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Common Pajero problems for sunroof: * The screws that hold the motor in place get loose or fall out, so the gears on the motor do not touch the rail anymore. Retighten the screws and use some loctite to keep them in place. You'll need to partly remove the headliner and its a pain in the buttocks to reach the motor but if you're a bit handy this is a DIY fix. * Proper lubrication of the rails: Our climate with abundance of sand makes the rails become dry and sandy and eventually the whole thing locks up. Remove the glass roof panel and clean out the rails and then apply lubricant (silicon based). This job is again DIY but it requires some elbow grease and swearing along the way. You'll find some tutorials online about it. Both my Pajero's (gen2 and gen4) had this problem and after spending blood sweat and tears after recurring problems i gave up and left it closed. I thought i was a good DIY'er but i'm short on patience sometimes. Most workshops that do Pajero will know about this problem, but you might be having a liner full of greasy fingerprints by the time it gets finished ..... Older generation Pajero's need a recalibration of the motor and sunroof opening and closing position if i remember correctly. It's a combination of pressing the open-close button... Google will know more about it.

Did someone say chocolates? Frederic if you are held up today, no issue. We can pick it up on the way to the drive.

I used to deal with this a lot as a mechanic, especially when I worked in smaller garages. I don’t mind taking time to explain things to people who want to learn but when someone tries to tell me my job when they obviously don’t have a clue it makes my dung boil. I’m a lot more chilled out these days but a couple of times in the past I’ve pointed a customer to a tool box and said ok, you fix then.

Real Belgian ones

Well, seeing these articles being a Maintenance Manager myself, i realized there are three ways of maintaining a car or machine, and it depends mainly on your own personality, technical knowledge, and priorities: 1) Strictly by the book and top notch: You take care of the car like it's your baby, and many parts that you get replaced are not necessarily due for replacement. But you want to have ease of mind and keep the car in super condition. Every rattle or slight problem will make you go to the workshop or dealer and you are not afraid of spending some extra bucks until the car is back in optimal condition. You have a good resale value in mind and would even keep the plastics on the seats. 2) Cost-conscious but correct: You prefer a decent workshop and want to get the necessary stuff done, but you are not afraid to push back a bit and discuss prices and necessity of replacing certain parts. 3) Drive it into the ground: You replace the oil when the min. oil level indicator comes on, you don't care about the basic maintenance and you flip the cars in a few years and want to spend less than the minimum on it. As long as it drives and there is a bit of rubber on the tyres you're good to go. You'd think that these 3 ways are correlated to your income, but strangely enough they are not. I've met very rich people that don't want to spend an extra buck and drive their cars into the ground. I've also met people that need to count thrice to get by, but are still creative to get the best maintenance done at the best price, and keep their cars in very good condition. One thing i genuinely hate is people that start discussions with their mechanics without even getting themselves informed in advance. They hardly know how a car works, yet they want to constantly criticize a professional. One should always be respectful and ask questions and get themselves informed first instead of bashing on the mechanic. (sorry i am venting now).

I never saw any chocolate 😭

Jokes apart, these Lexus front black plastic humongous grills look soooooo cheap and empty that I have no words for it, let alone the fish-face shape is even weirder.

Share your live location and we will pass by for eating BBQ.

I’ll be attending a bbq in Arabian ranches. Horn when you pass by buddies, I’ll be thinking of you !!

Yes, it is just an annoyance issue and no performance has been impacted. After a little while, you will develop an ignore mode on this little noise, that comes while braking or slow-moving when car nose moves up and down. It's not noticeable on highway. The entry model is quite capable and doesn't come with diff lock. The offroad version comes with diff lock, but again then there will be a trade-off that you are buying a car that has been previously abused in the sand. If you can find an offroad version that is not been in sand regularly, that will be your best choice by paying little extra (if you have to). If offroad version been on rocks and wadi's then also it's acceptable, as abuse of rocks and wadis can be easily identified by underbody damage by lifting the car. You can't fry the engine, gearbox and 4x4 in rocks much unlike in sand revving at 6K rpm every week.

Oh yea. Xterra all the way. I have been driving SUVs for about 15 years and I have tried quite a few brands and models. There’s something about the way how an X just handles and you should take a test drive to see what I am talking about. Glad to chime in and help.

If you go for an Xterra (happy owner speaking here), have a look at this thread above. My advice: look for the post 2008 models, third generation, the latest year you can. On those cars the year is more important than the mileage - bear in mind that an Xterra can go to 400-500K if well taken care of. Of course you need to ask a mechanic to check the car before you buy it. I personally drive an « X » model, which is the basic and cheapest one. I just added a skid plate and a light bar and for me it’s just fine.

