A reader messaged us this week. He bought his first Pajero in December 2024, a 2010 GLS LWB with 162 000km on the odometer. Six months later the crankshaft pulley rubber damper failed. His question was simple. Is this a common problem?
Yes. It is one of the more familiar Pajero failures, and it catches owners off guard because the part looks like a plain pulley. It is not.
The crank pulley is not just a pulley
What sits on the nose of your crankshaft is a harmonic damper. Three parts. An inner steel hub that bolts to the crank, an outer ring that the drive belt runs on, and a layer of rubber bonded between them.
That rubber has a job. Every time a cylinder fires, the crankshaft twists slightly and springs back. In a diesel with high compression, those torsional pulses are violent. Left alone they crack crankshafts, wreck main bearings and destroy front seals. The rubber layer absorbs that energy and turns it into heat.
So when the rubber fails you lose the damping and you lose the belt alignment at the same time.
Why the rubber fails
Age, mostly. Not distance.
Rubber sits in the hottest, dirtiest part of the engine bay. It cooks from the front of the engine, it gets sprayed with oil mist from any weeping seal, and it soaks up road heat off the tar in a South African summer. Over a decade or more it hardens, loses elasticity and starts cracking. Once cracks run through, the outer ring stops being locked to the hub and begins moving on its own.
That is why our reader saw failure at 162 000km. Low kilometres for a Pajero. But his vehicle is a 2010, which makes it 15 years old. On this part the calendar wins.
There is a second failure mode worth knowing about. The pulley bolt works loose, usually after a timing job where it was not torqued properly. The pulley then hammers on the crank key. Australian workshop Autofix documented this on V6 Pajeros built between 1989 and 2000, with sheared crank keys, elongated keyways and chewed timing sprocket teeth as the result. Different cause, similar bill.
Is it actually common
Common enough that it has its own threads on every Pajero forum going. Pajero 4WD Club of Victoria, the Mitsubishi Pajero Owners Club in the UK, the Pajero Owners Club of South Africa and 4x4community all carry long running discussions on harmonic balancer failure across Gen 2, Gen 3 and Gen 4 trucks.
RepairPal logs loose or broken crankshaft pulley bolts as a recognised complaint across 17 model years of Montero from 1990 to 2006. Average reported mileage sits around 285 000km, with reports from as low as 180 000km.
Read that alongside our reader’s story and the pattern is clear. The bolt problem tends to show up at high mileage. The perished rubber problem shows up on old vehicles regardless of mileage. It belongs on the same watch list as the items in our 3.2 DI-D common problems guide.
Symptoms to watch for
Catch it early and you replace a pulley. Miss it and you replace far more.
- A squeal or chirp from the front of the engine, worst on a cold start.
- Visible wobble at the pulley. Idle the engine, shine a torch on the pulley face and watch the outer edge. It should run dead true.
- A new vibration through the floor or steering that was not there before.
- Rubber crumbs or black dust behind the pulley and on the sump lip.
- The outer ring sitting proud of the hub, so the belt no longer lines up with the other pulleys.
- Timing marks on the pulley that no longer line up correctly, which means the outer ring has rotated relative to the hub.
- A battery light, because a misaligned belt stops driving the alternator properly.
Number 6 catches people out. If a workshop sets timing off a pulley mark on a slipped damper, they set it wrong.
What it costs you if you ignore it
The outer ring can separate completely and leave the engine bay at speed. On the way out it takes the drive belt with it, which means no alternator, no power steering and no aircon, and on some layouts no water pump either. It can crack the timing cover and knock out the crankshaft position sensor, which stops the engine dead.
The expensive one is quieter. A wobbling damper wears the crankshaft nose. Once that snout is damaged, no new pulley will seat properly and you are into removing the engine. That turns a manageable job into an engine out repair. Our parts availability and cost guide covers what the big ticket items run in South Africa.
Why your engine matters
South African 2010 Pajero GLS LWB came in two forms. The 3.2 DI-D with the 4M41 four cylinder diesel, and the 3.8 V6 petrol with the 6G75. Check the full Pajero specs if you are not sure which one you have.
If you have the 3.2 DI-D, the engine runs a timing chain. A failed damper is bad but the timing drive is not directly in the firing line.
If you have the 3.8 V6, the engine runs a timing belt behind that same front cover. A damper coming apart in that space is a much bigger risk. Any Pajero owner running the 6G75 should treat pulley inspection as part of the timing belt service, not as an afterthought.
Know which one you have before you plan the repair.
Getting the repair right
Three things separate a job that lasts from a job that fails again in two years.
- Fit a quality part. The Gen 4 3.2 DI-D crank pulley carries Mitsubishi part number 1104A024. Gen 3 uses ME204075. Genuine or a recognised aftermarket brand will hold up. Cheap unbranded dampers use poor rubber and fail early.
