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Hi there viewers. Longtime looker and Newby Pajero owner since 9-2016.
We purchased our 94 NJ LWB V6 manual in 2016. She is a stock standard povo pack model complete with wind-up windows. The only electrical extra's is central locking which is rather dicky with continual locking-unlocking at times, particularly after a rain. We named her Emma as we name all of our vehicles. We are the fourth owners and have a raft of receipts to prove history.
"Emma" had about 257k on the clock at that time, but she was a good buy at $2300. We did the usual things after purchase, New Tyres and brakes, New timing belt, Oil & Filters just to be sure even though the elderly previous owner assured us that everything was up to date.
"Emma" had seen a fair amount of caravanning in her time with at least one around Australia jaunt. Underneath she still has pockets of caked on hard packed red-mud.
We now live (since 2013) on the South East of SA (Limestone coast) these days on the out skirts of Millicent. Mostly we use Emma for our daily driver, very occasionally on the beach for a bit of fishing or exploring, wood collecting in winter and a few trips into Victoria to Colac mostly buying Timber supplies for our house that we are Owner Building. About 4 or 5 trips to Adelaide each year, and she has been a pleasure to drive, just love the comfort of torsion bars and coil spring suspension !.
About 12 months ago at around 290k I noticed that "Emma" seemed to be lacking a bit of power and it sounded like a cylinder was going. Other issues included the dreaded fast idle problem. At one point idle was 2500 rpm !. That was until I modified the TB by blocking the IAC ports altogether. That has lowered the idle to around 1200-1500 rpm. Was still sucking air from somewhere, which I suspect as the PCV valve.....
Another issue was an increasingly noisy thrust bearing or spigot bearing or god forbid an input shaft bearing ?.
Over the next 6 months the motor progressed to a dead miss. Did not suspect a cracked head as now water was being used. The motor was not pumping into the inlet manifold nor was it using excessive oil. Maybe 100ml of oil every 5000 k's. So I suspect a Burned exhaust valve, still don't know for sure. No, I didn't do a compression test to determine what cylinder was going.
I scoured this very forum and others for options, rebuild, recondition or engine swap or replace Emma altogether ?.
The last option was a worse case scenario.
The Magna V6 replacement option seemed to be a good option, BUT as these vehicles with a suitable donor motor are also getting a bit long in the tooth due to age. Lets face it, a TR or TS (Last of the 3L 12 valve models) are pushing 28 years old !. At a grandma going to the shops of 10,000 k's per year you are looking at 250-280,000 k's !.
So it was looking like a rebuild at least using parts from several motors perhaps to make a good one, OR bite the bullet and recon this motor. Costs to recon with me reassembling, about $2200, assuming at least one head being replaced.
By October 2019 "Emma" now had 312,000 on the clock and was sick.
Something had to give fairly quickly. I had been searching Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Just Parts mag and other sources plus word of mouth. All I was finding were shagged Pajero donks or High Dollar recon units OR 24valve Magna Motors which are a no-go in the NJ.
Then bugger-me, there was a motor on Gumtree (November 2019), a TR Magna V6 out of a wagon that had been hit up the bum and had done only 127,000 !.
Seems like it was a government car that did 10k's per day and the back seats had never been sat in !.
But wait, it's from a wrecker ?. Having dealt with "Wreckers" before and bought a few duds on the premise that "Oh yeah mate, that's a good donk, low mileage, doesn't blow smoke, good compression.....no worries !". Could this one be too good to be true ?. I call him up and bugger-me he's the son of a fellow that I've known for years (I'm 61 ish). It all seems good. We do the deal over the phone and I head to Adelaide (Lonsdale) in December to pick it up.
Upon arrival I check it out as best I can. Can't do a compression test, but turn it over and at least it does have compression. Check the plugs, look good, no water or oil, no water in the oil and the coolant in the block has good color. Trans fluid (Auto) doesn't smell burnt, so it seems good. I part with $660 bucks and Emma's new heart is in my hands. We are locked in with a TR Magna engine swap.
