Mitsubishi Pajero Problems

Even when it’s completely empty, your caravan is still likely to weigh a couple of tonnes (give or take). At which point, you’re using a fair chunk of the Pajero’s towing capacity of 2500kg. What’s happening is that the transmission of the car is choosing to shift down a gear or two to bring the engine up to a speed where it’s making enough power and torque to haul the rig along at the speed you’ve chosen to travel at. Maximum torque in the Pajero’s 3.5-litre V6 occurs at 3500rpm, so that’s what the transmission will aim for when you need maximum thrust.

The process also takes some of the load off the transmission, helping it live longer and avoid damage and overheating. There’s a general rule that says you shouldn’t really tow anything remotely heavy with the transmission in overdrive. Experienced towers physically lock the gearbox out of overdrive, and this, essentially, is what the car is doing for you by shifting down gears when a hill or headwind increases the load on the driveline.

The petrol V6 in the Pajero was never a fuel sipper, and I’m not surprised you’re seeing higher fuel consumption in this scenario. This is also the reason many people who regularly tow choose a turbo-diesel to do so.

This sounds like a classic case of a vehicle with a fuel pump that has died. Electric fuel pumps have a very finite lifespan and, when they stop, they do so suddenly, for no apparent reason and with the result that the engine will simply not start or run at all. By spraying starting fluid into the engine, you’re giving it a sniff of fuel; enough to make it fire, but not run for long.

You’re probably looking at a new fuel pump, but don’t forget to check fuses and relays, the lines for leaks and the various fuel filters for cleanliness.

Unless your engine is overheating very quickly and then miraculously cooling instantly, I’d say there’s a problem with either the temperature gauge itself or the sender/sensor unit that controls it.

An auto electrician will be able to test the gauge and its sensor and tell you what’s happening. Scanning the vehicle electronically might also reveal the cause as the onboard computer may have logged this odd reading as a fault code.

This light is designed to warn you that you have the centre differential locked. This diff lock should only be used off-road in limited-grip situations and having the lock engaged on the bitumen will soon break expensive driveline parts. You’d also notice if the diff was engaged as the car would feel very odd to drive with lots of clunks and groans and no desire to be steered normally.

What’s more likely is that the light itself or the sensor that triggers it has a short-circuit that is feeding the wrong information to the body computer which then lights up the warning. By shutting the engine down and restarting it, you’re effectively rebooting the body computer and things go back to normal for a while. An auto electrician would be our first stop.

If by some chance the light is illuminating because the diff lock is, indeed, attempting to chime in, you have a more serious problem as the driveline might well suffer huge damage if the lock managed to actually engage on the highway.

First suspicions would be the body computer which controls all sorts of functions including central locking, indicators, dashboard, heating and central locking. The fact that two functions have disappeared together is what makes the body computer a great place to start.

An auto electrician should be able to diagnose the problem. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll need a new body computer model and will then have to re-sync the new computer to your existing keys. But don’t rule out a poor earth or even a battery that is starting to show its age.

There are literally dozens of reasons the check-engine light might illuminate in a car like the Pajero. Fundamentally, the car is trying to tell you something is not right with one or more of its systems, and that it needs attention. Those systems could include (but are not limited to) the ignition, fuel, emissions, exhaust, mechanical and cooling systems.

Simply replacing random parts is a quick way to burn up a lot of money and still not fix the problem. I’m curious as to why you’ve assumed the problem is with the EGR system. And even if you’re right and the EGR system is causing the problem, you might find the fault is with the actual EGR valve or its coolant system, rather than the electronics that control and monitor it.

Take the car to a workshop and have it electronically scanned to try to narrow down the cause of the check-engine light. The fault codes will have been logged by the on-board computer and are usually the only way to zero in on the actual problem. Even once that’s done and the problem fixed, there’s probably a separate procedure for switching the engine light off.

If it was just the indicators or just the central locking, you could spend a long time figuring this out. But if both the indicators and the central locking went on the blink at the same time, any mechanic's suspicions would be drawn to the body computer. This is an ECU that controls all those functions, including cruise-control, heating and ventilation and much, much more.

If the computer unit fails or starts to behave erratically, you'll notice these functions either working intermittently or not working at all. In some cases, a new body computer will be needed, but you can try this trick at home. Disconnect the battery and leave the car overnight. You may find when you reconnect the battery, all the functions have been restored.

The other trick to try is to hold the lock button on your key fob for a minimum of 60 seconds. That, too, can often reset the body computer and reboot thigs back to where they should be. Failing that, it's off to an auto electrician.

It's not unheard of for a brand-new component to be faulty straight out of the box. However, the more logical explanation for your car refusing to start after the crank angle sensor was replaced is that the sensor was not the problem in the first place.

Instead of continuing to replace random components that may or may not fix the problem, you really need to find the problem and then tackle it with new parts. Scanning the car's electronics will often throw up the answer, but it could also be something as simple as the car having sat for a few months and the fuel going stale in the process. The causes of a no-start condition are endless.

The manual transmission in this car side-stepped one of the bigger faults with the Pajero. In automatic form, the transmission cooler which ran inside the radiator could split, allowing the coolant and transmission fluid to mix. If this happened, the transmission was often ruined. No such problem with the manual, however.

But really, the scope for problems in a car this old that also happens to be an off-roader is huge. Age and kilometres are never kind to vehicles, and a Pajero of this age has probably covered plenty of ground. Also, if it has been used as its maker intended (that is, off-road) then you need to check things like wheel bearings, differential fluids and suspension parts for damage and wear. Are the chassis rails showing signs of having clobbered hundreds of rocks in the past? Do all the body panels line-up or are there signs of the metal having been bent and twisted in the bush?

Even if the car has never been off-road (and you can confirm this) there's still all the old-car checks to make. Have the engine compression tested to make sure there's not excessive internal wear and listen carefully for any clunks, bangs or grinding noises. Then go through the car from top to bottom making sure every switch, handle and lever does what it is supposed to.

These can be really good second-hand buys, but the wrong Pajero, like the wrong example of any car, can break your heart and empty your wallet. If in doubt, have a Pajero specialist or your state motoring club independently check the car for you and get a written report.

It’s a bit hard to go past an older Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon for this brief. That said, your towing requirement means you’d be best looking at something like an AU (1998 to 2003) Falcon Ute (assuming you only need to move one other person).

These are strong, simple cars that any mechanic can deal with and parts are plentiful and relatively cheap. There are other options (older Japanese dual-cabs) but nothing really gets close to the Aussie stuff for durability and running costs. An elderly Nissan Navara, for instance, might do the job but is likely to become fragile as it ages. A two-wheel-drive Toyota HiLux is another possibility, but you’d probably be right at the limit of your towing capacity with one of those. The Falcon ute, meanwhile, can legally tow 2300kg. It’s not glamorous or sexy, but it’ll do the job and stay on target price-wise.

The other obvious contender would be an early Mitsubishi Pajero with a V6 engine. These had a towing capacity of 2500kg and are around now for very little money, certainly within your budget. They also double as a very handy off-roader should you wish.