[jintu]

Hello all! I'm a newbie to the forum and South Africa. My family and I moved here from America about 6 weeks ago to be missionaries and needed a vehicle capable of carrying 7 and it needed to be a 4X4 and preferably a diesel. So I found a 2000 3.2 with 239,000km on the clock. It is in excellent condition and it is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned. A couple of weeks ago it started starting with a rough shudder. Then it would shudder when I would coast in neutral to a stop sign. It feels and sounds like you're in too high of a gear for the speed you're traveling. I brought it to the dealership in Tzaneen and they said it was the flywheel and it needed to be replaced.

Does this sound accurate? We are on a very limited budget and I don't want to pay for something that doesn't need to be replaced. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

jeff

[CATS]

Jeff

Firstly welcome in South Africa and to this forum.

The problem that you describe could well be linked to the dual mass flywheel. Do a search on "dual mass flywheel" and also read this thread https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/view ... heel#p8340
for some other options.

CATS

[jintu]

Thanks CATS. I'm in Modjadjiskloof...any idea of a good trustworthy mechanic in this area? If the dealer is going to hit me with a bill over R20,000, then I believe I'll try the 2.8 flywheel and clutch assembly. If I was back in the states and had all of my tools, I would not hesitate to do this myself. Plus, I don't have an area here to work on it that isn't on an incline. If I want to use the parts from a 2.8, what do I ask for when I call about the parts?

Thanks,

jeff

[redvers]

Hi Jeff

Firstly, welcome and I hope you enjoy it here. I also have flywheel that is packing up and will be replacing wIth a good second hand one I managed to get from Paska. Gerhard ,4ePajero, will be the most likely person to give you more details as he has done this to his. He has posted nfo on this

Keep us informed as to how you find the 2.8 flywheel to work.

[RoelfleRoux]

Gents,
Do the symptoms, as decribed by Jeff, sound like a flywheel to you?
Roelf

[jintu]

I just got back from the Mitsu dealership with a quote for service on the flywheel, clutch and replacing the seals in the rear diff along with the axle flanges. The total was R15,809.98. I was quite surprised that it came in that low. I talked with the service manager a couple of days ago and he said something about changing the axle flanges on the rear end because the C-clips wear out early and there was some new design and that if I didn't change the flanges it could start leaking again because the axle would pull out of the seal far enough to damage the seal again. I'm not a rear end expert, especially independent rear suspensions, but I've changed or removed C-clips before and this sounds kind of fishy. Either way, the work is guaranteed for 1 year.

Does the the rear end stuff sound accurate?

Thanks,

jeff

[CATS]

I just got back from the Mitsu dealership with a quote for service on the flywheel, clutch and replacing the seals in the rear diff along with the axle flanges. The total was R15,809.98. I was quite surprised that it came in that low. I talked with the service manager a couple of days ago and he said something about changing the axle flanges on the rear end because the C-clips wear out early and there was some new design and that if I didn't change the flanges it could start leaking again because the axle would pull out of the seal far enough to damage the seal again. I'm not a rear end expert, especially independent rear suspensions, but I've changed or removed C-clips before and this sounds kind of fishy. Either way, the work is guaranteed for 1 year.

Does the the rear end stuff sound accurate?

Thanks,

jeff

Jeff

The rear end circlip story is something totally independant from the Dual mass flywheel story. The price you got quoted is hopefully for the gearbox flywheel and new clutch as well as new side shafts and circlips, which would be a good price.

There is a case of some Gen3 Pajero models having the rear side shaft pulling out of the diff slightly and allowing diff oil to leak out. If driven for a long period without topping up the oil this could obviously lead to expensive diff repairs. It would typically show itself by throwing drops of diff oil on the back window and the strong smell of diff oil when getting out. There is a fix where a slightly different side shaft and bigger circlip is fitted to prevent this from happening again. This was never a recall on the Pajeros but it seems that as much as about 60% of Pajeros from 2000-2004 is affected by this. When out in the sticks it is apparently possible to push/hit/bully the shaft back in to place to prevent further oil loss, but I have never done this myself. This will however only be a temporary repair as it is bound to come out again if worn. I had mine done many thousand kilometers ago when it started leaking and have not had an issue yet since the new clips were fitted. Do you have rear diff leaking oil on either side where the side shafts exit? Not all Pajero are affected by this and many run thousands of kilometers without ever having the upgrade done. Can't do any harm to have them done in advance if not leaking.

Do a search on Pajero side shaft on the net and you will get plenty hits to read for further reference.

CATS

[jintu]

Thanks again CATS. Yes it's leaking on the right side. It hasn't started slinging oil yet, but you can look under it and see a drop hanging and it will leave a couple on the ground. The transfer case has some oil on it, but I don't know if its a leak or some that might have escaped from a breather (if it has one). When I talked to the service manager, he mentioned the upgraded parts so I'm ASSUMING that's what was quoted, although the quote looks like it is for just one. The breakdown of the quote is:

There are 2 labor charges:

R920
R1545.60
R110.09 Oil Seal
R10637.29 Flywheel Assy
R655.42 Shaft Assemb

R1941.58 VAT

Thanks,

jeff

[CATS]

R10637.29 Flywheel Assy
jeff

Does that flywheel assembly include the clutch? It looks on the low side to include the clutch as well if it is the Dual mass one. I would definately have the clutch done as well on your mileage since the gearbox is coming out in any case. Are you fitting the dual mass flywheel as original or going the solid flywheel as suggested in other posts. The cost you are quoting almost seem to low? Also have them look at the clutch "retaining plate". They seem to wear out at around 200k km on the Gen3 Pajero manual gearboxes and lead to the first gear sometimes dropping out on pullaway when cold. Might be worth it to have that sorted as well.

The shaft is just for the one side for sure. You might consider doing the other one at the same time or leave until it needs attention.

Maybe the prices dropped since I last got quotes? Are they fitting original Mitsu parts? I can dig up my part numbers that was replaced some months ago tomorrow if you like to make sure they have the right parts.

CATS

[jintu]

I specifically asked about the clutch assembly being included and she told me yes. The quote has clutch assembly listed, but no price by it. The number next to Flywheel ass is LL2355A004. If I can get all of it done for this price, then I'll go this route and I'll also replace the opposite side shaft as well. Let me know what you find out on the part number and I'm going to call tomorrow to verify everything.

jeff