Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Good Day All,
My front suspension has been noisy when traversing over bumpy ground. I took my vehicle (Gen 3 2005 SWB) to Union Motors - Nelspruit to check. They suggested shocks replacements and suggested I go to a specialist fitment centre. Anyway I did this and had a set of Munroe shocks fitted. The noise still persists. It is like a Clunking sound as you go over a bump. At first I thought it could be loose springs in their anchor points top and bottom and then read thread regarding swaybars as a possible cause.

Question:How do I check the Sway bar or any other part of front suspension?
If sway bars are warn do they need to be replaced and what is cost? Anybody have a set for sale?
Can I do the job myself?
The front suspension is a bit low and I catch protection plate now and again. How can I increase clearance under protection plate?

Regards


MikevR

sway bars last almost forever. It's the stabilizer links that gets play and clunks.

- NOTE : the swaybar does not help keep the car up like the springs - it only eliminates body roll.

Here is a stabilizer link - the only real way to test is to remove and feel for play - if the rubber boot is torn then 99% chance it's had it.

Thanks Marius,

I will check it out and get a quote from Union Motors.

By the way how can I raise front suspension +/- 25mm without changing shocks & springs etc?

Alternatively can I put spacers under front springs and where would I get them?

Thanks again

MikevR

spacers are usually custom made.

I don't like them as the may have the shock working out of range causing premature failure. The increased COG may also effect the spring characteristics as they are designed as a variable rate spring (ie. the more they compress the harder they get - this allows soft actuating springs over small bumps but they get harder as they compress more, so the suspension don't bottom out)

I would recommend either replacing the shocks with OEM as older springs tend to sag a little or save up and get the OME or IronMan set with springs and matching shocks.

Replace the springs, and while you are at it, add the springs with an extra 50 mm lift. Contact Jan at Pretoria Spring Sales. They are cheap to replace, fitment included only R2500.00 for all 4. I would do all 4 at once to make sure you do not have any failures when you need it most.

http://www.pretoriaspringsales.co.za/default.asp

Regarding the noise, it could be many things, but look at the control arms as well. Any alignment center would be able to tell you.

Cheers.

Thanks for input Marius and Jotto. I will follow up
Regards

MikevR

Greating to all Pajero Drivers

I eventually took my vehicle for the noisy clunking front suspension and they replaced both upper arm ball joints and Front stabalizer link kit. I took the vehicle for a bush drive and to my absolute frustration most of the clunking noise is still there. It is only when the front wheels go over corregations or individual bumps. Is the stabaliser link different to the swaybar link?

Any Ideas folks on what must be checked next in line? I will be taking the vehicle back to Union Motors on Monday morning.

Regards

MikevR

Grey,
I did have a similar problem on my 99 Blister and found that the bash plate was bent a little making the stabiliser bar bump against it especially when dipping a bit too much. Maybe you can have that checked out. Mine was on the corners where the stabiliser bar turns.
I do not know the clearances on Gen 3 but maybe-just mabe.

Hi Greypaj,

Do you perhaps have aftermarket bashplates on your vehicle? I have and I have found out that they contribute to quite a bit of creaking and clunking. I can only assume that when the vehicle flexes the bashplates, being thicker and more rigid than the original units, make some noises. I have removed them to test and the result was no more noise from the front. I haven't yet found a way to eliminate the noise but at least I know what it is now

Cheers
Bruce

Thank you for all inputs on "Noisy front suspension"
As previously mentioned I replaced both upper arm ball joints and front suspension link kit (LL4056A105). I still had the clunking problem. I check the bash plate interference and there was not any problem there. I then took the vehicle over corrugated roads with the Service Manager. He was very helpful and identified the problem. 2 torsion bar bushes had to be replaced. (LLMR554271) and the other front suspension link kit (LL4056A106) had to be replaced. I also had a marked wheel shudder which was noted at speeds of over 100kms/hr, as well as when slowing down under breaking. The front and rear disks were warped and have now been replaced and the car runs beautifully.

By the way, it appears that there are stock shortages for certain parts. I had to do an extensive search by phoning various branches for these parts as I did not want to wait the 21 to 28 days from Japan. I came across an issue that anybody wanting spares needs to check. Apparently some stock is stored under “Z” stock and this belongs to the Imperial Group (Who has just taken over Mits) and there has to be a cash transaction before it can be inter-branch transferred. This stock is not visible on other Branch computer systems. Some stock is also reserved. One needs to check if the reserved note is still valid.