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Hi All

Interested to follow this discussion about the harsh ride and in particular Kurt's mention of dash fix brackets.
I have SWB 2008 3.2 and just done about 7000kms across Namibia.
The only issue I have with the Paj is the really terrible dash rattle on corrugated roads. It does everything else perfectly.
I have read about the dash issue fixes in the past and Mitsu's attitude but have been reluctant to take any action. There also seem to be mixed reports on how successful the fix is?
I live in Plett so am limited in terms of options.

I've tried running the tyre pressure around 1.8 front and 2.2 rear fully loaded but it does not seem to make much difference. Scared to go lower than that on gravel/rocky surface.

Any advice on getting the dash sorted where I live?

Many thanks

saltydog wrote:Any advice on getting the dash sorted where I live?

Many thanks

I will be in PE in December around Christmas time so maybe we can arrange to meet somewhere and then I can sort your dash out. I charge R1k. Let me know if you are interested.


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Hi Kurt
If you can really fix the dash I am interested. Perhaps you could send a PM with details for getting in touch when you are in the area. Many thanks.