[Parm]

my 2nd advice.....DONT BUY the damn thing!

you will be running around to source and find parts to maintain it!

[SirAlec]

any thing between 1 and 1.25 is acceptable. rest of the money you can keep as collateral for any harsh situation like engine tranplant etc.

[Gypsy-Boy]

Originally Posted by Cloud_Chaser

My Mech has checked that the 4X4 is working. The denting and painting job was done at a garage where I get my work done for my other cars so am well assured that its not a accident vehicle Just that it was lying somewhere near the sea at colaba, Mumbai unattended and rusting for a few years so needed some metal and paint job.

CC
do get the vehicle checked at some other workshop - ask some fellow t-bhp members - One of my friends had bought a similarly "repainted" vehicle. Within 2 months (monsoon season) he had issues with paint literally falling off the car. He took it to his workshop and found out that the previous repainting involved metal paste cover up rather than body work.
He ended spending an obscene amount just to bring the car to a decent condition.
One thing I have realised with older vehicles - Hindsight is always 20:20
GB

[harjeev]

Checkout Randeep's thread. He bought a MM550 without the engine and gearbox. He went ahead and bought himself an Isuzu Trooper engine and greabox. I think with a 4x4 from mayapuri. Both the things cost him about 130k. I am not sure checkout his thread.
Do this if a powerful engine is what you want.

Or if you retain the XD3P engine (the 550's) what it gives you is ample availability of spares and that too quite cheap. A decent condition army disposal will set you back by 80k and still leaves you 220 k to play around with.
Whereas the pajero will be anything but cheap to maintain on the pocket compared to the 550. And remember things do go wrong and will definitely go wrong. So atleast you should have something that is easily and cheaply repairable.

Just my thought

[Cloud_Chaser]

Thanks Harjeev, Sir Alec, Pram, GTO and others till yesterday I was very much excited about buying the vehicle but thanks to you all I can look at the practical dimension of buying and maintaining this vehicle.

I just did some research today for the immediate repairs and fixes without any fancy work and the list is a long one.
2nd hand AC Kit – 15000
Carpet and Seat Covers – 5000
Wiring, Switches and other electrical misc – 3000
Front Window winders (existing ones are slipping) – 1500
2nd Hand Power Window kit (Tata Seira) – 4000 (Optional)
Bull Bar – 2000
Foot Raise – 2000 (Should be easier for my wife to climb in she is the 1 who will approve the budget)
Wiper Motor and Wiper blades – 2000
Other Misc – 2000
So the expense goes upto 35K to make the vehicle usable. I haven’t calculated the cost for getting the vehicle ready and tuned for OTRs.

[desertfox]

Once you start useing this off road you may have to encounter the following part changes - and all of it might not be available for a 1988 SWB Pajero.

Power Steering pump.
Steering tie rods may not take the serious off road abuse.
The 4x4 drive system is on the fly in Pajero but keeps slipping back to 4x2
Ensure a skid plate is there to cover the tank and front.

The radiator bottom often cracks on steep descents off road. In spite of the skid plate.

Frequent electrical problems are encountered in this Pajero.

[boeuff]

Cloud_chaser,

I have a similar vehicle, except it is a 1990 model and it is the LWB 5 door version.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-of...ero-lwb-2.html

I picked this about 5 years ago, cost me about 2.25 L including 4 brand new new tires, transfer and tax into Karnataka that I got done.

I am very happy with the car. I picked it up when it had done about 90K km. have used it for about 60K km so far and runs beautifully. still starts first crank in the coldest weather. Still give me about 11 kmpl.

The car that you have seen has the same engine and transmission as mine. (engine model 4D56)
The pictures seem to look quite good.
The nice thing about this model is it is a basic and simple design and does not have all the fancy vacuum or electrical stuff to go wrong.
If the odo is right, then the engine still has a lot of juice in it. typically these engines last for 300K km

With respect to parts, I get most normal wearing parts over the counter in Bangalore in General motors. Sometimes I have to give a sample and will get it in a couple of days.
Yoh have to realize that there are still a lot of cars of this model running in the world, especially in Australia and parts are not difficult to get.

