The Mitsubishi Pajero Owners Club®

[Mickeyv18]

Hi All

Have been working through the forum and can see lots of chat about the fuel filter getting water in it and the warning light coming on.

My 05 3.2 DiD was a non runner, when I got it so after a considerable sum of money invested with Arkinstalls of Yate (nr Bristol) I had a fully reconditioned pump and new filter together with a host of covers replacing etc etc and everything working, since then I've tried to avoid supermarket fuel (as Arkinstalls recommended) and keep the tank above 3/4s at the worst.

The work was done at the end of January this year, however at the weekend the warning light for water in the fuel filter came on.

I've managed to clear it by draining the filter and the warning light on the dash has gone out.

My question is, should I be worried by the fact that less than 4,000 miles/ 12 months there was enough water to need draining?
Arkinstalls checked all the pipes to the tank when they had it and reported that they were all fairly new (presumably the previous owner had them replaced to try and cure the starting issue).

Should I be checking the fuel tank for leaks/ signs of water getting in?

Do I need to replace the filter?

Am I panicking unnecessarily?

My thinking is that if Mitusbishi had the foresight to include a way of removing water from the filter it should be OK, but all my Owners manual says it simply drain the filter- there's no other advice like you sometimes get e.g. take it to your Mitsubishi workshop so is it a regular thing I should be checking every month or so?

I love the Shogun but another bill like the one I had in January will probably see me homeless, missusless and bankrupt!

Cheers all

Michael

[Google]

[radiomike]

The most common places for water ingress are from a rusted filler pipe or the pipes around the fuel tank. Remove the plastic panel that covers the filler pipe and have a good look, I have seen them completely caked with damp mud.

[Mickeyv18]

Thanks Radio Mike
I'll be checking those at the weekend but as I recall (and I've been applying vactan over the whole underside of the Shogun) those pipes look pretty new (I do have a cover to put over them but have not put it on til I Lanoguard the underside as I hear the crud likes to get in behind the cover).
In terms of the regularity of emptying water do you think there should NEVER be water in there or do you view water in the fuel filter as standard check to make every few months?

[radiomike]

I always test drain half a glass of fuel from the filter at service time and leave to stand for a few minutes, I have never found any water. It might be worth test draining the tank as any water would accumulate at the bottom.

[Mickeyv18]

Brilliant, thank you for that I'll bear in mind your comments.
Arkinstalls who fitted the pump said I should be worried, but a well known Mitsubishi specialist said they would have no issue and simply drain water out as a matter of course.
I've purchased a new filter and will check the relevant breathers and pipes plus I'm having the tank contents checked for water before fitting the new filter.
I love the Shogun but have to say I never had this worry with my Range Rover which over the course of 4 years broke down just once (internal fuel pump).

[radiomike]

Some of the dealers are clueless, I have had 2 service managers tell me there are no grease points on mk3/4s.

If you don't have a history of what has been done I would change the top chain guide, the nylon pad can break off and fall between the chain and lower sprocket causing major damage. Make sure to reset the chain tensioner as the guide presses down slightly on the chain and just fitting a new one can result in an over tight chain.

[assassin]

Strange as I greased my front original fitment propshaft today.

[assassin]

As Mike has suggested the main cause of water ingress is the filler pipes rusting through as the rear wheel blasts detritus at them and in the wet it is water.

Remove the plastic cover over the pipes and examine them, usually they will be clogged with years of accumulated dirt and this holds wet all winter and in the worst weather the salt which quickly corrodes the steel pipes.

If you have sufficient good pipe left you can actually repair them with 15mm copper central heating pipe and copper brake pipe as they have rubber joints at the fuel tank end and as long as you can bend copper pipe and solder you cna make new pipes and use a ruber joint at the outer end.

[radiomike]

[assassin]

Some aftermarket parts come with the holes and a grrease nipple and as they are often universal you pull out the appropriate bung and screw the nipple in. I just leave the bungs in and remove then to fit the nipple when greasing and then remove them when done and refit the bung so you don't cet damaged or corroded nipples.

[Mickeyv18]

Hi All

Just nudging this, as some 6 months after getting the warning of water in my fuel filter (and draining that) its happened again.

The truck was due a service anyway, so this time I replaced the fuel filter, but what came out of the filter didnt look nice, and seemed to be a rusty yellow colour.

I've checked the pipes that apparently usually rust to find that they are all relatively new, so my guess is that the filter is simply doing its job and pulling water that may already be in the fuel I fill up with (although I still struggle with this given this is the first diesel motor that has such a feature?). Where could I insert a 'pre-filter'? Has anyone done this and what filter did you use?

Anyway its off to the garage to have a fairly large oil leak sorted next week so I shall mention that to them.

On another topic, when I bought it the fuel pump had gone, so at much cost I had Arkinstalls in Yate replace the pump with one of their reconditioned units, and so far its been great. The only thing that does annoy me is that when I start it from cold, it 'automatically' revs to 2000+ RPM on start up each and every time no matter what I do. I remember reading somewhere that one of the 'bodges' people do when they start suffering fuel pump issues is to do something with either the throttle cable at the pedal end or the throttle body- does anyone know exactly what I should be looking for as I suspect that maybe the reason for the revving?

[Mickeyv18]

Forgot to say that once its started from cold and revved itself up beyond 2000+ RPM, it settles back down to a 'normal' idle and doesn't repeat until the next time its started from cold- this never happens when its warm.

[assassin]

I would forget a pre filter for UK use as they are not warranted or necessary and apart from the pipes corroded and holed the next source of water is in the diesel itself and due to covid and shortage of trade many fuel stations never cleaned out their storage tanks and this led to lots rupturing, corroding, or simply going porous and ground water seeped into the tanks, other issues are the fuel delivery trucks themselves often have water contamination and as many ran their storage tanks to empty a lot of vehicles sucked up water and dross from the bottom of the storage tanks.

It is surprising how long storage tanks are left underground and 30 years or more is not uncommon and the nice liveries if the major brands does nothing to deal with storage tank issues and even the nicest looking sites have underground problems and the worst are the largest storage tanks where they have HGV fuelling facilities as their tanks are much larger and the issues multiply; when I ran service stations every tank on every site was sampled quarterly and not just for water, but all contaminants and removing them every two years prevented the bottom of the storage tanks rusting out and water getting in.

[pombok]

I have just had the fuel filler pipes replaced as they had rusted. There was water in the diesel tank and some rust in the filter before this. After changing the pipes and draining the tank there was still some residual rust and water in the lines. I'm on my 3rd fuel filter in 6 weeks and it seems to be sorted now. Water in the filter will cause the filter mechanism to swell and eventually fail, you may also experience some surging or sluggish performance if the filter is ready for a change.