Hey Guys,

This is my first time posting on these forums, although I have come across them a few times in Google before. I was wondering whether anyone would be kind enough to give me some advice, regarding some issues that I am currently experiencing with my Magna. Whilst I know quite a bit about computers and IT, I lack a lot of knowledge when it comes to cars, so please bare with me.

My ride:

Mitsubishi Magna TL AWD 2004
5 gear Sports Automatic
Around 160,000KM

http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/used/details/2004-mitsubishi-magna-tl-86893?R=86893&Silo=spec&Vertical=car&Ridx=0&eapi=2

I purchased the car for $6,500 in March of this year, from a private used car dealership. The car came with a 'Class A' statutory warranty of 3 months or 5,000KM, whichever comes first. The car is unfortunately out of warranty now, and I seem to be having a few issues with it.

I first got the car serviced in August by Sunshine Toyota, they did not detect any major issues with it, however mentioned that I needed two new rear tyres soon, and something about some oil leaking, which would cost $500 to repair, however was not very urgent.

As I don't know a lot about cars, this is what the recommendations section of the invoice said:

OIL LEAKING FROM TAPPET COVER GASKET
REAR TYRES WILL REQUIRE REPLACING SOON

Anyhow, fast forward to a week or so after the service, and this is when I first noticed a couple of issues. I was driving home from work on the Bruce Highway in peak hour traffic, and the car didn't seem to like the constant starting and stopping of peak hour traffic.

When I lightly pushed down on the accelerator a few times, it pig rooted before moving forward then went back to normal. There were also a few times where I felt that it was taking a little long for gears to change, when trying to get up to 110KM. This happened on a few occasions, a week or two apart from one another. I also noticed a very small patch of liquid underneath where I park the car at night, and presumed that this could be related. As this spot was very small, I was not too alarmed.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, when a relative was borrowing the car, they were able to drive it alright a few times. They dropped someone off, and when they went to the car to pick them up again, they noticed that the car wasn't driving very well, and parked it straight away. Then when they reversed the car, and went to put it in drive again, it would not move, and the gearbox made a horrible sound.

I got back from holidays today, and called the RACQ to come and have a look at it. The guys seemed to think that the liquid may have been engine oil, and that he didn't think that the leak was from the transmission. He however thought that the issue with the car was due to the transmission, and that I should take it to a specialist or somewhere that would replace it. Not completely sure whether or not to believe everything that he said, although he seemed like a nice guy.

The issue - short story

The car currently has a large leak under it, and when you turn the engine on, it sounds normal. However when you put the car into drive (requires a little more force than usual) you hear a very horrible grinding sound, which appears to be coming from the gearbox. The RACQ guy believed that the (now big) leak was not transmission liquid, and that the transmission may need repairing or replacing.

Does this sound about right? Does anyone have a ballpark figure of how much this would likely cost? I am worried about getting the car towed away to a shop, so that they can pull it apart, and hit me with a bill of a few thousand dollars. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers, Mark.

Are you getting any warning lights? Are the gear selector lights flashing?

Unfortunately anything "grinding" when putting the transmission into drive is likely to be fatal. Have you checked the transmission oil?

Are you getting any warning lights? Are the gear selector lights flashing?

Nope, there aren't any flashing lights.


Unfortunately anything "grinding" when putting the transmission into drive is likely to be fatal. Have you checked the transmission oil?

I am pretty sure that the RACQ guy said that the leak wasn't coming from there, and whilst it could have done with a little more, that was not the issue.

when they reversed the car, and went to put it in drive again, it would not move, and the gearbox made a horrible sound.

I am worried about getting the car towed away to a shop, so that they can pull it apart, and hit me with a bill of a few thousand dollars.

If the gearbox isn't moving the car, and making horrible noises, what other choice is there? It needs looking at by an expert. Get them to give you a quote first. Sounds like a gearbox out, dismantle and assess type of job. Cost would depend on what is broken in it.

If the gearbox isn't moving the car, and making horrible noises, what other choice is there? It needs looking at by an expert. Get them to give you a quote first.

I will try and get a quote from somewhere first, though most places would want the car brought in first, so they can inspect it before giving a quote. If this is going to cost $2000+ to repair, I may have to consider selling it as is, or keep it off the road for a few months, whilst I get the funds.

I will try and get a quote from somewhere first, though most places would want the car brought in first, so they can inspect it before giving a quote. If this is going to cost $2000+ to repair, I may have to consider selling it as is, or keep it off the road for a few months, whilst I get the funds.

Of course, the car needs to be looked at, so it will cost you a tow truck fee to start with. No workshop can get an idea what is wrong without seeing the car.