In fact in a recent trip there I picked up a K&N filter that fit into the stock air box for my car and I was amazed.
If you choose to buy it, I have soft copies of most of the maintenance manuals for this car.

Cheers,

[SirAlec]

Dude! this vehicle doesn't stand chance in comparo with your 5 door version.
I still stand by my advice not to buy it unless its given in the price I quoted.

[boeuff]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Dude! this vehicle doesn't stand chance in comparo with your 5 door version.
I still stand by my advice not to buy it unless its given in the price I quoted.

Agree on the price bit, mine came with dual AC, power windows, everything in working condition. all electrics and fittings working just as it should, and since it was registered in India in 1999, I get 15 years FC from then.

2.4L is outrageous, the way you should work with such guys is place an offer and act quite disinterested, cars like these don't get sold like hot cakes and a little time would make the chap more pliable.

By the way Cloud, hope you are mechanically minded or have a mechanic that understands such vehicles for you to get all the parts working.

Cheers,

[Parm]

i think we have already wasted two pages of this thread by talking about this particular vehicle, which is not worth buying as its an ancient vehicle in todays world with lack of after sales back up availablity of spares and parts!

dump the idea and better look for another vehicle!

[carfreak]

What i suggest is,if you have a basic idea of the mechanical stuff,have a trust-able mechanic who has experience servicing such SUVs, a reliable place from where to get spares and can get it at a good enough price, then you can go in for it!

Personally,reading your posts i feel your heart is set for this vehicle thats why

Though be ready for some expensive repairs and considerable time spent in garages,at least in the initial days of ownership!

[Cloud_Chaser]

boeuff - I have a similar vehicle, except it is a 1990 model and it is the LWB 5 door version.

SirAlec - Dude! this vehicle doesn't stand chance in comparo with your 5 door version.
I still stand by my advice not to buy it unless its given in the price I quoted.

Hi boeuff, I have checked your thread a few times since the time the dealer told me about this vehicle. but as SirAlec rightly said your vehicle seem to be in a much much better condition then this one.

Yesterday I went to see a similar vehicle (1990 Gen I SWB Model) which is owned by a friends friend at Andheri. He has converted it to Soft Top with Sigle seater cabin. The SUV looks amazing. He owns it since last 3 years and havent had any major issues with it.

I also check 2 Gypsys the ride quality was very poor even on normal roads, The 4X4 was not that great compared to the Pajero plus the quote was too high (2 to 2.5L).

The delear is following up daily to check, yesterday I told him that not after recalculating things I can buy it for 1.75L.

[SirAlec]

You can't compare a Gypsy with a pajero. I feel you liked the vehicle very much. If its the case please stick at most to 1.4 lac.

[Cloud_Chaser]

Hi All,

I decided to update this thread after long as I am planning some major work on my Pajero and would like to share it phase wise with everyone so that you all can share your opinion and suggestions.

So far after buying this vehicle in June 2009, I have done some major repairs on it as and when needed. I have been maintaining a expense table which i am posting here for your reference.

The vehicle has performed beyond my expectations during the Sawarsi and Alibagh OTRs.

Sawarsi OTR Link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...r-sawarsi.html

Alibagh OTR Link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...r-ordered.html


The OTRs have increased my faith in this vehicle and hence I decided to get it as fit as possible for the next OTR.
The repairs/ modifications that I plan as of now are listed below.

1. Tire Change. (Size 31X10.50X15)

2. Front and Rear Bumper Fabrication.

3. Front Axel repair (if needed replacement. It makes a squeaking noise during turns).

4. A snorkel. (Have found a good fabricator at Goregaon, Mumbai, who makes silencers and is very famous in Mumbai).

I would continue to post more updates as and when things get started.

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by Cloud_Chaser

3. Front Axel repair (if needed replacement. It makes a squeaking noise during turns).

Hi Prashanth,

Have you Identified the cause of the squeak?

It could be the Ball-Joints
i) in the Steering System (Tie-Rods Ends)
ii) Suspension/Knuckle

The Squeak can be from the steering box if there is inadequate steering fluid, or if the Steering Pump is about to die.

or the CV-Joint behinds each steering knuckle, check if the CV-Joint boot is intact, if it is not please have it serviced, greased and covered with a new CV-Joint Boot.

Regards,

Arka