Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Hi all,

I am considering to buy a 4x4 vehicle for greenlaning, and the Pajero/Shogun/Montero (with petrol engine and auto gearbox) is one of the candidates. Given my budget the V20 (1991-1999) and V60 (1999-2006) are the obvious generations to look at.

Having read various buying guides I found a lot of useful information, but so far I haven't quite managed to make a sensible comparison of both generations in terms of reliability and longevity. A few negatives I found regarding the V60:

1) they rust quite badly;
2) gearboxes tend to wear quickly (I read that replacement is frequently necessary at 60.000 miles or so?);
3) suspension parts may wear early as well;
4) changing plugs is a hassle because the inlet manifold has to be removed.


> On the above, and other aspects concerning reliability/longevity, how do both generations compare?
> The V20 being older, is it worse? Or maybe it is better, as cost cutting has become more common in later years?
> In terms of rust resistance, is the fact that the V20 has a ladder frame and the V60 does not of any relevance?
> What about parts availability, is this still OK for older 2nd generation models?


I'd be very interested to hear your opinions!

I would definitely rather go for the Gen3 '99 - 2006 model the main reasons being there are more parts available plus it is a far superior vehicle. We do not have rust issues here with Gen 3. The rust issues are possibly related to the use of salt on the roads which we do not have ever.
With regard to the plugs, at every major service, the best plugs you can afford. The transmissions are excellent provided the correct ATF is used. For that reason I would make service history a must have. I would then drain and replace all the fluids at the first opportunity anyway. There is a bit of an issue when the 4 x 4 is not used regularly. Stop, select neutral move through 4 x 4 all the way to low range and back to 2 wheel. The switches get gummed up and sometimes by simply repeatedly moving the 4 x 4 selection lever back and forth gets the switches working. The problem is only with the switches as the 4 x 4 actually engages but the dash lights continue to flash while driving in 4 x 4. If the lights continue flashing and repeatedly engaging 4 x 4 does not work, the switches will need replacing.

By the way you can select any of the high range modes while driving. Haydn used to suggest to me that at least once a month go into 4hlc on a straight road u til it engages properly and then go back to 4h and then 2h to activate the 4x4 functions while driving. This can be done at speeds up to 100km/h on any of the newer models from and including the gen 2 models

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