The Gen 4 Paj

[NJV6]

We have been looking for a diesel vehicle with these parameters, suitable for towing up to a couple of ton comfortably, proper 4WD, 5 door as it needs to be used for moving people such as guests/parents etc, decent boot for touring, cruise control, aftermarket bits, and 'tinkerable'. It needed to be lowish in km as I'd keep it a long time and i'd be prepared to pay for a good one.

Since we went self employed 3 years ago I no longer had a company vehicle for general use, we have a small car and the wee Paj. 11 years ago I bought the 1994 SWB 3.5 and have used it for extensive 4WDing and touring in NZ. It has been a great toy but the wife doesn't particularly like driving it, and on long trips (around SI for example) its pretty expensive to run, hampered by a small petrol tank after all its beatings. I have had a 96 & 99 LWB Diesel for a few months but didn't keep either.

So after a year the shortlist was
3.0 Ranger
80 series
105 series
120 Prado
Defender 110
GU 4.2
Late model Paj.

The Ranger made the list as it was my last company vehicle and at the time I thought it was not a bad ute, just needed some rear suspension tweaking. It was also the 1st off the list as they are not comfortable (no ute is!!) for more than 2 adults, and anything in the boot gets as dusty as dusty.
Defender 110 and 80 series was next to go, both due to price and generally high in KM by now. The Defender's are remarkably good on the road and as a base vehicle to set up, second to none, but 20 year old vehicles are silly money.
GU was next to go as after a test drive decided just to big. I had always wanted a 105 cruiser, there are a couple getting around Gore and I have abit of look of envy when I see them. However they got the chop due to not being available here to test drive or the ones that are are slugs with the non turbo motor.

So that left me with the Prado and Pajero, I read alot & enough about the D4D motor in Prados to let it be so I got a 4 year old current model Pajero with 67000km for the price of an excellent condition 20 year old VX cruiser, a 12yr old Prado, a 15 yr old Defender. I had such a good run with my last one and after doing alot of forum reading from OZ I hope the decision is a good one.
The Engines and drivetrain is strong, let down by EGR issues
No chassis means more road noise transmitted into cabin
Dash Rattles
Rear Door rattles (someone decided to mount the spare in the middle of the door - lots of leverage for rattles)
Spare wheel doesn't let door open with trailer on (again, someone decided to mount the spare in the middle of the door!)

I hopped on the plane and drove it 1500km home. It is an Australian import GLX spec in white, a chinaman importerd it himself undamaged then decided he wanted a new High-undie IX35 so sold it on. I did a oz check on it to make sure it wasn't one of the imported written off vehicles that they say 60% of ozzie imports are. It has a smartbar on it at the moment which neither of us like, most people comment that they don't mind the bar at all! yuk.

Impressions having come from a NJ lifted on 33's was excellent. Steering feels amazing and is worlds apart. Performance from the 3.2 is crazy on the open road. It is not quick through the gears lets be honest, and the gearbox is slow and you notice the turbo lag but the grunt when in gear is great. Its quieter from engine noise but probably more road noise due to no chassis. I got 1000km from the tank just as the fuel light came on so was well chuffed and put 77 litres in. It would leave the petrol one for dead on a hilly road unless you were wringing the V6's neck, you just cannot argue with 450nm at 2000rpm. (vrs 300nm @ 3000rpm)

I will keep the shorty for challenging trips.

1st mod was to stop the seat belt chime whenever the key is on! If only all mods were this simple. I have also bought a little gizmo from OZ that plugs into the airflow meter for the egr that alters the temperature values for the EGR opening, it tells it that the temp is always below 10 degrees so the EGR stays closed. These motors (and Tritons) are well known for clogging up the inlet manifolds until they are almost completly blocked. I will clean the manifold one day...

They really do look like a toy compared to a Gen 2, on a gen 2 everything underneath is tucked up out of the way but the gen 4 just looks a bit fragile, and low to the ground, however they are pretty popular in Australia so they must be up to the task.



I then banged some of the new BFG KO2's on it before the 1st excursion to the hills, one less thing to worry about.


