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Moonchooks NE(F?) 1988 LWB Exceed

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  • Moonchook
    Member
    • Jun 2014
    • 65
    • Brisbane

    Moonchooks NE(F?) 1988 LWB Exceed

    Hey all,

    Recently purchased a pajero, my third mitsubishi. The first being an Import an RVR HSGR turbo awd wagon a few years back which I neglected to pay the proper respect and I end up decimating a big end bearing and damaging the crank. she sat off the road for couple years before being stripped and sold off as parts and has only just left the stable to make room for the pajero.



    having killed the RVR I disciplined myself and had a 1986 corolla seca with the indestructible 4ac carbie boat anchor. It was a reliable old car and got me to and from work cheaply if not comfortably for 18 months.

    With the rolla starting to fall to bits and having paid of all my personal debt I decided it was time for my first new car and purchased a MY14 mitsubishi mirage to be my new daily driver in febuary of this year .



    I have been pretty happy with the mirage its a great little car! heaps of power for a three cylinder as long as you don't load it up to much but is really only suited to trips not much longer than an hr. It gets me to work and back and only asks for juice about once every three weeks returning about 5.2-5.6L/100km with 95ron unleaded, about 3000kms on her so far.

    Anyway have had the idea floating around in the back of my head for a while to get a 4x4 to do some touring on holidays with my partner out to Alice Springs to explore and see my old man and maybe down into the state forests in NSW or go outback to Western or Northern QLD.

    Enter the Pajero, was browsing on the usual sites, not with the intention to buy then this jumped out at me and ticked alot of boxes. diesel, auto, bullbar, spotties, uhf, all the labour intensive suspension bits replaced and 6 months rego and within my budget to boot!





    The Good:

    ARB bullbar
    recent heavy duty leaves and recent shock absorbers.
    All bushes, ball joints and bump stops had been replaced (visually confirmed this myself under the car, matches receipt for suspension work totalling $1400)
    GME UHF
    Spotties
    Rear disc brakes (though worn)
    minimal surface rust on exterior panels
    all electrics including spotties work (with a few minor niggles)
    Dual Battery
    heavy duty tow bar
    anderson plug
    tyres have at least 6 months life left in them.

    the bad

    questionable service history, oil I believe has been done regularly but other major items, belts and other fluids have been neglected.
    air con needs regass (but is converted to r134a luckily!)
    previous owner installed intercooler scoop on wrong side to allow air to flow over the block, looks ok anyway :P


    Plans:

    My overall budget for the truck including purchase price, insurance and repairs was $5000, which in Queensland is about as cheap as it gets for a non thrashed, rust and dent free diesel 4x4 ready for some touring.

    here is the breakdown so far;

    most parts have been sourced from the comfort of my computer chair and delivered to my door, prices include delivery costs to keep this realistic. I am doing the labour myself as I have the space, time and am confident in my ability to service my own vehicles and have collected a decent tool kit over the years.

    1988 LWB exceed

    cost: $3400

    duty: $126

    insurance: $169

    $3695

    $1305 budget

    BOUGHT

    timing kit and front wheel bearings
    (Allied bearings, Cairns) $239.75
    Castrol ATF dex III 5L (Autobarn) $34.99
    Gates AIR/ALT/ACC belts $54.97
    PENRITE HPR 20W60 10L $79.99
    PENRITE 80W90 5L $63.98
    OIL FILTER $54.99
    15L coolant $54.98
    at filter kit $29.00
    water pump $59.11
    Thermostat Gasket $3.49
    radiator cap $10.99
    Upper and lower hose $43.06
    Thermostat $44.39

    genuine parts $56.19

    $829.88

    475.12CR

    TO BUY

    DBA1238 REAR pads
    ferodo zero $31.96
    DB1113 FRONT pads $74.40
    RDA233 rear disc $89.30

    Sakura FA1032 air filter ??
    (brisbane air cleaners)


    total $195.66


    $279.46

    OPTION

    bbt redhead compressor $109 (partner already has an ARB compressor in her pathfinder so might give it a miss)
    Air con regas/repair <$300 (hopefully)
    31 x 10.5 r15 out of my budget doh!

    Anyway will post some pictures as I progress with my first task of replacing the timing belts, cam and crank seals, and water pump this week as time allows. It is my first attempt at doing a timing belt service so I'm taking my time to make sure its done right first go.
    Last edited by Moonchook; 19-06-14, 06:50 PM.
  • Betz
    Senior Member
    • May 2012
    • 265
    • 'stralia

    #2
    Nice, love the Gen 1's

    That RVR thing looks cool as well
    2001 NM 2.8tdi GL, 5 spd Manual, MM Bullbar, Dual Batt, 400w Inverter, Boo's intercooler, sump and tranny guards, Dobinsons HD raised springs, Strut/Spring spacers, Bilstein shocks, Front Aussie Locker, 255/85x16 Cooper Discoverer S/T, much more to come....

