Stumpy

Well done @Mark B time for those new gears 👌

1 minute ago, Hisham Masaad said:

Well done @Stumpy Paj nice job, and this was my only concern, which @Islam Soliman mentioned. The overheating, which I hope you will not face it. My compressor is fixed, and fully open, but gets really hot after the inflation done.

Thanks, yes definitely will watch the heat.  Will bring my spare compressor tomorrow in case the temp switch goes off.

@Bravoechohad the same compressor mounted in a similar spot in his GX460 by ARB. It got hot as they do but never shut off and his tyres were  a lot bigger than mine so fingers crossed.

otherwise we will have a BBQ tomorrow 😂

10 minutes ago, Ismail said:

@Nilakantan Erode yeah, have to admit I haven’t given the Lexus due consideration, will delve further into that. The stock SWB Suzuki has served a solid 200k kms and has held up ok with basic maintenance. As the family grows my off-road time is reducing hence this thread. Most important thing is the missus blessing the purchase 🙌

@Gaurav I’m sort of convinced (perhaps sheepishly) that I can’t go wrong with any Toyota/Lexus product, esp. one made in Japan. I’ll research both Lexus and Prado recalls/TSB’s, but in general my experience with Lexus through a sedan in the family is a great like @Nilakantan Erode mentioned even with relatively heavy use.

@Stumpy Paj Sounds like you have a similar use scenario. From research both the 1GR-FE and the 1UR-FE seem to have the best reliability out there mated to the 6-speed on both Prado and GX460, respectively. My mind is telling me better to get a top trim for the extra bells+whistles for the first years of use during warranty. The top trim GX pricing is closer to the LC300 4.0 VXR and that’s another comparison altogether. Will definitely check out GXOR.

Overall, the GX looks like a better purchase on paper, with the main trade off compared to Prado being the lesser fuel capacity and marginally higher fuel consumption. Don’t think both of these will be a big factor in my case. I will probably put together a spec comparison spreadsheet, with Pros /Cons and see what I end up with.

 

It’s a hell of a decision, I have been around 4wds for 35+ years now and the Japanese cars have always been the pick. I would probably get in trouble saying “i would buy a 10year old second hand Japanese car over a European or American in most cases”, so I won’t say it. 😅

My GX460 uses noticeably less fuel than my Pajero.

Personally wouldn’t look at the 300 with the 4.0v6. It’s too much car for that engine (like the 4.0v6 in the patrol)

the 250 series looks good, I think it will come with the 4.0 as a option as well. But will be a bit of a wait for delivery.

if you are going to look at a GX for off road definitely get the bottom spec one. You can upgrade the suspension easy and it’s lighter without the electric rear seats, and the ventilated front seats. KDSS has been around for awhile now and is actually a very good system, so don’t be scared off taking it off road by a E11 salesman. The minister for war and finance will love the GX drive.

Good luck 

12 minutes ago, Islam Soliman said:

Nice project @Stumpy Pajthanks for sharing.. how did you engineer the ventilation of the compressor to ensure it doesn’t overheat specially in summer with excessive use ? Also, I assume you are not relying on the standard 12v outlet to feed the compressor, not sure the standard wiring is good enough for the high amps drawn by the compressor 

Hi mate, cheers, the environment here is definitely a consideration.
 

there is a large air vent just below the compressor and the cavity it is in holds a large volume of air, probably better than the ARB case it was in previously.  Will test it out on tomorrows drive.

I ran a separate heavy feed direct from battery (inside a protective sleeve) with a 50amp resettable circuit breaker at the battery to protect the wiring and a 50amp fuse at the compressor end to protect the load.  All wiring is marine grade tinned wiring as well as the joints. I will be installing a relay next week so that it’s not hot all the time at the compressor switch.

I have seen the standard that professionals do here and it’s scary so I do my own wiring 

I have a GX460 as well as my pardo. My version is the top one with the electronic height adjustable suspension. While it is extremely comfortable and has heaps of power the Pajero is a lot more suitable for our type of driving.

the GX is my go to for long touring trips ( taking it to Oman next week) but has a bit to much plastic trim to use in the sand.

that said you can get the lower spec with conventional suspension and build it into a beast with the right budget. They have the best petrol engine ever made by Toyota. Look up GXOR for inspiration 

👌confirmed 

21 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Is this your 12V power plug ?

