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Sand driving woes

Submitted: Wednesday, Apr 02, 2003 at 23:53

Lyds

I went sand driving up at Stockton beach (NSW) about a month back. Not long into the day the rear bumpers on my Pajero NM came to grief acting as a spade.

The drivers side ripped through to the tail light and the lights fell out, and the passenger side has bent and torn slightly.

I have since heard from a couple of Pajero owners who have experienced a similar fate - a couple having the bumper ripped off completely.

I took my NM in for the folks at Mits to have a look at it and basically they said, bad luck, watch out for departure angles, get a lift (gee thanks).

I was wondering if this is a feature of the NM, or have other 4WDs had a similar experience???
Cheers, Stuart - To err is human, to moo bovine -
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ThreadID: 4198 Replies: 10
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Thread Summary

AnswerID: 16751   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 01:04

Goodsy replied:

GU's have the same problem.
Reply 1 of 10
FollowupID: 10371   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 10:07

GUPatrol posted:

Until you lift the suspension 50mm...
It is amazing that such little lift avoids all that trouble.

Will
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 16752   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 05:41

plexus replied:

First time I've heard of such a thing happening - I take my 60 series LandCruiser up there and often plough cricket pitches with the rear end; never had a problem.
Reply 2 of 10
FollowupID: 10363   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 05:48

plexus posted:

PS: To prove I still have my rear bumper, have a look at
a typical drive on the dunes :)
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 10364   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 05:50

plexus posted:

Bugger. Make that
"http://www1.photosig.com/viewphoto.php?id=850838"
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 16758   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 09:29

Savvas replied:

Any 4wd that has moulded rigid mudflaps attached are at risk of this happening. Therefore that includes nearly all modern 4wds.

It is usually the mudflaps that end up acting as ground anchors. Did your bumper start to rip out from just behind the wheel?

Other than getting a lift or a new steel bumber (not sure if they're available for NM anyway) you can replace the rigid moulded mudflaps with flexible mudflaps and that should help for future trips.

It's just another illustration where a lot of todays 4wd's are being made for form rather than function.
Reply 3 of 10
FollowupID: 10370   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 10:00

Lyds posted:

The shape of the rear wheel arch means there is only a few centimeters of flexible mud flap - so theres not much I can do about that.

One side ripped on the cut out for the exhaust, the other side in the corner. Both sides bent and popped out slighty.

I don't know what I was thinking using my 4WD off road :-)

Cheers, Stuart - To err is human, to moo bovine -
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 10375   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 11:00

Savvas posted:

I think I know what you mean. The Pajero bumper flares out quite deeply at the wheel arch.

I have a Jackaroo, again with plastic bumper and rigid mudflaps. The mudflaps can definitely act as scoops, but it is possible to replace them with the flexible type quite easily and it would be an effective modification.

I haven't had a problem with them in sand as they are.



FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 16762   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 10:01

Dazmit replied:

4WD Monthly magazine had a long term NM test vehicle & did exactly the same thing.

Cheers

Darryl
Reply 4 of 10
FollowupID: 10372   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 10:13

Lyds posted:

Darryl,

Do you know what edition that was in?
Cheers, Stuart - To err is human, to moo bovine -
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 10434   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 07:14

Dazmit posted:

Stuart

Not exactly as it would have been in 2001 or 2002, might be best to contact 4WD monthly for a back issue.

Cheers

Darryl
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 16778   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 13:23

Groove replied:

I went to Stockton beach last year with my club. 16 cars in all, all different types, prados, cruisers, patrols and a pajero. Exactly what you desribed happened to the pajero.

Groove
Reply 5 of 10
AnswerID: 16794   Submitted: Thursday, Apr 03, 2003 at 15:51

Wombat replied:

I had always wondered why Mits didn't put a bumper on the back of the Triton. I think I now know! Never had any like this trouble in sand.
Reply 6 of 10
AnswerID: 16854   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 08:25

Savvas replied:

Hi Lyds,

I had a look at a Paj this morning on the way to work. It looks to me that the mudflap and flare moulding are both removable from the bumper.

If you were to remove both, it would give you an extra 2" to 3" clearance at the leading edge of the rear bumper. This could save you a lot of hassle next time you're offroading where the bumper can be an issue.

Then you also have a couple of other choices to make. Such as do you leave them off forever and replace them with some flexibles flaps, reinstall the flare moulding and flap for urban driving, etc.

Just an idea for you to consider. Hope it helps.
Reply 7 of 10
FollowupID: 10463   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 14:00

Lyds posted:

Thanks Savvas. I'll look into it.Cheers,

Stuart

- To err is human, to moo bovine -
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 16870   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 13:18

Dean replied:

Lyds,

Apparently they have improved the problem with the NP, which doesnt help you or me, maybe the NP bumpers can be fitted to the NM

Dean
Reply 8 of 10
FollowupID: 10464   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 14:02

Lyds posted:

Dean,

I had a quick look at an NP and it didn't look all that different. I'll check it again though.Cheers,

Stuart

- To err is human, to moo bovine -
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 16880   Submitted: Friday, Apr 04, 2003 at 15:25

Dazmit replied:

From memory with the 4WD monthly Paj is that the rear bumper scoops up the sand which breaks the plastic clips holding the bumper on. I can remember in a mag somewhere where a guy tricked up his Paj a bit but also added some skid plates from the bumper towards the mudflap to stop the bumper scooping up the sand.

I will try & find the article & let you know.

Cheers

Darryl
Reply 9 of 10
FollowupID: 10669   Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003 at 07:10

Dazmit posted:

Sorry, I couldn't find the article.

Darryl
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 10715   Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003 at 21:38

Lyds posted:

Thanks anyway Dazza.Cheers,

Stuart

- To err is human, to moo bovine -
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 17630   Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 15, 2003 at 00:13

Philem replied:

There is an article in 4WD Monthly, December 2001, page165

Scanned it but dson't know how to insert it into this reply.

Can send if I have an address

Philem
Reply 10 of 10