What to buy now

[scott1482]

hey i have just wrote off my GEN 1 pajero which was a intercooled turbo 2.5 wagon which was a good car. But now we are looking at upgrading to a newer model and that is where im not sure v6 or turbo diesel,
Im thinking a GEN 3 but dont know if i look at 3.5 or 3.8 v6 or even a gas conversion do these motors like lpg???, i would like to know what they are like on fuel and anything to look for that go wrong with this model. or look at a 1999 GEN 2 turbo diesel 2.8 just dont no

any help would be appreciated thanks

[Busiboy]

hey i have just wrote off my GEN 1 pajero which was a intercooled turbo 2.5 wagon which was a good car. But now we are looking at upgrading to a newer model and that is where im not sure v6 or turbo diesel,
Im thinking a GEN 3 but dont know if i look at 3.5 or 3.8 v6 or even a gas conversion do these motors like lpg???, i would like to know what they are like on fuel and anything to look for that go wrong with this model. or look at a 1999 GEN 2 turbo diesel 2.8 just dont no

any help would be appreciated thanks

Depned on your cash level and what you want to do with it, from my limited experience teh v6 can be thirsty, plenty of poke though, not sure about gas.

I'd like to save for the Diesel myself

[Guy]

The single overhead cam V6 is fine in LPG, I have an NL 3/5 on gas (fumigation style not LPG injected .. LPG injetcion is more economical, but also more $$ to install)
Running LPG day to day my paj is as cheap to bomb about in as the camry it replaced, it certainly does not lack power running oin GAS
If it was a dedicated tourer I would run a diesal for the better economy loaded up and better acess to fuel etc .. but as a daily driver the lower running cost of LPG and even the loss of load space to the tank (in cab tank so I still have a full size petrol tank as well) as well as much higher inital purchase price of the diesal powered vehilce just dont make it attractive to me. I average about 60,000ks a year .. lucky if 5,000 of em are away from my "cheap" lpg fuel source .. On avergae I am still well ahead in the runing cost stakes

[scott1482]

yeah well my wife wants to try and keep it around the 10k and im thinking 15k so in between would be good i also do mostly comuting and try to get out bush once a month or stockton beach so thats why im thinking v6 on lpg and also the price of turbo diesel a bit higher... also what is fumigation style lpg... and thanks for your input

[Guy]

Fumigation LPG is the older style, the LPG gets into the motor in the air intake (between the mainfold and air cleaner .. I will take a post a pic of the engine bay at lunch time)

[date]

DIESEL Vs PETROL
I have a 2000 model NL Escape which I had fitted to gas from Day one. So far, it has done over 210000 km and apart from a few minor problems, has been trouble free. When I bought the vehicle, I wanted a diesel, but the price was too good to refuse the petrol.I have a few comments which may interest you.

1 Economy: My car gives me 15.5 L/100km on gas – no towing. This is at the legal limits whatever they are at the time, but mainly country running. When towing my 5.5 m Poptop caravan, I normally travel around 90 to 95 km/h and get around 20.5 L/100 km. With a diesel, I would expect to get about 10L/100 km empty and drop back to maybe 16 l/100 km when towing. The price of gas varies enormously, but I work on the rule that as long as gas is less than 65% of the price of Diesel, I am in front on the fuel front. In most places in Australia, gas is less than this ratio.

Interestingly, I use more gas in outback Qld than I do down South. Driving conditions are easier (flatter) out there and the main roads are quite good. I think that the gas mix is not as good as down South. This is an old topic. I think it is more propane than butane and is probably because they use the same gas for cooking as for auto use (despite what they say to the contrary).

2 Gas Installation: My gas bottle is underneath. 80 L tank (nominally 65L useable, I wish I could have a larger tank and I am sure in retrospect that I could have had a larger tank fitted. The petrol tank was removed and a new tank (about 50 l useable) was fitted under the rear passenger floor. Ground clearance has not been affected – the bottom of the rear differential is still the lowest point, but I did move the tank as far forward as possible to get clearance over humps stc.

I have the old type mixer (not the newer direct injection system). My system still uses the Oxygen sensor in the exhaust to control a stepper motor in the gas supply line, so it is using part of the car’s original ECU system.

It is vital that the ignition system be in 110% condition. I have had backfires caused by lousy ignition leads and when you get a gutful of air and gas go BANG, it is scary. At 100000 km, I replaced the plugs and leads. I used an Australian brand – TOPG-N. They were sh1t. At night, you could see the spark leads glowing. The big bang caused damage to the air filter housing and the air flow meter but I was able to rebuild it, Since then, I have had another series of dramas but hopefully it is all OK now – for a while. I closed the gaps on the spark plugs. I use NGK plugs and they have the centre probe tapering down to a fine point. After a while, the point erodes away and the plug gap increases, upping the voltage stress on the leads. I closed the gaps by about 0.1mm and hopefully this will extend the useable life of the plugs.

3 Regular Maintenance: Diesels require oil changes more often than petrol engines. Often, they use considerably more oil than petrols as well. Only a minor point, but the difference adds up, especially if you get the work done by others.

