ffg
Newbie questions
I am on the verge of buying a 1996 Pajero with 284000km on the clock for R70k. It has a service record up to date and seems to be in good nick despite the high km's.According to the previous owner, the only non standard maintenance was replacing the ball joints.

I am having second thoughts about the purchase because of:

The cambelt was replaced on 180 000 km, and from what i gather from reading the posts should be replaced again. What could I expect to pay for replacing it and the spark plugs, and is there anything else that should be done at the same time?

From what I seen on this website, it appears that sourcing parts is a problem. Is it that bad that one should not consider buying an older vehicle?

Any advice would be appreciated.
tonton
Re: Newbie questions
A good mechanic charged me between 3K and 4K for a cambelt service. The dealer will do it for 5K+. I would look out for valve stem seals (smoke-signs) and consider the lifters if they are terribly noisy. Then there is the water pump (ask paw-by-paw about a generic pump).

Unfortunately it adds up, but 284000 km is not that high for a Pajero.

Anton
macjohnw
Re: Newbie questions
As TonTon said.

The belts, pulleys and tensioners need to be checked/repalaced every 90,000km if I recall correctly. Should cost around R3000 - R5000 for the whole service and parts, depending who you use.

Let the motor stand and idle for about 5min and then floor the pedal - if there is smoke piling out of the exhaust your valve stem seals need to be replaced. The smoking usually disappears when driving on the open road. To replace this, they will pull the heads.

It is thus good to combine the cambelt service with the valve stem seals issue to keep costs down.

Cant see which Pajero you have, but in order to replace the spark plugs on the 3.5V6 one has to remove the intake manifold.

Maybe do some background checks on the previous major services as noted in the little book - you will be amazed what some guys omit just to safe a few pennies, especially just before selling a car.
qoda
Newbie questions
IMHO R70K seems a bit of a high price to boot. I'd shop around a bit more. I got mine a '94 with 250000 on the clock for R50K and the camber was done as well as an engine overhaul... Sorry not trying to be negative, just some advise.
Re: Newbie questions
Yup Price is a bit high? Thinking it is the 2.8TDi? Market value R 57 800 with the petrol models running even lower than that. Still, if it is good nick and clean...
If you can feel the grass between your toe's, your flying too low!
3.5 GLS F/LIF 1998 Lost to the x wife
3200 Tdi GSL 2001 Written off
3200 Di-D 5Dr A/T 2002 338 000 Sold
3500i A/T 5Dr 2001 Sold
3.2 Di-Dc GLS A/T 2008
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