O yea, and it was tax deductible

[OffroaderGuy]

that was a great find. nice looking ride. Got other mod plans for it?

[spanky]

mate has one of those,done over 250k now .still absoluletly loves it and has had no trouble what soever, is a manual also.only ever had all its normal servicing .great vehicle.

[aroma]

Looks cleaner now than in your photos.mods will happen with your history!

[NJV6]

The 1st proper trip showed up alot of noise from the dashboard and rear door. Seems this is normal from reading the OZ forums.

When I started pulling the dash apart I found an entire Nokia car mobile phone kit tucked in behind with all the wires cut to to anything that was mounted in the interior, none of it screwed down so that was all rattling away too.

So I got to work pulling the dash apart and doing some cable tie mods.


You attach a couple of cable ties to the top of the underside of the dashboard on both driver and passenger side and effectively pull 'down' the top of the dashboard a few mm and stops alot of the shake. Big ups for the South Africian and Oz guys coming up with this ingenius plan. Pajero Australia Forum


These two screws needed a tighten up


This here rattled alot, and its wiring got zip tied


and all the heater ducting got zip tied until they didn't move at all, (prob 10 or so ties). Added the cable ties as per the cable tie dashboard thread.

Made a bracket up for the instrument cluster as it seemed to have the most movement out of all the dash, and it is now solid.


It is far better now.

Removed the rear door trim to see what the racket going on in there is, the high stop light was not screwed in, just hanging in place floating around in the plastic cavity.

The factory MM towbar ECU behind the right rear trim was also banging away, it is now screwed to the body.

[NJV6]

I wanted to keep an eye on the engine parameters and the best way is to read the factory computer! With the modern on board diagnostics it makes it easy to do this, I bought an Ultragauge MX online and simply plugged it in. It is fully customisable to suit what you want, I have it displaying Engine water temp, KM/h, RPM, boost psi, air inlet temp and EGR % but there are about 50 things it can display.

It saves having a bulky aftermarket dash pod and is simply plug and play. For a matter of interest, the engine runs at 87-89 degrees, boost is max 18, air inlet temps can get really high meaning the intercooler is not really keeping up and the EGR is almost always slowly killing the engine! The factory gauge sits at middle from 73 degrees right up to 98 which is the highest I have seen it when climbing off road, so they really cannot be trusted to much. The gauge starts to move off 0 at about 60 degrees.



I got the Exhaust Gas Recirculation stopped with this little gizmo developed by an ozzie, a picture of the EGR gismo when fitted. Takes 2 minutes to fit.


Very simply it plugs into the factory loom at the airbox and it tells the EGR controller it is less than 10 degrees outside so that means the EGR valve will not open. If you just block them the computer may go into limp mode as there is a throttle butterfly that on a light throttle closes a bit to draw more air through the EGR valve. if the valve is blocked, and this buttlerfly closes then thats when it will throw a code. The ultragauge shown above means I can read and clear codes should they ever show up an cancel limp mode.

Now that I had the EGR disabled, it was time to attack the inlet manifold, well known for being an issue on later model Mitsi motors.

Off it came, bit of a job really, injector lines and common rail have to come off but you end up with this




You can see it is pretty bad for 75000km, but not nearly as bad as some, the butterfly valves still work in there but come no where close to closing and the flow is just generally restricted. The butterfly valves are in there to speed up the airflow and create a swirl effect on half the inlet valves. Interestingly the head ports were not nearly as bad on the ones with the swirl valves. The head ports were bad too but it is pretty difficult to get them clean without taking the head off, I scraped as good as I could with compressed air. I took the tappet cover off to make sure the valves were fully closed.


Inlet manifold after scraping and pressure washing, nice and clear of any crud.


Injector lines are supposed to be replaced after 5 times removed, so maybe next time I will. I imagine they have been off close to 5 times, tappet adjustment, cam chain tensioner factory recall and now this time.

[Clint]

Icky!

So have you noticed any performance or fuel economy gains after the EGR delete & intake cleanup?

