Big Tonka Toy.. ‘95 Pajero SWB.. in Japan
Discussion
patchb said:
I used to use my 2.8 lwb for towing my 21ft Bayliner boat and I couldn’t actually feel it was attached, I once pulled a stuck car with a stuck boat behind it out of some deep mud with fairly bald tyres on the Paj and it still didn’t bother it one bit!
I’ve read that a lot. Towing seems to make no difference to anything other than fuel consumption!
Im a Shogun / Pajero man :-) I loved the SWB, known as the Shogun Bulldog, back in my 20s and brought a white 3.0 SWB. Since then Ive had 1x 3.0 SWB, 2x 2.5 SWB, 2x 2.8s LWB and an Pajero Evo. I was so disappointed in the Evo and eventually traded it in for a Mk4 TT Supra.
Ive Just recently got hold of a 1997 Fieldmaster 2.8 LWB with the EDC pump. Im slowly rebuilding it as it wasnt looked after well. Ive had to totally remove the interior and wash the seats, carpet, etc.
Once your vehicle arrives you need to check it over mechanically. As someone mention above cylinder heads on these engines crack. Ive had 2 go around the 70/90k mark. This means a new head, gaskets, bolts and the usual `whilst your there` parts. £1200.
Rust will be the other thing to look for. Check around the rear rear arches, front body mounts and side sills. Again all of mine have had to had work here.
Next you will need to check your 4x4 system. Front diff works off vaccum pipes and these split / crack. Sensors on the transfer boxes loose earth and your c/D light flashes.
Yours will have the mechanical pump meaning less pain. These run lovely on veg oil. However most diesel pumps will need a rebuild around 80K. £650. Seals go and leak diesel or oil.
Rear door locks always sieze or jam, so those need to be oiled.
I love Pajeros although my current one is testing me a little. Ive sorted out the rust, spent £850 on tyres, brakes, fluid, belts, etc and I have it booked in next week for the fuel pump seals to be replaced. 1997 onwards use electric pumps / ECU managed, your early one are far better in my opinion.
You need to get yourself on to POCK - Pajero Owner's club forum. Great site.
Simon
Ive Just recently got hold of a 1997 Fieldmaster 2.8 LWB with the EDC pump. Im slowly rebuilding it as it wasnt looked after well. Ive had to totally remove the interior and wash the seats, carpet, etc.
Once your vehicle arrives you need to check it over mechanically. As someone mention above cylinder heads on these engines crack. Ive had 2 go around the 70/90k mark. This means a new head, gaskets, bolts and the usual `whilst your there` parts. £1200.
Rust will be the other thing to look for. Check around the rear rear arches, front body mounts and side sills. Again all of mine have had to had work here.
Next you will need to check your 4x4 system. Front diff works off vaccum pipes and these split / crack. Sensors on the transfer boxes loose earth and your c/D light flashes.
Yours will have the mechanical pump meaning less pain. These run lovely on veg oil. However most diesel pumps will need a rebuild around 80K. £650. Seals go and leak diesel or oil.
Rear door locks always sieze or jam, so those need to be oiled.
I love Pajeros although my current one is testing me a little. Ive sorted out the rust, spent £850 on tyres, brakes, fluid, belts, etc and I have it booked in next week for the fuel pump seals to be replaced. 1997 onwards use electric pumps / ECU managed, your early one are far better in my opinion.
You need to get yourself on to POCK - Pajero Owner's club forum. Great site.
Simon
Some good info there 
Rust shouldn’t be an issue, I have pics of underneath and there’s just some surface rust that was noted at the auction inspection - especially the engine and fuel tank shields. I’m going to put it in for a proper professional rust treatment and dinitrol underseal. Will be around £600, but 100% worth it.
I’ve had a good look through the POC, though like all forums it seems to have died a bit and gone to Facebook
Rust shouldn’t be an issue, I have pics of underneath and there’s just some surface rust that was noted at the auction inspection - especially the engine and fuel tank shields. I’m going to put it in for a proper professional rust treatment and dinitrol underseal. Will be around £600, but 100% worth it.
