Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Morning all,

Having looked through this forum regarding this subject I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I have recently bought a 2005 GLS 3.2 LWB, and want to raise it as much as possible, as it seems very low to the ground. If I understand correctly from reading the forum you cannot raise the suspension too much due to the angle of the CV joints. My question is, does using suspension spacers affect this angle? Or can I put OME and spacers together to gain a little more height?

Many thanks
Darrell

your vehicle has a monocoque chassis which makes lifting the vehicle without changing cv angles next to impossible.

Your best bet would be to put bigger tyres on.

The gen2 pajeros have ladder chassis' and lifting them is pretty easy as it only raises the body but the chassis clearance stays the same.

Hi Darrell

I have a 2006 3.2GLX LWB and opted for the Ironman Suspension that gave me about 60mm front and 55mm in the rear, not sure why you whould need more than that!

4ePikanini wrote:your vehicle has a monocoque chassis which makes lifting the vehicle without changing cv angles next to impossible.

Your best bet would be to put bigger tyres on.

The gen2 pajeros have ladder chassis' and lifting them is pretty easy as it only raises the body but the chassis clearance stays the same.

ThePajeroMan wrote:Hi Darrell
</BR>
</BR>I have a 2006 3.2GLX LWB and opted for the Ironman Suspension that gave me about 60mm front and 55mm in the rear, not sure why you whould need more than that!

I am now more confused than ever. I own a 2001 pajero ck. Can I or can't I fit an aftermarket suspension kit, and what kind would you recommend. I had for four plates fitted for protection, but the vehicle is just to low for serious off roading ,and with all your camp gear loaded....... did I make a mistake buying the pajero?

Hi Lawrence,

Made a mistake buying the pajero.....never. We have done almost 15000km offroad of probably the harshest conditions you would experience overlanding and it took all of this in it's stride and has never skipped a beat, it has pulled a few cruzas out on the same trip (3 in total), but has never left me standing or looking for an alternative route, nor embarrased nor holding any of the party back. It did all of this very heavily loaded and with 4 people on board, and at this stage the suspension and tyres were still standard, only extras were an inverter and a packing system.

Having done van Zyls pass, and several roads/tracks where the locals said are you going through there with the cruza and the Pajero will hold you back (hunters route in Zim en route to Mana Pools). There were some sections where we had to drive in front as we were lighter, more agile and had good power to weight ratio to get through to have a leader vehicle to pull others through if and when they got boggeddown, and 2 cruzas got bogged down where we cruised through.

One of the 100 series cruzers had to turn around and go and drop off a heavy trailer (this cruza had the air suspension replaced with Old Man Emu), and instead they returned with the cruza pickup with the cattle cage for all the heavy gear. Another was the 100 series type Lexus, which we pulled out of one of the river beds, he was towing a trailer too though (huarisib or hoanib, can never remember, the one with the mushy conditions when wet). When the trip started there was lots of chirping (all good fun of course), but at the end of the trip the Pajero was re-named PAHERO and was used as the recovery vehicle on 4 occassions, and impressed all the guys in the group.

The cruzas were fitted with OME, the Pajero was std suspension, so far still is, got other items which are taking preference first as it is still very capable as it curently is.

The only item that I think you need to watch is the long rear on the LWB (which if you measure next to the 100 series cruza is almost identical, some useless info but next time have a look), so just need to be careful on this side and you are good. Only change I am looking at doing is perhaps the air helper springs in the rear to firstly level the headlights (get frustrated with the flashing from oncoming traffic, and adding more spots up front for thos), and keep the rear a bit higher when fully loaded as this is the only component which took 1 or 2 scrapes.

I have since changed the tyres and gone up to 265/75/16 BFG AT's and this has made a big enough difference on clearance. The bash plates did their job as they should on van Zyls, and came through with flying colours and impressed all on this trip (including myself).

The Pajero is strong, reliable, capable, comfortable and I never even wonder if we will make it back after a 8000km trip, it has earned my trust and I love mine, and the next too will be a newer model Pajero when the time comes.

So no the Pajero is not a bad choice, just focus on not damaging the rear when fully loaded on some steep dips,and ascents and you will follow all "twee spoor" tracks wherever they may lead and whoever is leading or following, and this is great!

Found this article which you may find answers most of your questions around raising the suspension - click http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/sho ... hp?t=10348

Raising the height of the vehicle can be done with shocks and springs etc but it affects the cv joint angle.

if you want to keep the cv joint angle intact then the only option is bigger tyres.

with a gen2 the suspension and body is separate so you can lift the body without moving the suspension.

with a gen3 the suspension is part of the body so you can't raise the vehicle without changing the CV angle.

what is the pro / cons of changing the CV angles if one want to fit extra spacers? Costs involved?

There are different ways to lift vehicles. Perhaps we should first sort out the terminology:

Body Lift:
This is something that can only be done to a vehicle with body-on-frame construction (like most bakkies, for instance and also the Gen 1/Gen 2 Pajeros). Spacers are inserted in between the body and the chassis to lift the body away from the chassis. This then makes room for bigger wheels/tyres and can help to improve the approach/departure angles and sill clearance. It does not alter the ground clearance, because the axles are still in the same position relative to the chassis and normally the minimum ground clearance is under the front or rear differential. It typically does not improve hump clearance either. A body lift has the advantage that the drivetrain angles are not changed from those intended by the original designers, but, depending on the degree of body lift, several issues do have to be attended to in order for everything to keep working; the gear linkage might need adjusting/altering, the cooling fan shroud might need altering, bumper mounts might need altering, etc.

