hey guys i just bought a 93 magna tr glx from this private seller and already the cars been giving me so many problems, im a student ans as such i dont have much money to throw around at all and i could really do with some help with fixing up my car. For a start three days after i bought the car the car refused to start at the petrol station just after i pumped a full tank, then i had to get it towed to kmart auto garage to get it back running. i did a full service of the car which cost me 180 bux. The car was idling at 1500+ rpm and they managed to bring it down to roughly normal at arnd 900 rpm.. but it seems as though its slowly increasing its revs again. Secondly i was told that the timing chain might night to be replaced on the car, as it rattles when its idling and the rattling only stops when u accelrate.. the mechanics also told me my carburetor was in need of a look at or a rebuild or a clean.

I wanna fix up my car, though its given me problems i somehow really like it.. THe only problem is ive got limited amounts of money. The car starts up and runs now but the problem is, IT TAKES AGES to start up, like i have to keep the key turned for a while and sometimes hit the accelerator to help the car start up and get going. I'm nt sure why this is happening, is it due to the carburetor acting up? secondly the engine is rattling at idle which i think is the timing chain.

Ive decided to start fixing the car up slowly as i save up but i think that the timing chain and carburator might need some immediate assistance. I was just wondering if someone could provide me with some information on what is going on with my car and how i could get the car to start up more smoothly cause everytime i turn it on im scared that it wont start.

Really need help with what to do with my car, or if theres anywhere i can go to get it done a little cheaper, or if theres a place out there that helps out people in my situaion with the mechanic costs and what not, cause i dont have any of the equipment and yea.. hence cant overhaul it myself.. if anyone could provide me with some help or information, ill be really really grateful. thank you

use the free repair manual

lisho sencond generation TR
http://www.lisho.net/?page_id=3

all the information you seek is in that repair manual

the carby may need a choke adjustment
i found that a carby idles better at 1000rpm with the timing at 13 degrees btc

you need to check all the vaccume lines are sealing and not perrished
and both vaccume pots on the carby hold vaccume

the chains and cogs can be done with the engine in but its costly
best have a mechanic do them
you can buy the kit off ebay or repco or similar

all the engine mounts need to be undone as well as the
timing pully air con and power steering pump alternator


now even the repair manual say not to
there is a plate on the timing cover with two 10 mm bolts
about where the alternator is you might be able
to adjust the chains a fraction through that cover

what normally wears are the cogs and guides

i think that the mechanics that i gave my car to adjusted the choke and idle speeds cause, my car was idling in drive when it was stationary at 1500 ish now its around 1000..

they fixed up the car and made it start, but they said that the carby needs like rebuilding or a look at. Is the carby the reason for the engine taking so long to start up and it beign weird whilst starting? If so, to avoid paying a grand to fix it up.. could i like buy a second hand carby and get a mechanic to do it, or is it possible for me to fit it myself? theres a guy whos offering a carby that he took off his car for 170.. its still attached to the main intake manifold ( whatever that may be) and im wondering if replacing my carby with his would be a good idea?

The noise from the engine comes about when its like idling or when im not accelrating.. im not sure but the mechanics said its the timing chain, they didnt say anything about the engine mounts..
with the timing chain, i heard it costs roughly 800 bux to get it fixed at the mechanics.. is it too hard to do at home with like a kit or something? and like if i dont get it fixed asap would something bad happen? my cars got about 190 000 ks on it

My main objective is really to just get rid of the ratttle and get my car starting nicely without it sounding like its going to burst..

thanks so much for your time, ive been a little dissapointed with my car and its been bugging me :(

cold starting is a carby problem

if you dont do the chains
if they fail could damage the engine beyond repair
timing chain or the oil pump loss

try that plate and adjust there first

the new timing chain and cog kit is less than 200

you need the right tools to diy at home

I drop the motor down or lift it out to do chains
if you do a seach there might be a diy post about the timing chains

170 for second hand carby. i think is to much as carby kit is around the $100 mark .and around $100 to get fitted. best to get a quote .second hand carby can have the same problems. hope this helps

i just rang the auto guys, they said that the timing chain kit plus gasket n everything with the guide is about 240 bux. they said it would be a 6 hour long job though and were quoting me a grand for it. i was wondering if i the kit came with installation guides and if i could do it by myself and save myself 800 bux..

also with the carby instead of getting it rebuilt could i just get the carby kit? Whats the carby kit like, is it sort of like a new carburator that once fitted itll get rid of the cold start problem..

With that plate you told me to adjust, what exactly am i adjusting and what do i do with it? ( would this help reduce the rattling)?
Thanks guys

We have quite a few WA members, any chance one or more of you guys can give him a hand in person??

Where are u in WA matey :)

Im in bunbury during the weekdays, but id gladly drive down to perth or anywhere else to get a hand with this..
ive only had the car for two weeks and the guy i bought it off kinda ripped me off he said the only problem was the cv joints which i got done
later i find out from the mechanics about the carby n the timing chain..doubt i can give the car back, probably not eligible for buyer protection as it is a 1k car..
I dont mind fixing it up slowly as ill be using this car for a while..

Thanks a ton

on a carby model
try this
you depress the accel pedal to the floor once
to engage auto choke lift up and then start car
should start without pumping acell

this is the cover to adjust chain
on the front of the timing cover
wont hurt to try this first




http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/magnabuff/trchaintension1.jpg

Just something to consider, since you have only just bought this car and have a limited budget and I suspect no large attachment to it - If your repair bill is going to exceed $1500 it may be time to look for something else. To give you an example of what $1000-1500 can buy you, it will easily buy a TE-TF (96-97) V6 auto magna if you were patient. The paint will be in poor quality, but its a much better base to start with (also, the EFI V6 will be more fuel efficient then the carby 2.6).

