First I would like to say hello to Magna community.

I would like to also ask for benevolence with my English and patience with my question because even if I drive over 12 years I have never owned a car and haven’t been interested in them.

Now I am because few days ago I have become a proud owner of Magna GLX (1985) and hopefully we will together see whole Australia without breakdown. :-)

Before I ask questions I mention just some basic information. I bought the car from first owner (very old lady) who kept it in the garage and since 2005 has driven just 17000 km, in total 142000 km. The car and the engine are in pretty good conditions and now I don’t have any serious problem.

However with the new car has come knowledge about timing chain/belt and this relates my first question. Unfortunately I haven’t received service manual so I’m wondering after how many kilometers should be timing chain/belt replaced? From the owner I got information that car has been servicing regularly in time and I also received few invoices. One mentions that water pump was replaced in 2004 (Somebody told me that it’s often change together with timing chain/belt, is it right?).

My second question relates a fuel. I have not found this car at this list: http://www.aip.com.au/health/lead_guide.htm#Mitsubishi so do I simply refuel unleaded petrol and add additives according to instructions? (I got full fuel tank so I needn’t refuel yet.) Don’t be afraid to give me an answer like for fools. I won’t feel offended. Better than to destroy the engine.

The third, and last, question is about A/C. A/C doesn’t cool so much but when I turn the A/C on I can see slight increase on engine speed indicator so A/C generally probably works properly. Could it be just gas problem?

Mainly I am concerned just about timing chain/belt because I couldn’t have got the plain answer on the internet and somebody told me that the engine won’t warn me in advance that timing chain/belt is going to break. I can solve the additives question in the shop or on the petrol station and A/C is not so important now.

Even if I will buy a new car in the future I will never forget that Magna was my first one. :-) Thank you very much for your time and patience. Your answers will definitely help me.

Honza

The 4 cylinder engine in your car has a timing chain that doesn't need replacing.

Use unleaded petrol without additives.

Air conditioner may need regassing, get it looked at.

Hello MadMax,

Thank you very much for fast and favorable answers which save my costs for additives and rid me of nightmares about timing belt. :-)

Have a nice weekend.
Honza

The 4 cylinder engine in your car has a timing chain that doesn't need replacing.

Use unleaded petrol without additives.

Air conditioner may need regassing, get it looked at.

Max,

I'm not sure about that.

The list the OP linked to is a list of cars pre-1986 cars which can safely use unleaded petrol, and you'll note the 1985 (TM) Magna is not in the list.

I bought one of the first TMs ever built, in May 1985, and it most definitely used leaded petrol.

So I suspect the OP will need to use additives.

Wouldnt it have a sticker on the fuel door saying leaded or unleaded? My sierra has a sticker saying 'Unleaded' above the fuel cap?

This RACQ fact sheet should help: [/URL][URL="http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/unleaded_petrol_and_pre-1986_cars"]Unleaded Petrol and Pre-1986 Cars (http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/unleaded_petrol_and_pre-1986_cars)

From my reading of the fact sheet and the linked Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) page (the same page linked by the OP), a TM Magna needs PULP (premium unleaded petrol) with additives. Unless the valves & valve seats have been modified to handle unleaded petrol, which seems highly unlikely for the OPs car.

Shannon - going by memory here, but I don't remember my old TM having any sticker on the fuel door. It was built in 1985, the year before unleaded petrol came in, so why would it have a sticker saying 'leaded petrol only'?

Im not sure...i guess there would only be an 'unleaded' sticker...i just vaguely remember seeing a leaded sticker on a car when i was younger and asking what it meant. the owner of the car must have put it there or something...

Not the old "leaded vs unleaded in old cars" discussion! lol

Alloy heads remember? With valve seat inserts?
In the bad old days, when cylinder heads were cast iron, the valve seats were cut directly into the cast iron of the heads, there leaded petrol stopped the valve seats from eroding.

Ran a number of pre-1985 Sigmas on unleaded fuel for years, with no problems. But use an additive if it makes you feel good.

A really old thread:
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-45801.html

Fair enough Max, looks like the old carby TM motor will run OK on unleaded without additives. But I'd recommend the OP put 95RON PULP in it.

welcome to the club Honza
i love the gen1s 1985 to 1990 models is your car manual or auto as the autos need to have the correct fluid for a long life
plus you need to keep coolant in the radiator
i hope you enjoy your time Australia when you get to Victoria pm me

Hi,

Thanks again for all answers and for the link to thread. It makes the decision about additives easier.

Anyway, I think you simply have to love your first car and want best for it. :-) I bought new air filter, rust remover & deoxidiser for few rust spots and yesterday two „new“ used tyres from tyre services. Definitely in better condition than two tyres from previous owner. Now I feel much safer on the road. Hopefully from now I will pay just for regular maintenance.

Last thing which should be fixed is A/C. I drop by in the town in service and they told me that new gas cost about $20. It’s not so bad but with the labor it will cost approximately $100. And no certainty it’s gas problem so it could be more expensive. Friends here are always telling me “Think big, you are in Australia!”. But autumn and winter is coming so I’ll probably wait for next summer. :-)

To magnaman89: it’s automatic. Yeah, I got instruction from one friend how to maintain it. And I check water level in radiator and oil frequently.

I wish all of you many kilometers without breakdown.
Honza

P. S. Ok, to be honest, I don’t love my car for 100%. I removed sunshield above front glass and windshield at driver’s side. :-)

The following pre-1986 cars can use Unleaded or Premium Unleaded Petrol.
Scorpion 1979-1983 - 2.6 L
Scorpion 1984-1985 - 2.6 L
Sigma 1980-1981 GH 1.6 L, 2.6 L
Sigma 1982-1983 CJ 1.6 L, 2.6 L
Signma 1984 CK 1.6 L, 2.6 L

Same magna's astron 2.
http://www.aip.com.au/health/lead_guide.htm

magna is not on the list as it was fully unleaded from day 1.

Definitely in better condition than two tyres from previous owner.

Were the tyres worn unevenly? And did you get a Wheel Alignment when you got your "New Tyres?"

magna is not on the list as it was fully unleaded from day 1.

No, it wasn't. The 1995 TM Magna used leaded petrol. I bought a 1996 model brand new and it was unleaded but the previous year's model was not. The leaded model had a mechanical fuel pump, no catalytic converter and various other differences in its anti-pollution gear. I still have the TM owners manual and the Gregorys workshop manual which covers both and shows separate details in each chapter (where applicable) for leaded and unleaded models.

Honza,
2 things,
With fuel, the fuel filler is a small diameter hole so that only lead free fuel can be filled to the tank. The old leaded fuels had a large diameter filler nozzle like the size of the filler hole for diesels. I think most fuel now is lead free and the bowsers have the small diameter nozzle.
the first gen TM magna had a dog of a automatic gearbox. It was so bad it nearly put mitsubishi off the map. The gearbox was sorted out by the TP model. manual were OK.
I had a company car TM magna and it exploded at 75000 Km.
By the time of the TP Magna, the problem was fixed.
I know that during the production of the TN magna, there was some problems with the front clutch, and the viscosity of the transmission fluid was subject to extensive engineering study. This is why the transmission fluid for the Magna is special.
I would hate you to go bush somewhere and have transmission trouble.
Other bloggers on this website may have further advice for you.
Regards,