Rear side shaft / companion shaft pulled out of Diff (Gen 3)

[craigdre]

Hi All

I recently became the proud owner of a Pajero SWB DiD and so far am VERY happy, this is now my 3rd Mitsubishi, had a few Clubcabs prior to the Pajero, NEVER had ANY problems with either of my clubcabs.
Bought the PJ up in JHB and drove it to CPT without a hitch, haven’t done any offroading as yet.
I noticed a bit of oil under the rear of the vehicle and on closer inspection noticed the left hand CV had pulled slightly out of the diff. Been at the workshop and the report back is that they can’t see anything wrong, new pin and oil seal and back to normal. Now as grateful as I am that is not going to coast and arm and a leg to fix, my concern is what cased this and was wondering if anyone else out there had or knew of something similar.
Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Regards
CD

[CATS]

Hi All

I recently became the proud owner of a Pajero SWB DiD and so far am VERY happy, this is now my 3rd Mitsubishi, had a few Clubcabs prior to the Pajero, NEVER had ANY problems with either of my clubcabs.
Bought the PJ up in JHB and drove it to CPT without a hitch, haven’t done any offroading as yet.
I noticed a bit of oil under the rear of the vehicle and on closer inspection noticed the left hand CV had pulled slightly out of the diff. Been at the workshop and the report back is that they can’t see anything wrong, new pin and oil seal and back to normal. Now as grateful as I am that is not going to coast and arm and a leg to fix, my concern is what cased this and was wondering if anyone else out there had or knew of something similar.
Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Regards
CD

There is a tendency on some Gen3 models to develop a leak on the rear diff as the sideshaft or companion shaft pull out due to the circlip wearing out. This is about a 6/10 chance of happening on older models, the later ones came out with the bigger circlip. A new circlip will fix it ans will not cost an arm and a leg as long as the diff was not driven dry and sustained damage.

Refer to this post for more on this. https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1606

CATS

[RoelfleRoux]

My question is?

How do I know if my car will develop this problem?
I don't mind preventative maintenance, but I mind scratching where it doesn't itch!

[craigdre]

I have been chatting to some guys on the 4x4 comunity website, the comments thus far: It is a known problem, Australia had recalls, SA did not. I called Mitsubishi in CPT and they are well aware of the problem, to resolve they simply fit a bigger circlip. One guy mentioned that up in JHB Mitsubishi did the repair free of charge. I am waiting on a response from Mitubishi CPT. I have since had mine fixed, only the left hand one mind you and parts consisting of the bigger clip and oil seal and labour came to slightly over R1000.00. Had I done my homework, I would have been fighting with mitsubishi. I am more than likely going to get the right hand one replaced just to be sure, would hate fo the CV to pop out while out on a trip.

[cloyd]

Hi there,

Can anybody provide a drawing/photo of the offending part(s)? Is it the GV joint or the flange going into the diff? I would like to replace/repair mine before running into problems. I know that one can pull the diff flange out of the diff and push it back in with no problem.

Regards, Cloyd.

[craigdre]

Mitsubishi Parden Eiland came back to me yesterday, yeh they are very well aware of the issues, and are prepared to fix it for roughly R2500 per side!! I am going to investigate this further as they say simply replacing the circlip with a bigger one WILL NOT resolve the issue. Has anyone heard anything different?

[pieterpajero]

Hi.
Have you got any reply on this issue? I've got the same problem with my 2002 model. I have been talking to the dealer in Sandton and to mitsubishi through the toll-free helpline. To prevent this problem happening again you need to replace the companion shafts. The new companion shafts does not fit on the sideshafts, because this is all part of an upgrade, therefore you need to replace the sideshafts as well.The hotfix no is NM27-002 dated 11 April 2006.I have asked for assistance in replacing the sideshafts, because to me, there is nothing wrong with my sideshafts, but it was refused. You do not get the old companion shaft anymore so what do you do?? I was told by Mitsubishi to go for the circlip replacement option.
My quote for the sideshafts allone was R2600 per shaft.
From what I have read, the problem on the companion shaft is that the groove for the circlip is not deep enough.
Can anybody tell me if it would help to regroove the shafts?

[craigdre]

I have had the circlip and the oil seal replaced
Touch wood, I havent had any new signs of the same problem
I have spoke to 2 mitsi dealers and both of them say they hardly see the problem, although both knew about it.
I suppose down the line I will get the "propper" fix done at a cost of about R5k, but until then, I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Good luck

[tonton]

I have had the circlip and the oil seal replaced
Touch wood, I havent had any new signs of the same problem
I have spoke to 2 mitsi dealers and both of them say they hardly see the problem, although both knew about it.
I suppose down the line I will get the "propper" fix done at a cost of about R5k, but until then, I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Good luck

Craig,

What did your fix cost?

Anton

[craigdre]

My fix cost me just over a R1000.00 at my local mechanic, R100.00 on parts and the rest on labour!
Originally when I asked him what he had done, he said a new bigger circlip and oil seal, however when I later asked him again he said the circlip looked the same size as the original one, only "new", i.e. less springy.
Just come back from towing a trailer this weekend, a boat the past weekend and all is well. so hopefully this will last for a while and I can fall back into the majority group of not having this happen