Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

All,

Under the car this Sunday and besides changing the battery, checking rear diff oil and other minor jobs i thought i would check the 4WD actuator linkage before winter, bit of preventative maintenence !!

All looked well, boot came of, nice and clean on the rod, put silicone spray on the rod at both ends and sprayed it down the shaft into the recesses. Could not move the rod by hand but having read the forum was not concerned as i know the 4WD was working correctly and others were not able to move it without one wheel off the ground.

NOW - when i got back in and set off, selected 4wd and the sytem took a while to engage about 10 - 12 flashes, then de selected in about 4 flashes. Ran the system in and out for a while to "loosen" up the actuator and see if it improved the selection and reduced the time in honesty it varies at between 10-17 flashes to engage and 4 - 8 flashes to disengage sometimes longer but it alwys goes in/out eventually. It imporves if speed is lowered say to 10mph. as opposed to 25mph - 30mph.
I cannot recall if this is normal or not, i thought it engage far quicker in the past, everything is working as the 4WD engages its just the time taken to disengage and engage.

Could the silcone lube have effected this - i cannot think it would at all?
No sign of any vac leak or split pipes
Is it likley to be lack of selection of the 4WD system and it simly needs a weekly shunt through into 4WD ?
Is this just normal - does it take a few flashes to engage and disengage and i have simply forgotten?

Any help appreciated if only to put my mind at rest.

are you checking while driving? Having power throgh the drivetrain or turning hampers selection.

Look for flat piece of land, let car come to rest in neutral, let car idle, select 2H/4H - it should select/deselect within 2 - 4 flashes.

If it takes longer you may have a vacuum leak somewhere in the form of a possible perished vacuum pipe.

Marius,

Thanks for the response on this, i am sure you are the same guy who contributes to the UK POCUK forums ?

In answer to your questions:-

Yes driving whist trying to select, speed between 20-30mph, car in a straight line only.
Will try to select whist stationery and see what happens

Also will see if i can spot a vac leak anywhere, nothing seemed apparant.

I did notice at lower speeds the selection seemed better.

Have read through your posts on testing hence where i picked up on the actuator rod and that its best to lube up. Cannot see that squirting silicone spray on the rod and down into recesses would have effected anything - can you ? Also will try and get someone i trust to jump in car and test selection next weekend whilist i am underneath though it must be working as the lights do eventually stop flashing both taking in and out of 4WD.

Cheers for any further information its appreciated.

Hi.

I use the "4ePikanini" handle on all the forums I belong to, so it might be me - I have posted quite a lot on the system. (see my website in my signature)

Silicone spray will do no harm in my opinion - unless it may not be good for the gears if it gets into the diff but I don't know if it's bad for diff gears but definitely good for the actuator rod.

It will always take longer while driving than when stationary - especially in an auto.

I remember my gen2 used to get 4h by easing off the throttle until power and coasting is in perfect balance - if you know what I mean. The auto is a bit more difficult as I need to back off and sometimes do a left right wiggle to get it disengaged.

If you lie and look while someone operates the lever - if the lever tries to move instantly and solidly then the system is fine. If it moves slowly then more lube is needed or you need to trace that vacuum leak (maybe route a direct pipe to the vacuum diaphragm for speed reference) or service/replace vacuum solenoids.

Marius,

Cheers for that I know what you mean abou the "coasting" bit as i used to have a Gen2 Pajero import.

Will try that and will get underneath.

Hopefully i can sort this out, i will report back with an update after next weekend it may help others on this forum.

Thanks again

All,

I promised an update in case it helped others.

Following Marius advice i ran the truck to level ground engaged N and tried to engage 4WD, - flashing lights and no engagemennt! I then engaged drive and slowly moved the car forwards. I definate "clunk" occured as the system engaged. This is really the first time i have noticed such a posotive engagement of the 4WD system. Ran a few yards and took the vehicle out of 4WD and dissengaged after 2-4 flashes.

Ran again at slow speed and engaged in 2-3 flashes and disengaged in the same, increased the speeds in 5MPH stages upto 30 MPH and the system worked fine.

It may have been under use as suggested, or perhaps the lube had worked its way into the acctiator rod over the week it was left standing. I double checked for leaks as well, no signs of anything so assume all is well. Will make a mental note to engage 4WD each week to ensure smooth operation.

Thanks for all the advice

good news. Glad it's sorted.