Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Hi all.

My name is Niel Scheepers and I joined the club yesterday.

I have recently (last week) taken ownership of a 2003 Pajero 3.2 DiD SWB. 166k on the clock. It goes 100% while the diesel level remains above a 1/4 tank. The moment the fuel gauge approaches the 1/4 tank mark the problem starts. While accelerating everything is still fine, but when I reduce engine speed or ease back on the accelerator the car loses power all of a sudden, around the 2000 rpm mark, without me taking my foot off the accelerator. Naturally I then push the accelerator in and the car would jerk forward letting out a puff of whitish smoke and be fine after that, until I reduce engine speed to the 2000 rpm mark again. It does it in every gear. It is not the gradual power gain or loss that you experience when you go in and out of the turbo range, it's sudden. As long as you keep the revs above 2200 the car runs fine.

Has anybody experienced this before? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Niel

Hi Neil and welcome!

I think you might have a dent in the bottom of your fuel tank that is causing the fuel intake pipe to ingest air when the fuel level is low and there are some g-forces at play. CATS had something similar happen to his Gen 3 some time back; he might reply to this thread and tell you more.

If it is indeed true that the intake is sucking air, please get it sorted ASAP, because the fuel also acts as the lubricant for the diesel injector pump and it will sustain damage if run dry for any but the briefest length of time.

Hi Gerrit,

Thank you for your reply. I will have it checked out ASAP! In the meantime I won't let the fuel drop below the half way mark.
Hopefully CATS can shine some more light on the subject.

Niel

Same happened to me(fuel tank dent without me knowing) and I got my Pajero back this week afterR 22 000 for repairs to diesel pump and injector

ran out of diesel once!!

The diesel pumps ONLY lubricant is the diesel

Yip

I also had this problem and can confirm that it is usually linked to a dented fuel tank. The plastic cover surrounding the tank reform back to normal after a bash so it is difficult to see if tank is dented by only looking at the cover, you have to remove cover to confirm. When I had to replace the tank some years ago it was around R4500 for a new one, so make sure you sit down when you get the quote .

Although usually linked to a dented tank it could also be a faulty diesel pick-up inside the tank. The bash on the tank could also have damaged the pick-up, but with your indication of this problem only when running on 1/4 tank I would say that the pick up is still good. DO NOT RUN LIKE THIS FOR LONG! It will damage your diesel pump if left to run dry for extended periods. Make sure you keep the tank over 1/4 full until fixed properly.

CATS

Thank you CATS. I will have it checked out immediately. Will keep you guys up to date once the problem is solved.

Everyone, please check my last post on the Notice Board subject "Gen 3 mags practically for free".

Niel

Hi Everyone,

Just an update on this post.

I took the Pajero to numerous people to try and sort this problem. No-one could find anything wrong, including the dealers. What made it more difficult was that the problem did not exist all the time.

In the end it had nothing to do with the level of diesel in the tank or the fuel pick-up. Turns out the diesel pump was on it's way out. The car ended up at Allan Black and they overhauled the entire pump and injectors (R17500 later). The actual problem was with the advance/retard valve that was damaged. Apparently it is quite a flimsy little thing that get's damaged if the pump runs without diesel, even if only for a short period of time. If left unattended the problem can become permanent and eventually the pump's casing will be damaged. Fortunately mine was only at the beginning stage and no serious damage was caused.

Got the car back last week Saturday and took it on a good run yesterday. Everything seems to be OK now, plus there's loads more power than previously.

Niel