Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

I'm driving a 2006 Gen3 3.2 DID (126 000km on the clock). The car is mostly driven in town on short trips, and then the odd holiday trip every 4 months or so. Last Sunday, on my way back to Pretoria I filled up in Bloemfontein (Shell 50ppm). About 30 km from Bloem I started feeling a stutter at 120km/h. I reduced speed and then cruised at 100 - 110km/h. She would also get stuck in 4 gear, and I had to manually move up to 5th gear (In retrospect, I think this was due to the revs not getting high enough to change automatically). No warning lights or anything indicated a problem, so I continued driving.

At Kroonstad, I decided to disconnect the battery for 20 minutes or so to reset the ECU. Left Kroonstad, but the problem persisted. I realised that the stutter would start at about 2200 rpm and upwards. So basically I had no power on hills at all. When I hit Gauteng with a bit more hills, we really struggled on the hills, dropping to 70 - 80km/h and 3rd gear. Thankfully reached home later the afternoon.

On Monday morning, I took it for a drive, and once the engine was warm, gunned it again, and the problem was still there. Above 2200 revs, the car would start to stutter. For me it almost felt like there are some sort of blockage or air, on the Diesel line.

On Tuesday, the problem seemed to be something of the past, even though I have not done anything.

I checked for error codes, and found none. So, I decided to do a CAT Delete (The Filter seemed okay without any major blockage) and followed it up this past weekend with an EGR Delete. Also replaced the Diesel filter. My thoughts behind the EGR Delete was that some of the carbon buildup and black yuck could have come loose and maybe blocked an injector or something. In my opinion it simply does not make sense having an air cleaner to keep dirt out of your engine, while you blow in dirty air from another place.

Any case, followed a great post by Marius (https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/view ... =52&t=2502) on the EGR delete. When I took the contraption off, one of the holes into the chamber marked with a pink arrow on the picture (Thanks Marius for the picture), was completely carboned shut.
I completed the EGR delete, and all seems fine now, although I must admit, I only took it for a short test drive. My only concern is that I’m not sure that this problem might not come back to byte me at a later stage.

I basically have 2 questions. I’ve heard of “limp mode”. From what I could gather this means the car will be able to “limp” to the next town where you can have it checked out. On a Pajero, will there be any indication (warning lights etc.) to know that you are in “limp mode”? Second question, do you guys think the CAT delete and EGR delete might solve this issue and do you perhaps have any other suggestions on what could maybe be the cause of this? Taking the car in so that a specialist can have a look at it seems like a waste of money, since the problem seems to be something of the past now.

Thanks Guys, your thoughts and ideas are appreciated.

FootPrint wrote:My thoughts behind the EGR Delete was that some of the carbon buildup and black yuck could have come loose and maybe blocked an injector or something.

Hi FootPrint, thanks for your post.

Just to clarify - only diesel goes through the injector - not inlet air. But, of course, sooty, oily inlet air may result in some build up on the (outside of the) injector tips.

We would like to hear some feedback after you can do a proper run to see if the problem is recurring.

Hi Footprint,

I have the same problem on a Gen3 2005 GLX 3.2 LWB. Can't remember when it started but the first symptoms were the ASC/TC lights would come on when under heavy load (uphill with trailer) and around 3000 rpm. Recently it happens on any significant uphill (but the lights don't come on anymore). At around 3000rpm it starts jerking and fails to engage the next gear. In my opinion its the ECU which is limiting and not a fuel blockage.

Other Indicators

1. There is also a short hiss as the car is started.
2. The Paj sounds like a tractor.

I've seen a few other similar posts but none of them have a solution !

I cannot answer your first question affirmatively but from my understanding of ECU's is that it will enter limp mode when a control loop has failed and it will definitely illuminate the Check Engine Light. In our case something has not failed but just out of normal range which then begs the question why no codes were found !

From the Siemens MS420 ECU documentation...

OBD II FUNCTION: "CHECK ENGINE" (MIL) LIGHT
In conjunction with the CARB/OBD II regulations the "CHECK ENGINE" light (also referred to
as the Malfunction Indicator Light - MIL) is to be illuminated:
• Upon the completion of the second consecutive driving cycle where the previously fault-
ed system is monitored again and the emissions relevant fault is again present.
• Immediately if a catalyst damaging fault occurs (see Misfire Detection).
The illumination of the check engine light is performed in accordance with the Federal Test
Procedure (FTP) which requires the lamp to be illuminated when:
• A malfunction of a component that can affect the emission performance of the vehicle
occurs and causes emissions to exceed 1.5 times the standards required by the (FTP).
• Manufacturer-defined specifications are exceeded.
• An implausible input signal is generated.
• Catalyst deterioration causes HC-emissions to exceed a limit equivalent to 1.5 times the
standard (FTP).
• Misfire faults occur.
• A leak is detected in the evaporative system
• The oxygen sensors observe no purge flow from the purge valve/evaporative system.
• Engine control module fails to enter closed-loop operation within a specified time interval.
• Engine control or automatic transmission control enters a "limp home" operating mode.
• Key is in the "ignition" on position before cranking (Bulb Check Function).

Second question: Not sure ! but taking it to a dealer will result in lots of Rxxx.xx (Info gleaned from forums) !

Please let me know if you have solved it.

BTW how did you read the error codes ? I have an OBD scan tool but I've had no luck on the Pajero.

Thanks

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. This week the Pajero is running normal. After the CAT delete, I thought it was my imagination at first, but I'm convinced there is a little bit more power than before. Still haven't taken her for a long trip again.

I also saw some posts describing very similar symptoms, for example:
https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=5450&p=34636&hilit=loss+power#p34636

Something also worth mentioning is that I was also towing a Venter trailer. Approx. load of the trailer was 400 kgs. Car itself was not loaded heavy at all.

Regarding the error codes, Under section 00 (general) in the workshop manual, they describe the following:
Nice Post from Marius on the topic:
https://www.pajeroclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=3193&hilit=fault+code

From what I've read, an OBD scanner won't work on the Pajero. Mitsubishi are using MUT-II.

Hi Guys,

Glad to report that for the first time after I posted about the problem, we went on a longer trip with the Pajero. Our trip to the Natal South Coast and back (+- 2000km in total) went off without incident.

Still not sure what caused the problem initially...

Thx,