Hi all,

Im a newbie so havent had a chance to put up a photo of 'the white box' ( or the **** box as we also lovingly refer to her as lol )

I purchased an 89 TP Magne about 8 weeks ago. It had been owned by the same bloke since new, but I think he had started to neglect it a bit. We had to pay $504 worth of repairs the 2nd week after we bought it which included the idle speed control motor ( $350 ) and a $105 service, plus their gst of course. I asked the mechanics to go right over the car and this is what they came back with.

centre muffler welded but not leaking (glad about that one )
valve stem seals worn ( they replaced oil with a higher viscous oil for older motors)
timing chain rattles - worn ( this is the one that is worrying me)
idle speed motor is stuffed

So I guess I was wondering if anyone here might have some advice re the problems they have picked up. We were advised before we bought it that Magnas can have a problem with the timing chain and it can cost about $800 to fix it.

Is there anything on that list that we can do ourselves as I have ordered a copy of the Gregorys TP handbook. And how serious are some of the things that they have listed.

Oh, they also said not to let anyone try to talk us into tightening the timing chain as it will just snap off!!

Sorry for the long post, I think thats it :)

Cheers,

Meredith

The problems you mention are all quite common.

I have not needed to adjust the timing chain on mine as it does not rattle but have read the procedure. It seems straightforward but fiddly as it is done through a small opening behind a removeable plate. The tightening is only done with finger pressure so personally I highly doubt that it could cause the chain to snap off. It will be interesting to hear opinions from those who have actually done this job. Certainly it costs nothing whereas replacing the chain is a major job that you probably would not want to take on yourself.

Replacing the valve stems seals is something I've done myself and found inexpensive and very worthwhile. It costs about $40 on ebay for the tool (valve spring compressor), $30 for the seals and $20 for a rocker cover gasket. It is a few hours work but the difference is amazing. Previously, if I got stuck in traffic idling for long periods, my car would disappear behind a cloud of smoke (usually when sitting next to a police car). It used about a litre of oil a week if the traffic was bad. Also the plugs would oil up and performance suffered as a result. Now it uses no oil at all and there is never a trace of smoke. With clean plugs, it runs smoother and performance is much improved.

I am sure you will get plenty of help and good advice here when you are ready to start on the work.

Thanks so much for your reply....we have a friend who is a mechanic so I am hoping he can help us out a little. Its a good little car and I am starting to grow somewhat attatched to it ( we have the 'family' car, a Holden Commodore Equip 03) but there is something 'different' about driving the Magna. I would like to do up the engine so its functioning to best capacity. I know she's an old girl, but I think she has a few years left in her yet :D

Second week of owning my TP the gear box went bad followed by the clutch burning out.

First of all - $350 for an idle speed motor is ridiculous! Just get one from a wrecker for like $30 ;)

Timing chain u can tension ONE of the chains by removing the little plate on the timing cover, loosening one bolt and pushing the lever down using finger pressure, enough so the slack is gone. You then tighten the bolt, and replace the plate (with new gasket of course). That will quieten up some of the noise, but if it is seriously bad noise, the chains are stretched and should be replaced. Normally the first one to go will be the oil pump and balance shaft chain, and if it goes, there will be no warning coz the oil pump stops and engine can overheat. It is usually that chain making most the rattle too.

Other problems to watch for is for rocker cover gasket leaks, especially around water pump pulley end. Also watch for front end crankshaft seal for oil leaks and keep an eye on the metal pipe sticking out the bottom of the water pump end of the intake manifold, as it has a tendency to leak coolant a fair bit. With suspension check all the bushings, as the first gens had a poor design for the suspension, where most the assembly is connected through a single bolt and single bushing, meaning it wears out fast. With general maintenance, make sure you in particular clean the throttle body with some throttle body cleaner now and then, as these engines have lots of blowby oil which ends up in the air intake and eventually makes the throttle all sticky and stops it sealing properly. Apart from that, regular oil changes and coolant checks and it will keep going for some time yet! :D

Im looking forward to getting the Gregorys manual in the mail ( got off ebay for $12..Super cheap auto asking $49.95!!!!) so i can see how this all fits together. I wont go sticking my hands into something I dont know a lot about. Dont suppose anyone knows of a 'magna friendly' mechanic in Melbourne???

Hell, now I am scared after looking at all of that!!! Thanks for the link BTW :)

Are the tp's really troublesome, or is it just stuff that comes with its age??

Cheers

TP or first gen best model to own

you can still fix them and wont cost you the earth :D
this is my better link
http://www.mitsubishiclubaustralia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=814