Pajero reliability @ economy

Hi Peter,

I had a 96 DOHC 3.5 petrol Pajero auto. The gas setup is not advised (at the time I owned it) but the 97 SOHC model was (at the time) supposed to be OK on gas so this may narrow your choice if that's the way you want to go.
The car I had, towed almost continuosly for 2 years and travelled 160000km in that time (maybe 170K I forget exactly) and I found it to be very reliable and VERY powerful when towing. Naturally the downside to all this power was economy (or lack there of) which was ultimately one of the reasons for disposal of this otherwise good car. Mine drank up to 30lt per 100km but usually was more like 25lt per 100km. I am in no uncertain terms a confident tower and drive at or dare I say it above legal limits, not that I reccomend or advise others to follow suit. For this reason I am sure others would get slighty better fuel figures but don't expect too much better.
Be sure the timing belt has been changed if the vehicle has travelled more than 100000km or intervals of this, as it is an expensive job to fix if it breaks, still an expensive episode to replace when it's not broke but worse if it does. Otherwise a solid performer offroad as well, scaring my wife enough in this vehicle that she will never go offroad with me again.
True story.
Hope this helps
Trevor.

Hello Peter. i think you'll find that any 4wd running on petrol is far from economical and particularly the pajero. My advice is to look for a diesel vehicle. Commuting in a petrol GLS don't expect better than 16l/100km and with a van expect to use 20l/100km. With say a diesel Prado (but the Prado is significantly more expensive than the PAjero) expect 11 and 15 instead of 16 and 20. One last opinion - don't even consider gas if you are going to tow or do any remote off road work.

Go to this site dude.
Site Link

The 3.5 it is very important the timing belt be changed when due as there is no clearance with this engine and things get smashed. the 3.0 litre had clearance.
AS with any, weight is a huge factor so it will change depeding on SWB, LWB etc.
NRMA's original review on the 1997 wagon 3.5 had average fuel usage at
12.5 L/100km and you could drop about 1.5/100km off that for highway driving. They listed fuel economy as a major feature.
Hope this all helps.

I have a NL GLS auto & find it a great vehicle. Fuel economy is pretty good; about 14 ltrs per 100klm on highway & about 16 per 100 around town. When I tow by ski boat, this climbs to around 20 ltrs per 100klm, which is still not bad IMO. My mates Pootrol uses about 30 lts per 100 when towing his boat.

Yes kw has dropped from 153 with dohc to 141 in the sohc, but torque figures are better with the sohc. Have driven both & whilst the dohc is a little nippier, it is all at higher revs. Power band is much broader on the sohc.

One question; why a manual?

Cheers

Seen some bad figures above, best figure I have heard is my friend with a 1999 3.5l manual.
12 to 13l/100k around the suburbs, and 11 to 12 on the highway lightly loaded sitting on the speed limit.
About the same economy around town as his EB ford, not so good on the highway.

Now this bloke is exceptional at getting good economy. Doesn't go over 2000 rpm too often, and uses the torque up the hills, backing off as he goes.
His brother driving the same car gets about 1 to 2l/100k worse.

Peter:
This is the first time I have replied to a posting and I hope it goes through OK.
I have a 2000 NL manual Pajero and find it A1. It had gas fitted virtually from new and now has 154000 km on the clock, 95000 of those towing a 16 ft pop-top caravan. A few comments:

1 I have had no major troubles with this car at all. I replaced the timing belt at 100000 km (lousy job), and have done oil changes every 5000 to 7500 km, with filter every second change. It is greased every second oil change.

2 The car has heaps of grunt when towing our van and has no trouble in keeping up with the traffic. I generally tow the van at 90 km/hr but keep a sharp eye on the mirrors and move over whenever possible to minimise hassles with the traffic behind. In heavy traffic, I go at the soeed everyone else is doing.

3 Fuel consumption is not as good as I would have liked, but overall is better than most people I read about on the forums. Without the caravan I get 15 L/100 km on gas, and about 13 on petrol, country driving at the legal limits. With the caravan, it is 20.5L/100 km on gas and about 18 on petrol, driving generally at 90 km/hr. If I push it harder with the van consumption increases to 25L/100 km. I don't drive hard, but I do drive consistently and economically.

4 The petrol consumptions are a bit vague because 99% of the time it runs on gas. The 3.5 engine is fully gas compatible, and the only time it runs on petrol is way out back when (rarely) gas was not available. I am aware that petrol goes off when not used, but I still don’t use it very much. You need to keep at least 1/4 tank of petrol to prevent the pump from running dry on steep hills. I have set the car up so that the petrol pump does not operate when on gas. This way, I can run on petrol in the bush, and keep the gas tank full as a reserve. If I then run on gas, with an empty petrol tank, I don’t burn out the pump motor.

5 In 2005, we went round the block including the Kimberlies, Pilbara midwest WA, Nullabor etc and used only about 2 tankfuls of petrol. Gas was available in most places - you had to look hard for it. We live in Cooma NSW. On our trips, we tend to park the van in one place and explore from there, using 4WD where necessary. I really would like more ground clearance, but the beast gets me most places without too much scraping underneath. We did take the van when it was new out to Tiboorburra and Innaminca and all that area, and it had no real problems, but the van is not really meant for rough roads eg the Gibb River Rd, so we stay off them with the van but poke around without it.

6 I read lots about the economics of gas conversions. The economy is there: Petrol costs $1.40/L, gas averages these days about $0.60/L, but don’t get me started on that! Outback, we paid $0.95/L in a few places, and that hurt, especially around the Pilbara, where they bring it ashore and sell it to the Japs and Chinese for virtually zero. Back to the point - over 25000 km, you will use about 3250L of petrol @ $1.40 = $4550. On gas, you will use 3750L @ $0.60/L = $2250. Savings = $2300 in 25000 km. Gas is even cheaper in the cities. Towing a caravan 25000 km with petrol is 4500L @ $ 1.40/L = $6300, and on gas is 5125l @$0.60/L = $3075. The cost of the gas conversion was $2600, so I am well in front.

7 Diesel powered vehicles are much more economical. Comparing gas to diesel, I generally use a 2:1 ratio - if gas is less than twice the cost of diesel, my overall fuel costs are cheaper than diesel.

If you have any questions concerning my Pajero or the gas, please contact me on
mrdate@bigpond.net.au.

Hope this is not too long and the it helps you decision making processes.