Calling all Pajero experts!

[Nemesis]

G'Day Paj peoples,

I'm in need of some help and advice from some very knowledgeable people who have experience with the NL series of Pajero. Ideally any one who does or has worked on these cars for a living or for other reasons knows the ins and outs of the series.

I'm constructing a Used Buyers Guide article on the NL Paj. Cruising around the net I found this forum and noticed it's popularity so I thought i'd start my research here.

If I can get some good info or contact info for any NL experts I can give your club a healthy plug in the article for it's help! What i'm after basically is all the things to look out for when buying an NL. Mostly the things that go wrong regularly (not one off examples), from minor annoyances to major mechanical issues, head to toe. I have a Word template questionare to make it easier if anyone feels they can offer good info.

Please post here or email me at [email protected] and we can hopefully get the ball rolling and get more people into Pajero's!

Cheers,
Bryan Grant
4WD Action Technical Journo

[Pickle]

Hi Bryan
Mate I would love to be able to tell you the problems with the NL series but seriously they don't really have anything that jumps out at you. Maybe the synchro's in the manual box might wear and in another thread on this forum some crappy cup holders. Overall they are good solid vehicles with a strong driveline. One of the two best models of Pajero Mitsubushi introduced in Australia (NL & NP) in my opinion and are still made o/seas under licence.
Dave

[6G74]

Thats prolly not the response that you were looking for? But if youve spent some time brousing the forum, you'll see that nearly every existing problem has had a mention, from things as small as cup holders to transfercases letting go, you would have also seen that near none of this related to the nl.

Its been a relitively common issue with mitsy over time with the valve stem seals hardening with age - the NL's are only just gettin to an age where we may see this if its still an issue, autos never played up, transfer cases never gave any trouble bar some flashing lights on the dash due to a dirty sensor, as dave said, the gearboxs have been known to have syncro issues as the k;s get up, diff's are fantastic, lsd is fantastic. As for wat to look out for when purchasing, the same as if you were buyin any other 4wd...

[Nemesis]

I was just looking for 'a' response

The niggly things like the breaking cup holder are just as important. Keeping in mind the article is for those who already want to buy one.

Is the flashing 4WD light a common thing? I think I found a thread here mentioning it. An easy fix?

Cheers,
Bryan

[allanmac]

I was just looking for 'a' response

The niggly things like the breaking cup holder are just as important. Keeping in mind the article is for those who already want to buy one.

Is the flashing 4WD light a common thing? I think I found a thread here mentioning it. An easy fix?

Cheers,
Bryan

Bryan, the flashing light is quite a common problem & not just caused by a faulty/dirty sensor. Everytime I disengage 4wd, whether centre diff locked or not, I reverse about 5 mtrs & no flashing lights ever.

As 6G74 & Pickle said, they do not have many problems. The diffs are extremely strong & the rear LSD is a gem. The whole driveline is good & you very rarely hear of a CV problem with them. Underbody protection is also very good with the only subject area being the gearbox, which is easily overcome by fitting a bashplate, which I have done. As with most Mitsubishi's there is some lifter noise, but generally nothing to be alarmed about.

The SOHC engine is excellent, & whilst not as powerful as the DOHC of the earlier model, has increased torque which is far more important. Added bonus is that it doesnt require PULP.

Whilst the ifs does limit it's offroad capabilities, it will go most places & with a front airlocker, which I have , will go far further than what I am prepared to put mine though. Fuel economy is not bad, about 14lts per 100klm, & highway driving is chalk & cheese compared to the live axle vehicles. With a suspension upgrade & good tyres, they are a very capable vehicle.

Not being cynical here Bryan, but am surprised the mag is interested in this vehicle. I cancelled my subscription because all the magazine was full of was Patrols or Landcruisers, and all from NSW

Cheers

[Alex86]

From the FAQ section:

http://4wd.blogeasy.com/article.view...ticleID=318776

Some good info on the Flashing Lights that is common throught the whole Super Select system.

I've had it in 2 NLs and both managed to right themselves after patience in a gravel carpark and just excercising the mechanism.



But as far as any plagueing problems, none whatsoever that I have come across (nor know of!)

[Nemesis]

Thanks for the feedback.

Allan; I think you'll find things are changing, although there'll always be Patrols and Cruisers things aren't so biased anymore. Glenn is building a Rangie, Brendan a zook, Serika an X-90 etc. The more people with custom trucks that present themselves the more chance of being other vehicles inside.

My mates at HiTech 4x4 up here are just about finished a full custom Pajero i'm going to push for a feature truck. It's got a custom Dana 40 front solid axle swap and a host of goodies

[Yonnee]

Bryan, the flashing light is quite a common problem & not just caused by a faulty/dirty sensor. Everytime I disengage 4wd, whether centre diff locked or not, I reverse about 5 mtrs & no flashing lights ever.

As 6G74 & Pickle said, they do not have many problems. The diffs are extremely strong & the rear LSD is a gem. The whole driveline is good & you very rarely hear of a CV problem with them. Underbody protection is also very good with the only subject area being the gearbox, which is easily overcome by fitting a bashplate, which I have done. As with most Mitsubishi's there is some lifter noise, but generally nothing to be alarmed about.