Subframe Lift:
On a vehicles with unitary construction (as opposed to body-on-frame), the suspension is often attached to subframes at the front and rear in the interests of vibration isolation and strength. The Pajero Gen 3 is designed in this way as well. On these vehicles it is possible to insert spacers between the subframes and the body in order to lift the body away from the subframes. This works just like a body lift, but with different issues (the gear linkage, fan shroud and bumpers aren't affected, but now the drive-shafts running to the axles run at different angles to those intended by the designers). A subframe lift also does not improve the clearance under the differentials, but it does improve hump clearance, sill clearance, approach and departure angles and makes it possible to fit larger tyres.

Suspension Lift:
Different springs and/or spring spacers are fitted in order to alter the ride height of the vehicle. This improves the approach/departure angles and hump clearance (and sill clearance) and could improve the ground clearance (only on independent suspensions). A suspension lift alters the drivetrain angles and this might have drivetrain durability implications. On a solid axle, the suspension lift alters the angle of the propellor shaft running to the differential on that axle and on an independant axle, the suspension lift alters the angles of the sideshafts running from the differential to the wheels.


As a general statement (not Paj Gen 3 specific) I would regard 50mm as just about the maximum suspension or subframe lift that one should install without some re-engineering of other bits of the vehicle. More than this ends up being too much of a compromise in terms of driveline durability and suspension functionality.

There are many opinions about the aftermarket suspensions. I have an Ironman system in my LWB and would not really recommend it. Many owners are happy with OME and I have heard that TJM XGS is also a good option. In the case of the Gen 3 Paj it is important to know that all of these systems increase the ride height, but actually reduce the suspension's flexibility (i.e. its ability to conform to terrain that would tend to cross-axle the vehicle). This happens because the increased ride height is gained by fitting springs of increased stiffness, which means that rebound travel is lost while bump travel is theoretically gained (but to access this additional bump travel, a stiffer spring has to be deflected than with the standard suspensions). The end result is that the vehicle becomes more prone to lifting wheels over undulating terrain. As far as I am aware, there are no aftermarket shocks for the Gen 3 with greater open length than the standard items.

The suspension salesmen will tell you that you have to change shocks when changing coils, because they are designed to work together. There is some truth to this, but I don't think it is essential. The Ironman shocks that I have in my Gen 3 are nowhere near as good as the original Mitsu shocks that I replaced. The Ironmans were OK when brand new, but rapidly deteriorated. By the time they had done 45000 km they were much worse than the originals were at 120000 km.

I have run our Gen 3 with the Ironman lift (around 50mm lift) for 80000 km without any driveline issues.

Davidvan wrote:Hi Lawrence,

Made a mistake buying the pajero.....never. We have done almost 15000km offroad of probably the harshest conditions you would experience overlanding and it took all of this in it's stride and has never skipped a beat, it has pulled a few cruzas out on the same trip (3 in total), but has never left me standing or looking for an alternative route, nor embarrased nor holding any of the party back. It did all of this very heavily loaded and with 4 people on board, and at this stage the suspension and tyres were still standard, only extras were an inverter and a packing system.

Having done van Zyls pass, and several roads/tracks where the locals said are you going through there with the cruza and the Pajero will hold you back (hunters route in Zim en route to Mana Pools). There were some sections where we had to drive in front as we were lighter, more agile and had good power to weight ratio to get through to have a leader vehicle to pull others through if and when they got boggeddown, and 2 cruzas got bogged down where we cruised through.

One of the 100 series cruzers had to turn around and go and drop off a heavy trailer (this cruza had the air suspension replaced with Old Man Emu), and instead they returned with the cruza pickup with the cattle cage for all the heavy gear. Another was the 100 series type Lexus, which we pulled out of one of the river beds, he was towing a trailer too though (huarisib or hoanib, can never remember, the one with the mushy conditions when wet). When the trip started there was lots of chirping (all good fun of course), but at the end of the trip the Pajero was re-named PAHERO and was used as the recovery vehicle on 4 occassions, and impressed all the guys in the group.

The cruzas were fitted with OME, the Pajero was std suspension, so far still is, got other items which are taking preference first as it is still very capable as it curently is.

The only item that I think you need to watch is the long rear on the LWB (which if you measure next to the 100 series cruza is almost identical, some useless info but next time have a look), so just need to be careful on this side and you are good. Only change I am looking at doing is perhaps the air helper springs in the rear to firstly level the headlights (get frustrated with the flashing from oncoming traffic, and adding more spots up front for thos), and keep the rear a bit higher when fully loaded as this is the only component which took 1 or 2 scrapes.

I have since changed the tyres and gone up to 265/75/16 BFG AT's and this has made a big enough difference on clearance. The bash plates did their job as they should on van Zyls, and came through with flying colours and impressed all on this trip (including myself).

The Pajero is strong, reliable, capable, comfortable and I never even wonder if we will make it back after a 8000km trip, it has earned my trust and I love mine, and the next too will be a newer model Pajero when the time comes.

So no the Pajero is not a bad choice, just focus on not damaging the rear when fully loaded on some steep dips,and ascents and you will follow all "twee spoor" tracks wherever they may lead and whoever is leading or following, and this is great!

Found this article which you may find answers most of your questions around raising the suspension - click http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/sho ... hp?t=10348

Thank you for your encouraging comment it set my mind somewhat at ease.