Pajero exceed

Hi Bruce, we have a 01 v6 and love it, no problems with it and has 245k on it.tows the camper trailer great and about to see how it tows our new van next week. I would buy another one tomorrow. Good luck.
Peter

I had an 02 petrol exceed. I generally liked it but there were 3 main things that you should consider.

1)They are very noisy on dirt roads. I think this is the monococue chassis. They 'drum' a lot. Compare one with say a Prado on corrugations. Hell of a difference.
2)It scrubbed rear tyres on the inside when towing for long distances. I was told this is normal and could not be fixed. 15000km for one pair, Even with a wheel alignment at back.
3)The rear door can hit the tow bar or parts of the A frame in some cases. You have to either unhitch or park on an angle to get into the rear door. It depends on the trailer setup. Bloody annoying.

I had a 2000 NL Pajero (the last of the chassis models). It was petrol/gas. Same engine as the NM model. ENgine is really good, although after a few years, oil leaks can develop around the spark plug tube, and also the valve stem seals can harden and start to leak. Both reasonably easy to repair,although getting access to do the work is not easy.

I now have a NW Pajero (Monoque construction - the same body as the NM) and it has towed my caravan easily with no problems at all. Whoever told you about the rear tyre wear not being curable doesn't know what they are on about. Camber is the problem, especially when a heavy load is placed on the rear. It is adjustable, and even if they cannot adjust it, you can install some airbag into the springs to bring the body back to original height and thus fix the camber.

Fuel consumption will be an issue - they are heavy and have the aerodynamics of a brick. I ran mostly on gas and that eased the problem, but if you are not doing heaps of km, this is not an issue. The Exceed came with all sorts of goodies, so passengers will be entertained and comfortable.

The early models did have problems with the brake booster, front and rear wheel bearings, and rear axles if the vehicle had been lifted, but by now hopefully these should have been sorted. Otherwise, given proper maintenance, they are a reliable and solid vehicle.

PS I forgot the most important issue with the 3.5 L engines - the timing belt. Ensure that the timing belt has been replaced as per schedule - 100000 km or 5 years, whichever come first. Also, when the timing belt is changed, the camshaft seals should be replaced, along with the water pump, because to get access to these items requires a major stripdown later.

If you have to pay for this service, it is expensive. If there is doubt walk away. You have a major bargaining edge, and the dealer may then come back with a more attractive price.

We had a 2002 petrol for 5 years and did 200 000km from new and spent nothing more on it than services. Then had a NS diesel for the next 7 years and did 300 000km again spent nothing other than services, radiator clean out and shocks, with plenty of dirt road travelling and towing a heavy camper trailer.
The only problem other than those mentioned above is that the NM-NPs has poor dust sealing. Spend more than 30 minutes on dirt roads and you will smell the dust. That was rectified in the mid 2000s

Did our research mid year when buying our next 4WD and unfortunately (?) bought another Pajero as it still stacks up for us as best value. Was really looking for something different, but just couldn't see anything for us which provides better value.

Hi Bruce

I have owned a 97 NL 3.5 pajero for about 7 years. It came to me with 230000km on the clock and had been owned by a local doctor and was very well serviced and did mainly highway kilometres. After 12 months, we added an lpg system (engine is lpg compatible) and had timing belt and water pump done. We have been on the back of an racq truck twice being returned to our home town due to major breakdown. On the second ride, wiring burnt out from the ignition switch all the way to the fuel pump ($3000 damage). I really liked to drive this car. It is very comfortable. Sadly, the fuel consumption and repeated visits to the mechanic have made me very negative about the v6's. Mine has had leaking tappet cover gaskets since ownership. It is an ass of a job to replace them due to the inlet maniford setup and they only last 6 months in my case before leaking again. To be very honest I though the pajero was powerfull with its v6 motor, but after having bought a 2.5 l diesel bt50 18 months ago, I now find the pajero very disapointing towing wise. The BT50 tows my van up hills without any loss of speed where the pajero would have been panting for breathe, on lpg or petrol. Others here have had good experiences with their Pajero, so maybe mine was a monday or friday build. But because I have had so much trouble with mine I feel compelled to relay this information so that you are aware there can be problems,... and big ones. My expenses to date would be in the region of $10k. Other problems were cracked exhaust manifold, water leaks, shockies not lasting, paint clear coat lifting, suspect gearbox, 4wd flashing light syndrome (look that one up). Next breakdown is a trip to the wreckers!
regards Kevin