Hi All

My normally trusty TR has 158k on the clock and has been perfect until the last 2 weeks. It kept stalling and I was advised to have the distributor cable replaced as it was corroded (which I did get replaced) and since then I am having lots of problems with the "pick up" (car takes off 2-3 secs after you put your foot down) of the car. Ive been told it needs a new fuel filter, pump, distributor etc. I also have a very clunky auto trans which clunks terribly every time you but it in reverse. It is worse when you are parked on a slight angle. Ive been told I have to get the trans flushed at least to fix this

But wait theres more! Last week the idle dropped to below 500rpm and I was stalling all the way home from work. We have adjusted the idle but now it seems like my poor old Magna isnt even changing gears! Im doing 3.5rpm in 2nd gear and it wont even go into 3rd!

Has anyone else had these probs? Its seems to have happened all at once. I;d love to get a Lancer but we cant afford it right now ... I just need my beloved Magna to last another 6 months. I've been told I need to spend $1000 to make it driveable though...

Would love it if anyone can relate to my probs and/or has any hints for me. Would a service help it last a little longer?

Its been a great car .... til NOW


Thanks for reading and sorry for the long post

autos.... manual repreznt.
try changing the gear oil for a start, and u can get some gearbox treatment from supercheap, its a nulon product and works well. maybe changing all your oils and filters might help 2.
slow pickup sounds pretty weird, maybe try resetting your ecu?

big 4

No idea how anyone could quote $1k to fix what seems to be so many issues.

You really need to attack one at a time and follow a process of elimination.

My suggestions based on your discription would be:-

1) Auto... this is the biggest expense and could be at the root of (most of your problems) No point doing anything else if your up for an auto rebuild.

If it is not changing gears at all and if it is taking a few seconds to engage and then only in second it doesn't sound good!

When was it last serviced?
Does it have the recomended Mitsubishi ATF in it?
Has it had a filter change?
May even be an Auto ECU problem....

Until you diagnose the Auto there really is no point worrying about anything else.

2) Can't believe it needs a new Distributor at 160k maybe a new cap perhaps but not a whole new distributor.... but if the Auto has not been serviced then now's about the time it will start protesting!

3) Idle speed control motors are about $90.00 off E-bay and about $125 from Bursons.. a new one will make the car run / idle better but will not be the reason your Auto is playing up.

4) A fresh set of high tension leads (not simply the distributor lead) wont set you back much so would be worth changing the lot... if ones gone the others wont be too far behind... but again no pont until the Auto is working right. Should also look at the throttle postion switch which can not be serviced and needs to be reset with an Ohms meter - best left to an Auto Electrician.

5) Fuel filter is no big deal... about $30 from an Auto Shop ... but a pain to change although if it is a fuel pump then that can be checked... by measruing the fuel delivery pressure .. again a decent mechanic can diagnose this accurelty and not simply prepare a "maybe" list.

So my sugestion would be:-

Drain Auto including disconecting at the cooler hose and running the car in Neutral until it starts spurting out ... this will drain the Torque converter as well.

Only use genuine Mitsubishi Tranny Juice ... should take about 8litres depending on how much you managed to get out.

Replace the filter pick one up at a Mitsi dealer while you're getting your fluid (and a gasket).

If you don't feel confident doing this work then find a decent Auto Specialist but supply the fluid and parts yourself and tell them you want the box flushed / drained including the converter not simply at the sump!

Diconnect the battery and then reconect ... let the car idle for 15 minutes and move the gear lever between all postions in both directions so the Auto ECU can reset itself

This should take about 3 hours and cost about $120.00 in parts if you do it yourself but you need car stands as a minimum.

If your Auto is still missbehaving then dont waorry about wasting any more money as this will be the killer... either fix it (about $1900 for a rebuild if it is the ECU these can be repaired but are still around $500) or get rid of the car and start again.

If it fixes the Auto problems then the rest are simply maintenance issues.