    Comment

    • kreyzgym
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2012
      • 275
      • Melbourne

      #3
      Oil filter is like 5 bucks cheaper than a water pump..? Damn

      Love this car! Tri tone, colour coded bull bar.. auto, diesel! Ideal! Not too keen on the bonnet scoop, be it correct side or not.. but this import rules!
      1989 NG single cab ute. 33" Federals, ARB bar & completely incomplete

      Comment

      • Moonchook
        Member
        • Jun 2014
        • 65
        • Brisbane

        #4
        Originally posted by kreyzgym View Post
        Oil filter is like 5 bucks cheaper than a water pump..? Damn

        Love this car! Tri tone, colour coded bull bar.. auto, diesel! Ideal! Not too keen on the bonnet scoop, be it correct side or not.. but this import rules!
        yeah will be getting the oil filter from ebay next time, this one was from autobarn, supercheap was about $5 dearer for the ryco one!

        I have plans for the scoop, will be replacing it with a different one and hopefully make it a functional item once I figure out a few things regarding intercooling, not sure what the cut is going to look like once removed.

        Comment

        • awbeattie381
          Valued Member
          • Apr 2011
          • 888
          • Inner West, Sydney

          #5
          great looking Gen 1. Probably has really low kays too. So clean!

          Buy a second hand bonnet from an intercooled diesel and you solve all your scoop position issues.

          Any mods planned? 31s might be within your budget just look on ebay/gumtree for second hand ones. You will need new rims though as those are only 6 inch wide (need 7 for 31s).
          Andrew
          1989 NG Superwagon V6
          2017 Subaru Forester Diesel
          1974 Viscount Valiant Caravan

          Comment

          • Moonchook
            Member
            • Jun 2014
            • 65
            • Brisbane

            #6
            Originally posted by awbeattie381 View Post
            great looking Gen 1. Probably has really low kays too. So clean!

            Buy a second hand bonnet from an intercooled diesel and you solve all your scoop position issues.

            Any mods planned? 31s might be within your budget just look on ebay/gumtree for second hand ones. You will need new rims though as those are only 6 inch wide (need 7 for 31s).
            kays arent very low at all, this was used by a couple of grey nomads as a tourer towing a camper trailer all over Oz, hence the anderson plug and heavy duty suspension. With all the suspension and bushes renewed and no major issues besides servicing going on with the diesel I was not put off by the kilometres which are at about 257,000, which is still low for an old diesel I guess.

            good idea on the new bonnet, I might go that way as this one is pretty beat up has a few dings, the obvious cut and pretty bad scratching accross it, from what I can guess, being parked in a bush!

            Thinking I will keep the tyres outside of this budget in order to get exactly what I want, buy once, cry once sort of thing.

            well had a small victory had started the timing belt service last friday as all my parts have arrived, got the radiator out, timing covers off, harmonic balancer pulley, crank shaft bolt and sprocket removed then realised I had used the three gear puller incorrectly, the threads on it had pushed into and damaged the first few threads in the crank snout, should have reinstalled the crank bolt before using the tool .

            bugger, well I ordered a cheapo tap on ebay in the correct size which arrived yesterday, I struggled for a couple hours to get it started in the crank using a shifter but that obviously wasn't going to work.

            So today after work I rode down (still have the mirage but sister was borrowing it today) to repco to get a tap wrench, nup don't have anything like that, alright down the road further to a tradesman tool shop and managed to get a suttons tap wrench and while there decided to get a decent quality tap at the same time, set me back $120 for the wrench and tap but I figured that would be the least it would cost me to have a mechanic out to fix it and I'll have these tools forever.

            good quality tools



            within five minutes,



            Success!

            damaged crank seal



            as you can see the crank seal is in need of replacing, I'm hoping that this is the culprit for all that oil on the sump as i'm not looking forward to having to do a sump gasket, have done one on my partners pathfinder and had to drop the bloody diff in order to get the sump off! reading the haynes manual though its doesn't sound as bad on the pajeros.

            I'll keep plodding along with replacing the timing belts once i've replaced all the seals and cleaned the front of the engine, am using the following guide and a haynes and mitsubishi workshop manuals for reference.

            This write-up is for informational purposes only.... First is to remove the radiator (& hoses) to give you enough space. Disconnect also the


            the next tool I need to make

            Comment

            • kreyzgym
              Senior Member
              • Mar 2012
              • 275
              • Melbourne

              #7
              Sutton are bloody expensive! whenever I need good bits or holesaws at work I get sutton..