**Note** At this point Emma's mileage was still around the 7.5K's per litre. The best she has ever returned was 8.9K's on a trip to Adelaide with a 40 knot gale blowing up her arse, but usually around the 7.2-7.8 K's per litre range over the last three years or so. Despite being sick, the mileage was still respectable.
Got the motor home and unloaded it. (Note all pics are thumbnails)
The above three photo's show the motor as purchased in December 2019. Clearly you can see what users on here (Pajero Forum) and other places, the visual differences between a Magna V6 and the Pajero.
Starter motor is different with the solenoid on the side, not the top as on a Pajero.
Air-Conditioner Compressor is mounted on the right side, not the left as on a Pajero. Also the Magna Oil Filter points down, not out to the side as on a Pajero.
Alternator is down the bottom on the left side, not up the Top and on the right side as on a Pajero.
Once the above mentioned bits were removed whilst sitting on the pallet, the Magna Motor was then set-up on the engine stand. In the above photo it can be seen that the EFI manifold is completely different. Also the radiator plumbing is totally different.
Above two photo's of the front of Magna Motor, note timing cover and timing marks, also different to the Pajero being opposite sides. All will be replaced in due course.
The motor was rotated around to TDC on number one and it will be noted that the Distributor rotor points to the approx position of number one, NOT to the rear as on a Pajero when on TDC #1. No the Magna Distributor cap will not fit on the Pajero Motor, it fouls on Inlet Manifold.
A closer view of the "Rear" of the Magna Motor, showing the plumbing etc.. You wouldn't want a water leak in here, what a nightmare !.
With all of the Magna EFI stripped off, it is beginning to look like a "Pajero" motor.
Everything under the covers is the same....well almost. Read on.
Emma came off the road for her transplant on December 29th. The above three (3) photo's is how it looked under the bonnet prior to dismantling. As I was not in a hurry to do this swap, I removed parts off the Pajero motor in-situ, cleaned/repaired the bits and installed them on the Magna Motor.
Radiator and associated parts all removed, cleaned, checked and stored.
Air-Conditioner Compressor removed from the mounting cradle and placed on a piece of plywood. No disconnection of plumbing required.
Ditto the power-steering pump. It was removed from it's bracket and placed on the inner guard, no disconnection necessary.
One area of concern was the Oil Pump issue. Reading on this forum what others doing this swap have done, you have two choices.
Option (1) Use the Pajero oil pump, either a new one or the original high mileage version that is giving me around 15psi at idle and 30 at cruise speed..
Option (2) Modify the Magna pump. This requires cutting the alternator mounting off and exposing an oil gallery that then needs to be tapped and plugged.
My thought's at this time were,
"Hey I'm a Fitter & Turner, how hard can it be ?". If I F@&%-it then I can still use the Pajero Oil Pump ?".
In the two (2) photo's above you can seem my Texta Cut line and the Oil Gallery which on a Magna Motor has an Oil pressure switch screwed into the hole. The piece of aluminium MUST be removed if you want to re-install the Air-Conditioner Compressor. Otherwise there would be no reason to cut it off, plenty of clearance down there, just plug the Oil Gallery.
A combination of Angle Grinder and thin blade, hacksaw and files were used to remove and shape the bracket. Then the Gallery was tapped M8. Suction gun removed any swarf. A 25mm long Stainless Steel Bolt and sealant plugs the hole. Very straight forward job.
Photo above shows the modified pump area and the Pajero Air Conditioner Compressor bracket attached for a test fit. On the Magna Block are two locating pins (not shown-sorry about that) protruding out the side of the block right at the rear of the compressor bracket. This was ground off to allow proper fitment. All mounting holes are there on the Magna Block.
Will sign off now. Will post more tomorrow night.