Sourcing a second hand gearbox would be cheaper, but risky - low km would be best. If you have a friend who can help remove the box to be taken in for reconditioning, or swap a second hand box in, you'd be laughing.

Wonder how the OP went on this? Hi Mark, let us know how its going.

You can't quote a complex system blind. Most likely was planetary gears.

Would be interesting to know

Hey Guys,

I had my car towed away to a transmission specialist this morning, just got a call from them saying that they need to pull a few things apart, to check the cars transfer case (going to cost $660). The guy who was inspecting the car apparently thought this was where the grinding sound was coming from, when the car was put into drive. This fee will apparently come off of the overhead, if I decide to get the car repaired with them.

They will most likely pull it apart tomorrow or on Monday, and will get back to me with the damage that has been done, as well as what options I have. The woman on the phone said that if the transmission had to be replaced, the new one would have a 24 month (40,000KM) warranty, and that a transmission from a wrecked car would have a 3 month warranty. I am hoping that all up the cost won't be much more than $3000, though I will have to wait and see what happens.

$3000 would be about average for a strip down/rebuild on a magna gearbox. Whichever direction this goes in, you are up for about 1k to have the box pulled off and opened up.

A quick update, it looks like the car will cost between $4000 - $5000 to recondition. The car apparently needs a new gearbox with a transfer case. The repairer said that the part number is W5A5AK1E1Z, and that it has OWC stamped on the case. If I was able to source these parts, the repairer would charge $1400 (including oil and new seals). Unless I can source these parts for a reasonable price, it might be worth considering a new car. :/

Chat to Tony (Unique Mits Bits) ... Im not sure if he did.. but he MAY have an AWD..

SuFz :ninja:

I know of a transfer case and an AWD transmission on ebay that I've been watching and I thought may be of use to you if you're looking for parts.

Here is a link to the transmission http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271070893670?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

and here's the one for the transfer case. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200832145559?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

The seller of the transfer case is mitsfix. I think some of the members on here have dealt with them before.?

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my find with you.

Mods...Please feel free to delete this post if it breaks any rules..

AWD. :)

All good, no use watching as are buy now prices not auctions, I have many in stock

Transfer cases will destroy themselves if not filled correctly, they get air locks when filling and often appear full when still dry, have seen this too many times

A quick update, it looks like the car will cost between $4000 - $5000 to recondition. The car apparently needs a new gearbox with a transfer case. The repairer said that the part number is W5A5AK1E1Z, and that it has OWC stamped on the case. If I was able to source these parts, the repairer would charge $1400 (including oil and new seals). Unless I can source these parts for a reasonable price, it might be worth considering a new car. :/

Is either trans case or trans, not both. $1400 for used ones to be fitted is way way too much

Ahh no worries. Thanks Madmagna. I like keeping an eye on that sort of stuff myself just in case I ever need one.

Many apologies too, I didn't realise that you were the mitsfix guy. :P

I'm so dumb sometimes :facepalm lol

Transfer cases will destroy themselves if not filled correctly, they get air locks when filling and often appear full when still dry, have seen this too many times
Flip, with no warning signs? Like noisy operation gradually getting worse? In this case the OP's car seems to have stalled 2 months after the service with no warning?

If thats the case then it seems possible to me that a TC could be low in oil.. but have enough so that there is no catastrophic failure event but just wearing out over time.
Can the oil level be checked somehow to ensure that its at the correct level? There is no dipstick?
And can this same issue happen with the rear diff? (i.e appears filled when its actually not).

[edit] btw, reason i ask this is because when i had the oil replaced in the TC a few months back they stated 0.62L was used, which doesnt seem like a lot, but i dk.

I know of a transfer case and an AWD transmission on ebay that I've been watching and I thought may be of use to you if you're looking for parts.

Thanks for the links, I will check them out. :)


Is either trans case or trans, not both. $1400 for used ones to be fitted is way way too much

What do you mean by this? All I know is that something went wrong with the transfer case, that also affected the gearbox. They are both apparently damaged beyond repair, according to the transmission specialist.

I already need to pay $660 (which would come out of the $1400), so there is no point taking it elsewhere now, if I decide to get the car repaired.

----

Are manual Magna's generally more reliable than automatic's, or is this something that could have happened with either an automatic or a manual? I have heard a few people say that Magna's are well known for having issues with automatic transmissions?

I presume that a FWD Magna with a 4 speed automatic is cheaper to repair when things go wrong?

The AWD is only avail as an auto, I am doing a manual conversion at the moment I hope to have up and running in about 2 weeks but will not be cheap.

It could be the trans case has let go and some small material has entered the trans as they share the same fluid up front, would be rare and extremely unlucky but no reason it could not happen, the trans case rear section uses its own fluid so the failure would be at the front of the case for this to happen

$660 to remove a trans and case and dismantle is robbery IMO

[edit] btw, reason i ask this is because when i had the oil replaced in the TC a few months back they stated 0.62L was used, which doesnt seem like a lot, but i dk.