              I'm sure I read here recently someone found something in their sump when it was out.. in a diesel, and I don't remember hearing anything about the diff needing to be removed
              1989 NG single cab ute. 33" Federals, ARB bar & completely incomplete

              Comment

              • scorpion 42
                Valued Member
                • Jan 2011
                • 637
                • London. uk

                #8
                OK Moonchuck, Stop right there, I hope you have sorced a new crankbolt, because you CAN NOT reuse the old one, because of the NM pressure needed to bolt it up too.
                Anyhow take care and take your time, because the snail always beats the rabbit.

                Comment

                • Moonchook
                  Member
                  • Jun 2014
                  • 65
                  • Brisbane

                  #9
                  Originally posted by scorpion 42 View Post
                  OK Moonchuck, Stop right there, I hope you have sorced a new crankbolt, because you CAN NOT reuse the old one, because of the NM pressure needed to bolt it up too.
                  Anyhow take care and take your time, because the snail always beats the rabbit.
                  I haven't gone any further yet and was contemplating getting a new crank bolt, will have to see what Mitsubishi can come up with, I'm not relying on needing this vehicle and am using it as a bit of a learning experience so as you say, just taking my time .

                  Comment

                  • Moonchook
                    Member
                    • Jun 2014
                    • 65
                    • Brisbane

                    #10
                    Picked up a few parts i had ordered from supercheap and visited the parts department at Keystar Mitsubishi Morayfield, fantastic service from the bloke there, only told him what he needed to know, year model and chasis code and had no dramas.

                    from supercheap I got top and bottom radiator hose, Mackay CH1713 and CH1714, Thermostat Tridon TT330-170, Tridon thermostat gasket TTG25, tridon radiator cap CB1390, total of $102.23

                    got a new crank seal MD343563, he had it on the shelf! and Crank bolt MD050356 which is coming up from sydney. Figured original parts would be the way to go as I really don't want these two items to fail.

                    best part was the cost didn't knock me over, $56.19 for both.

                    will update the budget with my latest purchases, unfortunately my accessories budget keeps on shrinking haha, at least its reasonably kitted out already, at this stage I might just end up with a nice set of homemade drawers.
                    Last edited by Moonchook; 19-06-14, 06:52 PM.

                    Comment

                    • Moonchook
                      Member
                      • Jun 2014
                      • 65
                      • Brisbane

                      #11
                      Got all my parts together for a nice parts shot before starting the timing belt replacement.



                      replaced the cam and crank seals and got the balancer belt on, timing belt on, and new tensioner bearings. I skipped the balancer shaft seals as I could not find the openings needed to access with screwdrivers to stop the shafts from turning, was reluctant to remove the diesel pump and intake and exhaust manifold in order to access the shafts in case of having other issues occur, ruined gaskets etc. hopefully it wont be a problem, both balance shafts were dry.

                      camshaft sprocket holder tool I made.



                      new water pump and thermostat installed



                      used old thermostat housing as couldn't find a new one.

                      timing belt on with lower timing cover installed



                      bought a harmonic balancer installer tool on ebay to push the balancer and crank gear back on as I don't want to try and push it back on with the bolt as I don't want to wreck the threads again.

                      so once that arrives I can get the accessories hooked back up radiator and fan back in and crack on with other areas, transmission pan service, replace diff/transfer oils, oil filter service and new coolant.

                      quite possibly the crankshaft seal was the original one, as it was identical to my new one ordered from mitsubishi.

                      old belts were not branded and very cracked.

                      Comment

                      • Moonchook
                        Member
                        • Jun 2014
                        • 65
                        • Brisbane

                        #12
                        Got the old thing back together thursday night but after the first start she had a massive leak from the newly installed camshaft seal.

                        I had incorrectly seated it the whole way back and basically it wast sealing at all, so friday arvo after work I shot around to mitsubishi to get a genuine seal as the other seal was just what was included in the timing belt kit. they couldn't get one till the following tuesday but suggested I try repco for a quality OEM seal.

                        so I bought a kelpro seal from repco which was quite good quality and installed quite a bit tighter than the one it replaced. This time I lubed the inside which seats around the cam and put a smear of rtv silicon on the outside where it sits against the cam cover and block. I tapped this one in evenly until it was just past flush with the cam cover and block.

                        Turned her over and no more leak! so I took it on its maiden voyage friday night on the new parts to pick up another set of alloys that I found on gumtree, so I can have two spares and two for the trailer/boat/caravan .



                        The old thing performed really well on the highway, getting up to 100 uses ALL the merging lane, and then some, but she did well in the hills around Nambour where I collected the alloys from.

                        So Saturday I was still wearing the scars of friday nights effort trying to remove the dodgy oil seal.

                        radiator shroud 2, me 0.





                        So I wasn't to keen on cracking on with any further mechanical work as I wouldn't be able to scrub my hands clean after!

                        So I used the excuse to go for a proper torture test and see what it can really do I headed up past Elimbah and entered the state forest just past rose creek bridge, I stopped to air down the tyres to 25psi before exploring a few tracks then ending up back on the main drag along old gympie road and followed the track under the powerlines to beerburrum to woodford road.