We purchased our 94 NJ LWB V6 manual in 2016. She is a stock standard povo pack model complete with wind-up windows. The only electrical extra's is central locking which is rather dicky with continual locking-unlocking at times, particularly after a rain. We named her Emma as we name all of our vehicles. We are the fourth owners and have a raft of receipts to prove history.
"Emma" had about 257k on the clock at that time, but she was a good buy at $2300. We did the usual things after purchase, New Tyres and brakes, New timing belt, Oil & Filters just to be sure even though the elderly previous owner assured us that everything was up to date.
"Emma" had seen a fair amount of caravanning in her time with at least one around Australia jaunt. Underneath she still has pockets of caked on hard packed red-mud.
We now live (since 2013) on the South East of SA (Limestone coast) these days on the out skirts of Millicent. Mostly we use Emma for our daily driver, very occasionally on the beach for a bit of fishing or exploring, wood collecting in winter and a few trips into Victoria to Colac mostly buying Timber supplies for our house that we are Owner Building. About 4 or 5 trips to Adelaide each year, and she has been a pleasure to drive, just love the comfort of torsion bars and coil spring suspension !.
About 12 months ago at around 290k I noticed that "Emma" seemed to be lacking a bit of power and it sounded like a cylinder was going. Other issues included the dreaded fast idle problem. At one point idle was 2500 rpm !. That was until I modified the TB by blocking the IAC ports altogether. That has lowered the idle to around 1200-1500 rpm. Was still sucking air from somewhere, which I suspect as the PCV valve.....
Another issue was an increasingly noisy thrust bearing or spigot bearing or god forbid an input shaft bearing ?.Over the next 6 months the motor progressed to a dead miss. Did not suspect a cracked head as now water was being used. The motor was not pumping into the inlet manifold nor was it using excessive oil. Maybe 100ml of oil every 5000 k's. So I suspect a Burned exhaust valve, still don't know for sure. No, I didn't do a compression test to determine what cylinder was going.
I scoured this very forum and others for options, rebuild, recondition or engine swap or replace Emma altogether ?.
The last option was a worse case scenario. The Magna V6 replacement option seemed to be a good option, BUT as these vehicles with a suitable donor motor are also getting a bit long in the tooth due to age. Lets face it, a TR or TS (Last of the 3L 12 valve models) are pushing 28 years old !. At a grandma going to the shops of 10,000 k's per year you are looking at 250-280,000 k's !.
So it was looking like a rebuild at least using parts from several motors perhaps to make a good one, OR bite the bullet and recon this motor. Costs to recon with me reassembling, about $2200, assuming at least one head being replaced.
By October 2019 "Emma" now had 312,000 on the clock and was sick.
Something had to give fairly quickly. I had been searching Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Just Parts mag and other sources plus word of mouth. All I was finding were shagged Pajero donks or High Dollar recon units OR 24valve Magna Motors which are a no-go in the NJ.Then bugger-me, there was a motor on Gumtree (November 2019), a TR Magna V6 out of a wagon that had been hit up the bum and had done only 127,000 !.
Seems like it was a government car that did 10k's per day and the back seats had never been sat in !. But wait, it's from a wrecker ?
. Having dealt with "Wreckers" before and bought a few duds on the premise that "Oh yeah mate, that's a good donk, low mileage, doesn't blow smoke, good compression.....no worries !". Could this one be too good to be true ?. I call him up and bugger-me he's the son of a fellow that I've known for years (I'm 61 ish). It all seems good. We do the deal over the phone and I head to Adelaide (Lonsdale) in December to pick it up. Upon arrival I check it out as best I can. Can't do a compression test, but turn it over and at least it does have compression. Check the plugs, look good, no water or oil, no water in the oil and the coolant in the block has good color. Trans fluid (Auto) doesn't smell burnt, so it seems good. I part with $660 bucks and Emma's new heart is in my hands. We are locked in with a TR Magna engine swap.
**Note** At this point Emma's mileage was still around the 7.5K's per litre. The best she has ever returned was 8.9K's on a trip to Adelaide with a 40 knot gale blowing up her arse, but usually around the 7.2-7.8 K's per litre range over the last three years or so. Despite being sick, the mileage was still respectable.