It amzaes me that people change their engine oils every 5 - 10k's but forget to do the same to the Auto ... that does most of the hard work and costs more to rebuild than the motor! Hopefully this is not the case here!

The other option is to take / book the car to a Mitsubishi dealer and ask them to run a full diagnostic on it... they usally charge up to $100.00 for this... They hook your car up to their computer and it analizes all the "potential" faults you have listed so you know exactly what's right / wrong before spending any money!

Good luck with it all....

cost me only 50 bucks to get it analyzed with the computer and they aligned all the sensors. the tps was a little out and the stop throttle screw was so wrong it frecked the head mechanic outlol

autos.... manual repreznt.
try changing the gear oil for a start, and u can get some gearbox treatment from supercheap, its a nulon product and works well. maybe changing all your oils and filters might help 2.
slow pickup sounds pretty weird, maybe try resetting your ecu?

big 4

I don't think super cheap sells that teflon nulon product for trannies anymore. Alternatives are Lucas Transmission fix, stopped my shuddering when highway driving costs about $16 bucks a bottle, probably need two bottles for a worn gearbox and of course drain 1.5 litres out before adding the lucas transmission fix. There is also Bitron 2.4.6 you will need one and a half bottles which is the best of the best but costs about $80 for two bottles and freight.

Thanks,
Rauli

Thanks for your responses. I was quoted all this stuff (parts and labour) by a mechanic, unfortunately i cant do the work myself as I am a girl (LOL) and dont know a good bloke who could help me out with this type of stuff

Another place just told me to do a service and auto trans flush and told me this would be about $300 and will probably get the car driveable and reasonably reliable for a few more months

I do plan to get another car soon but do not have the $$$ yet but dont really want to spend a grand on it either just to get me thru the next few months

I am the 2nd owner of the car, had it for 5 years, was regularly serviced by Mitsubishi here in Adelaide. Once I bought it, I took it for services to my local mechanic who is now unfortunately retired. Last service was 10k ago.

Its been a fantastic reliable car until now.

Nulon for Auto-tran. you can buy in Kmart or Big W about $11 bottle.

Reverse sexism at its best.... !!! We go from "equality" to "I'm a girl"......:bowrofl:

You may still be better off booking into a Mitsubishi dealer for a diagnostic before spending lots of $$$'s....

And then depending on the outcome find a decent specialist Auto transmission place... word of mouth is the best reference... or ring around and pick the one that is booked a few days in advance... at least that will tell you they are either well supported or slow .. and get the auto sorted before anything else...

Good luck with it all... at 160k there should still be a lot of life left in the old girl ... me thinks it's just a mid life makeover that is required!

Wife's car was playing up too - 150k's EFI Manual. I accidentally found the problem - the brass pins inside the big plastic plugs were corroded with that green copper-type corrosion. Unplug the one that goes into the distributor, fuel injection, and air cleaner. Get a pointy file and gently clean all surfaces, and spray with CRC 226 or similar. Fixed the crappy idle straight away, runs smooth as. Cost - 1/2 hr.

i agree with woftam66, get your Auto serviced ASAP.
Ask friends and family and find a reliable auto mechanic to do it. Make sure you tell them what's happening, that way they will take a good look at it. For a fluid, filter and gasket change plus a sump clean cost me $160.
Obviously if there's something else wrong (solenoids etc) it will cost more. But they would call first.
I reckon that's your best bet, let us know what happens.

If you are clunking going into reverse, and you have a suspicion you are not chaning gears, go for a drive, get to say 60 and then manual down shift with the selector. If you do not get any response your TCU has gone.

This is easy to replace and will also account for most of the symptoms as when they blow you are stuck in third gear and when you select reverse, it is a hard selection and will feel like you have had a head on......

If it is the TCU, and you have a 2 plug unit, I have one here spare.

mal to the rescue with the educated answer :)