4 Fuelling up: I hate filling up with diesel. It stinks if you get it on your hands or clothes. At least with gas, the only release of vapours is when you complete the fill and a small puffog gas is released to the atmosphere.

5 Operation: I love the way diesels PULL. They are great – especially for towing. The turbos do a good job, but they tend to be noisy. The earlier Mistubishi diesels were rather agricultural, and there are still many complaints about the 3.2 diesels being noisy. Having said all this, my NL on gas pulls very well, and it certainly is quiet running.

With a diesel, you would have much better range than petrol or gas. Having said this, we have been round the block twice now, towing our caravan. The last time, I did over 18000 km and used 2 tankfuls of petrol only. The rest was gas all the way, so this tends to dispel the myths about gas not being available outback. It is there, but you have to look for it. When going outback, I take a jerry can and fill it only when I am going into an area where I will need it. We typically go to an area and set up camp fro a while. We then go out on day trips to see the various sights. This means that we haven’t gone the length of the Gibb River Road for example, but we have seen lengthy sections of each end. We have been through the Kimberlies, North from Cooktown to Laura and out through Camerons Corner and lots of other places, so the lack of fuel hasn’t really affected us too much. My wife still likes her hot shower and comfortable bed each night, so we cannot stray too far from our caravan

I have inserted a relay in the petrol pump power line to isolate the pump when I run on gas. Thus, I can leave the gas tank full when I know I am going into a dry area and I can run the petrol tank to empty without damaging the pump.

I have gone on for to long now. As you can see, I am hooked on gas and whilst the car runs as sweetly as it currently does, can see no reason to pension it off and get another – petrol gas or diesel

[RO8M]

Now that is a well though-out response. Thanks for sharing.

[scott1482]

wow that reply was great thanks a heap..
thats the other thing i was thinking the price of turbo diesels when things go wrong is huge and scary and higher maintence as you mentioned.
the other thing is what size tyres where you running when you got that econemy and also how many litres per 100kms do you get with petrol
cheers

[date]

I have a virtually bog standard 2000 NL Escape. Tyres are Michelin 4x4 synchrone 237/75 x 15, running at about 34 psi, except when I am towing the van and the rears are bumped up to 38 psi. I have a very light foot, but don't do any tricks like coasting downhill in neutral or with engine off etc. I have kept records of everything I have done to or spent on the car, but there is nothing exceptional to show for this. For what it is worth, I reckon I increased consumption by about 0.5 L/100 km when I fitted a poly bullbar.

I do drive quietly, but the tyre life of the original tyres was pathetic. I got 52000 from the original set (4 only). I put a new set of Michelin AT on and had 84000 km on the 4 tyres (spare still unused) when I staked one in Kakadu. I tried to get a new Michelin in Kakadu and Darwin, but no go. I finished up buying a new Yokohama which matched the original spare (still unused). I then rotated the 3 remaining tyres around the front to even out the wear, intending to ultimately buy 4 new Michelins. You would never guess which tyres wore out first - the old Michelins or the new Yokohamas... Well with 125000 on the old Michelins, I bought the new tyres and it was the Yokos which were stuffed. I couldn't buy new Michelin At's and had to settle for the 4x4 Synchrone. I don't think they are as good, but time will tell. They are more of a highway pattern tread. I still have one of the old Michelins as a spare and it has about 3 mm tread over the wear bars.

I really don't have much of an idea about petrol consumption. I know that I did get about 12 L/100 km on petrol out near Innaminca, but I was driving very carefully because I didn't want to crash out there (no radio or phone at the time). That was no caravan. The only other times I run on petrol are when I run out of gas - towing the van I get about 16 L/100 km on petrol. I so rarely fill with petrol (I know - I should use petrol every month or whatever!) that I don't have accurate records of consumption, but I estimate about 20% less petrol used for the same distance.

[burnse]

I have had a couple of gen 2 SWB pajeros, 3L V6 and 3.5 DOHC V6 and they were both thirsty. Would love to run LPG but lack of space in the SWB prevents extra tanks being fitted.

Off topic but I have to agree with Date (great posts by the way) on the Michelin ATs for durability, I had a set on a 4wd ford ranger (factory fitted tyres) work vehicle. They were not treated too nicely and I got around 90000 km. Could have pushed them to 100000 but changed them before they got too low.

[scott1482]

i am looking at a 2000 exceed at the moment 172000ks on it petrol and gas all the luxury stuff on board $14.600 how does that sound..just have to talk the mrs in to it

[scott1482]

spewin i finally talked the missus into the exceed but i was to late it was sold if anyone comes across one around the $15,000 or under let me know
cheers

[scott1482]

going to look a two NL LWB tomorrow only thing i dont like is that they are 4speed autos which the missus likes,what do you guys think of the auto trans i have never owned a automatic car before so stupid question is how do you go about inclins and deciline in an auto leave it in drive or hold it in a gear yourself?? like i said stupid question but any info would come in handy..