Someone on Twitter :

Speaking of specialities, next time I can bring some stinky french cheese. Just make sure you have a good health insurance !

allrighty allrighty, you guys have my word... I'll get you some chocolates soon, IF my dogs doesn't eat them in the meantime (real story, ended up at the vet to empty his stomach...🤣)

So now you are saying NO to the free BBQ........? I'll rem this, just like your Belgian chocolates.

hahahaha i've never met these folks yet before so that might be a bit of a stretch

Will miss you 😔

This is due to lack of knowledge on the owners part, which kind of boggles me. For an expat their vehicle is in the top three of their most expensive assets in this country yet they don't even bother to learn one thing about about it. You'll see people do more research on a rental flat before renting it than before buying a car or anything to keep it running well after they have.

I agree with all the comments here. I would either go with an Xterra or TJ. I personally would go with the TJ but I might be bias. As for shops I take my JK to off-road zone but ICON is good too.

SWB Pajero 3.8 are very rare to find and even more rare to find a clean one. After the initial few drives as you want to venture further you will need some mods to make it capable for higher level drives. The Xterra is more than capable to handle the most extreme drive conditions with superb reliability. The only squeaking sound from the suspensions is due to leaf springs in the rear. @Emmanuel is trying out a spray which has kept his Xterra pretty quiet recently, he can guide you too regarding lots of tips and tricks on the Xterra as @Shamil would agree.

Good one @Emmanuel Hijri calendar vs Gregorian calendar.

It's time to visit our beautiful Al Qudra Desert just behind the Qudra lakes and all the way to the Solar park and exit. This area offers a great mix of playable dunes and small technical dunes to test your control. Depending on convoy strength and liking will plan the route on the fly. Though Ramadan fasting and suhoor time are over so will start and end little early to reduce the driver's fatigue to drive back home. When: 06 June 2019, Thursday Meeting time: 09 PM, the convoy will move at sharp 09:15 PM Where: Al Qudra parking GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/7zhLC3Mw6iXuiJLy9 Level: Newbie, Fewbie & Above (NO ABSOLUTE NEWBIE PLEASE.) Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive, train and enjoy till about 2 am and then break for snacks What to bring along: Snacks whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 3:00 am Please RSVP on the below calendar:

I need some work done to a guitar. Specifically, installing a floyd rose trem and locking nut system on a string thru body guitar. I need some other work done but this will start my project off. I know, I know, just buy a guitar with floyd rose, but what I want isn’t available here. Its a pretty expensive rare guitar that isn’t made anymore so it’s a one time shot deal and I need someone who can get it right first time. I can’t afford mistakes. Dont mind travelling or paying for someone who can do a proper job. Any recommendations, please shout out so I can research their work.

During the hot summer of Dubai I normally tilt open the sunroof to vent out the heat until the car cools. Did the same today and now it's stuck open. I can only hear the motor, but the sunroof does not move. Please recommend a good Garage where I can fix it. 😰

If you clean the bottle, it will just turn brown again. You need to do a full coolant system flush with a proper flushing agent then rinse all the flush out with clean water, bottom to top. Dishwasher tablets are great for this. If you rinse tip to bottom, the water doesn’t get into all the galleries and you miss some. Bottom to top means the whole system is filled and all the crap gets washed out. Be 100% sure the coolant you’re putting in is the proper stuff. Don’t listen to the parts shop monkeys, they will tell you this colour is better than that colour when colour has nothing to do with it. You can get extra corrosion inhibitors like Fleetguard DCA4 to add to the system. They don’t sell them in normal car part stores but a decent truck and plant parts store should have them. Personally, I would just switch to a waterless coolant like Evans. The engine runs a few degrees hotter but it will never overheat and you won’t have any more corrosion problems because there’s no water in the system to boil and no water to cause oxidisation.

Here is the four square method, with which car dealers steal your money on all 4 sides of the game. Very nicely explained in this viral video. Share the list of scam you have seen here with car dealers.

I ended up just buying a floyd rose equipped guitar. Glad I did because I just didn’t get along with it at all and sold it a few weeks later. What kind of work do you need done? If it’s setup like truss rod, action, intonation etc I can do it for you. Can do wiring and other stuff too but I don’t have the tools to get into deep repair work.

