Greetings from Cambodia !

I am hoping there are some diesel experts here as I am getting desperate.

Firstly, I am NOT mechanically minded so bare with me and I live in Cambodia so i don't have access to anything that resembles a 4x4 centre or diesel specialist etc so please don't tell me to go to one. We have Khmer grease monkeys and the odd westerner running garages that in actual fact use....Khmer grease monkeys.

So...The story thus far :

I bought a 1998 Mitsubishi Montero Sport AUTO 4wd about a month ago and it has had a Mitsubishi Pajero 2800 Intercooled Turbo Diesel dropped in it - but I am not sure exactly what year that engine is etc. It wasn't long before I took it for a long run and discovered it was burning through the diesel. By my rough calculations I reckoned it was doing 28l/100km.

So first off i took it to a Garage run by a "kiwi" Khmer. He had his mechanics look at it and apart from suggesting I changed the shock absorbers , some cv joints and brake-pads he sent the pump and injectors away for testing / spray patterns, charged me $70 for the privilege and said they had tweaked it and I should see an improvement. Shortly after I received a TOTAL gasoline account / card through my job and these cards give you a receipt that tells you exactly what you are consuming so i waited patiently but I could tell as soon as I filled up and started driving the first 25kms it had not changed because the needle went into freefall. Card confirmed at the next fill that I got 26l/100km out of that tank.

Second stop was a garage run by an Australian also using Khmer mechanics. He discovered there is no ECU in the car due to its age and then said "it can therefore only be one of two things - injectors or a leak". A few days earlier I noticed there actually WAS a tiny leak ( small stain on the driveway ) so they fixed that , they changed the engine oil and fuel filter and they then sent the diesel pump and injectors to a "specialist diesel " guy. Those guys changed the old injectors for new Denso ones and performed a test showing ...in the Aussie's words..."the old injectors were popping at 30 and were leaking..... new injectors are popping at 60 which means they are atomizing very good". He also said "you will notice a HUGE improvement in fuel consumption AND power. I will be totally surprised if this does not fix the issue". He did also say that the fuel pump was only in 50% condition and I should probably change it although it would be ok for a year or so but it was $400 for a new one so I decided to just do the injectors and see what came of that first.

So he did the work and I took the car and expected big things. However again within a few hours I could see the needle sliding and next top up indeed showed it was now WORSE than before the injectors were replaced . It is now getting 33l/ 100km. I sent the garage owner an sms and he said that after injectors are replaced it is usual that a car needs to comes back for adjustingà..So I returned the car and the ômechanicö performed the adjustments which existed solely of closing the valves up a bit. Net result was they took so much power out of the car I couldn't get up my driveway even in 4wd !. I rang them up and they come back to rectify by simply opening the valves up again . My car now drives great but still no improvement on fuel consumption.

Nowà I had it washed the other day and the guys pulled the air filter out( which the mechanics assure me has been changed to a suitable one for a TD û its quoite a large oval one ) and sprayed it with a high pressure air jet. The amount of dust that came out was huge. From comments I have seen on the internet I am guessing this couldn't have been helping so I replaced that on the weekend. No change to consumption.

I should also say I sent the Aussie garage owner a list of things i thought he should also check from articles I had researched on the net such as sticking brake calipers, dirty spark plugs, engine oil, stuck in 4wd ? etc.

Every mechanic that has looked at it says the car does not blow excessive smoke when revved or accelerating quickly nor does it clack badly etc.

I believe the auto gearbox is the AW30-40LE (A340F) and should be compatible with a Pajero diesel engine but again û I am not sure which engine year etc it is.

Soààinjectors have been done. Fuel Filter has been done . Air filter has been done. I will consider doing the pump as I know that can be an issue too if not right.

What else can it be ????

I really like my car and in the current ôconfigurationö with valves adjusted the way they are it has nice punch and drives nice and smooth but I need to get the consumption sorted !


thanks

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Could it be the auto tranny or torque converter? If I remember correctly, the rpm range for a gasoline engine and a diesel engine are different. A gasoline engine runs at a much higher rpm range than a diesel. The torque converter in a gasoline is designed to engage at a higher rpm than a diesel torque converter. This would mean that you would have to run the diesel at a higher rpm in order to engage the torque converter. At the higher rpm, you are burning more fuel. I wouldn't know any way of testing this other than to note what rpm it takes to begin to more the vehicle. Of course, I could be way off. I'm sure others have a much more knowledgeable answers.

