Which is Better

[LONEWOLF]

Mmmm food for thought there B5MECH... Good info. thank-you. :Y: . Yes I did see those Blocks for sale, not a bad price.... And some new heads and I have got a better motor than I would get second hand... Problem with those Blocks is I need to tap 1 engine mount bolt each side to match the Paj mounts... not a big issue but if I get a 2003 block they have them there already.... Was thinking of Buying a cheap Magna(2000-2003) low kms and I can test drive... missed out on one the other day.. one owner(old couple) 127000 k well looked after, but really bad faded paint... that was the only reason he was selling it.($500).. he likes shiny Paint , so he bought a new car.... I just need a bare motor, everything from mine bolts up to the magna motor..... The main reason most re-builders up here don't like re-building them is because after taking their time being Very careful, Something goes Bang and they are up for a repair that usually isn't repairable now. ... The people I have spoken to are reliable Engine Builders up here in Brisbane... One guy even said he won't touch them cause of the Heat up here.... I just laughed at that comment...
Mine is the 3.5 SOHC so they recon it will be Expensive.. :| ... and I will be doing the removal and fitting up the new one myself... don't trust any-one when it comes to My Paj...

Im going to Minerama this week so got plenty of time to have a think... We shall have a chat when I return next week... Once again Thank-you for your input... very helpful... :Y:

LoneWolf...

 

[B5MECH]

My friends brother steered me away from a Pajero when I was looking for my 4x4, he recommended a petrol Prado, has only ever had one problem and that was last trip when it leaked fuel the whole way home as it had a broken fuel tank fill tube, cost $100 to fix and is as good as new. I paid about 16 grand for it with 206,000km, it's a 2003 model 4.0l GXL, I really can't fault it. Bought it from an old couple who owned it since new and it still even looks pretty new. I really love it, great prospecting vehicle.

Friends brother owns a mechanics shop in Brookvale, bloody great mechanics him and his business partner.

They go like a cut snake those Prados, whos the brother I may know him I like the petrol option too, but the diesel does have benefits

 

[B5MECH]

Mmmm food for thought there B5MECH... Good info. thank-you. :Y: . Yes I did see those Blocks for sale, not a bad price.... And some new heads and I have got a better motor than I would get second hand... Problem with those Blocks is I need to tap 1 engine mount bolt each side to match the Paj mounts... not a big issue but if I get a 2003 block they have them there already.... Was thinking of Buying a cheap Magna(2000-2003) low kms and I can test drive... missed out on one the other day.. one owner(old couple) 127000 k well looked after, but really bad faded paint... that was the only reason he was selling it.($500).. he likes shiny Paint , so he bought a new car.... I just need a bare motor, everything from mine bolts up to the magna motor..... The main reason most re-builders up here don't like re-building them is because after taking their time being Very careful, Something goes Bang and they are up for a repair that usually isn't repairable now. ... The people I have spoken to are reliable Engine Builders up here in Brisbane... One guy even said he won't touch them cause of the Heat up here.... I just laughed at that comment...
Mine is the 3.5 SOHC so they recon it will be Expensive.. :| ... and I will be doing the removal and fitting up the new one myself... don't trust any-one when it comes to My Paj...

Im going to Minerama this week so got plenty of time to have a think... We shall have a chat when I return next week... Once again Thank-you for your input... very helpful... :Y:

LoneWolf...

That could been a top way out of the problem and could have sold a few bits off on ebay to cover the costs and more, shame you missed it some young kid is probably giving it a hiding right now or a backpacker is sleeping in it :lol: :lol: might be hard to find another one at that kms but possible
Alot of the ones I worked on were elderly peoples so if you've got the time to wait another may pop up, $500 :Y: they did them self short there if it had rego still on it, problem when there that cheap everyone wants so you've got to be quick :Y:

 

[LONEWOLF]

Yes that was my plan but I was tooo slow on that one. I have seen it around here since, Driven by a Mum and a Tribe of Kids..so it has gone to a good home. :Y: .. and a very lucky one at that.... Most of my info on this comes from a Pajero Forum. So it's good to have a different person's opinion.. Thanks for the links very helpful...
I will be doing some Out-Back/ Remote areas next year so I will need something reliable.... I love my Paj and will be keeping it for a few more years yet, so spending a few $$ is worth it to me..

