[Scubadude]

Welcome Jeff! Good to see another Paj being put to Good use Sold my Gen 1 to a missionary in Northern KZN five years ago and as far as I know it is still faithfully delivering the Good News ...

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

Came in late on the discussion, but when I read the opening post I though the same thing. Could be any number of things, of which the flyhweel replacement is probably the most costly. But I dont think that's it. Coasting in neutral the flywheel is idling along. If the noise persists is comes from soething that works at road speed rather than engine speed. I'd suspect worn propshaft universals ...

[jintu]

The crazy thing is that it hasn't been doing it for the past few days. It still has a violent start(compared to when I first bought it), but it hasn't had the shuddering like your in to high of a gear. Maybe it hasn't gotten warm enough the past few times I've driven it since its a relatively short drive to drop the kids off at school . When I took it to the dealership, we were going to take it on a test drive and we never left the lot and the service manager said it was the flywheel. He said he'd seen this a lot before when he worked in the bigger cities. When he backed out and put it in first and eased out on the clutch, it chattered a good bit. It definitely isn't consistent and when it does happen, I can step on the accelerator and bring the RPM's up and it smooths out. I'm not going to rush out and spend that kind of money to fix it yet. If it is the flywheel, will it ever fly apart or get to a point where it won't drive?

Thanks,

jeff

[4ePajero]

I have a very simple but effective system:

NEVER, but NEVER tell the workshop to repair a component.
Always instruct to fix the cause of the problem / symptom.

eg in your case, ask the workshop to investigate and repair the shuddering of the clutch.
If they replace the clutch, and the shuddering is still there, you simply don't pay, because they have not fixed the problem.
I would ask them for a two-phased approach.
First investigate to confirm the cause. They can show you the 'cause' in the form of failed components etc.
Once they have established the cause of the problem they can give a firm quote for the repair thereof.


PS I firmly believe that you should opt for the solid flywheel. It is cheaper and will last longer. Mine is softer and smoother than any I have owned.

[4ePikanini]

PS I firmly believe that you should opt for the solid flywheel. It is cheaper and will last longer. Mine is softer and smoother than any I have owned.

I can vouch for that. That clutch is softer than my passat's.

The diesel vibration through the gear stick is there as with all diesels at idle, but once up to speed there is no roughness at all.

An engine mounting will play a bigger part in smoothness than the DMF. I agree with dad. Get the solid setup.

[jintu]

Thanks for the advice and I'll take that route when its needed. This is the 4th day that the symptom has been absent. No shuddering at idle or chattering in the clutch. I don't know what the problem was, but its gone. My wife prayed it would go away since we don't have the funds to get it fixed, so I'll have to go with that reason for it's disappearance. Even after I left the dealership, I was curious as to why the shuddering wasn't present in the same manner every time I drove it. I'm going to get both rear axle flanges changed out along with the seals and oil.

Where can I buy synthetic fluids for engine, gearbox, transfer case and diffs? Being new to the country makes things even more difficult. I looked at AutoZone in Tzaneen, but didn't see much of a selection. Also, does anyone know if K&N filters are available here?

I really appreciate the warm welcome and all of the advice.

jeff

[4ePajero]

There was a problem with some Gen3 Pajeros.
The aircon condensate pipe sits directly above the bell housing, causing water to find its way onto the clutch assembly.
Check this.