Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

When I purchased my second hand Pajero just over a year ago one of the first things that I had done was wheel alignment and balancing. During wheel balancing they found one wheel rim was damaged but wanted an exorbitant fee to have it fixed so I had them swap the rim for the spare tyre's one.
Fast forward I recently had my tyres rotated and rebalanced at a different facility which also quoted me a more realistic figure for the repair of the rim. When I went to pick up the rim the company told me that the rim could not be repaired because there was a hairline crack from one side to the other. To top it all, someone at some stage had tried to repair the rim using metallised epoxy cement.
Any idea how one can manage to damage a wheel rim so badly?

As I mentioned, the damaged wheel was in use on the car for a few weeks before the problem was found. Apart from some possible steering vibration there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it (no loss of pressure that I remember - and certainly no loss as the spare). So it's back on the Paj as a spare but I'm contemplating finding a replacement. However at R11,180 excl VAT from Mitsubishi perhaps a second hand one might suffice - although buying from a breaker's yard one is not guaranteed to get one that is in good conditions/without problems. The Paj's Suspension seems fine also although there is sometimes a slight 'knock' when turning to the left (agent's say it's to do with a worn steering coupling bolt/hole in the steering 'collapsing mechanism' should a front end collision take place.)

I should hasten to add that the vehicle was purchased for long distance travel and/or use on dirt/gravel roads or sand - not 'rock climbing'.

Any advice would be appreciated.
TIA

I would phone around and find out from breakers if they have what you are looking for. Go have look before you buy or buy from a reputable second hand dealer. The one I know of in Pretoria will even courier it to you and they will also give you an honest assessment of the product for your peace of mind. Paying almost R12k for a replacement is crazy. You can buy a brand new top of the range after market set for that price. I hope you come right in your search.

Thanks for the reply Morsjors!
Have just sent a picture to a local breakers yard (Moto Truck and Bakkie Kraaifontein).
Will see what they say.
Good point about buying a new set for the price of one from the dealers

Just received a reply - only 16" available. (Very quick response < 5 minutes).

I have 5 rims in very good condition for sale for R 6000.00. I fitted after market rims to my 2008 LWB.

Thanks DU 59 but I only require one rim (the problem rim is the spare - the others are fine). I'm not planning to use the vehicle over terrain worse than gravel roads and maybe sand.
BTW, where did you find after market rims? I have been looking but couldn't find 17" ones that fit Pajero?

Regards,
Tony

I used A-Line rims - available from TWT. They have a different offset to the original rims and are wider. I also had to make custom spigot rings and spare wheel bracket.

Thanks for the prompt reply DU59!
Appreciated.