Fergs new Pajero Shorty

[Fergy]

Hi guys, Im hoping by the end of this project to have something i can look back on and hopefully help others who might be planning the same in the future.

I have a '97 Pajero SWB which im keen to do some mods to but still keep it as a daily driver too.



First thing ive done is bought some 33 12.5 15 Super Swampers on 15 x 8 steel rims. These alone gave the diff quite a bit more clearance and I was surprised that they fitted as i was told 8" rims would not clear the front Calipers. They rubbed something chronic on the front mud flap so i took that off and bent everything in a bit.



This was at Thompsons Track on Sunday, it looked pretty ruthless so i decided to just go for a walk. (i dont have a winch yet and its my first time, so i have no idea what its capable of lol)

I have also bought a 150psi 12v compressor. I have a small tank lying around that im planning on hooking up together cos im not too keen on playing around with the A/C etc just yet.

I have a mate building me a small bullbar to mount a winch on to. I am planning on getting a RUNVA 9000lb winch off Trademe.

Within the next week or two im looking to get my hands on a body lift kit about 40-50mm (or make my own) as well as some Pajero LWB rear springs combined with winding up my front TB to get a bit of lift. To go with this would be some longer shocks if they were needed.

Ive also read that removing the rear sway bar improves articulation.

So thats where im up to at the moment. Any comments or tips etc would be awesome

[Mongoose]

Nice truck!

Within the next week or two im looking to get my hands on a body lift kit about 40-50mm (or make my own) as well as some Pajero LWB rear springs combined with winding up my front TB to get a bit of lift. To go with this would be some longer shocks if they were needed.

Ive also read that removing the rear sway bar improves articulation.

My Pajero had body spacers for some clearance and they were just home-made from nylon bar cut to length and longer rated bolts.
Mine also had Paj wagon springs in the back and wound up torsion bars. Good clearance but very stiff ride and not that great for flex as it tended to just bounce over stuff instead. When it was built it was running 35s, I just had 33s which gave heaps of clearance.

Mine had simple disconnects on the sway bar with split pins you pulled out for off-roading meaning you still had them working on-road.

Plenty of Pajero owners on here so I'm sure there will be more advice on the way.
Cheers.

[Fergy]

My Pajero had body spacers for some clearance and they were just home-made from nylon bar cut to length and longer rated bolts.

Awesome sounds like something i can do myself, any idea where i can get the bar from? and does it have to be a specific kind of bolt? i read something about 8.8 high tensile bolts (correct me if im wrong)

[MarkT]

8.8 bolts are about the same as imperial grade 5. I would go for 10.9's myself (imperial grade with matching nylocs (stay away from stainless, they are not HT at all). Also, 40mm works better than 50 I am told, transfer lever should still work, and most (if not all) lines will still have enough reach...

[Camshaft]

I tried removing the front sway bar but found it dangerous on road. Some say they don't notice any difference with it off. It lurched half way round a corner with heaps of body roll. If you had to make a sudden adjustment I reckon it would have rolled. I then ran swaybar disconnects on the front. Didn't like the way the bar flopped around off road when disconnected - ended up putting a 2.5 diesel paj swaybar on. It is a thinner diameter bar and gives good flex and good road manners.

[NJV6]

Yea keep the front sway bar, ditch the rear.

Im pleased someone else noticed the mid corner lurch no sway bar brings!

[Camshaft]

Putting the shocks on the hard position made it a bit better but after one particular corner with no sway bar I almost ended up in the oncoming traffic.

Fergy, The first thing I would do is put some rated tow hooks on. I chopped the tie down hook off the front and put a L bracket onto the chasis rail and mounted on hook on that - hook facing upwards so the strop doesn't fall off.

[Fergy]

Cheers for that Camshaft, the paj has 1 hook and 1 tie down up the front, im thinking of adding a hook or 2 onto this bullbar im having made

[Fergy]

Ok so by the end of next week i should have my bullbar fitted with the winch.

This week im hoping to do a 40mm body lift, buy some 2nd hand LWB rear springs, and also wind up the front Torsion bar. The only trouble i can forsee is lines etc not being long enough to reach.

anyone had experience with this before?
If i were to go for a bigger body lift, say 50mm, how easy is it to adjust the transfer and extend the lines in the truck?

[Fergy]

Disconnected the rear swaybar, have decided i want to take it out completely... and ideas on how to get the darned thing out??

[MarkT]

Angle grinder?

[madmatt]

You need to remove one of the shocks, the passenger side I think, and then wiggle and pull with your tounge in the right place.