LoneWolf....

 

[LONEWOLF]

John I should send you a copy of the video of the Jeep I put on Today Tonight ? You might leave the jeeps alone :N:

Is that the one from the Sunshine Coast Qld a few years ago?... where he sold Tickets to 'Come and Destroy my Jeep" lmao when I saw that :lol: ...One Guy even had an Excavator and had some fun pulling the thing apart... Covered his costs of Destroying his car(paid-out his loan) and made enough to buy a Cheepie..... Then sent the Footage to Jeep Aust/USA... Love it :lol: :lol: :Y:

LoneWolf...

 

[user 7268]

John I should send you a copy of the video of the Jeep I put on Today Tonight ? You might leave the jeeps alone :N:

Is that the one from the Sunshine Coast Qld a few years ago?... where he sold Tickets to 'Come and Destroy my Jeep" lmao when I saw that :lol: ...One Guy even had an Excavator and had some fun pulling the thing apart... Covered his costs of Destroying his car(paid-out his loan) and made enough to buy a Cheepie..... Then sent the Footage to Jeep Aust/USA... Love it :lol: :lol: :Y:

LoneWolf...

No mine was years before his But yes I got a laugh out it and many people may ask why ? But it's very frustrating to spend thousands of dollars to have a new vehicle with supposed trouble free motoring only to be dogged from day one of purchase.
My issue with Chrysler in the end was more the lack of care / response than the vehicle faults. Today Tonight episode got a solution to a problem that had been going with solicitors for months in three days :Y:
LW also the Magna swap is not just a straight swap over actually a bit in it and cams are different so torque characteristics are not ideal for 4b application. If you wanted to shoe horn then put a Magna 380 motor in not the 3.5 as they go like a cut cat
On your motor rebuild LW if done properly should be no issue ................. My NL has done 60000 K in twelve months including two trips to Cape York with over 1.5 tonne behind it and probably another 30000 K with 3 tonne . Some trips 3000 K done non stop apart from stopping for fuel ..................... good radiator and cooling system has never seen the temp gauge past half and trust me I monitor it :/ A good section that tests it is Clermont to Charters Towers around 300K .................. bang her on 110K @ 4000rpm and it just purrs .................stay out of fifth with a load. Gobbles fuel it does but if you want a vehicle that can tow tonnes and itself weighs in at over 2 tonne with the aerodynamics of a house brick then you can't expect a lot more If you need parts give me a yell as should be able to help :Y:
Heatho Prado ok :Y: but pray you never need to pay for an engine rebuild :N: But again there is just not one out there that covers every base .............. you just have to try and get the one that ticks as many boxes as you can based on the purposes for which you are buying it for. I have no loyalty to a brand name I just run with what has and does give me best value for my dollars spent and I guess lucky enough to know which one's to avoid :Y: I am sure B5 would agree that what you would purchase as an every day buyer / consumer and what you would purchase as a mechanic who has worked on the vehicles for years is vastly different I have loved some vehicles but after working on them then would never own one.

 

[user 7268]

John I should send you a copy of the video of the Jeep I put on Today Tonight ? You might leave the jeeps alone :N:

Soooo What's the story there Bogger sounds interesting, I like lemon stories :lol: :lol: Did the submarine sink :Y:

She was a lemon B5 .................... found 73 faults in two days, took it to a panel shop and got a quote for repairs to align all body panels and repair dents and the quote was over 13K ................ car at that point had done 200Kms.

