driveline compatibility - 1st gen Pajero > StarWagon?

[DR1665]

Pardon my ignorance and possible posting in wrong location, but I'm trying to wrap my head around my Delica purchase (2015-2016). I've been staying up late watching Russian videos on Youtube. Scouring the interwebs for pictures to pin up at my desk and on the inside of my front door at home. (Seriously.)

I'm curious - and a quick Google didn't confidently answer - what's the general consensus here on tcase/rear-diff compatibility between first generation, 4-cylinder Pajeros and the mighty, turbo-diesel StarWagon?

Reason I ask, my little Pajero has a set of apparently NLA and rare-as-hens-teeth "Aussie Crawler" gears in 4L. It's almost 4:1 in 4L and makes a huge difference crawling up steep hills. Also, I've got a Starion LSD in the rear. As I plan on selling my Pajero when I get my Delica, I was curious if I could keep these mods. Maybe the Delica is better equipped to begin with?

Educate me? Thanks.

[DR1665]

Okay. Skimmed through the first 12 pages of L300 tech. Didn't see anything specifically saying NO, but suspect they're different.

[thedjjack]

why wait until 2015-2016? my 1989 (built Oct 1988) Delica is for sale now!!! Drivetrain stuff is generally the same...auto or 5 speed in your Pajero? Factory locker is pretty common in the Delica (I have the winter package it came with it)...4:! transfercase would be a bonus!! Most delica has 4:88 axle ratios...

http://www.delica.ca/trader/index.php?l ... elica_L300

[DR1665]

Believe me, you've got me thinking about the pre-facelift models, but I've got to get a Galant VR4 out of the garage, take some lying POS kid to small claims for the gash in my Pajero, and scoop up a first gen Eclipse before I'm ready to pull the trigger on my Delica.

Skimmed through 14 pages of L300 mods section tonight. Learned a lot!

[thedjjack]

the headlights do not work on the facelifted delica....candles would be brighter

I run Hela lens in mine and everyone who drives with me at night considers a conversion back...plus I like the fact I can replace a lens and bulb for $9.00 at most gas stations....

New light design on cars only there to sell expensive lens after little accidents or stone hits not for safety or light...

[DR1665]

the headlights do not work on the facelifted delica....candles would be brighter

Haha. Having had JDM headlights on my last GVR4s, I can empathize with reduced headlight output - especially after driving my wife's Nissan Juke!

I run Hela lens in mine and everyone who drives with me at night considers a conversion back...plus I like the fact I can replace a lens and bulb for $9.00 at most gas stations...

This IS a plus, although I can't say I've lost more than 3-4 headlight bulbs in over 400,000 miles of driving since 1996.

New light design on cars only there to sell expensive lens after little accidents or stone hits not for safety or light...

I highly doubt that someone 20 years ago at Mitsubishi said, "We should ensure the headlight design on the new facelifted Delicas includes fragile, complicated parts. Our multi-billion dollar, international company stands to really benefit from a couple thousand headlight replacements at $20-$100 apiece."

Mitsubishi has generally been a form-follows-function brand. Look beneath the sheetmetal to see the real function. The form followed. Besides, 9 out of 10 Delicas I've seen have massive fog lights. And if it REALLY bugs me, I'll just retrofit a set of BMW projectors into the housings and call it a day. :)

[FalcoColumbarius]

the headlights do not work on the facelifted delica....candles would be brighter

I run Hela lens in mine and everyone who drives with me at night considers a conversion back...plus I like the fact I can replace a lens and bulb for $9.00 at most gas stations....

New light design on cars only there to sell expensive lens after little accidents or stone hits not for safety or light...

My lamps work really well. I've got Depo* lamps and honestly? Probably the best lamps I've ever used. They're not the obnoxious blue headlamps that flatten the view/image the user sees, nor blinds (in the name of safety) the oncoming driver. Sure are bright, 'though. My lamps give depth to the view, they're not overly bright but they do their job well. The lens's do cost more, which is why I put a 3M plastic layer over them, idea being to protect against the rock destined to chip and in the case of the rock destined to break the lens ~ it will hold the pieces together. They use H3 bulbs and my particular lens's are E4 (Netherlands). I've had mine for over five years, driven many FSRs and the lamps are still in tact.

The only problem that I've come across is the plastic gears for adjusting the beam. The ones that came with the Depo lamps stripped quite easily. What I did to remedy the matter was get a hold of the original Japanese lamps (E43) and plunder the gears off of those to replace the the stripped ones on the Depos. There are threads on this site that deal with this subject.

As far as the original topic: I thought the transfer cases were the same but apparently they are slightly different. Perhaps your gears will still work in them. I get the impression that any differences would be in the adapters, I haven't paid close attention to the drive train.

Falco

*Depo headlamps are made in Taiwan.

[DR1665]

Thanks, Falco.

The way I see it, my Delica will spend much of its life in places with street lights, and when my shadow chasing puts me deep into the dark and scary, I'll have plenty of auxiliary lighting, so the factory headlights are a bit of a cosmetic bit. Which is why I want the facelift!

I've got some time, so I'll continue to dig deeper on the tcase details. It would be nice to simply swap them between vehicles (assuming I don't sell Rocinante to fund the Deli), but we'll see.

Getting excited.