[410]

not bad ryan, should look mean with a lift but shit mate, those tyres are noisy !! u drove past me on studholme street and ther god dam noisy, whats the noise like in the cab ?

[Fergy]

Yeah Pretty noisey aye I love it haha.... you might have seen me when they were around 15psi so even louder. With the windows up its only as loud as the stereo on easy listening volume. Are you a Morrinsville man?

[Fergy]

Has been a while since i updated. The last weekends or two have been spent doing some work on the truck.


Took all the boards and guards off ready for future rock sliders



Mounted the Oil cooler up a bit higher, just because i can really...



40mm body lift all around. Just a DIY job i did at home, stoked as



Spring lift in the back gave near enough to 50mm lift. Front Torsion Bar wound up to even out lift. Gives heaps of clearance added with the body lift



Made a good lil box for the boot. has 2 levels inside so pretty handy



How it looks today. Sun is out, Primo!

[Fergy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3d1BomcxUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvKcT5Ej6Oc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2E_RMAuVg4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8aLGJl9CMQ

Few Vids for people to check out

[lincooln]

looking cool dude

I miss my old gen 1 SWB

[Fergy]

a few updates.

made up a few things for the truck in the last week or so



Bracket for the Hi-Lift



first attempt at welding, mate said it wasnt half bad

[Fergy]

Any help here would be great!!!

This has come up on Trademe http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=330643655

It is out of a Mitsi L200 Petrol, the guy claims it will fit a Pajero.

I know that the rear Diff in my truck has a ratio of 4.636.
This one is 4.9 which would be slightly better, plus its LSD.


Questions are:

Anyone know if this would bolt straight into my truck?

As long as i dont use 4wd on the road, i shouldnt need to replace the front diff right?

With Different ratios front and back, can i still use my factory centre diff lock?

What else do i need to be asking this guy on Trademe?

Cheers.

[NJV6]

I doubt it is 4.9, probably 4.88. Need to count the bolt holes thatbolts the diff head to the axle. Yours is 12, this one is probably 10.

You will need to change the front diff as well on or off road.

Your centre diff would still be ok for a short while.

I changed from 4.900 ratio from 4.636 but wouldn't bother again I don't think. Save you money and buy an air locker

[Fergy]

Awesome cheers for the help, could you explain why the front diff would need changing too? I figure that if i was to use 4x4 on the road, it wouldnt take long to break my transfer case / gearbox or whatever. But using 4x4 in the mud just means the wheels would spin at different speeds? and the mud would have the 'give' required to counteract this?

correct me if i have the wrong idea!

Cheers

[NJV6]

Your right, in mud it won't affect it but next time you are out 4wding think about how much you are actually spinning your wheels in mud - its not very often.

So yea just don't do it.

Should be easy enough to find a 4.9 front diff though.

[Westfield Shunter]

Hey mate awesome work.. keep up the posts and pics..!

[Fergy]

Cheers for the advice NJV6.

Have sourced a 4.636 ratio LSD so will flick that in the rear and look at going for an air locker in the front

[Fergy]

Finally got around to starting the front bull bar.
Picked up a MASSIVE winch for a huge bargain. Its a Warn M12000, overkill i know, but its a talking point

Picks to come

[Fergy]

Front Winch Bar







Pretty much all finished, mounted with the Warn M12000 and a pretty gloss black paint





Done some trimming of random bits of front bumper, guard bits, ugly metal tabs etc.





All thats left now is to put some hooks on there and put some bar work around the lights up to the guard.

[NJV6]

Haven't you got at least one airbag??? A bar like that is not likely to get a warrant.....

[Fergy]

The bar Slides out from the chassis rails as it is bolted in, plan is to bolt front bumper back on when warrant is due

[Swamped]

Now I know nothing of pajeros but the distance between the bar and the chassis looks massive and so is the height of the winch in relation to that. What do you have connecting the bar to the chassis??
I would have cut my grill and that out and tried to push that whole assembly as far back as possible and dropped the winch to stop too much leverage on the mounts.

Its also no different really to having no bar at all and just chassis sticking out the front in regards of a warrant so picky wof guys may have a winge. Esp that flat plate poking out a bit in the middle may be classified as sharp protrusions.
Other than those two things it looks alright though..

[Fergy]

I have thick box section that is pushed right back into the chassis rails with bolts holding it in place, Pajero rails stick way out infront of the truck which looks ugly and gives a bad entry angle. But i didnt want to sacrifice strength by cutting the rails back. Also i wanted the winch as high as i could mount it.
Another reason it sits so far out is that the winch itself is pretty big, and i wanted to keep the grill intact too.

Cheers for the questions/advice etc guys. Gives me more stuff to think about