No she didn't sink and in fact have never had an issue with the petrol in water and much more forgiving if one happens to get any water ingestion in motor but again a snorkels a must ..................... keep a nice bow wave going with a few revs to keep the exhaust clear of water and alls good. Love the intake noise from the snorkel when your pushing that volume of water The heater fans are what cop a flogging as the water comes in thru the vents in the wiper grill and fills the heater motor with water................. month later the brushes have rusted away I know when that happens from the squeal from my wife in the passenger seat that her legs are getting wet :8

 

[LONEWOLF]

Thanks for that Bogger :Y: , I will be away for 10 days, so lots of thinking to do that's for sure.... Far better info from you Guys on here than I have gotten from 'other places' that's for sure....
Jeep Aust has a lot to answer for in the way of Customer Service.. :N: .. Thanks Guys for your help.... Im off to Minerama....Yay...

LoneWolf.....

 

[B5MECH]

Damn Jeeps hey Bogger, the dealer that had them here in certain years dropped the franchise from their name, I think Bill Buckle took them on and dumped them not long later :N: now it's Suttons they better hope there better than their reputation
I love there AD with the guy standing on the mountain and he yells I bought a Jeep........Me too......should have been Need me to call you a tow truck..........Nooooo I'll take the plates and walk :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :Y: sorry jeep owners club, bang head smiley
I think you've covered it nicely :Y: just to add if the heads and valves are the exact same part numbers you should be able to swap your cams in and may have to swap the rockers but then you've got 400 000km cams which should be fine but if they have been starved of oil at some stage might be worn and not worth it, easy time to replace the stem seals while your there too
Like Bogger has said every thing has problems just gota choose the problems you want :lol: :lol: :Y: and treat it like you care

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well I ended up buying a Mitsubishi Shogun Sport, 2.5 TD ( Diesel )It's only done 81,900 Miles =131777 kms, Don't know what they are called in OZ but I got it for 1990.00 / $3223.80 AUD,

thanks,

john.

 

[user 7268]

Ridgy that's a Challenger over here ........................ 4M40 diesel Auto or Manual ? That's what I suggested Y4K should get a few pages back before we destroyed his string
You realize poor old B5 going to turn over in his sleep tonight ? .................... Pajero running gear lol Oh hang on with a bit of Triton thrown in
Leaf spring rear end here not sure what you get in the UK under shogun ?
Looks tidy :Y:
Tell me have the plastic surrounds on the rear seat belts fallen apart

 

[Ridge Runner]

Ridgy that's a Challenger over here ........................ 4M40 diesel Auto or Manual ? That's what I suggested Y4K should get a few pages back before we destroyed his string
You realize poor old B5 going to turn over in his sleep tonight ? .................... Pajero running gear lol Oh hang on with a bit of Triton thrown in
Leaf spring rear end here not sure what you get in the UK under shogun ?
Looks tidy :Y:
Tell me have the plastic surrounds on the rear seat belts fallen apart

I don't know if they have fallen apart yet as I got a family member to check it out for me, I am going to pick it up on Sunday, but I have traced it's full history via the government web site and it is all Genuine,

It is a 5 speed manual which is good for fuel economy but I would have preferred an Auto, Because I want to get a caravan so I can go off detecting for a few weeks at a time.. I think it does have Cart springs under the back which is ok by me because I will load it up, and I might add a Suspension lift kit as well, I will have to sort out them bumpers so I can use my Hi-Lift jacks etc and fit my ARB Fridge in it plus all the other toys, Lol.

Next Item is find a caravan,

John.

 

[B5MECH]

Ridgy that's a Challenger over here ........................ 4M40 diesel Auto or Manual ? That's what I suggested Y4K should get a few pages back before we destroyed his string
You realize poor old B5 going to turn over in his sleep tonight ? .................... Pajero running gear lol Oh hang on with a bit of Triton thrown in
Leaf spring rear end here not sure what you get in the UK under shogun ?
Looks tidy :Y:
Tell me have the plastic surrounds on the rear seat belts fallen apart