Peugeot carrying their future car with Nissan Truck, couldn't be any better 06:57: There is so much space at the back.... really....? 09:05: Blue velvet seats, really......! 12:28: What a circus they made of future (if it's really a future) 14:02: Future doesn't need seat belts

Sure it's a nice area, not too adventurous. If she has enjoyed previous fewbie level drives she will like this too.

So from what I'm understanding, this squeaking is an annoyance, and is not a performance issue, correct? Can I ask what exactly is better about model year >2009 cars? Also, does the entry-level model come with locking diffs?

I'm thinking of bringing the wife. You guys think it will be too much for her?

Happened with me when I bought my first car in the UAE. Never thought it could happen here, I only found out when i took it to the dealership for service...

Isn't 3.5 is same as F150 raptor engine?

Yes it is, that means its even more crap! Upon further investigation it's called the Euro raptor be cause no one else is interested in a diesel version. ROW of the wold gets a 3.5 V6 which should be much better. Remember in sand along with torque you need momentum and diesel just doesn't have it.

Well to me buying a new car itself is a big no to lose half the value in the first 2-3 years. If you are fine to lose that 50% of the car value, then these petty charges or fees wouldn't hurt you much. It's a known fact now that any car dealer in the world make more money servicing it than selling it. That's why service advisors are trained to upsell so hard for their commissions. I have been upsold once with a service advisor that my brake drum thickness is 5MM in place of a new drum of 6MM. I spent 4k dirhams and learned my lesson hard way, that I could have driven for another 2 more years without needing new brake drums. After that instance, I always read the owners manual and go and tell them what exactly I want than their suggestions.

Yes it is @desertdude

Nome of this is relevant here in the UAE. If you are buying in the US then yes but not here. Dealers scam you here in many other ways but since Big B is always watching not to going to mention them here.

Just found another great video to avoid car dealers scam of fake fees and charges to avoid

I received an interesting video the other day and I realized it would be a good idea to share the same to enlighten our off-road community about the importance of wearing shoes during our off-road drives. In the video, you can see a desert rattlesnake making its way into a gas station and bear in mind that this is a venomous breed. An unsuspecting fuel attendant then, accidentally steps over the reptile after which, it attacks the man on his foot and since he's wearing shoes, he's out of harms way. It made me realize that this scenario could happen to us whereby we may come across a snake or another aggressive desert creature. They could attack us in a similar fashion and if we happen to be barefoot or wearing slippers, flip flops or anything that keeps our feet exposed, we could be running the risk of being on the receiving end of a nasty sting/bite. So in conclusion, I'd say - its better to be safe than sorry and protect ourselves by wearing shoes. WhatsApp_Video_2019-06-02_at_11_49.15_AM.mp4

Totally agree @Barry that closed shoes/boots should come automatically than making a choice. I feel the problem is the impression you get from advertisement, lifestyle magazine, social media videos showing up people sitting bare feet or with sandals in the sand. This take away applied to offroad drive without using common sense is simply astonishing. We do take off our closed shoes off while sitting down on a mat or lying flat on my recliner chair, but that doesn't mean that people should see that 15 min impression and multiply that with 6 hours drive. After a continuous warning and briefing points, I still see people showing up in sandals with some or the other excuses.

While this exploration happening I was in bidayer shop area. My friends asked me to take them famous orange sands. I thought they should see bidayer area, than we will drive to buried Village and take some pictures. Plan was not pushing any think just go nice and easy. When we enter the area I saw one wrangler got stuck on top. I decided to go there any help him out. I went up pull him out and I was all OK. Than when we are heading back down one of my friend got stuck. I tried to help him but his car was looking upword and back side was looking to dune. Only chance to pulling him from front but I couldn't pull him upward. When I am trying I also got stuck. Later I found a way to take myself out from situation. Then I called the @EmVarlet and @Gaurav. After half hour Gaurav showed up and pull the car out with his winch. I want to thank him. He break his program and come to help us. It is good to fell that you have friends when you are in trouble.

Sure you can join this drive as you have previous experience of driving in sand, so you should be fine with this night drive. Only absolute newbie is not fit for this night drive.

Not sure about the day will try to join Missed last drive 😌

Well don't do too much of that, there are people assigned to protect them from exactly such stunts and you might find yourself in unnecessary trouble or the very least a long telling off and not to be doing such shenanigans again. I don't know how they monitor them but they suddenly appear out of the blue and flag you down.

Those Or any closed shoes, not too thin.

For a second there I thought the title read Lutherans, was gonna say yeah plenty of them around.