[mooltjie]

Hi all....
I just joined the site... think its great.

The reason I am posting is I just bought my first 4x4... high-miler (200.000km) Montero/Pajero LWB GLX 2.8 Diesel... no turbo.

Thing is the truck probably has seen better days before I got hold of it... I know it is supposed to have a diff-lock on the rear axle... but the button/switch is missing... took it to the dealer (I should mention that I am posting from Paraguay, South-America)... I literally had to draw a picture to explain to the assessor what the diff-lock actually is, but they still wont/dont know how to fix it... aswell they told me that the button/switch isn't in stock anymore ?

My question then is this... how is the rear diff-lock engaged (vacuum, electrical)... how should I go about checking if it still works... and will any switch (ON/OFF) do.

Any help would be greatly appreciate... in my neck of the woods having help on muddy roads isn't just for R&R... its a matter of getting home or not.

Thanks in advance

PS: Attached a photo of the beast with the swambo inside

[mooltjie]

Just a follow up...
i noticed that somebody has done something similar... though not for the same reason...
https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/view ... ock#p18559

If anybody has any diagrams of the wiring, vacuum pipes, etc. please let me know... any photos will be appreciated aswell.

Regards

[tonton]

Mooltjie,

Firstly, welcome to the "fraternity" of Pajero owners, and to this club. And a small correction - 200000km is not high mileage on a Pajero

There are several members with a wealth of expertise and a willingness to share.

Your Pajero is the Gen 2 (pre-blister fender) model, and in SA they came out WITHOUT rear Difflock (RDL). I believe RDL was introduced only with the GLS blister-fender model from 1998 onwards. My previous model was a 1995 and also had a "dummy-switch" in the place where they placed the RDL switch in the blister-model.

Yours looks like an import (GLX, slightly different grille and wheels and no plastic around wheel arches), but there I could have it wrong. If it was an import, it may be worth the trouble to track it back - the country of origin may (although I doubt it) have had RDL's fitted. RDL's were fitted in 1998, but (AFAIK) only on blisters ("Gen 2.5").

Do you still have the original manual of your car? That should also give an indication of the presence (or not) of a RDL.

If everything else fails, you will have to open the hub and look for yourself.

Theunis (the guy who did the bypass mod) has a blister fender.

Regards,
Anton

[mooltjie]

Hi tonton...
Thanks for the welcome... hopefully mine will go up well-beyond 30 years of usage... I have seen some monteros of the 80's still driving around, and strangely the drivers always seem happy

Thanks for the quick reply... unfortunately I don't have the original owners-manual...
From the 4x4 indicator-lights in the dash I can see the CDL white-out... since this mode is easy-shift not super-select... no CDL... but it has a light (although it never lights up) between the back wheels...
If I were to look for the diff-lock.. it should be connected via a vacuum-pipe right on the rear axle right ?

Regards

[tonton]

Mooltjie,

Sorry - I just noticed that you are in Paraguay, not SA. I am not sure what their configurations were, but I still doubt it that it has a factory fitted RDL.

I think you are right with the vacuum pipe. Maybe you should pull it up next to an older Gen 2 and a Gen 2.5 and compare. Or check it out physically with your next service.

Anton

[mooltjie]

That is exactly my problem... the truck is at the dealers now... decided to take it to mitsubishis main workshop in Paraguay for a check-up... but they do not seem to know what the diff-lock actually is... I think they are more used to the super-select models... electronic activation of diff-lock/TC.

Is there any tell-tale connections on the outside of the diff to indicate that the mechanism still exists ? That way i can just crawl underneath as soon as I get it back.

Regards

[tonton]

My Gen 2.5 is at the garage - replacing starter motor.

I will take some pics of the diff over the week-end. Unless someone else can help out here?

Anton

[mooltjie]

Thanks a bunch... it will be deeply appreciated...

[Gerrit Loubser]

Hi Mooltjie,

The Mitsubishi rear diff lock system used on the Pajero does not work with vacuum, but rather with pressure. The system uses a little air compressor to provide the force to engage the rear diff lock.

Perhaps the easiest way to check whether you have a rear diff lock, is to look in those little lidded storage compartments underneath the rear bench seat. If I remember correctly, the little air compressor is located in the little storage compartment underneath the right hand rear seat. If there is no diff lock compressor there, then no luck.

If you do not have the rear diff lock, you might still have a limited slip diff in the rear axle. To check whether you do, chock the front wheels securely, jack up both rear wheels, ensure that the transmission is in neutral and that the park brake is disengaged and then go and rotate one of the rear wheels by hand. If the one on the opposite side of the car rotates in the same direction, then you have a rear limited slip diff.

[Gerrit Loubser]

Oh, just one more thing. I don't think the fact that the indicator on the dashboard seems to have provision for a rear diff lock light is a strong indication that your car actually has a rear diff lock. Mitsubishi made cars to so many different specifications for various markets and they did try to minimize the total parts count, so they probably used the same indicator for vehicles with and without the rear diff lock. You might even find that your car has the wiring harness ready and waiting for all the rear diff lock hardware to be connected to, but no rear diff lock. On the other hand, you might be lucky and have a rear diff lock...