Pajero Mk1 1989

Thatnastyboy

Howdy, new to this aspect of motoring

A friend and I bought a mk1 pajero 2.5td a few days ago hoping to try our hand at a bit of offroading etc.

We've read up on them and the common faults etc and how to use the part time 4wd system properly and safely.

Theres a small few niggles but mostly its a very good jeep with a good strong engine, and perfect gearbox etc etc.

So basically Im looking for advice on how to use this machine properly offroad and get as much enjoyment as possible while keeping costs to an absolute minimum

Also, the Paj came with a full set of brand new road tires, which, as we have found out already (stuck in a puddle) are useless to us, can anyone point us in the direction of someone/somewhere who may be interested in swapping/etc for a set of off road or mud tires, the terrain we will mostly be seeing is bog, WET bog

101sean

Plenty of extreme remould rubber out there that's hopeless on the road but will get well stuck in to a bog!

Good tyres and being able to read the ground should get you most places, plunging in full throttle will mean you won't come out again so take it gentle

Few of the lads over on 4xforum.net have regular outings and there's always tyres for sale on there.

doctorchopper

I think most of the faults with the 4x4 system are for the mk2 version and the vacuum system. Yes proper mud tyres will be your best investment,a winch should be second on the list. 4x4 low range would be your best option for any serious off roading as they are a little underpowered. I had a 89 lwb,was a great bus, never let me down. Have a 2005 swb now and would go back to the 89 in the morning if i could.

Thatnastyboy

Thanks for the replies lads,

Thanks for pointing out that forum Sean, joined up there

I would like to think i have a reasonable ability of reading the ground (plenty of years watching and drawing overloaded trailers of turf through damp bogs with little more than a diesel peugeot 305 :pac: ) but we'll see how we get on, have access to a tractor anyway if things do go tits up.

@Doc, thanks, good to know, gearboxes and all that wouldnt be my strong point at all, nice to know it should be reliable enough.

It would be nice to get a set alright, its pretty much useless on the road tires.. yes i agree, a winch is 2nd on the list alright, i reckon the jeep is high enough too for what we'll be doing anyway, unless there will be a clearance issue with tires im not sure..

101sean

Seen you there but keep posting here too.

I wouldn't worry too much about big tyres, stick to standard sizes.

Went off roading up in Achill once, guy who led us round was in a 90 on road tyres; he never got stuck while some of us in hevier vehicles on MTs were floundering :rolleyes:

pete4130

Do a 4WD driving course. It could save your life. I've had to do them with work here in Australia and its only when I've done it, you realise how easy it is to injure yourself in a recovery.

For example, simple things like knowing that being stuck up to the rims is a stage 1 recovery where you need a snatch strap/recovery strap/mounting points and anchors that can take the equivelant weight of the vehicle & load. so if your Paj os 2 ton, you need a minimum of a 2 ton strap and recovery points on your vehicle

stage 2 is up to the hubs. You need DOUBLE the wieght of your vehicle and load for safe recovery, meaning a 4 ton strap and recovery points.

Stage 3 is to the undercarriage. This means you need THREE times the vehicle weight and load for safe recovery meaning at least 6 ton strap, anchor points etc...assuming your paj is 2 ton

A common thing people do is to recover from the tow bar. A tow bar isn't designed for the shear force of 4 or 6 ton. It can rip off and fly through the air and have been known to smash people skulls in 2 after flying through the rear of the recovering vehicle.

Again winches are good for recovery but they aren't designed to take a heavy vehicles weight without support of the drive train. A steel cable snapping and coming back can cut you into pieces.

Muddies will be better in the bog but will be terrible on the road. A good compromise is a set of all terrain with a 60/40 or 70/30 road/off road tread on them. I did my course in a rental car that my work had and it had skinny H/T tyres on and it struggled compared to 80/20 A/T's a lot.

Best thing you can have for recovery are 2 long handled shovels to dig down from a stage 3 recovery to a stage 2 or stage 1. Another great tool is a set of Max Trax (not sure if you can get them in Ireland?).