Cheers
Clint

[NJV6]

Yes Clint, it's hard to tell but it must be! Had a couple of ton on the back today and it just pulled real nice, if anything maybe the low rpm is improved with more air. The EGR is never really hamstringing the performance as it shuts so quick at anything more than about 30% throttle, just disabling it stops the crap happening again!

[NJV6]

Had a rainy day during the week, the air intake in these is right in the middle of the grill at the top, and I hate the feeling of a splash of water over the bonnet without a snorkel.

I bought a Safari Snorkel as I had used them before and liked how well they fit, Yes they are dearer than a Chinese rip off but the kit has absolutely everything in it, right down to the zip ties. I chose Safari over TJM airtec as the Safari has the ability to put a pre filter on which I use on club trips. The TJM one is about $50 dearer and you can keep the washer bottle but it needs trimmed in size and resealed.

Mark twice, cut once... I love this part......



Indicator needs relocating


Airbox needs moving rearward


You loose the great big window washer tank and it gets replaced by this little one


Airbox moved back to fit ducting along the front


More holes with a touch of primer to prevent rust


The kit comes with a piece to fill old indicator hole


Final fitment


This was a technical fit compared to any I have done before with alot of bits to do. I took my time, did it in an easy day. Pity about the silly Mitsi clips holing the inner guard in place, zip ties it is now!

It makes a glorious induction sound with the window down but thankfully is not noticeable with the window up.

[Petemcc]

Nice tidy work glen!

[olielux]

hi

Is that egr gizmo just for pajeros or can it fit on other vehicles, I just ripped the egr off my ranger and now trying to sort the check engine light

Awesome build by the way, always interesting to see some more modern vehicle builds for a change

[NJV6]

Thanks Pete!

this gizmo is just for Pajero and Triton/Challenger. I believe its a bit harder to get the dreaded Check Engine Light to not come on with rangers. Have you cleaned out your Inlet manifold, I hear they clog them up pretty bad too.

I was tempted to remove all the EGR stuff, cooler etc as there is about 7kgs extra in it all aparently, and weight is the enemy of any 4WD, get rid of it where you can! However I didn't at this stage as I never got a chance to play around seeing if the CEL was going to come on with the EGR valve unplugged, needed the vehicle

[olielux]

yes the manifold will be coming off when I get a chance as I took out the air flow sensor to clean it and the whole sensor was packed full with crap so id hate to think how much build up is in the intake

cheers keep up the good build

[NJV6]

The other day i put in a CB/UHF radio. It does the 27 & 477 MHZ in the one unit. There is a suitable place in the dash but absolutly nothing behind it for a mount so I had to make a mount that bolts to the main dashboard beam. Anyway, happy with the result.

[BlakeNZ]

good on you mate, you are making a good job of things. Thanks for the updates.

[NJV6]

Have I mentioned the rear door enough in this thread - I don't think so, what a dumb idea, too much plastic, too many rattles, wheel in the middle of the door, poor gas strut, cant open door with trailer on blah blah blah. The rest of the vehicle, fine, but whoever was on rear door design hopefully didnt get a bonus.

So today I attacked lifting the spare wheel, I removed the wheel, had a stare for a while then decided to take the mount off and turn it upside down.

The mount is not even both sides so I spaced it out 10mm on one side and used longer bolts.

The 1st pic is how it goes without the spacers, tyre a bit close to the door, looks odd.


The 2nd with the spacers, I didn't have any suitable flat bar so these will do in the short term.


The 3rd is how much the wheel gets lifted by. Time will tell if it is enough, it was very easy to do and reverse and get cutting & welding if not enough.

[NJV6]

I had been wanting to fit a switch to disable the Traction control as you cannot disable it and it can be a nuisance in certain situations, such as slippery surfaces and loose sand/gravel. It works overtime trying to help but just hinders as it is braking each wheel so hard it effectively steals the power. With help from wiring diagrams and the oz Pajero forum I tackled it.

So dash apart (again) to get to the ECU, simply find the right wire (grey one!) and cut it and put a switch in it which goes to earth so when you activate the switch it earths the ecu pin and turns off ABS, TC & ASC. The other end of the wire that you cut just gets left to flap in the breeze as it is not used on vehicles without a Rear Diff Lock.



