Hi all,

I have been a negligent fool and let my engine in my 2005 380 VR-X get too low on oil :( The engine has done about 135,000 km's. It is in the shop now waiting to be looked at, but i fear i will be up for a totally new engine.

Can anyone tell me the cost of a new engine for these cars please?

Edit: i would call a mitsu parts centre but i am working 12 hr shifts and finish after they finish each day

Leaking and/or burning oil at 135000? Strange.

maybe you can tell us what exactly happened, I'd expect the engine to seize or oil light to come on. genuine parts will be costly, I think ebay have these motors for about $1800. If you need a motor I'd be talking to Mal at mitsfix, he'll look after you.

About 12 months ago i got my car serviced, he changed the oil to a synthetic 30-40 type that is thinner and should make it last longer. I usually check the engine oil once every couple of weeks and top it up as needed. Recently however i took a long trip (from Sydney to Mackay) and about 3 weeks after that (last week) i was driving along (had not checked. oil since before leaving sydney) and the engine started making some noise. It cut out and i had to make an emergency stop on the side of the road.

Anyway, managed to get it started again and slowly limped to a servo and topped the poil up with synthetic 5-30 which seemed to make things worse :(

Then drove it to the nearest mechanic where it has been resting this week.

I was thinking of trading it in for a new ute for the job (i work in the coalfield mines), but this car has been so good to me i dont want to get rid of it now.

I also dont think a new crank/big ends/heads etc will leave me 100% happy so i have been planning a budget for a new engine. If they re about 1800 from Ebay, could i expect them to be about double from Mitsubishi? Or about 2,200 to 2,500?

I think a new engine would add a lot of life to my car.

mitsubishi will probably want more like $5000 or more, I've never priced a brand new engine from them. I think most of the ones from ebay are from mitsfix, they should be fine with similar k's to your car. If you rebuild it you could add a couple of fine touches like tidy up the ports a little or a polish, maybe a better cam profile, you know just a few performance touches before it all gets slapped together, these are just some of my suggestions to consider and maybe research a little.
All in all its up to you, see what other people on here reckon.

hmm may be best then to get it repaired or drop a second hand engine in it if it comes to that then hey

If you're looking to sell your motor send me a PM!!!!! (I want to rebuild one and do some special things to one... :D)

Leaking and/or burning oil at 135000? Strange.

Try eBay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mitsubishi-380-engines-/250915746703?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a6bbe738f
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GENUINE-MITSUBISHI-380-GT-2005-ENGINE-MOTOR-3-8-LTR-V6-PETROL-LOW-KS-/270824069445?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f0e5f5945
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GENUINE-MITSUBISHI-380-GT-2007-TRANSMISSION-GEARBOX-5-SPD-AUTO-LOW-KS-/270838296582?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f0f387006

Cheers

Not the first one to be caught out by "where's the oil gone?" on a long trip. lol
Best to check oil levels before and during a long trip. Condensates build up in the engine during town running, and compensate for oil used. You have had 12 months of doing this. On a long trip, these boil off and the oil level drops. Also, some engines start to mysteriously burn oil when the engine is at working temperature and constant (high) revs - seems to happen with synthetics.

Too late now though. Hope your engine can be fixed, or you can find a good replacement.

I have motors here as well, little cheaper than the ones listed for that sort of KM traveled. Have others here with under 70k on them as well.

There seems to have been a few errors done, first of all, the grade of oil is way off, 30w40? 5w for these motors

Secondly unfortunately there are some of these motors that do burn a little oil, mainly in the older series like yours. Many of these were fixed under warranty but it unfortunately looks like yours may have missed out.

Also, 12 months between services, as you have stated, is too long.

If you do need a motor, I have 4 of them here at the moment, 2 are still in cars running so are nice and fresh.

If he is using 5w30 then it's the correct grade, I'm using 5w30 too and it give better throttle response and FC compare to 10w40 that i used last time. I had abit of oil consumption, maybe around 200ml for 10k km of driving so it's wasn't really much. my engine is around 122k now so pretty close to his 135k engine.

i must say - thanks for this thread... synthetic oil gets really low and lost over 10,000km - i just check yday and i was on the minimum so i topped it up just in time... never happened to me with classic Magnatec 10W 40... my engine is 88k

Remember that with mineral oil it will absorb some moisture from the atmosphere and give the appearance of the oil not getting used. Synthetic will absoeb nothing at all

ALL engines use oil, oil is sprayed onto the cyl walls to lubricate the piston, a small smear reamains when the oil rings srape the wall clean. It is by design that all motors will use a small amount but usually not much is noticed over the service interval

should be changing oil every 7500km or at least checking it every week

Even with Mobil 1, I change the oil every 7500kms

If your engine is known to use oil, I would suggest an oil change before a long trip, if it's anywhere near due. Also, topping up the oil 1 or 2 cm over the top mark doesn't hurt, and gives a bigger safety margin on one of those old oil burner 380 motors.

If you don't know how much oil the engine uses, I would suggest that initially, on a long trip, you check the oil at the end of every break, 500 km or so possibly, until you get a feel for the oil consumption. Used to be a regular check on my first car, a 1964 VW. lol
(We do carry spare oil in the boot, don't we?) I used to do Adelaide to Whyalla in it regularly, checked the oil in Adelaide, Crystal Brook and when I got to Whyalla. Three checks in 400 km. Used more oil in the daytime. lol

Worth doing this regular oil check when you change your oil brand or type. Some seem to get used up quicker than others.

No, please do not ever over fill your oil, the top mark is there for a good reason, you dont want oil sloshing up and hitting your crank

My 6g75 in my magna lost all it's oil when I checked it this week that being said Its due for a oil change anyway but from now on I'll be checking it afew times each week from now on just incase.

No, please do not ever over fill your oil, the top mark is there for a good reason, you dont want oil sloshing up and hitting your crank

I used to think that - my daughter overfills her sump regularly, doesn't seem to be a problem until she gets about 20 cm over the top mark. lol

I used to think that - my daughter overfills her sump regularly, doesn't seem to be a problem until she gets about 20 cm over the top mark. lol

I hope you mean 20 mm not 20 cm!

as madmagna said - it seems that synthetic oils shows the oil consumption better than mineral ones... i never noticed on Magnatec 10W 40 loosing oil - Mits 380 and Magna TJ... however 9,500km ago i used 5W 40 Fully synthetic Castrol Edge... and did not checked it for good... until this thread... and the oil was just on the Min of the scale... is this alarming? loosing this much oil over 10,000km or so?