8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Ohno 8) Nah, looks like a nice one :Y: 113 000km should be nice and clean, I think the engine would do better in the UK climate than here they sit in 40 degree traffic with a 60 degree road ambient temp all the time, just burns them out quick :/ The good old Sydney 4x4 club they never see dirt in their lives unless they tore their neighbors front lawn up for parking in front of their house :lol: :lol: :lol: :N: :N:
As long you care for it it should do well, I like working on Mitsubishi's but not Magnas, the ones I get are toasted compared to that, looks like a show room model :Y: Should serve some good years yet John Is the service book dealer stamped? with the low km's here and full dealer stamping would give a possibility of a warranty on certain things if you knew how to push for it, depending on what went wrong

113 000 would be just run in over there, here it could be just run in or ready to run out just goes on how well it's looked after, some people think they should check this and check that but they should have never even been taught how to pop the bonnet and where to put the rod in the first place
They seem to put oil in radiators water in engines and auto fluid in brake masters :lol: :lol: :N: parents please don't your teach kids to check their fluids, you don't know how too properly :lol: :lol: :N: :N: Different brands of certain fluid shouldn't be mixed ever, they read the cap on a radiator and it says coolant only so they go down to kmart and buy coolant you know that green stuff :lol: :lol: :lol: three weeks later the radiator is watering the road on the way to work Oils ain't oils hey :lol: :lol: good old DIY world
Just a question can you buy Petronas oil as a shelf product over there John and your service stations is there a Shell Caltex and Petronas?
Or what are they there, I've always wondered
At least it's not a ............
Edit; is the bonnet scoop plastic looks the right size for my ute I'll have to check how they bolt on :lol: :lol:

 

[Ridge Runner]

I think in OZ they need to fit bigger radiators to keep em cool, Knowing which oil to use is another thing, I got my mechanical certificates back nearly 30 years ago, when they say change your oil every 10,000ks I change mine every 5,000 ks. I prefer to keep on the better side of things and it is cheap insurance in the long run,

I have seen a few of these with 280,000 Miles on the Clock, which is 450520 ks and most of them have 170,000 miles / 273530 ks on the clock, so It should last a long time if I service it when it is due.

I wanted to go with Toyota but everyone I have seen so far was not looked after and needed either clutches and drive shafts replacing or the wheel baring gone, So when I saw this one I kind of jumped at it, Being a 4 Cylinder Diesel they seem to be rock solid,

The biggest complaint about them is they all say they are too Truck like to drive as in vague steering and handling but that is more to do with the Land rover/Range Rover Snobbery over here even though their Gear boxes and Diffs are crap they seem to make wonderful claims about them, I bought a Discovery a while back and it clunked when ever you went from 1st to 2nd OR 3rd to 2nd and that is a design fault where the oil cant get to the syncrows, Land Rover never fixed that problem when it started in the series IIa right up to the discoveries of the late 1990s and It took a guy in a shed over here to come up with the fix and he drilled the syncrows and rebuilds the boxes so you can now buy a perfect gearbox for them, Since 1983 I have had 3 Land Rovers, One tried to kill me, One was a money pit that Ate all my wages for 6 months of the year and the Discovery leaked when it Rained and was a Bugga to get in Gear and did about 12 MPG, Heck I use to get 23 mpg out of my 302 F-100 when it was loaded.

John.

If you can't get the scoop over there give me a call and I will get one for ya.

 

[Ridge Runner]

well I just check it out and they have Coil springs on the rear, and they look like the 2003/4 Ford Lincoln Navigator, But with the Grill the other way up.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well I bought my Truck home last night and I averaged between 32 to 35 MPG, I drove it down from up north and it took a heck of a long time because they closed down all the roads I needed after 10 PM for me to head south, Six of my roads were closed with a total of 9 being either Detoured or only the hard shoulder being left open, So a 3 and a half hour trip took me 5 and a half hours, :lol: :lol: :lol:

After the first two hours I spent Detouring and having to go across the other side of the country I gave up and pulled in to a truck stop and had a Coffee and a Smoke because I was getting to boiling point by this time and Politeness was not my most enduring feature, But so what it was still very nice to drive and I eventually got home by 03:50 AM, lol, Not to worry at leased I can get out detecting again and it is over 6 foot long in the back so I can sleep in it if I want if I want to go detecting for a few days, But in a Couple of months I will be buying a caravan so I can live the High Life.