 

 

Yep, this is a flush mount Anderson plug.

i installed this a while ago as the power supply for my portable compressor, 

14 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Nice job, looks like all settled down after the 1K test.

How about the front diff, have u found a way to lower it too?

As in my Gen 2.5, if I lift more than 2 inches, my CV starts giving up.

Hi mate, yes the front diff was lowered as well, now have 2” suspension and 1”subframe drop on the front.

front uses spacers on the subframe and strut spacers on the struts to give the extra 1”.

I Would have to have a look at the gen2 to work out what’s needed with the torsion bars

3 minutes ago, PETELCZYC PAJERO - luke said:

Looks great.

 

Why rear instead of engine bay? 

Mostly personal preference but the V6 Engine bay is a bit to cramped, if this was the 3.2TD I would have a second battery and the compressor in the engine bay. there is lots of free space in the 1/4 panel plus it’s pulling clean cool air from the cabin,

the engine bay cops at lot of sand and heat (over 90deg) so hopefully the compressor will last a bit longer in this location.

A small project that I have been putting off for a while.

mounted the ARB compressor inside the rear L/H quarter panel. Lots of room even with the factory amplifier. 

had some left over sound deadening mat so put a bit in as well.

took about three hours to do so nice little mod that frees up some of the limited space in the back of the SWB.

Have a kill switch for it next to battery and the switch next to the air fitting but will install a relay and a switch in my dash next. (Just have to find a heavy duty 60amp relay) 

1000km down and all is well so far, had to  install 10mm spacers under the transmission mount as there was a bit of vibration from the tail shaft at higher speeds. Easy job just took me a few days to find something suitable. 
 

car drives the same, body roll and handling hasn’t changed, if anything it’s a bit better due to the new UCAs and trailing arm bushes.

👍👍👍👍

18 hours ago, Gaurav said:

Hi All, my Pajero is making clanking noise when one front wheel is up and the other is down while offroading in sand dunes, not in any other angle or terrain.

Any clue what I need to start looking at first? Thanks in advance.

Is this on your gen 2, could be many things. Most likely if it’s coming from the front it’s the sway bar bushing or the torsion bar mounts. Could also be the shocks or the diff mounting.

Try driving in 4l reverse at full lock, will tell you if the cvs are causing any issues, you can disconnect the sway bar and carefully simulate the same conditions with a raised wheel to see if it’s still happening.

Sorry @Ale Vallecchi have to remove myself, can’t make it this afternoon 

7 minutes ago, Vishnu Ramankutty said:

 

Thank you all @Gaurav  @Pavel Pashkovskiy @Benjamin @Frederic  @M.Seidam @Sunil Mathew @Stumpy Pajfor the valuable feedback based on your experience. For now, I'll stick with what I'm doing, which is driving in automatic mode. As I gain more control over the vehicle, I will gradually start trying out these manual shift. I hope by the time I might be an expert on off roads. 

Once again, thank you all for these valuable pieces of advice. 

The best mode is what works for you, as long as you feel in control 👍

You will find that in manual mode you get more control over the car, as you do more drives I would use it as much as you can so that you get a good feel for what’s happening, it will be come second nature soon enough and when you go back to auto it will feel like you are disconnected from the car 😂

the problem with all of our petrol engines is they are junk at low rpm’s, to unleash your petrols inner beast you need to let it rev 😂 or get a diesel 

This is probably a topic that has been bashed around hundreds of times 😂

I would tend to disagree that it should be in auto, on the sand I nearly always use manual mode, only on long flat runs I will put it back into auto.

the main reasons are control, engine braking and to save wear/heat in The transmission.

1. A automatic transmission can not predict what you are about to do so it will select a gear based on what the current needs are. This is great if you are on the road and the main concern is engine efficiency, not so good if you’re half way up a dune get a bit of wheel spin and decides to up shift.

2. When descending and the load comes off the transmission again it can upshift right when you need the engine braking to control your descent. A safety issue as the car starts to run away, you instinctively hit the brake and over you go.

3. A auto is a fluid pump, it works by converting hydraulic pressure into torque. It does this by pumping fluid through a torque converter. At low speed this converter is allowed to slip to allow the engine to build rpm. This slip is what generates the heat in the fluid. At higher speeds and in manual mode there is less slip and in some cases the converter will lock up. By driving in manual mode you control the slip and stop some of the heat being generated. Therefore you can stop your transmission overheating or getting damaged.