I'm not a diesel expert, but the anecdotal evidence looks like inadequate mechanics to me. If there's a "diesel specialist", I'd take the truck straight to him.

It's the holidays here, so be patient and you should get better answers in a few days.

Welcome! My experience with diesels is limited to US makes and I'm definitely not a pro - but it sounds like the problem could be in either the mass airflow sensor or the engine temp sensor. I believe both help the ECU to determine the fuel mix ratio.

Very odd... I'm averaging 11.7L/100 km in my 2.8 auto. If you are burning that much fuel there really should be some sign of where its going... I'd expect excess smoke at the very least... Or leakage.

Have you confirmed the accuracy of your odometer to make sure your consumption figures are a true reflection? What size tires are you running? What else was swapped when the engine was swapped in? Are you locked into 4wd or is the vehicle only powering the rear wheels? Was the egr valve functional, and if not has it been blocked off? Condition of exhaust? Leaking at the fuel rail and burning off before it reaches the ground?

I'm going to throw in just a few things i've learned along the way with my powerstroke, and the cummins 6bt i'm about to install into my raider. about the torque converter for the auto if its a gas one theres a very good chance that its causing you to lose efficiency, most gas converters stalls are atleast a few 100rpms higher, plus coming from a v6/i4 application could even be more. I would look at your rpms compaired to drive speed, my superduty runs 1800rpm at 70mph/112.654kph, i would look at the engine specs online and find out what there sweet spot is and see where your at, that is a large if my math is close your getting a little over 8mpg? my f350 with 560rwhp 1200ftlb torque get at least 10mpg in a full city driving so i know something not right. I'm guessing since i dont fully know your engine but i'd want to know things like boost pressure vs. exhaust back pressure and exhaust gas temp. would be a huge help on over fueling minus just looking for smoke, if urs is a full mechanical you might be able to adjust a fueling pin or plate.
if its wastegated whats it set at is it working or is it stuck open. if your fuel is ECM controled then you might look at MAP/mass sensor air temp all that fun stuff i'm just trying to get you easy things that you could just go out and look at.

Please keep us posted on your ur fixes,

The car does not have an ECU.

It is not blowing smoke.

tyres are 270/75

I am not locked in 4WD as I can easily engage , disengage. my driveway has a nasty hump at the front of it and if i am in 2wd i cannot get up it so I have to engage 4wd every time i bring the car in at night. ( flood measure )

i know the odomoter is correct because I know how far it is to certain places here and it is bang on as per the runs I have done thus far.

I have had a look under the car for leaks whilst running it at 3000RPM to see if there was maybe only a leak at high revs ( when it is on the road ). Nothing.

I have changed the air filter and nozzles and all the mechanics keep doing here is opening and closing the valves which does nothing other than alter the power of the car.

I will check the revs whilst running.

this is doing my head in !

Yea depending on rpms, like i said theres a enough difference between a gas torque converter and a diesel if your using a gast torque converter what engine and trans are you using what model and year did it come out of 4/6cylinder and what did the diesel engine come out of, i ask this because a little googleing and some specs. could id some areas that may not have been addressed. if the torque converter that came from the diesel engine was a 1200 stall+locking could make a difference since the torque your getting out a 4banger diesel versus a 4banger care it probably a 50% difference plus powerband between the two. do you know your boost pressure and exhaust back pressure could check to see if your engine is intaking and expelling gases properly to.

I just found out it is NOT a pajero engine it is actually a Mitsubishi VAn engine ! would this be causing consumption issues if teamed with original gearbox ?

I do not see where the engine application would change the MPL. Usually the engines are the same - too costly to manufacture by multiple lines of engines. The running gear seems to stay the same with different body(s) on top.

I'm new to mine too (92) with a 2.8-ITD A/T upgrade. Have two other Pajeros but bought this when we moved to Chiang Mai.