Got the motor home and unloaded it. (Note all pics are thumbnails)
The above three photo's show the motor as purchased in December 2019. Clearly you can see what users on here (Pajero Forum) and other places, the visual differences between a Magna V6 and the Pajero.
Starter motor is different with the solenoid on the side, not the top as on a Pajero.
Air-Conditioner Compressor is mounted on the right side, not the left as on a Pajero. Also the Magna Oil Filter points down, not out to the side as on a Pajero.
Alternator is down the bottom on the left side, not up the Top and on the right side as on a Pajero.
Once the above mentioned bits were removed whilst sitting on the pallet, the Magna Motor was then set-up on the engine stand. In the above photo it can be seen that the EFI manifold is completely different. Also the radiator plumbing is totally different.
Above two photo's of the front of Magna Motor, note timing cover and timing marks, also different to the Pajero being opposite sides. All will be replaced in due course.
The motor was rotated around to TDC on number one and it will be noted that the Distributor rotor points to the approx position of number one, NOT to the rear as on a Pajero when on TDC #1. No the Magna Distributor cap will not fit on the Pajero Motor, it fouls on Inlet Manifold.
A closer view of the "Rear" of the Magna Motor, showing the plumbing etc.. You wouldn't want a water leak in here, what a nightmare !.
With all of the Magna EFI stripped off, it is beginning to look like a "Pajero" motor.
Everything under the covers is the same....well almost. Read on.
Emma came off the road for her transplant on December 29th. The above three (3) photo's is how it looked under the bonnet prior to dismantling. As I was not in a hurry to do this swap, I removed parts off the Pajero motor in-situ, cleaned/repaired the bits and installed them on the Magna Motor.
Radiator and associated parts all removed, cleaned, checked and stored.
Air-Conditioner Compressor removed from the mounting cradle and placed on a piece of plywood. No disconnection of plumbing required.
Ditto the power-steering pump. It was removed from it's bracket and placed on the inner guard, no disconnection necessary.
One area of concern was the Oil Pump issue. Reading on this forum what others doing this swap have done, you have two choices.
Option (1) Use the Pajero oil pump, either a new one or the original high mileage version that is giving me around 15psi at idle and 30 at cruise speed.
. Option (2) Modify the Magna pump. This requires cutting the alternator mounting off and exposing an oil gallery that then needs to be tapped and plugged.
My thought's at this time were,
"Hey I'm a Fitter & Turner, how hard can it be ?". If I F@&%-it then I can still use the Pajero Oil Pump ?". 
In the two (2) photo's above you can seem my Texta Cut line and the Oil Gallery which on a Magna Motor has an Oil pressure switch screwed into the hole. The piece of aluminium MUST be removed if you want to re-install the Air-Conditioner Compressor. Otherwise there would be no reason to cut it off, plenty of clearance down there, just plug the Oil Gallery.
A combination of Angle Grinder and thin blade, hacksaw and files were used to remove and shape the bracket. Then the Gallery was tapped M8. Suction gun removed any swarf. A 25mm long Stainless Steel Bolt and sealant plugs the hole. Very straight forward job.
Photo above shows the modified pump area and the Pajero Air Conditioner Compressor bracket attached for a test fit. On the Magna Block are two locating pins (not shown-sorry about that) protruding out the side of the block right at the rear of the compressor bracket. This was ground off to allow proper fitment. All mounting holes are there on the Magna Block.
Will sign off now. Will post more tomorrow night.
The old motor obviously has had issues in the past with oil passing through the gaskets as I'm sure there was more oil under there than the Exxon Valdez. Good old Cornflakes packets came to the rescue for the gaskets and some RV Sealant (sparingly) to hold things in place while buttoning things up. A sufficient amount of ooze was noted to indicate a seal had taken place.
. 
Kinda shows my age I guess ?
Apart from that, nothing unusual to report.
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