Just been to Mitsi in Canberra, trying to sort out some rattles with my TJ and the service mgr was trying to say to me that they rarely get probs with the TJ Magna engines but that wasn't to say that it doesn't happen and then he pointed to a 380 with 5000kms on it which had thrown the cambelt and stuffed the motor.
Which didn't really inspire me with a lot of confidence in my car considering I was getting a 2nd appraisal on the rattle in my car which one Mitsi dealer had diagnosed as being the cam belt tensioner.

Anyway what happened to the 380 is a bit scary. More than likely its related to 1 in a million component failure or a manufacturing fault considering the low number of kms done.

Umm, nope. 26,000 and still going strong, as I would expect. And I dont baby it much either.

Wouldnt have happened to be a Mitsu dealer in town by any chance?

It can happen to any car, pretty rare, but it does happen.

Check your tension pulley and the bolt holding it in..

Mine came loose and it was knocking up against the sidewall.

Check your tension pulley and the bolt holding it in..

Mine came loose and it was knocking up against the sidewall.
Was that on the Magna or the Ford Bain?

I have a first gen with a bent valve.

yep in the city, its silver.
got my car back, said there was nothing wrong with it. other mitsi dealer said it would cost $800 to fix. still think theres something to the rattle i get, so will prob do it myself!

Talkin of Mitsubishi in braddon... I organise the servicing for my parents TH...had the 90,000km service done with the timing belt changed...was runnin rough when i got it back and was told it was the base idle adjustment, didn't have time to mess with it, took it back in and turns out they'd put the timing belt on 2 teeth out...so suffering a bit of a timing problem :nuts: ...the apprentice is apparently not working there anymore...u’d wanna hope so :gtfo: ...

Cummins.

Was that on the Magna or the Ford Bain?
Magna :) . Happened while driving the Great Ocean Road.. Interesting to hear the horrible knocking sound as you enter a corner..

It had its fare share of problems.. (not like the Ford though)

Just been to Mitsi in Canberra, trying to sort out some rattles with my TJ and the service mgr was trying to say to me that they rarely get probs with the TJ Magna engines but that wasn't to say that it doesn't happen and then he pointed to a 380 with 5000kms on it which had thrown the cambelt and stuffed the motor.
Which didn't really inspire me with a lot of confidence in my car considering I was getting a 2nd appraisal on the rattle in my car which one Mitsi dealer had diagnosed as being the cam belt tensioner.

Anyway what happened to the 380 is a bit scary. More than likely its related to 1 in a million component failure or a manufacturing fault considering the low number of kms done.

I have a slight rattle in my 01 TJ and I am thinking cambelt tension as well. How much are they quoting you to repair?

$770 including new cambelt and tensioner. genuine cambelt is $160, tensioner $200. but i'd check around because i don't think they all price the same. this dealer later said they would fit a timing kit (labour only) for about $340. either way its not cheap.

happened to my girlfriends astra with 10,000 on the clock, cam belt tensioner dubey snapped throwing the cambelt off causing the valves to give the pistons a biiiiiiiig kiss! Had to have a new engine put in it, was rooted!

An acquaintance of mine at work had a Barina which shed it's belt at 80K, 10K before it was due to be replaced. He spent 2000 bucks on the head. At 140K it spit the belt again. Did he get rid of it? No. Spent 2,300 bucks to fix it again. :doubt: :nuts:

I've heard of Mercedes, Audi's, etc that have horror stories too, and sometimes many in a particular model (do a search, may be a bit hard to find with all the new crud going on the web all the time).

We've got a pretty good run with Aussie vehicles, and as soon as faults are found they are recalled, like the Commodore, not like most overseas companies who put all faults down to the car owners!

getting back to this particular 380 with bent valves tho, the fact it has happened so early in its life suggests it was a manufacturing fault. If it where a design issue that rares its head at such an early time then there would most likely be alot more occurances by now.

As for any possible correlation with a TJ magna, well as far as im aware they are very different engines, so i doubt there would be much of a link between the two

I think there are some similarities, because the timing kit I bought (cambelt, tensioner & idler pulley, hydraulic tensioner) says that it is suitable for the 380. I agree it is probably just bad luck throwing a belt because it looks like these parts are the same as the 3.5, which is fairly well tested by now.
I was a little surprised when I was told about the 380 and it made me worry a little more about my car because my car had been diagnosed with a fault that could potentially end up the same way (and because it looks like it uses the same offending parts). I had been told that it was rare on the 3.5s but it sounds a little less rare when you just happen to go to a dealer who has a 380 with the same problem at the very same time, especially knowing the above.

that's all it is fellas.. bad luck! the motors are put together by humans.. and as well know, we f+ck up.. simple! let's not talk about crappy built vehicles, otherwise ill bore you all with the garbage that's come from toyota! best car around... pig's ass!

Probably a Friday motor.