Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Firstly hello from the UK,

Apologies if this is in the wrong section,

There does not seem to be as much detailed info on pajero or Shoguns as we call them in the UK, or as great a following for them, for some unknown reason. Most seems to be gleaned from here. Especially for what I want to do.
Lol now if I still had my Range Rover - that would have been (to) easy !
but anyway,
I've seen a few people describing doing what I want to do to my 2004 3.2 DID and thats is add the rear diff lock from an older vehicle to mine which has traction control.

A few reasons, I'm just not getting on with the traction control in deepish mud or prolonged use in mud and say on hill starts on a wet grass field, it tends to overheat and then shut down. A diff lock here I feel would be superior, and get me out of the situation a lot quicker.


From what I have read I need a locking diff from an older vehicle, I can get a full refurbed one for around £500, the air pump and the switch for around £150. All genuine mitsubishi parts, used / refurbished.
So a heck of a lot cheaper than the £1800 I've been quoted for an ARB locking diff supplied and fitted !
I'm not interested using the ecu, as I want to be able to use it when I want and not when the ecu say I can. - Again the ARB setup would not have this function either, so no loss.

Apologies if the below question have been answered already but I'm struggling to find definitive answers on them

The main questions I have at the moment, if someone would be kind enough to answer them /help me understand - possibly more later, are

If the pump is simply wired to the battery via a switch on the dash, how does it know when to stop when it at the desired pressure ? I understand the diff only needs a low pressure to activate the locking mechanism. I know the diff has what looks like a circular solenoid attached to it, but I cant work out how it could reactivate the pump (if power is still applied to the pump and the pressure drops ? Or does the pump simply run all the time ?

Some write up / descriptions mention that I would need to swap one of the drive shafts as the locking diff is slightly different length, ( 20mm difference ?)others write ups suggest its simply swap the drive flanges ? Which one is true ?

Thanks in advance

Richard

richs 2891,

I drive a 2004 3.8 GLS with traction control. Changing diffs is one of the easiest jobs that the DIY person can do providing that you get a diff that has the same ratio as the original diff. If not, then you will have the change both diffs - still very easy. I have done it myself and it is a one-day job.

The most time consuming part is installing the new wiring. Mine joins the main loom at the back and follows it all the way to the front. I drew power from an open terminal in the inside fuse box and the activating switch fits in next to the instrument lights dimmer reo-stat low down on the right hand lower panel.

Pending on how deep your pockets are, either a reconditioned diff (first choice) or a second hand diff will be good. The Pajero diffs are very reliable basically indestructible.

The job entails removing the diff itself and fitting the "new" diff, the air pump plus wiring (the correct bolt holes are already built-in), a switch and a warning light.. You do not have to remove the side shafts just disconnect them at the diff. Be aware that the flanges on the output shafts may differ and thus that you need to check that the "new" flanges are the same as the old ones. If not, pull all four out of the diffs and swap them around.

The air pump has its own pressure regulating mechanism built-in so you activate the pump and leave it "ON" till you want to release the lock. If you should forget to switch it "OFF" you may have a flat battery the next morning!

Enjoy the swap,

Cloyd.

Many thanks for the quick reply, I will get the parts order later this week.

Cant wait to get a proper locking diff fitted

Hello again, more questions I'm afraid.

I've been doing more research and looking at a pajero / shogun that had a rear diff fitted for sale and taking a few photos of the underneath to help me. Few strange look but hey ho !

From what I can work out,the pump for the diff (I assume) fits via two bolts on top of the actual diff ?
This has air pipes going away inside the vehicle to ???

Some places have mentioned that the compressor is under the rear passenger seats, but I cant work out what would need to be there. Or is actually there, The ecu would make perfect sense there.
Any ideas?

Thanks

Richard

ricks2891,

If you have a Gen 3 Pajero the following info as requested:

a. The air pump is mounted above the diff on a chassis cross member. The attachment nuts are fixed inside the chassis member so it is fairly important that when you buy your diff that you get the two bolts as well. Then you will not have any hassle trying to get the correct size and length.

b. The air hose only gets pushed into a hole in the cross member. The ideal will be to get a small filter element (like Toyotas have) mount it on the end of the hose and then take this pipe higher up to prevent any ingress of water/dust. I did not do this because I have no intention what so ever of going into water that is deeper than about 60 cm.

Cloyd