Thanks Guys.

John.

 

[B5MECH]

Well I bought my Truck home last night and I averaged between 32 to 35 MPG, I drove it down from up north and it took a heck of a long time because they closed down all the roads I needed after 10 PM for me to head south, Six of my roads were closed with a total of 9 being either Detoured or only the hard shoulder being left open, So a 3 and a half hour trip took me 5 and a half hours, :lol: :lol: :lol:

After the first two hours I spent Detouring and having to go across the other side of the country I gave up and pulled in to a truck stop and had a Coffee and a Smoke because I was getting to boiling point by this time and Politeness was not my most enduring feature, But so what it was still very nice to drive and I eventually got home by 03:50 AM, lol, Not to worry at leased I can get out detecting again and it is over 6 foot long in the back so I can sleep in it if I want if I want to go detecting for a few days, But in a Couple of months I will be buying a caravan so I can live the High Life.

Thanks Guys.

John.

They must maintain roads there John here they fill the hole's with old shoes and melt and pack them down :lol: :lol: nothing but quality
They don't close the roads here either they make you pay the toll then reduce the speed so it would have been quicker to go the back streets
The work men won't even be there, they just do it to torment the travelers so they can fine you for speeding when you finally snap and start doing the real speed limit, maybe there the invisible workcrew and you need 3D glasses to see them :lol: :lol:
how did it run? should be able to get to some good miles from it :Y:

 

[Ridge Runner]

It went really well, No noises, bumps or Squeaks etc, I have owned a 1991 and 1993 2.5 Diesel models and they were great but this one is a step up where it feels like a new one,

My Trip should have been about 184 ks and it ended up being 305 ks, But they limited my speed down to 50 to 60 ks and I still drive at the Aussie speed limit even over here, I think I managed to get up to 100ks twice but that was only for a short while, which is why the time almost doubled, Driving over here is a curse even at the best of times where in OZ I can drive from Brisbane to Rocky almost unhindered, doing the same distance here can become an epic adventure They have the roads and road signs to make it a joy for the long haul but once humans get involved then it becomes a whole new ball game.

I need to do a couple of small jobs on it like the reversing light switch is a bit touchy and although it has had the cam belts done I am going to have them done regardless and but all in all it's in top condition, The Clutch is fine but I might change that too just for the heck of it, that way I can focus on my detecting trips and not Trucks, Plus I am going to add a certain brand AT tyres that I have had on every model truck I have owned, And then I will buy a Caravan and I'm set.

John.

 

[B5MECH]

If I were you John.........I'd change all fluids, Brake and clutch and flush well, coolant and new thermostat, gearbox, transfer-case, diffs, front wheel bearing repack and all filters first, Id also run tubing offall of the drivetrain breathers up high and stick a plastic fuel filter on them if you were going to do creek crossings and dusty conditions :Y: better safe than sorry
the timing belt I'd leave a little longer then throw a full kit at it, seals, bearings, if it has a hydro tensioner, water pump, the clutch I have huge steep hills really close so I'd go and give it a thrash load slip test and if it felt crisp would wait til you get the caravan then throw a heavy duty one in
If you slip the clutch on a hill and get a flywheel vibration may think about it a bit earlier but would still wait a little if it's not slippery
You maybe able to buy a coolant hose kit aftermarket and keep them in in the back with a bunch of spare clamps and spare accessory belts
Your reverse switch might be sticky and need a little tickle :lol: :lol: maybe worth a look before replacing
Sounds like a nice family vehicle :Y: , there's nothing worse than finding out down the freeway on the way home that 3 of the wheel bearings and a uni or 2 need replacing
I like Gates timingbelt kits if you get them there top kits, the Dayco ones here had some issues and don't have the hydro tensioner in the models I usually buy anymore
Always use quality parts and fluids if not using genuine :Y:
So was the service book stamped up to date with dealers or other?