OUR CARS – TORRENS

GT’S PAJERO GETS LIFTED

AFTER I SORTED its carburettor and airconditioning, my H-plated 1989 Mitsubishi Pajero was running terrific. Regular readers will remember I bought two Pajeros and killed one; the second (rusty) Pajero had a set of raised, heavier-duty leaf springs and some bigger, better-quality dampers that I’d checked for condition and retained prior to it going to the scrap metal yard. Unlike some people I’ve met, I’m not a bloke that equates suspension lift to what’s in his trousers but after preparing several 4WDs for remote area touring, I know a vehicle’s off-road comfort and performance is improved with better suspension so I was keen to fit the aftermarket stuff to my Pajero.

So after all the important mechanical work was complete, one summer evening I put my Pajero onto chassis stands and removed the rear wheels. With my trolley jack, I was able to lift and lower the rear axle, one side at a time, to easily remove and replace the leaf springs and dampers. The Mitsubishi symbol on the springs and the condition of the skinny little dampers (one was leaking) and the worn-out spring front eye bushes hinted that all this hardware was probably original… with 270,000km.

Like most brands’ 4WDs vehicles from the