KWAWD, 0.62lt is the quantity stated for the Transfer Case from the 'Lubricant and Capacity Chart' in the Operators Manual. (Y)

It could be the trans case has let go and some small material has entered the trans as they share the same fluid up front, would be rare and extremely unlucky but no reason it could not happen, the trans case rear section uses its own fluid so the failure would be at the front of the case for this to happen

I think that something along these lines happened, as the repairer mentioned metal being in a fluid, and that the large leak I had was due to this.


$660 to remove a trans and case and dismantle is robbery IMO

I knew that this place was never going to be super cheap, as they were recommended by the RACQ and specialise in transmissions. I decided to go with them rather than the local Toyota repair centre, that last serviced the car before the incident. I don't know much about cars, though the fact that they did not refill the water for the windscreen wipers, makes me wonder what else they missed.

KWAWD, 0.62lt is the quantity stated for the Transfer Case from the 'Lubricant and Capacity Chart' in the Operators Manual. (Y)

Thats good, thanks Rob, but paperwork doesnt always reflect what is actually done in the workshop, as i found out.
But what i mean is; how can we check it after its been driven a bit and the oil has levelled out. Is there any way? I guess theres a fill plug, if you pull that off does it have some method to inspect the level? I dk, they provide a dipstick for the ATF, the engine oil and the power steering, but not the diff or TC? so go figure.

Anyhow, none of this helps Mark, i hope that its all sorted out for you soon.

What is a reasonable price to expect for the car, if I sell it to a wrecker?

Most would pay scrap value of around $350 or there abouts

Someone has offered between $500 - $1000 for the car, and they will pay the cost of towing too, so I will probably go with them.

Received an exact quote from the repairer today, $4800 for secondhand parts with a 3 month warranty and $6200 for new parts. They said that they refused to buy parts off of ebay, due to being burnt in the past. I am able to purchase them, though there would effectively be no warranty, from the repairer. The repairer said that if the same issue occurred in a 4 speed automatic FWD Magna, the repair would be closer to the $2000 mark. I made a stupid decision going for one of the more uncommon Magna's.

The repairer is an idiot, I have these listed on fleabay, for example I can supply a trans that has been dismantled, new wave spring installed, new seals and internal clean out for $1750, if getting the trans case at the same time I will do this for $400 (have listed for more than this) Freight would be a couple hundred bucks

The trans comes with a 6 month parts warranty and can make the trans case 6 months parts warranty

As a guide, in an AWD I charge $490 to remove and refit an auto trans including fluids and flush. This is REMOVE and REFIT. $4800 for a used trans and trans case is bullshit and highway robbery, for that price you could freight the car to Vic, get me to fit the lot, freight it home and prob still have some change afterwards.

I really think you are being taken for a ride especially given they charged you more just to remove the box and strip it than I would charge to remove and refit it. No place with any thoughts for their business would charge for a quick pull down to find out what went wrong, this takes all of half an hour at best if they have any experience.

As for not buying off ebay, sure if you buy from some dodgy backyarder I agree totally with these sorts of things BUT if you buy from a business which has good feedback and a track record then you are much safer. Most wreckers only offer parts warranty when they are not fitting the item personally after all if there was to be a parts AND labour warranty they would add part of the expected labour cost to the initial cost of the item to cover themselves as you have to remember that while we do test these cars on the road before selling parts we do not know the history and from time to time an item will fail. As an example, I would have sold approx 150 transmissions over the last 2.5 years, I have had 2 fail under the warranty period, one was due to the fitter using dextron III in the trans as he thought was better than the SPIII lol. Either way I still supplied a replacement, the second one as I fitted it I changed it over at no charge. That is a pretty good sucess rate.

Before you look to scrap an excellent car, look into some options, hit these clowns up with some figures and see if you can get them to budge. If they are fitting an item they HAVE to warrent their workmanship but of course would not warrent the parts. This is not rocket science.

I am still sus about both the trans case AND the transmission being wrecked, I would want to see some proof of this before I believed this as I have done around 15 AWD trans changes and only 4 trans case changes and none were done at the same time, each time the trans case failed due to the fluid level being too low either because of leaks or because someone did not fill it up correctly

I can supply a trans that has been dismantled, new wave spring installed, new seals and internal clean out for $1750, if getting the trans case at the same time I will do this for $400 (have listed for more than this) Freight would be a couple hundred bucks

So you have both of these parts at the moment? How many kilometres has the transmission done?