Cut the Grey wire


Start soldering




Re wrap loom and plug in and done.


I just put a simple two pole on/off switch next to the ASC switch - the wire I soldered to one side of the switch and the other side to a suitable bolt as an earth.

Switch off

Switch on

[fh2014]

Nice work.

Feel your pain with the traction control!! My D-Max got bogged in a paddock because it wouldn't let the wheels light up and clean themselves. Got out once I found the TCS off switch and floored it. It should auto disable when switched to 4wd

[NJV6]

Well yes and no - I want the traction control for off road with unever surfaces it works very well, but there are times when you need wheel speed. On the Paj I can turn of stabilty control (which cuts the power) but not TC. Until now!

[Petemcc]

Nice work.

Feel your pain with the traction control!! My D-Max got bogged in a paddock because it wouldn't let the wheels light up and clean themselves. Got out once I found the TCS off switch and floored it. It should auto disable when switched to 4wd

It disables when you switch to low on the Dmax

[NJV6]

Nice work.

It should auto disable when switched to 4wd

It disables when you switch to low on the Dmax

Yes and no - I don't want it disabled when in low as that is the most likely time to want it. I just wanted a switch to disable it on demand.

[NJV6]

Dual Battery tray

I didn't really like the look of anything that you could buy except the ARB one and it was too expensive so I made my own.
The original fiberglass tray was cracked and broken at the tie down point so I binned it


New tray


Drilled the old water overflow bottle mount off and welded it to the new tray & paint



In position


2nd battery tray needs to be slightly higher to clear air con lines and slightly sideways to clear fuel filter



Yes it looks industrial

Secondary 3 micron fuel filter fitted up into place as well and just enough room left to fit the Voltage Sensitive Relay.

[NJV6]

A while ago the new springs turned up, Lovells from Australia and Bilsteins. I was a bit nervous with how it would ride as they are bloody heavy springs



Before


Old vs New


Rear ones in


Fronts assembled (only bit I couldn't do)


Front in


Finished product




It has settled from that 90mm lift to about 50mm which was the aim. The rear wheel alignment with the IRS was miles out.

I needn't have worried about the ride quality, its better on the road and off it. No where near as pleasant as the old little Paj off road but better on road. They are heavy duty fronts and standard duty rears.

[Marco Polo]

Interesting reading. I have just bought an 09 GLS. I don't have dash rattles but the tailgate is driving me mad! Where did you buy the EGR off module from? Do you know if the temperature signal affects the ecu MAF calculation at all?

[NJV6]

Tailgate is quite easy to fix but tweaking the rubber mount to amke the door shut tighter. mine doesn't rattle anymore but my wife cannot open it its that tight!

Find some good corrugations and you'll soon find the dash rattles , the really bad ones will turn your wipers on for you!

I got my egr disable from spv industries directly but they list them for the same price through sales agents, just google spv industries egr and that should help. get one of those then clean your manifold out and it'll good for a long time.

[NJV6]

I needed to lift the spare wheel to get the 285's (33's) on





And make a 1.5mm spacer to clear the callipers

[NJV6]

It needed a minor trip to the panel beaters so while there I got the door frames blacked out - i think it suits it better.

[NJV6]

The intercooler took a bit of a hit on one of the 1st outings and after a while it started to weep. it is located in a terrible place and is actually not overly effective when working hard or driving slow, could easily see air intake temperatures over 100 degrees AFTER the intercooler when towing up any decent hill and the computer then drops the fueling and therefore power.


I guess that meant it was time for an upgrade


It cost a arm and a leg but is a work of art and the results are amazing






Because I haven't chipped it yet there is no performance increase an normal driving but EGT's are way down as the air going into the engine is 80 degrees cooler and after it does rise a bit it cools back down much faster.

[NJV6]

Drove it to the top of the Godley Valley yesterday. Got a bit rough near the end!

[Petemcc]

Looking good mate. Last I heard you were worried the BFGs weren't performing on the road well enough now 285 muds!

Turing into the rough wagon now you have the car for road driving aye?