Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler Powered With Toyota’s 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc Engine

Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler’s Second Generation ruled the era of the 90s with many features which were way ahead of time such as Duel Air Conditioner (AC) with 8 vents, Hydraulic Adjustable Suspension (Hard and Soft) depending on the driving mode, Heated Seats, Sunroof, etc. The primary issue was the original diesel engine which was not so reliable and gave Mitsubishi Pajero the tag of ‘White Elephant’ because of the frequent issues with its 2400cc diesel engine (4D56T) and the 2800cc diesel engine (4M40), both of which were not reliable performance and maintenance wise.

Mitsubishi Pajero always stood to be the love for adventures and comfortable long drives as Pajero loyal fans kept feeding the White Elephant to enjoy the ride, until somebody experimented engine swapping having Pajero as a Body and Toyota Prado’s soul and the combination, which matched perfectly.

I searched over the Internet to find information on how the Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler performs with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE 3400cc V6 petrol engine and how reliable it will be, however, I couldn’t find much. Unfortunately, it was risky for me as well.

Here I am sharing my personal experience of Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler 5 Door powered with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE 3400cc V6 Engine, It’s a non-turbo engine coupled with an Automatic Transmission and running without any hassle.

Below are the images of the 5VZ-FE V6 under the hood with two different Air Cleaner and Batteries positions in the first image, Pajero’s Air Intake is connected with airflow sensor and in the second image Toyota Prado’s Air Cleaner is mounted with the airflow sensor next to the air cleaner.

Toyota 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc Petrol Engine in Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler (Under the Hood)

Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE Engine

This is my Personal Experience of Owning Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler powered with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc Engine.

Before I begin my story, I wanted to make this clear that it is my second time using a Mitsubishi Pajero 5 Door Intercooler Second Generation. The last vehicle I had was a non-turbo 2400cc diesel stock engine, which was owned by my father back in 2001 and I fell in love with this beast.

A friend of mine who had experienced Mitsubishi Pajero’s lineup failures was constantly forcing me not to buy Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler, however, love is bling and owning a Pajero was my dream come true scenario recalibrating my soul with good old memories.

He suggested me to buy Mitsubishi Pajero with Toyota 5VZ-FE V6 Engine only if not available swap and replace the engine immediately after buying. Although it was too hard to believe this combination works or not. My quest for the search for Pajero continued and found a Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler Exceed 5 door engine Swapped with 5VZ-FE 3400cc. I felt sort of lucky because price-wise it was cheaper than with a stock engine. The body condition wise was 9/10 and Engine and Suspension wise it was 7/10 and those remaining 3 rating point factors make a huge difference (Suspension, Auto Transmission, and Tires).

BARE IN MIND When I bought the vehicle the condition was certainly had issues that the seller was not able to resolve or simply wanted to get rid of it and I was ready to accept this challenge.

I took a risk and a chance that if this combination worked I will find out otherwise I will replace the engine back to the original 2800cc diesel engine. The reason I was more tilted towards diesel engines is that they give better mileage as compared to Petrol Engines and also don’t have tons of sensors. Diesel engine dynamics are far easier but require more maintenance to manage and run in a decent way.

Finally, the deal was done and I managed to get my hands on Pajero Intercooler with 5VZ-FE 3400cc petrol engine the first impression was horrible as there were multiple issues with the vehicle due to which it was not giving proper fuel economy, suspension needed replacement and I had zero experience with V6 engine and I had to rely on mechanics and electricians who made some changes and I was able to drive it back home which was just 1500km away from where I bought it.

Anyways, long story short, My Mitsubishi Pajero with 5VZ V6 was giving me 5.5 kilometers per liter (KM/L) average and I had only one thought while traveling 1500km, “I have made a mistake shouldn’t have bought this White Elephant.” I was disappointed with my decision but I continued my journey and replaced the fuel pump in between as it was causing an issue and finally reached home with a similar fuel average.

