Pajero 2.8turbo intercooled diesel

The Dog and Lemon guide said they have been known to start running on their own oil supply, but in reality I* have never heard of this happening, even on the Paj forum. They appear to have a very good rep, and give no trouble before 200000ks, and only niggly problems up to about 400000ks. With this amount of ks if the price is ok you could not go wrong.
Cheers Pete

Friend has one in the previous model, now with 380KK or so on it.

AFAIR they go through glow plugs quite regularly, and my friend has had a couple of sets, but otherwise it just keeps rattling along.
Regards Philip A

i've got a 2006 mk triton with the same motor ( 2.8tdi ) and a manual gearbox.
It's done 130,000k and so far no engine issues.
I've towed an off road camper ( guessing at ~1000kg ) on and off road and have had no issues.
Only comment i'd make is the engine doesn't like being under ~1500rpm with any sort of load. I suspect turbo lag and/or it's due for a injection system service. It's no problem getting the revs over 1500 though.
it handles highway speeds with the camper no problems.
My comparison is ( same camper ) a '87 2h troopy and a '94 3.0v6 4runner. The 2.8tdi runs rings around them as far as power and economy goes.

Thanks for the replies, sounds like it may be a good unit


Thanks again, dennis.

Make sure you start it yourself from overnight cold.

If there is a glow plug or injection pump problem, it will be hard to start.

Check water at the radiator cap and overflow bottle too, before starting it.

Cooling problems will show after a run in the usual way at the overflow bottle.

Otherwise body and suspension pretty solid, usual buyer beware applies :o)

If you can stretch a bit the 3.2 DID is a far more powerful unit for towing.

A 2001 2.8 must be one of the very last made with the 4m40 motor. But I second the suggestion to find a 3.2 DID 4M41 if you can - particularly if towing is in the mix. The 2.8 still has plenty of electronics so there is little to be gained there.

Re the drive train - the early V5M31 manual transmissions were known to have a problem jumping out of 5th gear - although it should have been fixed by now. Check that the transfer cycles through all of its ranges - if it throws a hissy fit and flashes the centre yellow light on it's own walk away and don't look back. Also, some (including my NM) have been known to wear the splines off the transfer input shaft. Watch out for collapsing front wheel bearing hubs - if they haven't been changed yet for the new design they WILL fail one day - and cost about $400 per side to do. Otherwise they are quite robust albeit with lots of drivetrain slop that can be annoying in the manuals. Given regular changes with the right fluid the autos are bulletproof.

Pat