97 NL and 99 NL

[gemster]

Is there much difference from a 97 3.5 auto and a 99 3.5 auto, Mechanical wise ? Both are Widebody's...

I thought they are the same right through the NL range... Same auto, same motor etc..

Gemster...

[erad]

"both are wide bodies". I had a 2000 NL (Oct 1999 build) Escape and it was the original narrow body with flares on the front. I believe it had the body lift to accommodate the V5M31 manual transmission. Not sure about the autos, but I assume they had the same body lift as well.

[pharb]

I thought all the 2.8 and 3.5s were the same from NJ through to NL, except for some cosmetic bits, and the short lived quad cam 3.5L V6.

However I noticed that there appeared to be some height differences with steering or suspension components when glancing between my NJ and my son's NL, but he handed the NL back to Mitsubishi before I had a chance to compare side by side with a tape measure.

[stumagoo]

NL is NL --- an auto 3.5 is pretty much the same no matter the year.... there are some cosmetic variations with the trims on the outside but that is as much the spec level as anything else

[gemster]

No worries thank you.
I thought they were.... I might buy another NL wide body for a bit of a "Project"... And thought I would ask...

LW....

[disco stu]

I had a parts shop ask if mine has single or twin cam, when I said all NLs are single cam he said there is actually twin cam versions out there, just not common. I saw one for sale recently as well so seems he is correct

[geopaj]

I had a parts shop ask if mine has single or twin cam, when I said all NLs are single cam he said there is actually twin cam versions out there, just not common. I saw one for sale recently as well so seems he is correct

I’ve never heard of that, however I have come across many people who get it confused...

NLs Had a 3.5l referred to as ‘single cam’ as they have 1 cam per head (so 2 cams in total - this the confusion).

The earlier NJ (I think) also had a 3.5l engine option that is referred to a the ‘twin cam’ engine as they have 2 cams per head (so 4 cams in total).

Adding to the confusion, 1997 was a ‘change over’ year so you can find a 1997 NJ 3.5l twin cam engine, and a 1997 NL with the single cam engine. I used to have a 1997 NL and this always caused confusion when buying aftermarket engine service parts.

I’ve never seen an NL with a factory fitted 2 cam pr head engine.

[disco stu]

The ad that I saw isn't exactly reliable, but the guy at the parts shop I'm inclined to as least listen to, he knew his stuff about these cars. I wondered if they were just clearing out old twin cam engines. It does sound like it can be a bit of a crap shoot with certain parts on these with stories of weird diffs fitted from factory etc

[stumagoo]

I had a parts shop ask if mine has single or twin cam, when I said all NLs are single cam he said there is actually twin cam versions out there, just not common. I saw one for sale recently as well so seems he is correct

Yes you are correct - the twin cam NL is the GDI import model... normally comes with a 5 speed auto trans similar to the gen 3 as well.... most mechanics won t have a clue about them existing - I do wonder if yours was confusing it with the older Gen 2's and not realising the body/model differences

[disco stu]

Maybe, he just said that the guys who have them feel really special having a rare engine for that model

[Ian Sharpe]

Another confusing issue is that the nk Dohc ended its run in 97 , the same year the nl sohc was introduced. So both were available in 97

[gemster]

Mines on the 'Cusp' of changeover , and yes its fun ordering parts... Lol

There is an 'Evo' Pajero for sale in Sydney ATM for $$55k if any ones interested... Gumtree I think it was on...

Well I took the 'Project" for a drive today... Hmmmm... Drives nice, NO oil leaks (unusual)...

It has a bad idle, close to stalling, then comes good, then bad again and so on.. Drives fine, no miss at all.. But when you stop you can feel it close to stalling... The engine shakes bad during this rough idle period, so I think I would re-new the engine mounts for sure...
The 'fellow' commented that he had changed leads (crap brand), with no fix, also he mentioned that he has had the inlet manifold off(don't know why) but didn't use a new Gasket....

Could this 'miss' be caused by leaking air in the manifold?

Coolant looks fine, although there is a slight black sludge on the radiator cap around the rubber seal... looks like the rubber seal is starting to go bad, but im worried if it could also be a Head Gasket... $$

So what do the Pajero Guru's think...

Gemster...

[disco stu]

No oil leaks-must be something wrong there!

[erad]

There is an 'Evo' Pajero for sale in Sydney ATM for $$55k if any ones interested... Gumtree I think it was on...

It has a bad idle, close to stalling, then comes good, then bad again and so on.. Drives fine, no miss at all.. But when you stop you can feel it close to stalling... The engine shakes bad during this rough idle period, so I think I would re-new the engine mounts for sure...
The 'fellow' commented that he had changed leads (crap brand), with no fix, also he mentioned that he has had the inlet manifold off(don't know why) but didn't use a new Gasket....

Could this 'miss' be caused by leaking air in the manifold?

Coolant looks fine, although there is a slight black sludge on the radiator cap around the rubber seal... looks like the rubber seal is starting to go bad, but im worried if it could also be a Head Gasket... $$

So what do the Pajero Guru's think...

Gemster...

Gemster:

The idle speed going all over the place could easily be am air leak, making the mixtures at idle too lean. Alternatively is could be a vacuum line not connected or split, or it could be the idle speed controller playing up. All of these issues tend to disappear as the revs increase because the slight air leak (hence mixtures too lean) are smoothed out by the increased fuel flow.

I doubt that the sludge on the radiator cap is a head gasket problem - it is more likely the rubber seal disintegrating.. For $55000, you can get a lot of much better and newer car than that one though, albeit the EVO thingy is very rare.

[gemster]

That's what I thought too... Only leak I found was a slight weep from the Transfer case out-put shaft seal... Other wise the back of the Heads is Dry, no oil under motor or on motor and Tappet covers are not leaking..... He hasn't just cleaned it either... Its dusty and dirty , but no leaks... Wow...

It's just this idle that is worrying me...

Gemster...