Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

After 380,000 trouble free motoring, my DID has burnt a hole in number two piston m4m41.... should have redone the injectors as I wanted to when I rebuilt the turbo, but I was advised not to do so, price you pay when ypou listen.
Now of course I cannot get new pistons,rings, bearings etc in S.A... anyone got or used 2nd hand piston (balanced, naturally)anyone been thru this ordeal

Hi Ralph

I am sorry to hear that you have a holed piston. Very unpleasant situation to be in. I will have a look around on the web for you for alternative suppliers. I know the 4e's could probably point you in the right direction.
For the benefit of all on the forum, what symptoms did you have leading up to the hole in the piston?
Erratic idle, misfire, smoking at idle, smoking while under throttle, etc. Also, what was the issue with your turbo? With 380 000 on the clock what other repairs have you done? I have 270 000 on the clock and the engine runs well, but I am always on the lookout for telltale signs of any potential issue.

Your input would be greatly appreciated by all.

Best regards

Nick

Mostly a burned piston is an injector orifice that got too large a sprayed a thick stream on one spot.

Sent via iPad & Forum Runner

Hi Nick

I qualified as an aircraft mech. and rebuild British sports cars as a hobby, so I am always fidling, over the years I have done a lot of preventative maintenance on my DID... including Front hubs (250,000)all four disks (300,000), Turbo (330,000)and other minor things... I also had to replace the Brake accumulator and power steering pump by nessesaty.
I agree that the hole in the piston must have been caused by faulty (dirty) injector, although I have always kept my filters clean (every 8,000) .... There was absolutly no warning, no soud or any signs of pending problem, I was doing about 110 kph in fith when I suddenly felt a loss in power,I stopped and found the engine had a rough idle, could only be serious in a diesel motor, and when i tried to limp home the cloud of blue smoke appeared (compression in the crankcase)
I have measured the cylinders and crank, everything within allowable tolerences,so I have decided to do a completed engine rebuild (everything standard) BUT everything from pistons, rings, gasket set, timing chain ... you guessed NO STOCK ..everything ex Japan, about six weeks (next Khalahari trip coming up soon, so I am looking at every option on the web.

My 2001 3.2 DID het ook n gat in no.1 piston gebrand. Wag vir verdere ondersoek om vas te stel of die injector of pomp foutief geraak het. Daar was ook geen probleem of waarskuwing voor die tyd nie. Het so 130km/h gery toe dit n snaakse geluid gemaak het. Toe ek stop het dit ongelyk geloop en besef daar is groot fout.Ek maak toe die olieprop oop en daar blaf hy vir my. Ek wil die masjien oorbou maar sukkel om parte te kry. Kan iemant raad gee. Dankie Louis

Hello Louis and others,

After holing a piston on my 4M41 motor (384,000kms), I decided to do a complete engine overhall and asked the agents to quote on the following;
Set of Pistons and rings ..... R 7,807 (ex vat)
Gasket set ..... R 4,429 "
Set of Bearings ..... R 1,510 "
Timing chain and tensioner ..... R 1,440 "
Injectors( R 2,000 odd each).... R 8,000 "
4 glow plugs .... R 1,458 "
total .... R 24,705 "

NOT ONE ITEM IN STOCK >>>> ALL EX JAPAN UP TO EIGHT WEEKS

Other alternatives were, second hand motor R 36,000 (no guarantee) or brand new copy, copy from China (R 39,000)... no hope
I have the knowledge and the tools so I decided to rebuild myself, Everything was measured.... standard, with very little wear, so light honing and polish, cylinder head..new valve guides and reseated. total cost of machining R 2,800
I found that Alert spares had almost every item in stock (or within 2 days)

Set of AE Pistons and rings ..... R 2,118 (ex vat)
Full set bearings ..... R 623 "
complete gasket set ..... R 864 "
timing chain set incl.tensioner ....R 673 "
4 glow plugs (four) ..... R 344 "
4 injectors ex Germany 9 days ..... R 3,300 inc vat
Total ..... R 7,922

My Pajero is running beautifully again .... off to the khalahari next week.

Ralph Kirsten (Nelspruit)

I have 3 standard pistons for 4M41 motor (no charge)

"I have 3 standard pistons for 4M41 motor (no charge)"
Now to find a three cylinder Pajero

Ralph,
Great post - thank you.

You are just across the hill from me, are you going to have problems when my Pajero needs an engine re-build AND with 50% more pistons and valves

Excellent... it is good to know that alternate (pirate) parts are available

Before replacing the motor with a stock I would re look at the Lexus conversion @ a third of the price!