The problem still persists and I have phoned a lot of Cape Town based "specialists" and they all want the vehicle for at least 3 days to run all sorts of tests - I think they are seeing dollar signs in their eyes and cannot wait to get their grubby paws on another poor soul and make lots of money. I have explained the problem and they all have differing theories - no consensus at all.
The problem is as follows:
I start the vehicle when it is cold i.e. it has been standing for quite some time.
The engine catches almost immediately and idles.
If I let it idle it will begin to cough and run rough and then die. Then it is difficult to start. Vast clouds of white smoke appear.
I can pull away and within about 20 seconds the engine starts misfiring and dies.
If, however, I rev the engine from a cold start at 2500-3000 rpm and let it run at that speed for about a minute, then it returns to normal idle and then all is ok. I can then drive off as normal.
Hot starting is perfect.
My battery is now far from perfect due to the starting problems.
The oil is clear, no white creamy stuff which shows water in the oil. No cylinder head cracking problems.
When at normal operating temperature the engine pulls like a train and the economy is great. No oil gets used and I service every 5000km. There is no smoke at normal temperatures.
One thing we do is we often let the tank go right down to the reserve before we put more fuel in. I cannot say wether this problem is worse with an empty tank or a full tank as it does it all the time, with varying degrees - some days are worse than others, for some strange reason. I thought only women were like that......................
The vehicle has done 300,000km and is on the original injectors etc.
Some say it could be the fuel pump in the tank. One clown insists its a cracked cylinder head and wants to replace it. Another one sez its fuel leaking into the combustion chambers and I should get all the injectors replaced. My mechanic thought it may have been the coolant temperature sensor and that was replaced with a new one but that was not the fault.
I can live with the problem for a while as we live on a hill and I can bump start the car in the mornings to save the battery. We are driving up to Johannesburg in December. The reason I cannot leave it with someone in Cape Town is that they want it for a few days and it is our only vehicle. In Johannesburg I will be able to use my parents cars so I would like to have the problem fixed there. We are in the Kempton Park/Isando area.
Do any of you living in Jozi know of a good Pajero mechanic ( private or trade ) in this area - the Eat Rand, who is good and honest and will not rip me off? And will be able to fix the problem.......
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Mitsubishi Pajero 2.8
) or can I buy generic fuel piping from Midas and cut it to fit?