I have seen many Pajeros suffer from the over temp gearbox, never had mine come  anywhere near to the limit, all of them were driving in auto.

just my 2c, happy to be proved wrong.

14 hours ago, Benjamin said:

This looks awesome @Stumpy Paj! Your pajero has made a massive change since we started driving together in Newbie 😂 have you got that fuel tank fixed yet? 
 

also I’m interested in your subframe drop would this be categorized under chassis modification? I only really thought about it because I was looking at the new black points law because I’m looking to put the stickers back on my jeep

long story short apparently you need permission for engine modification and chassis modifications (alongside stickers and paint) 

Hi mate, nope same old dented fuel tank, it’s on the list 🤣( very long list)

as for approval I am trying to get it sorted as want to make sure it’s all above board. Took it to the inspection station and the inspector said no need for suspension upgrade but not convinced that’s right so still chasing it.

by the rules you need approval for everything non standard, we would all fail 😂

Subframe drop done 👍, took a day and a half to install but well worth it I think. Did a f+ drive with @Ale Vallecchi on Sunday to test and suspension seams to move a lot better with the new UCAs and trailing arms. Didn’t lift wheels anywhere as much as previously. 
 

bit of a full on job to install yourself in the Dubai summer 🥵 but thanks to @Bravoechofor your help. (Only had to get the angle grinder out for one old mount bolt 😂, and to modify the air filter housing)

 comparison photo to a standard SWB added

Has anyone installed their own subframe drop and UCA’s.

any tips or tricks you might have, mainly concerned with the front subframe, I have the radiator and power steering drop brackets as well but I think I might have problems with the engine intake hose contacting the TJM snorkel ducting.

Would anyone know who would stock a good selection on silicone hoses that I could replace the standard intake with?

I think I won’t need to do a wheel alignment with the forward UCAs as there is nothing adjustable there but the rear control arms will definitely need it. Has anyone done their own rear wheel alignment on their paj?

will be tackling this next weekend just trying to get everything ready

thank you

On 8/3/2021 at 12:09 PM, Warren Flay said:

Update: Chronos got back to me and admitted that the dash indicator light issue is a known fault and that they have no fix. Pretty rubbish really imo. Make your decision fully informed of this. Cheers

I Was having the same problem with my cronos switch. Loose all lights and could not reset without restarting car. Would also get the handbrake (abs) warning light come on when ambient temp was above 30ish.

I removed the cronos switch and replaced it with one made in Australia (I am told cronos tried to copy the Australian one) all my problems are fixed, the new one works perfectly.

new factory look switch 

old harness on the left, looks similar but the new one on the right has much better workmanship/quality parts.

12 minutes ago, Hisham Masaad said:

All applicable on FJ, except point 6. Even that you dont need to worry about. i.e. FJ 

Not applicable on Pajero, especially points 1 thru 7, you have to worry about all of them all the time 😂

2 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Yup, Isuzu was rebadged under Vauxhall, Opel, Chevy, Honda, etc..

Fantastic and probably as reliable as Toyota but the law suits in US and lack of service centers amongst other reasons killed it off. 
 

Isuzu was even the first to design the common-rail-diesel technology.

These where badged as the MU (mysterious utility) probably the coolest name. Great little car especially with the 2.8 td. The drive train came from the commercial pick up and only really suffered from a weak clutch, they rusted out pretty bad as they spent a lot of time on the beach. Back when air con and electric windows were still a option 😂

@Gary F congratulations mate 👍, look forward to driving with you when I catch up. The sand runner has become a iconic part of carnity drives

29 minutes ago, Alexanderrr said:

@Stumpy Paj new steering rack will cost you 2500-3000 dhs ,you can do rebuild for 1000 including labor (cleaning and changing seals etc)

@Alexanderrr thank you, I think it is the bushes inside the rack that are flogged out, it is not leaking yet. This is my second rack (used) and it has been rebuilt already so I don’t have much confidence in any of the work shops here.  I should have just brought a new one the first time around 😂

if they can replace the bushes and adjust the backlash properly, and provide a warranty then would definitely look at a rebuild. If you know of any shops I could talk to that would be great 

Update: new starter and she’s all fixed👌 thank you for your help.

next job: steering rack, I wonder if I can replace this in the car park as well😳🤷‍♂️