Mitsubishi SUV Range

Provided the blown head gasket is the engine’s only problem, then you can certainly squeeze plenty more kilometres from it by replacing a blown head gasket. It’s a pretty involved process, however, and requires removing the cylinder head, cleaning the surface, and fitting a new gasket. You also need to check the mating surfaces of the cylinder head and the engine block to make sure they’re straight and able to form the seal the engine requires. So, it’s pretty specialised work.

The wild card comes in the form of what else is wrong with the engine. If it’s worn internally and burning oil, for instance, it might not be worth spending the money to change the head gasket. In that case, a full rebuild or a replacement engine makes more sense.

From memory, the centre orange light on this vehicle indicates whether the locking centre differential is engaged or not. When the light is on, the diff in engaged. When it’s flashing, it’s in the process of engaging electronically. For this process to occur, the main transmission needs to be in neutral, so trying to get the vehicle to move and change gears while the diff is somewhere between engaged or disengaged, might be the problem.

I’ve also heard of problems with the sensor that detects whether the centre diff is engaged or not on this make and model. Sometimes the sensor can die, other times it’s just a wire that has fallen off, but it could mean that the vehicle is confused about what to do and the transmission is stranded in neutral as result.

Try rolling the car forward a few metres (if possible and safe) to see if that small amount of movement allows the diff to engage and normal operation to be restored.

The Mitsubishi 4N15 engine in your Pajero Sport has a timing chain rather than a toothed rubber belt. As such, the chain should be good for the life of the vehicle rather than requiring periodic replacement as a timing belt does. However, this does not make the valve-train maintenance-free, as this engine requires valve clearance adjustments every 60,000km.