The SOHC engine is excellent, & whilst not as powerful as the DOHC of the earlier model, has increased torque which is far more important. Added bonus is that it doesnt require PULP.

Whilst the ifs does limit it's offroad capabilities, it will go most places & with a front airlocker, which I have , will go far further than what I am prepared to put mine though. Fuel economy is not bad, about 14lts per 100klm, & highway driving is chalk & cheese compared to the live axle vehicles. With a suspension upgrade & good tyres, they are a very capable vehicle.

And it's not just the NL. Pretty much the NH onwards (Gen2) were basically just facelifts and minor upgrades. The biggest change was to the engine, from the 3.0l SOHC, to the 3.5l SOHC & DOHC. It was still virtually the same body shell, but the NL has pumped guards rather than flares.

Throughout the Gen2 series there's not too much that goes wrong as allanmac has said. There's some issue with some engines not liking LPG, and the heads do not like running water without coolant. Idle Control Solenoids are common, as are when not if you have to do the ECU at some stage. (Both of these are mainly for the 3.0l)

Not being cynical here Bryan, but am surprised the mag is interested in this vehicle. I cancelled my subscription because all the magazine was full of was Patrols or Landcruisers, and all from NSW

Cheers

I cancelled my subscription because it was full of 4WD shop owners company vehicles fully kitted out with everything available from an ARB/TJM catalogue. I voiced my opinion on the forum and had several responses of support, until my post, along with the entire feedback section was deleted in favour of P.M.'ing particular individuals from the magazine.

[bernardpotatoe]

Had an 1999 3.5ltr NL GLS manual for 3 years (sold at 190k's), now have a NP DID Auto. Still think the NL is the preferred chassis, but the DID motor and Auto are brilliant, plus storage area where back seat would go is useful area.
Only really had 8 issues with NL
Just before I got rid of it, Thermo fan became "slippy" at high revs so every time I hit serious hills, it would boil, took a bit of thought to realise it was the thermo fan assembly and not all the rest of the coolant system
3rd gear was a bit "crunchy", but always went in ok
fuel pump failed after gas conversion due to installer not cleaning new petrol tank out before/after fitting
Cruise control cable wore through vacum line and caused intermitant operation of the front diff selector system.
1 vacumm solinoid for the front diff selector failed
Low ratio not low enough for my liking, especially reverse!
tore one CV boot with a branch getting where it shouldn't

Other than the above, I would call it a brilliant car, easy in the city (parking, driving), quite adequate for general to difficult off road, adequate room for 5 (although back seat is really better for 2, and stupid design with armrests on outside), real roof rails for a proper roofrack, adequate range out of 92ltr std tank, quiet, and confortable. If it had the DID motor and auto from the NP - perfect (As I use the NP more, I expect I'll fall more in luv with it, just seems made for higher speed tow/cruising, NL was more "nimble", haven't done any "serious" off road yet). Petrol motor needs gears to keep speed up the hills, gas converion was no issue for me.

that should be enough from me
Bernard

[Alex86]

I would call it a brilliant car, easy in the city (parking, driving), quite adequate for general to difficult off road

That reminds me of an observation i made when i first drove an NL...

Not a 'problem' as such but i thought the turning circle was fairly big and could have been made much better (in the design/build stage).


Have come across some carparks where you have to hang it out on the opposite side to get enough turning room to fit in the space neatly.

[martin7]

I know this thread is quite old now but this model NL was the same as the earlier models and did give a problem with the nose of the crank getting worn out if the crank pulley was not retorqued correctly when the timing belt was changed,also had a problem when first released with main bearing failure on the 3.5lt models. As already stated they do suffer from noisey lifters from about 150k depending on service intervils & oil used.
Cheers Murray

[Pickle]

also had a problem when first released with main bearing failure on the 3.5lt models.

Can't say I have heard of that one! Might be a bit late as his report is in this months 4wd Monthly Action. Note that there is a NJ shorty disguised as a NL in there as well!
Dave

[martin7]

Can't say I have heard of that one! Might be a bit late as his report is in this months 4wd Monthly Action. Note that there is a NJ shorty disguised as a NL in there as well!
Dave

when i worked for a engine reconditioner we got a heap of engines from mitsubishi that came from the nl model all with main bearing failure also got a lot of them that had dropped valves but they were from the nj series. done some checking at the time and found it was a common problem on the 3.5 twin cam engines
murray

[Pickle]

That would probably be the NJ and NK models as the NL series did not get the twin cam. The NL series went back to the single cam..... well in Australia anyway.
Dave

[6G74]

The crank pully thing - thats not a problem with the car so to speak, its a servicing issue, its recommended to always replaced the crank bolt when you take it off, likewise if you dont do your timing belt, it breaks and bends valves etc. Further to that though, i dont recall hearing of any nl's with that problem, nh and nj's i thought....????

As for the valves in the nj and main bearings - not to say it hasnt happened, i just wouldnt call it common. Reading articals, working at a mechanics, 4 years on the forum etc and i havent heard of either once