Hi guys, went car searching this morning, to look for an early 3rd V6 manual, but ended up finding a Sienna Red 2001 VR-X (TJ) 5-speed manual for $11700, which I thought was a pretty good price.

Car is in very good condition inside & out, with only a few minor marks on the bonnet, and very few minor dents in the doors.

Only thing is that it's done 161,000km, which is quite high for a 2001 model, but still it drives very well, certainly a tighter drive than my KH Verada which I sold to a friend last month. And the manual 'box gives a very different feel, especially on launch, as compared to the 4-speed auto in the 3.5, which had a rather tall 1st gear in my opinion (but still nice though!)

Hope it'll be a good car. To be honest, Sienna Red wouldn't have been my first colour choice, but at this price, I couldn't really go past it.

Photos added

sounds like a decent find, make sure to check the 1st to 2nd change for crunching that is, ask about the clutch aswell

Crunching is the syncros. Happens in all manual Ralliarts.

i think the colour is fine:D . the price sounds ok to me. i bought my sports a year ago for around $15K with 60000km on the clock.

Yeah for some reason 1st gear seemed a little reluctant to engage - No crunches, but you sort of had to release the gear lever from 2nd, back to the centre position, before going back into 1st.

Should I be very worried?

Clutch operation seems fine, no juddering (I test drove a TF 3.0 manual which shook badly).

What else should I look for?

I have owned a KH Verada 3.5 and the VRX engine seems pretty similar. I know it's got the 163kw against the usual 147kw, but certainly being manual, it's a different feel to the auto

So the crunchy noise isnt an issue? Does it in my TH Sports and Ive always wondered whether it should or if its gonna collapse on me soon!

Nice car mate and sounds like a pretty damn good price! Got a service history with it?

So the crunchy noise isnt an issue? Does it in my TH Sports and Ive always wondered whether it should or if its gonna collapse on me soon!
Most of the new car tests i've read of the Ralliart Magna complain about "crunching" from first to second gear. It only happens when you rev first gear right out then try to "snap" second hard. Trick is to only rev it to about 5500 in first.

Yeah for some reason 1st gear seemed a little reluctant to engage - No crunches, but you sort of had to release the gear lever from 2nd, back to the centre position, before going back into 1st.

Should I be very worried?


i find mine is a bit like that when its still cold, have to be almost stopped and a 2nd attempt at the clutch before it goes back to 1st, no crunching as you said, just a very solid change! (short shifter probably doesn't help) but after probably only a few 100m's down the road its fine

Yes there is a service history with the car.

Some services were unfortunately carried out at UltraTune, not Mitsubishi, but oh well, better than nothing.

which only means they were carried out by a normal mechanic rather than an apprentice :P
And prolly 1 zillionith the price... they arent that bad.
The ONLY reason i get services done through Mitsi is because people like to see their stamp in the logbook. I didnt get my major service done by them though... they were over double anyone else :doubt:

Mmmmmm sexy :P

Oh... and mine does the 1st -> 2nd thing.

I bought mine with just under 25 on the clock, and its being doing it since....
(it now has closer too 90 on the clock)

.. changing the fluids there helps it, but you get used to it anyway :)

Oh... and mine does the 1st -> 2nd thing.

I bought mine with just under 25 on the clock, and its being doing it since....
(it now has closer too 90 on the clock)

.. changing the fluids there helps it, but you get used to it anyway :)

yep, my manual box does the same. changed the transaxle fluid which made it a lot less gritty, but still clunky. if its cold i'll tend to double clutch it in. at the very least when you pull up to a stop let your clutch out in neutral before engaging first, will go in much easier.

Collected the car this afternoon, and all is good.

The red illumination of the dash cluster gives it a rather different look to my old KH Verada xi (which had the Optitron dash), but I don't mind the red. Unfortunately I don't have climate control though, just the standard air-con.

Driving-wise, the trip computer states 8.3L/100km which I think is excellent for suburban driving. My KH used to return between 10 and 10.5 under the same conditions -- Always driven very carefully.

Handling & steering feel both seem more sure-footed than the KH, but not quite up to 380GT levels.

Just looking for a set of factory 17-inch alloys now to complete the picture!

Collected the car this afternoon, and all is good.

The red illumination of the dash cluster gives it a rather different look to my old KH Verada xi (which had the Optitron dash), but I don't mind the red. Unfortunately I don't have climate control though, just the standard air-con.

Driving-wise, the trip computer states 8.3L/100km which I think is excellent for suburban driving. My KH used to return between 10 and 10.5 under the same conditions -- Always driven very carefully.

Handling & steering feel both seem more sure-footed than the KH, but not quite up to 380GT levels.

Just looking for a set of factory 17-inch alloys now to complete the picture!
Congrats buddy. Enjoy your ride. :D

Crunching is the syncros. Happens in all manual Ralliarts.
really?
mine must be special then....

Yeah for some reason 1st gear seemed a little reluctant to engage - No crunches, but you sort of had to release the gear lever from 2nd, back to the centre position, before going back into 1st.

Should I be very worried?

Clutch operation seems fine, no juddering (I test drove a TF 3.0 manual which shook badly).

What else should I look for?

I have owned a KH Verada 3.5 and the VRX engine seems pretty similar. I know it's got the 163kw against the usual 147kw, but certainly being manual, it's a different feel to the auto

Redline manual transmission fluid will probably help. What MTF does Mit spec for this tranny?
GL-4 or GL-5? LSD or non-LSD?

really?
mine must be special then....
So you're telling me you can rev 1st gear out as hard as possible to redline then slam second gear as hard as possible and get no crunching at all? If so your magna would be special when compared to every other manual magna out there. :P

Yep, looks like almost all do it - mine crunches from 1st to 2nd. All other changes are smooth.

hey guys mynes just a TH 3.5 manual but i can rev it out till redline and no crunching either
does that mean that the synchros are in good condition or its just one fo those things ?

btw some times its a solid change but only when cold at normal shift point eg. 2500rpm