I’ve had a good look through the POC, though like all forums it seems to have died a bit and gone to Facebook
LP670 said:
Im in the same boat (excuse the pun) waiting for an available slot to get an import over from japan to newcastle. cars been sat at the docks for 3 weeks now, next vessel leaves on the 1st july ive been told. who was the export agent you used?
what are you waiting for - do tell.interstellar said:
LP670 said:
Im in the same boat (excuse the pun) waiting for an available slot to get an import over from japan to newcastle. cars been sat at the docks for 3 weeks now, next vessel leaves on the 1st july ive been told. who was the export agent you used?
what are you waiting for - do tell.LP670 said:
Im in the same boat (excuse the pun) waiting for an available slot to get an import over from japan to newcastle. cars been sat at the docks for 3 weeks now, next vessel leaves on the 1st july ive been told. who was the export agent you used?
This’ll be fun, they’ll probably be on the same boat ... 1st July isn’t too bad.The guy I do it through uses ECL.
Nice car OP. Always been a fan since the Paris Dakar days. Yours looks great, good luck!
I bought the Mrs a 3.8 SWB when we first moved to Dubai. It was a pretty crap on road car but very dependable and tough as anything. On a small number of occasions we took it into the desert with our friends (all of which in Jeeps). The Pajero definitely held its own in my incapable off-roading hands!
I bought the Mrs a 3.8 SWB when we first moved to Dubai. It was a pretty crap on road car but very dependable and tough as anything. On a small number of occasions we took it into the desert with our friends (all of which in Jeeps). The Pajero definitely held its own in my incapable off-roading hands!
You need to see if the pitman arm has been changed as the age / model of your SWB would of been affected.
Do you plan to work on this car yourself ? They are so easy to work on, just heavy and you need some strong tools. The age of your car my checks would be, in no particular order, just what Ive learnt / fixed / replaced :
Check / replace Disk / Pads
Front Hubs - may need tightening / repacking with oil
Drain all oils, engine / gearbox /. transfer / hubs / brake / diffs (cant remember if you have a lsd so need to check there)
Filters - air / engine and fuel. Be interesting to see how much water is in the fuel filter
All belts
Check the bottom pulley as the metal separates from the rubber. Ive had this.
Check chain - idles wear / top spocket teeth become sharp and chain goes loose.
Top / bottom ball joints.
I bet your shocks are tired. Cheap to replace and install.
AC test / refill
Replace Coolant / thermostat / back wash rad / replace water pump
Check for oil leaks - Half moon at back of engine is a common one.. oil pressure switch at front.
Pump - At this age you need to see if this is leaking diesel. Not that it's done lots of miles but the seals shrink and dry out. I used to put 2lires of brake fluid into my diesel when filling up which kept seals sticky.
Test / replace Glow plus x4. The glow plug relay often stops working. Sits near battery.
I would remove / clean the EGR value, consider blanking.
Check battery(s) mine has 2 batteries
Check 4x4 system. I bet 1 or 2 of the dashboard bulbs have blown
Check all rubber bushes. I bet several have cracked. Check CV boots.
Check age of tyres - BF Goodrich are my choice of tyre. They last a good 40k
Stereo - replace
Interior is easy to remove so I would do that clean seats, carpet, oil up 4x4 gear sticks
oil locks
oil hinges
Parts wise - Milners all day long. Great prices.
Spending £600 on underseal .... a little dear if you ask me. You just need to put the car on axle stands, wire brush and 6/10 cans Tetrosyl Black stone chip paint £50. I do this yearly. You need to check both sills. At this age many start to go / have gone. all start from the rear and work forward. Rear wheel arches is another spot. Plus rear wheel arch, in the middle wear there's a bump stop. This rusts around the bumper stop to body. Front wheel arches, tend to be ok but at the front where the body bolts to the chassis Ive seen them go. If you remove the front bumper you will often see rust around the front under the bumper.
I'm taking my LWB Pajero out today for new tyres. :-)
SBK
Do you plan to work on this car yourself ? They are so easy to work on, just heavy and you need some strong tools. The age of your car my checks would be, in no particular order, just what Ive learnt / fixed / replaced :
Check / replace Disk / Pads
Front Hubs - may need tightening / repacking with oil
Drain all oils, engine / gearbox /. transfer / hubs / brake / diffs (cant remember if you have a lsd so need to check there)
Filters - air / engine and fuel. Be interesting to see how much water is in the fuel filter
All belts
Check the bottom pulley as the metal separates from the rubber. Ive had this.
