NS pajero noise

[Westender]

G'day everyone,
First post.. have found lots of great info and tips here since purchasing my 2nd hand NS pajero a few years ago so thanks in advance for any more great insight!

have been hearing an intermittent knocking or rattle from the front, i think the left side. I'm not the most mechanically minded so i don't really know what it could be. I've uploaded a short youtube of the noise i'm experiencing hopefully you can hear it

https://youtu.be/UXKAZrpfqBo

it is not always there, but usually after driving around town at low speeds it seems to more present. I've had the Paj since 135k on the clock (now at 170k) and has been regularly serviced including having the tensioner done at the last time in the mechanics, so i don't think it's the engine. i did report the noise to the mech but he didn't find an issue it's only the last few months i've been hearing this.

Any clues?

cheers
Francis

[tonee]

Something like that is hard to find, all most rattle and clunks actually. The best way is located an area and just grab and wiggle everything to see what moves. Have a look at the rods and bushings behind the front and rear wheels as they wear out over time. Wiggle your exhaust at different sections to see if it moves too

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

[ckwan028]

Was it a hot day? I have the very same issue, only in a hot day. The hotter, the louder. Never heard the noise on a cool day. One day I use a spray gun to clean that area, the noise is gone, but only for 10min. So, I believe it is temperature related. Tried lubricated all the suspension bushes, doesn't help. Some people suggest front engine mounts, but I haven't tried it yet.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[hostile]

Sounds a bit like mine , my mechanic reckons it's the power steering rack. They want to get it rebuilt. I only hear after I've been driving around for a while and only at low speeds. Haven't had it fixed yet as my wallet is still recovering from a major service and new tyres.

[Ky1e]

What position was your transfer case in for this video?

[Garc]

Not sure of you model but my Exceed had a similar quiet knock. Took a lot of looking but turned out to be the ride height sensor for the HID headlights. Look on the suspension top arm for a set of small links going to a box mounted on the body. This set up is only on the passenger side. In mine the axle in the box was stuffed so it bobbled up and down rather than rotating. The other sign was that the auto dipping rear view mirror had stopped (I didn’t realise this until I fixed it).
After being quoted +$700 from Mitsi I went online and got one from China on Alibaba. Fitted perfectly for $150 delivered.

[Westender]

thanks all for your replies. haven't figured it out yet, but with the pending lockdown maybe might have a bit more time to poke around. I will def check out some of the suggestions above.
I don't think it's related to a hot day.. as the noise is consistent no matter the time of day / temp, it is a low speed issue that doesn't come on right away but if driving around the city for a while (30mins / 1 hour) i can usually hear it.

haven't been off road for ages (Life got busy with a bub) so it's pretty much all 2wd mode. But would feel better about going out again if i knew what the issue was.

[Bennett]

Probably not it, but grab hold of your air box and see if any of it is loose particularly the lid. Some of the clips snapped off on mine and it would rattle at low revs sometimes. I zipped tied it together after finding out the replacement cost...

[ChasingSunsets]

Hi,

I'd hazard a guess it's your lower or upper ball joints on the front. Mine also acted up only on really hot days as the fluid loses it's viscosity. Get under the car and grab the ball joints while someone rocks it. You should feel it.

Cheers

[hostile]

So I had my power steering rack rebuilt and my noise is still there but not as bad as it was before. but I haven’t been able to take it on a decent drive yet. Rear shock has a slight leak too.