- Inspect the crank nose and the key before fitting. If the keyway is elongated or the snout is scored, fitting a new pulley on top only buys you a few months.
- Torque the bolt to spec with a torque wrench and use thread locker. Get the figure for your specific engine out of the workshop manual. Autofix quotes 177 to 186 Nm for the older V6 as a reference point, but do not apply that number blind to a different motor.
While you have the front of the engine open
If you are running the 3.2 DI-D, this is the moment to look at the timing chain guides and tensioner. That is the other well known 4M41 weak point. The plastic guides go brittle and the tensioner can break up and drop debris into the chain, and owners have lost whole engines to it. Australian and UK owners commonly report trouble from around 100 000km to 160 000km on. Our reader’s truck sits right in that window.
The labour to get in there overlaps heavily with the pulley job. Doing both at once saves you paying for the same strip down twice. Line it up against the official service schedule so you are not paying for the same access three times in two years.
The short version
The crank pulley on your Pajero is a wear item with a shelf life, not a lifetime part. If your Pajero is more than ten years old, put it on the inspection list at every service. Two minutes with a torch at idle is all it takes.
Our reader caught his and fixed it. That is the outcome you want. The alternative is a shredded belt halfway up a pass with no power steering and no charge. Budget for parts like this properly and the ownership maths still works, as our cost of ownership breakdown shows.
Common questions
Is crankshaft pulley failure common on the Mitsubishi Pajero?
Yes. Harmonic balancer failure is a recognised Pajero issue across Gen 2, Gen 3 and Gen 4, with long running owner threads in South Africa, Australia and the UK. RepairPal also logs loose or broken crank pulley bolts across 17 model years of Montero from 1990 to 2006.
What are the symptoms of a failed harmonic balancer on a Pajero?
A squeal or chirp on cold start, visible wobble at the pulley with the engine idling, a new vibration through the floor, rubber crumbs behind the pulley, a belt that no longer lines up, timing marks that have shifted, and in later stages a battery warning light.
Can I drive a Pajero with a failing crankshaft pulley?
Not for long, and not far from home. Once the outer ring is moving on its own it can separate at speed, take the drive belt with it and leave you without alternator, power steering or aircon. The bigger risk is that the wobble wears the crankshaft nose, which turns a pulley replacement into an engine out repair.
How long does a Pajero crankshaft pulley last?
There is no service interval for it, and that is part of the problem. The rubber ages on the calendar rather than the odometer, so failures turn up on ten to fifteen year old vehicles regardless of mileage. Treat any Pajero over ten years old as due for inspection at every service.
Does the 3.2 DI-D or the 3.8 V6 suffer more?
Both fail the same way, but the consequences differ. The 3.2 DI-D runs a timing chain, so the timing drive is not directly exposed. The 3.8 V6 runs a timing belt behind the same front cover, which makes a disintegrating damper more dangerous. Check the pulley whenever the V6 timing belt is done.
What is the part number for the Gen 4 Pajero crankshaft pulley?
The Gen 4 3.2 DI-D crankshaft pulley carries Mitsubishi part number 1104A024. Gen 3 3.2 DI-D models use ME204075. Confirm against your VIN before ordering, since the 3.8 V6 uses a different part entirely.
Had a crank pulley go on yours? Tell us which engine, what mileage and what the repair cost. Post it in the Pajero 4×4 Life community and we will add it to the picture we are building of how early these fail on South African Pajeros.
Read next, the full Gen 4 Pajero Guide covering 2006 to 2021, and the 3.2 DI-D common problems guide if you are running the diesel.
Pajero 4×4 Life is an independent enthusiast community, not affiliated with Mitsubishi Motors. Torque figures and part numbers are guidance. Confirm against the workshop manual for your VIN before you turn a spanner.
Sources
Specifications, part numbers and failure reports in this guide were checked against the following. Torque figures and part numbers are guidance only, confirm against the workshop manual for your VIN.
- RepairPal — Loose or broken crankshaft pulley bolt, Mitsubishi Montero
- Autofix — Mitsubishi Pajero V6 crankshaft pulley issues (site no longer online, archived reference)
- Rich Enry Auto Service — My harmonic balancer failed, how serious is it
- Pajero 4WD Club of Victoria — Harmonic balancer failure thread
- 4x4community South Africa — Crank shaft pulley beware thread
- ExplorOz — Mitsubishi 4M41 engine discussion
- MitzyBitz — Crankshaft pulley 1104A024 for Pajero Mk4 3.2 DI-D
- Car Specs SA — 2010 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.8 V6 GLS LWB specification
- Autodoc — Timing belt set, Pajero IV 3.8 V6 6G75