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My Paj Story - 2 Fuel Filters, 2 Cracked Manifolds, 1 overheating and a happy ending
Hi,
First of all, great forum guys. I have had my 2001 3.5 Petrol GLS NM for 5 months now and this forum has been a valuable resource.
I thought I would post some info on the heartaches I have had with my NM, but ultimately a great learning experience and now that it is all sorted, a great 4wd.
My family run a workshop, so we bought an NM right on 100,000km for a good price, as no one seems to want to fork out for 100k service (timing belt etc).
Anyway, bought the Paj, straight to the workshop for cargo barrier, 4 new desert duellers, full timing belt kit, platinum plugs, new fuel filter, water pump (minor leak), every single fluid was dumped and changed, tranny service, the works (as we do with all our second hand cars).
Then straight down to Parnells in Adelaide for a sequential vapour LPG injection system.
Then I was off on our first trip, Gas was running great, but we started getting issues with hard starting and power loss on Petrol.
The issue seemed to be engine management at first and the problem started just after the LPG install. When fitting the LPG system, they pull the entire manifold apart and rill into it. It is a major job and they tap into pretty much all the engine management input sensor wires (albeit with some very average soldering). Hence the Paj went straight back to Gas guys for a check over.
In short, they were very good about the whole thing, and they pulled the whole system down and could not locate anything.
We assumed it couldn?t be the fuel filter ? as it was brand new ? however after 2 months of me getting very p***sed off with the car, we pulled the fuel filter out again and low and behold, a compressed air pressure test on the bench showed the plastic welds/seams on the filter had split ? Eureka!
A new Ryco filter went in and I was off again. It seems the fuel filter/pump setup on these are very complex and not very well suited to an off road vehicle.
We were off again travelling, HOWEVER, slowly but surely the problem started again? Bloody hell, must have been something other than the fuel filter so on went the scan tool, no error codes, but it was still running lean? Surely we aren?t that unlucky, but after pulling the fuel filter out again ? same issue. A bad batch of ryco filters no doubt. A genuine filter was fitted and the car started great and had full power. Good lesson learnt ? stick with genuine fuel filters and check them before anything else!
So the Paj was running sweet? No ? it still wasn?t. It was still running a bit rough, using too much fuel and had a nasty lag on takeoff. What now? I noticed a ticking noise and promptly removed the exhaust manifold heat shields to find a very small crack in the manifold. The order for a set of wildcat headers was placed very quickly and on they went. Once we had the manifolds off, it was not a minor crack on one manifold? but both had whopping big cracks.
The car now is running like a dream. Much more power (back to normal + a small boost from the extractors) all lag issues are resolved and she purrs with the wildcats.
I was all set, the big Easter trip towing 1.2 tonne boat 800km round trip ? easy! The Paj purred in 5th most of the way, great economy.
BUT as we rolled back into town, that temp needle went higher than I would like. It had slightly boiled. No worries, we let it cool and out came the radiator. Off to the radiator guys, 35% blocked, easy fix.
So now it is all set for the next big test, Anzac Day weekend Coorong + Little Dip Trip.
So that is my little tale ? a lot of pain, but ultimately a great 4wd, very competent off road and very good towing. Great auto for newbies like me to sand driving!
Yes, a big rambling post, but I hope some good information/lessons for NM/NP purchasers:
1) Don?t assume low KM?s means no radiator blockages etc. Those lovely ?Never been Off Road cars? really means ?heaps of city km?s and bugger all love/servicing?.
Take every car on it?s merits. I cracked the manifolds with my first decent sand driving effort
2) Get your radiator cleaned out before any hard work off road or long distance towing. Get a radiator specialist to clean it out.
3) Use genuine fuel filters ? any issues with petrol starting, check fuel pressure and check fuel filter ? don?t delay!
4) Injected Gas is awesome ? don?t pay $130 to fill your petrol Paj with ULP again. It will pay for itself in 20,000 km?s.
5) Check your exhaust manifolds carefully. Fit extractors, they really make a difference.