For a week, I wanted to forget this nightmare that I have made the mistake of buying Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc engine but I had two plans for it:

• Plan A: Fix the issues and test it out
• Plan B: Swap back to the stock engine.

I was ready mentally and financially to overcome this challenge.

So I started with Plan A – I started searching for the engine over the Internet, The information was available, now I knew there is nothing wrong with the engine and only the replacement of spark plugs, fluids, tuning will fix the engine. First I replaced the spark plugs with Toyota’s recommended ones and the second thing I did was replaced the Air Intake and Airflow Sensors, which were all easily available. I replaced Engine Oil once again after 1600 kilometers run along with Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) and added Toyota Prado’s Air Intake and Air Filter, which made a huge difference in engine idling and performance.

Most of the mechanics swap the engines and hand over the vehicles after testing them and if you ask about the fuel economy they will tell you that it is 5 km/l to 6 km/l within the city and similar on the highway.

REASON either they have not driven this vehicle themselves on the highway or within the city for a long period of time as they have to hand over the vehicle to the owner or they get the feedback from the owners. So the whole point is they are unsure of the Fuel Economy, However, they are pretty sure of the Engine reliability and Performance that 5VZ-FE fits and works perfectly in Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler 2nd and 2.5 Generation. Since this was a non-turbo variant engine there are fewer chances of any hurdle towards the owner and Yes! it’s built by Toyota cannot say anything could go wrong until and unless you do not treat it properly.

WHY TOYOTA ENGINES ARE SO RELIABLE?

A short and simple answer is Toyota Engines are reliable and the company maintains the policy of generic parts which always gives the edge to Toyota sales and customers. You will find parts easily almost anywhere in the world.

For more Information About Toyota’s 5VZ-FE

• Search on YouTube
• Tons of Forums on the world wide web
• Visit your nearest mechanic and ask him how many 5VZ-FE engines has he repaired?

Toyota’s 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc is equipped in Toyota Prado and Toyota Tacuma in the United States so you can find tons of information on YouTube about the engine but so far none about the Pajero engine swapped with Toyota 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc.

How’s my Mitsubishi Pajero running with Toyota’s 5VZ-FE V6 3400cc?

It has been a year since I bought the Mitsubishi Pajero and I have driven it over 8,000 to 10,000 kilometers in the city and on highways. I have not encountered any issue with the engine, Auto Transmission, Suspension and surprisingly I am getting 6+km/l in the city and 7.5 km/l on highways it depends whether the road is flat or inclined as in a hilly area. However. there’s still room for improvement in performance by fixing some minor tweaks. My goal is to get a 9+ KM/L average from this beast on a highway with this Toyota engine.

I measure mileage by using Google Maps (GPS) distance covered and with Speedometer gauge, although, speed does not match as accurately in both. The distance covered Google Maps tells me exactly how many Kilometers I have covered at the time of refueling it again.

Things to do after engine swapping is done:

• Make sure you replace spark plugs (Original recommended only).
• I suggest you use 10W-40 Lubricant Oil, Semi-Synthetic.
• Keep Airflow sensor clean and replace Air filter.
• Make sure coils are working correctly, engine idling RPM is below 700.
• Once gear is engaged it should drop to 400 RPM max (while your foot on brake padel).
• Keep your foot consistent, avoid being Vin Diesel.
• You are free to drive above 170 KM but to get the best fuel economy keep the RPM as low as possible and speed as decent which keeps you running fast not fly.

Overall this body and soul combination is the best available in Petrol Engines, However, if you are still interested in a Diesel engine in your Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler, my advice is to go for Toyota’s 1KZ 3000cc engine.

In case you own Mitsubishi Pajero Intercooler and had a horrible experience with diesel or petrol engines, I would suggest you kick out stock engine replacement, instead, go for 5VZ-FE 3400cc V6 non-turbo with Automatic Transmission and 4×4 working.

Feel free to leave a comment below, I’ll be answering any query related to Pajero with a 5VZ-FE V6 engine.

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