The Mitsubishi Pajero Owners Club®

[RBG20]

Hi everyone, new to Shogun ownership, needed a decent workhorse 4x4 and managed to pick up a  slightly rough around the edges 2003 3.2 DID Field at the beginning of the month.I did ideally want a Landcruiser but this Shogun came up for the cheap sum of £800 with service history and an MOT so couldn’t say no, so far really like it!.
I had to change a sticky calliper on the front and put new discs and pads on, other than that it sometimes has a bit of a judder through the car when going 40 plus MPH and other times it isn’t there at all, gearbox is changing up and down smoothly, it has oil in it which looks clean and the right colour so doubt it could be the torque converter.
Just wondered if anyone else has had the same thing happen intermittently?, can’t think of much else, U/Js might need greasing perhaps?.
Any help appreciated as got more than enough time to sort issues with it at the moment.

[Google]

[Mogsareus]

Welcome
Judder or shimmy?
How many miles has it done?
Shimmy is wheel balance then bushes.

[RBG20]

It’s hard to describe, it can be felt through the whole car, not just the steering and tends to happen more when the car is warm than cold if that helps?, it doesn’t make a difference if it’s in 2H or 4H. I will get the tracking checked when places are open again and we’re allowed out, it also seems to go again at higher motorway speeds.

[Mogsareus]

If you can drive through it it does point to imbalance, more so than tracking.
If its a high mileage (200k ish) I would be suspecting suspension bushes, those in the rear trailing arms are apparently known to fail. I replaced mine many years ago on the advice of and MOT examiner who said they were failing because they were going soft. The replacements came - they are soft!
Do you know the history of the vehicle?

[RBG20]

Thanks, bushes certainly a possibility, I need to get it up in the air and have a good look, fortunately can get a friend to leave a trolley jack out for me and check further.
It’s quite high mileage at 173k, has history up to 140k ish but has been looked after since by the previous owner.
Overall I quite like it so far, certainly far less worried about issues with it than other 4x4s from a nameless British manufacturer I’ve owned in the past!.

[assassin]

Begin with the basics first.

The front prop shaft turns continually as the drive is connected at the axle, and the front prop has a U/J inside the yolk and this needs regular greasing which is often neglected as people cannot find the grease nipple, flush the old grease out until new comes out and wipe the surplus off.

Jack up each side and check for any movement in the ball joints, shuddering is usually an indication of a ball joint beginning to wear, if you have aftermarket items fitted they may also have grease nipples, so grease them, and check your tyres for slightly uneven wear as this is another indication. Check your steering joints and track rods as any play will also cause this and they are cheap and easily changed.

Check your balancing, check for debris or stones in the vents of your disc, check your discs aren't worn, and that they are not distorted, check your wheels for debris stuck to them as I have seen many with mud stuck inside the wheel rim which unbalances them, and check for dislodged wheel balance weights as this is also common and less common is a deflated tyre which has been driven on and rotated the tyre from its original position.

[RBG20]

I forgot to reply and update on the problem, I jacked the car up and had a look and found it was the rear O/S calliper sticking, changed and put new pads in and seems to be fine now.
I also noticed the fuel filler pipe and breathers were quite corroded so I’ve ordered a new one as I gather they can cause the diesel pump to fail.

Also a quick question regarding fuel economy, mine has been made worse by having to work harder turning the wheel with a sticky calliper but should improve a bit now I imagine.
I’m guessing they should do 23/24 MPG on local drives?.
Is there much difference on fuel economy between 2H and 4H?, I’ve been running mine in 2H and swapping to 4H if the roads are wet.

[assassin]

About 1/2 MPG on mine and I leave mine in 4H and switch back to 2H periodically to exercise the motor to stop it sticking.

[RBG20]

Ah not a great deal of difference then, I might as well leave it in 4H. I’ve done the same switching between modes too, it was a bit hesitant with 4HLC and 4LLC to come back out of them when I first got it but swapped between them all earlier and they all engaged and disengaged seamlessly.