Your forum helped me along the way greatly, I hope this little story helps someone else!
Hi,
First of all, great forum guys. I have had my 2001 3.5 Petrol GLS NM for 5 months now and this forum has been a valuable resource.
I thought I would post some info on the heartaches I have had with my NM, but ultimately a great learning experience and now that it is all sorted, a great 4wd.
My family run a workshop, so we bought an NM right on 100,000km for a good price, as no one seems to want to fork out for 100k service (timing belt etc).
Anyway, bought the Paj, straight to the workshop for cargo barrier, 4 new desert duellers, full timing belt kit, platinum plugs, new fuel filter, water pump (minor leak), every single fluid was dumped and changed, tranny service, the works (as we do with all our second hand cars).
Then straight down to Parnells in Adelaide for a sequential vapour LPG injection system.
Then I was off on our first trip, Gas was running great, but we started getting issues with hard starting and power loss on Petrol.
The issue seemed to be engine management at first and the problem started just after the LPG install. When fitting the LPG system, they pull the entire manifold apart and rill into it. It is a major job and they tap into pretty much all the engine management input sensor wires (albeit with some very average soldering). Hence the Paj went straight back to Gas guys for a check over.
In short, they were very good about the whole thing, and they pulled the whole system down and could not locate anything.
We assumed it couldn?t be the fuel filter ? as it was brand new ? however after 2 months of me getting very p***sed off with the car, we pulled the fuel filter out again and low and behold, a compressed air pressure test on the bench showed the plastic welds/seams on the filter had split ? Eureka!
A new Ryco filter went in and I was off again. It seems the fuel filter/pump setup on these are very complex and not very well suited to an off road vehicle.
We were off again travelling, HOWEVER, slowly but surely the problem started again? Bloody hell, must have been something other than the fuel filter so on went the scan tool, no error codes, but it was still running lean? Surely we aren?t that unlucky, but after pulling the fuel filter out again ? same issue. A bad batch of ryco filters no doubt. A genuine filter was fitted and the car started great and had full power. Good lesson learnt ? stick with genuine fuel filters and check them before anything else!
So the Paj was running sweet? No ? it still wasn?t. It was still running a bit rough, using too much fuel and had a nasty lag on takeoff. What now? I noticed a ticking noise and promptly removed the exhaust manifold heat shields to find a very small crack in the manifold. The order for a set of wildcat headers was placed very quickly and on they went. Once we had the manifolds off, it was not a minor crack on one manifold? but both had whopping big cracks.
The car now is running like a dream. Much more power (back to normal + a small boost from the extractors) all lag issues are resolved and she purrs with the wildcats.
I was all set, the big Easter trip towing 1.2 tonne boat 800km round trip ? easy! The Paj purred in 5th most of the way, great economy.
BUT as we rolled back into town, that temp needle went higher than I would like. It had slightly boiled. No worries, we let it cool and out came the radiator. Off to the radiator guys, 35% blocked, easy fix.
So now it is all set for the next big test, Anzac Day weekend Coorong + Little Dip Trip.
So that is my little tale ? a lot of pain, but ultimately a great 4wd, very competent off road and very good towing. Great auto for newbies like me to sand driving!
Yes, a big rambling post, but I hope some good information/lessons for NM/NP purchasers:
1) Don?t assume low KM?s means no radiator blockages etc. Those lovely ?Never been Off Road cars? really means ?heaps of city km?s and bugger all love/servicing?.
Take every car on it?s merits. I cracked the manifolds with my first decent sand driving effort
2) Get your radiator cleaned out before any hard work off road or long distance towing. Get a radiator specialist to clean it out.
3) Use genuine fuel filters ? any issues with petrol starting, check fuel pressure and check fuel filter ? don?t delay!
4) Injected Gas is awesome ? don?t pay $130 to fill your petrol Paj with ULP again. It will pay for itself in 20,000 km?s.
5) Check your exhaust manifolds carefully. Fit extractors, they really make a difference.
Your forum helped me along the way greatly, I hope this little story helps someone else!
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