Check chain - idles wear / top spocket teeth become sharp and chain goes loose.
Top / bottom ball joints.
I bet your shocks are tired. Cheap to replace and install.
AC test / refill
Replace Coolant / thermostat / back wash rad / replace water pump
Check for oil leaks - Half moon at back of engine is a common one.. oil pressure switch at front.
Pump - At this age you need to see if this is leaking diesel. Not that it's done lots of miles but the seals shrink and dry out. I used to put 2lires of brake fluid into my diesel when filling up which kept seals sticky.
Test / replace Glow plus x4. The glow plug relay often stops working. Sits near battery.
I would remove / clean the EGR value, consider blanking.
Check battery(s) mine has 2 batteries
Check 4x4 system. I bet 1 or 2 of the dashboard bulbs have blown
Check all rubber bushes. I bet several have cracked. Check CV boots.
Check age of tyres - BF Goodrich are my choice of tyre. They last a good 40k
Stereo - replace
Interior is easy to remove so I would do that clean seats, carpet, oil up 4x4 gear sticks
oil locks
oil hinges
Parts wise - Milners all day long. Great prices.
Spending £600 on underseal .... a little dear if you ask me. You just need to put the car on axle stands, wire brush and 6/10 cans Tetrosyl Black stone chip paint £50. I do this yearly. You need to check both sills. At this age many start to go / have gone. all start from the rear and work forward. Rear wheel arches is another spot. Plus rear wheel arch, in the middle wear there's a bump stop. This rusts around the bumper stop to body. Front wheel arches, tend to be ok but at the front where the body bolts to the chassis Ive seen them go. If you remove the front bumper you will often see rust around the front under the bumper.
I'm taking my LWB Pajero out today for new tyres. :-)
SBK
Wow that is some list and will be hugely helpful
I can do some of the minor stuff, but anything heavy or anything likely to leave it stranded on the drive will go to the local garage!
I’ve started collecting the service parts and used Milners for some of it. Waiting to see what the rad condition is, but coolant and water are here.
I’m happy to pay someone £600 for me not to do the underseal
it’ll only be doing around 4K miles a year and I can avoid most of the salt, so it better last more than a year!
I can do some of the minor stuff, but anything heavy or anything likely to leave it stranded on the drive will go to the local garage!
I’ve started collecting the service parts and used Milners for some of it. Waiting to see what the rad condition is, but coolant and water are here.
I’m happy to pay someone £600 for me not to do the underseal
it’ll only be doing around 4K miles a year and I can avoid most of the salt, so it better last more than a year!Edited by rossub on Tuesday 15th June 13:06
My brother bought one of these from a japanese import specialist back around the early 00s, it was about 5 grand then as I remember.
He swapped the headlights for the squarer ones and ran it here for a few years - I remember drifting it round wet roundabouts (before drifting was a thing)... also you can use the inclinometer to judge just how close you are to the cornering limit... and if you get it just right and just get the inside wheels off the ground, the doors unlock as it thinks you're about to roll over
After I abused it some as above, my brother emigrated to Australia, bunged some off road rubber on, and used it to tow an off-road trailer tent twice round the continent. He got bogged, same as everyone else gets bogged, but reckoned it did him proud and he was getting through crap sections - with a trailer on the back - that guys in land cruisers were bogging in.
I think the only thing that really went wrong with it was a bent rear subframe from getting snagged on a rock.
In summary - they're great, they're tough, I reckon you'll love it.
He swapped the headlights for the squarer ones and ran it here for a few years - I remember drifting it round wet roundabouts (before drifting was a thing)... also you can use the inclinometer to judge just how close you are to the cornering limit... and if you get it just right and just get the inside wheels off the ground, the doors unlock as it thinks you're about to roll over
After I abused it some as above, my brother emigrated to Australia, bunged some off road rubber on, and used it to tow an off-road trailer tent twice round the continent. He got bogged, same as everyone else gets bogged, but reckoned it did him proud and he was getting through crap sections - with a trailer on the back - that guys in land cruisers were bogging in.
I think the only thing that really went wrong with it was a bent rear subframe from getting snagged on a rock.
In summary - they're great, they're tough, I reckon you'll love it.
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