                        I did the first tricky bit of the powerlines track before beerburrum to woodford road which is a steep descent down to a creek bed/ washout area then a steep ascent to get out, at the top the track dips away almost immediately so much so the paj would bottom out so I had to tacke the top like a skyline would a speed bump.

                        I have to say the combination of the diesel and auto really impressed! with the right line the old beast had ample power to climb up the bank and the auto let me stop at the top to assess the best way to tackle the next bit. no photos of that area unfortunately as the phone had gone flat by then.

                        after this bit I aired up the tyres and head along beerburrum to woodford road into woodford, then head back on the d'aguilar highway to caboolture, turning off at d'agular to mount mee road, I followed this through mount mee and past the entrance to d'agular national park, turning onto townsend road and following it onto ocean view road before turning onto mountain view road (at the council park) this allowed me one last bit of 4 low and 2nd gear, as its a steep gravelly decent, to take me back through moorina on moorina rd to caboolture river rd and back into caboolture.

                        all up I used about 1/4 a tank of diesel for about 100 hilly kilometres and a bit of 4 low over 4 hours. It does alot better fuel economy with its gearing at speeds under 80 than it does on the highway (where its a real pig on the diesel).

                        the temp gauge never moved more than a few mm through all the hills and settled quickly on the flats and it handled the mount mee range about as well as the 5 tonne garbage truck I drive for work does. which is about 40k's the whole way up, but the gearbox was picking the right gears and it didnt feel as if it would run out of steam.

                        a few photos

                        after locking the aisin manual hubs



                        the first track I found



                        won't be doing much mechanically this week but I have started the proccess of removing the peeling clear from the newly purchased alloys and wet/dry sanding through the grades to be able to polish them to a mirror finish.

                        did the same on the pajero IO mags on my RVR in the first post and it looks schmick but is time consuming at about 3-4hrs each wheel.


                        the old clear



                        grease up the bits you want to protect then apply paint stripper (i use diggers paint stripper, great stuff but use well ventilated or with a mask)



                        after scrubbing back the old clear with a scotch brite



                        will update later in the week with my progress on the wheels, have to get the shitty tyres removed before I start the rest.

                        Comment

                        • scorpion 42
                          Valued Member
                          • Jan 2011
                          • 637
                          • London. uk

                          #13
                          moonchooks old beast

                          Well then, you cant complain about a thing thats 26 years young and performs like new, on its maiden voyage, to say nothing about you going off road for the first time on your own, where you could have been on (shankspony), in other words, on your feet walking back and maybe in the dark, did you not think about that, before you went BUSH alone??????
                          So I take it you had plenty of confidance, in the old beast, well good on ya.

                          Comment

                          • Moonchook
                            Member
                            • Jun 2014
                            • 65
                            • Brisbane

                            #14
                            Originally posted by scorpion 42 View Post
                            Well then, you cant complain about a thing thats 26 years young and performs like new, on its maiden voyage, to say nothing about you going off road for the first time on your own, where you could have been on (shankspony), in other words, on your feet walking back and maybe in the dark, did you not think about that, before you went BUSH alone??????
                            So I take it you had plenty of confidance, in the old beast, well good on ya.
                            Probably wasting my time but, In this stretch of forest you are never alone, dirt bikes galore, lifted GQ's and Hi Lux roam here every day/night of the week, it is after all less than 15km from my home in a large city and only about 5km from a small village where I could get help.

                            It wasn't the maiden voyage either as I posted, I had already done 100km on the new bits the night before picking up the alloys.

                            I walked every line I was unsure off and conditions were dry, tyres were aired down, I didnt take any real risks, and I was quite reserved, quitting after conquering the first bit of the hard stuff (which would be the easy stuff to most) because I didn't know what would be ahead.

                            this is my first 4x4 but I am not 100% new to off roading, having been off road with mates and family before.

                            I'd encourage any QLDer new to 4x4 to get out in the state forest around Elimbah and Beerburrum in the dry as there is plenty of mild - medium tracks around. Take your time, get out and walk it, use common sense, its pretty hard to go wrong.

                            after heavy rain of course the clay soils change all that and I wouldn't go out there alone.

                            Comment

                            • Moonchook
                              Member
                              • Jun 2014
                              • 65
                              • Brisbane

                              #15
                              got the first mag wheel done.

                              machine marks and clear removed after 400 grit sanding.



                              then wet sand 600 and 800 grit then hit it with josco metal polishing kit, used the yellow wheel/grey compound first, then hit it with the white polishing wheel/white compound.





                              could have gotten more bling by sanding to the finer grits but for a 4x4 figured was not worth the extra time, probably 2-2.5 hrs just on this wheel.

                              needs a final hand rub with mothers I reckon.

                              Comment

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