The trans comes with a 6 month parts warranty and can make the trans case 6 months parts warranty

So if something was to hypothetically go wrong with these parts within 6 months, you would source and send up replacement parts?


$4800 for a used trans and trans case is bullshit and highway robbery, for that price you could freight the car to Vic, get me to fit the lot, freight it home and prob still have some change afterwards.


I really think you are being taken for a ride especially given they charged you more just to remove the box and strip it than I would charge to remove and refit it.

I am sure that you are right, I really don't know much about cars or the service / repair fees that come along with them, computers are more my strength.


No place with any thoughts for their business would charge for a quick pull down to find out what went wrong, this takes all of half an hour at best if they have any experience.

I suppose that they get people to tow their cars there, then mention the $660 inspection fee (that comes off of the total fee), in the hopes that you won't want to tow your car away again. Once they have started pulling things apart and give you a high quote, you already owe them $660, so it probably doesn't make sense to take your car elsewhere. I do not like how they operate, though they are there to make money at the end of the day. (suppose that I shouldn't mention the businesses name)


Before you look to scrap an excellent car, look into some options, hit these clowns up with some figures and see if you can get them to budge. If they are fitting an item they HAVE to warrent their workmanship but of course would not warrent the parts. This is not rocket science.

They will apparently fit parts that I source for $1400 (I owe them $660 no matter what, so an additional $740). So if I was to source these parts from you it would cost $2150 + freight and both parts would have a 6 month warranty? This would bring the repair to $3550, which I could live with, provided that the car worked fine when the repairer was done with it.


I am still sus about both the trans case AND the transmission being wrecked, I would want to see some proof of this before I believed this as I have done around 15 AWD trans changes and only 4 trans case changes and none were done at the same time, each time the trans case failed due to the fluid level being too low either because of leaks or because someone did not fill it up correctly

I don't think that they are lying (or I hope not, at least). They have offered for me to come in, so that they can show me what has happened. I may go and take a look at the car tomorrow, and take pictures of the damage if possible. Probably shouldn't rush into having it towed away just yet, if there is still any hope of repairing the car for around $3500.

Someone has offered between $500 - $1000 for the car, and they will pay the cost of towing too, so I will probably go with them.
So let me get this straight. You're willing to throw away up to $6000 of what you spent on purchasing the car, but not $3-4k fixing it, knowing that in ditching the car you'll need to spend at least that buying another car anyway? It's shit luck, but it's still cheaper to repair the car than replace it, especially considering what you get for your $ with these cars.

Let it be a lesson (albeit an expensive one to learn) to always get a full mechanical check done by someone you trust.

So let me get this straight. You're willing to throw away up to $6000 of what you spent on purchasing the car, but not $3-4k fixing it, knowing that in ditching the car you'll need to spend at least that buying another car anyway?

Well I don't know a lot about cars, though for the repairer to source all of the parts and to repair the car, they want $4800 (I understand that this is over-priced), which is a lot of money for me to spend. I am currently talking to Madmagna about the parts that he has, and deciding whether it is worth sourcing the parts myself and repairing the car, or selling it to a wrecker. At this point in time I am leaning towards sourcing the parts, getting the car fixed, and then selling it ASAP. I have been told by multiple people that this is not a cheap car to fix when it breaks down, due to the cost of parts. I cannot afford for another major issue to happen after this one is sorted out.


It's shit luck, but it's still cheaper to repair the car than replace it, especially considering what you get for your $ with these cars.

I am more worried about what else could go wrong with the car in the future, it is my understanding that a more common Magna would be a lot cheaper to repair (4 speed automatic FWD), and obviously other cars such as the Ford Falcon, which a lot of people claim has the best engine.


Let it be a lesson (albeit an expensive one to learn) to always get a full mechanical check done by someone you trust.

I will be getting the RACQ to do a full inspection on the next car that I purchase. They charge $200 for this service, though apparently check everything and write up a very thorough report for you.

Have replied to your messages, just one thing though, a full inspection of any sort will not generally find issues internally with engines or drive line, sure we can check the trans fluid colour however short of removing and dismantling parts you will not get a 100% cert guarentee that the car is like new.

While with the AWD there are a few more bits like a rear diff, tail shaft and trans case, other than that the car is not much more involved than a FWD, a FWD can cost just as much believe me lol. Things like transfer cases and rear diffs generally only go when there has been some neglect or incorrect servicing, in a Magna they do not get the pressures that an Evo gets pushed through this will generally last longer. With the trans, really is a bad luck thing that happened, no check done on a car could pick this up unless they drained all fluids and even then if the issue had not yet started then there would be no signs anyway

about 2500$ would be about regular for a remove down/rebuild on a magna gear box. Whatever route this goes in, you are up for about 1k to have the box drawn off and started out up.