If you could stretch to $2-3k, you could even get yourself into a Manual 99-01 V6. Zahrim recently bought one for just over $2000 for a 1999 TH Sports manual with ABS, power windows, cruise control, 3.5L V6, and all the other trimmings the Sports got.

hmm what does it mean by adjust the guide by pushing the guide firlmly to take up chain clearance..
And what would i tighten the bolt with and to what specification. thanks

ill try that out later on today when i get back home..

the parts as ive noticed are comparatively cheap to buy.. whats killing me right now is how much it costs for the labour to fix it..

If i cant find someone who can help me out with something like what your doing in brisbane magnabuff then i probably will either try to get rid of the car for the same price i bought it or just use it till it gives up on me and ill wreck it..

As to what life said, yea i know.. the car seems to run fine and what not.. i just am gonna give it a month.. see what happens, hopefully theres someone out there who can help me out.. if not ill just try selling it off and buy something else..

after undoing the lock bolt just hand pressure down in the adjuster

no spec just up firm and hand tight with the spanner on the lock bolt

its only a small bolt 12 or 10 mm I think so easy does it

it should reduce the chain noise a bit

i tried that today, didnt seem to work to well, theres still a fairly obvious knocking sound from the engine around idle.. looks like i gotta try n find someone with an engine support so i can lower and change the chain...

And with regards to the carby, do u reckon i could get a replacement carby or a carby kit and fit it myself with the help of the workshop manual and a guide?

Also i was thinking of replacing the distributor cap, rotor, ignition leads and fuel filter.. did u reckon i could diy these things? thanks

I went through a few carbies on my Scorpion (very similar engine). I bought them from the wreckers (Mitsibits in Adelaide) for ~$70 each. Trouble is you don't know what you're going to get, but since my original carby had a massive flat spot it was always an improvement.

Carby is definitely possible to do yourself, fuel filter should be too. Distributor cap is easy, rotor is a little harder but doable, and leads are easy.

man, my carby is so dodgy it takes like 3 or 4 seconds for the engine to start followed by me having the pump the accelarator so it fully starts up and not die off hahah.. i reckon anything would be better then what i got now..

On my mechanics list of things to do, i was advised to get spark plug leads, distributor cap, rotor and a fuel filter. as well as overhaul the carby and change the timing belt..

I was going to go to autobahn or something tomorrow and buy the parts and get into fixing up the parts on my car, and ill scount around for a carby over the weekend as well as a fuel filter..
Should hopefully have all these parts installed by the weekend if i manage to get it right with the help of the manual..

Only thing that i gotta get rid off now is the knocking noise in my engine due to the timing chain being stretched out.. just gotta deal with it and hope that it doesnt break on me till i find a cheaper solution for a fix.. dont think i want to fork out 1k to a mechanic for it aye

Last time I replaced my fuel filter it was only about $30 from Repco.

be wary with a rattling timing chain they can cause serious damage to the internals (in my case it wore a hole into the water pump and flooded the engine took months to fix working on it between work and on the weekend)

if you're mechanicly minded consider a v6 conversion if it's running well you should get better fuel economy and a much better designed engine.
yuo could probably get something like this for about 500 bucks (so long as you check it's all running right after all it is a wrecked car)
http://www.pickles.com.au/damaged/vehicle/NO-C-P-Mitsubishi-Magna/itemid-1-552130740/lotid-0
so you take engine gearbox ecu etc do a swap (with help preferably) and sell any parts you can off it and the shell (probably get 100 bucks for it from a scrap dealer) and voila you have more power better economy and at less than the cost of getting all the internals fixed on an infamous asstron engine.

However you deal with it good luck with the car, i too know the horrors of an aging 2nd gen magna lol

Oh and like dean said i got a TH sports (ie top trim level 99/00 model magna) in manual well maintained for 2200 not long ago (6 months rego, sable black oh so sexy), heck i got the TE in my sig for 700 with a damaged front bar and bad paint and it was a 3.0 manual. (ended up costing me alot more cause i let the wrong auto electrician touch it for a blue slip) but yeah you can pick up a nice reliable car for peanuts if this one looks to be costing you more than it's worth to fix.

Im not really that mechanical minded and i dont think i have the tools to swap out my engine for a v6 engine and im guessing if i took it to the mechanics id be paying through my nose for a job like that..

If i were to buy another car it would mean id have to sell this one first and like im not sure if it will sell or not.. thats why i was thinking of just slowly fixing it up with what i can do by myself for now like changing the carby, fuel filters and distributors and spark leads..should cost more then 2 to 3 hundred fixing up these things.. the only problem is the timing chain, i dont really use the car much its mostly parked in my garage and i doubt ill be using it much till the end of the month so id have some time to fix it up..

Also i read through the workshop manual and i think my engines running a little rich so im gonna tighten the screw a little bit and see if it helps out a little and ill try to drop down the idle by adjusting the screw.. its currently idling at around 1000-1100.. ill try bring it down to 900..

just need to find a solution for the timing chain.. its a fairly cheap part to get.. but the mechanical labour cost is just way out of my budget..

yeah can't say it isnt a heck of a job lol, thing is it's not an impossible job to swap the chain yourself but can cause all sorts of problems if it isnt aligned right. basically find a how to guide and see if you think you'd be up for it.