First of all, Hi my name is Kaine.

Now, I have some issues that have popped up in the past few weeks that I am not sure what to do about. I am very much a n00b when it comes to working on cars, so I would greatly appreciate some insight and assistance.

1. Most importantly last week it stalled in the driveway and now no longer starts, tank is half full (verified physically), battery is charged and all the fluids are nominal. Upon further investigation I found a rats nest under the plastic housing that is bolted atop the engine, and parts of the nest were also underneath the intake manifold of the engine. I can't see anything that has come loose, or any damaged electrical cables. I have yet to pull the manifold off, but the wiring underneath looks unharmed. The engine sounds like it is turning over but it's not catching.

2. The T-piece on my exhaust system that bolts to the exhaust manifold on the back of the engine, has been crystalised by heat and recently fractured completely (for the second time, first it was welded together and that lasted a month or two). Because of this I am looking to upgrade the system if I can, to make it more efficient, and I am curious what my options are. Also where to get them from.
I did read about HM headers being a good upgrade, will they replace this T-piece as well?

3. Of least importance, now that I am driving a different KW GTVi AWD SII, I have noticed that the gearbox in my car is a little lacklustre. Sometimes when in Drive it will hold on to 2nd gear and then red-line for a few seconds before changing. It always takes longer to accept a gear change when in manual mode (about a second, the one I am driving now changes almost immediately), and sometimes it doesn't even register when I want it to go up in gear, the latter also seems to occur around 2nd gear. I am interested to know if this is just common wear and tear (I drive it aggressively most of the time) or something more serious. It is due for a 90 000km service in 3900kms so I am thinking of putting it in early and seeing if that makes a difference.

I have had this car for about 4 years now, with no memorable issues, and it has run like a dream.
So I would greatly appreciate any help you guys could give me with this.

Cheers
Kaine

1. You should check to make sure that fuel is getting fed through (ie fuel filter/fuel pump etc) and that there is spark. If there is no spark, check the CAS wiring which runs down behind the belts on the driver's side of the engine - if it has been damaged enough, the engine won't run at all. I nearly got caught with this when the wire became unclipped and was rubbing against one of the belts.

2. A full HM installation replaces everything from the exhaust ports back to just in front of the cat. The AWDs in particular benefit from extractors because of the design of the stock join between the banks (that "T" junction). The HMs are the recommended solution (I'm happy with mine!).

3. A full gearbox (and diff) service is due at the 90000km service, but most places won't do a full trans fluid flush which is a really good idea. If the fluid on the trans dipstick isn't a fairly clear pinky colour, its overdue for a change. I've also found that the 45000km scheduled trans fluid replacement interval is too long, especially without a trans fluid cooler fitted - I have a cooler fitted, but get my trans flushed every 25-30000km. The correct trans fluid needs to be used too.

First of all, thank you for the info.

1. I will get into it this weekend and have a thorough look. I am hoping it is something simple.

2. Now sourcing some HM headers, how much do they usually charge for them?
Is there a good place to get them from?

3. I thought a full service of the gearbox was part of the 90 000km service?
Will have to check the trans fluid when I am messing about on Saturday, I know this is a can of worms, but what is the trans fluid I should be using? Have done a trans oil change once, and the fluid in the manual was not sold by mitsubishi anymore. Though this could have been the KS and not the KW.....
What kind of trans oil cooler do you have, and how simple are they to install?

Check for damaged CAS wiring from the rats as may have chewed through the wiring

We do hm, rep is 840 we can do gem $720 for a set

Shifting can be altered with dirty fluid, look to get a full trans flush first. Be warned many don't do a flush just drain and fill. 90 k is way too long for an awd especially if not fitted with a trans cooler, 40k is more on the mark

3. I thought a full service of the gearbox was part of the 90 000km service?
It is, but most places won't do a full fluid flush despite it being a "full service". Some places will do the proper flush when asked, for an additional fee...


Will have to check the trans fluid when I am messing about on Saturday, I know this is a can of worms, but what is the trans fluid I should be using? Have done a trans oil change once, and the fluid in the manual was not sold by mitsubishi anymore. Though this could have been the KS and not the KW.....
Check the owner's manual for the correct specification - I understand that the correct fluid is still sold by Mitsubishi.


What kind of trans oil cooler do you have, and how simple are they to install?
Because the mounting points got deleted in the later 3rd gens, a bracket needs to be made to hold it but people have DIY'ed this (a bit of searching in these forums should turn up some info). I had mine fitted by a trans specialist so don't know exactly what brand/size it is sorry. Trans coolers from 2nd gen Magnas have been successfully used.

Turns out the nest had caused a short and blown a fuse. :facepalm
I never think to check these things.


We do hm, rep is 840 we can do gem $720 for a set

PM inbound.


It is, but most places won't do a full fluid flush despite it being a "full service". Some places will do the proper flush when asked, for an additional fee...

Typical, thanks for the heads up, it won't be long before it goes in for it and I'll make sure to opt for the full proper job.


Check the owner's manual for the correct specification - I understand that the correct fluid is still sold by Mitsubishi.

It must have been the KS I was thinking of.


Because the mounting points got deleted in the later 3rd gens, a bracket needs to be made to hold it but people have DIY'ed this (a bit of searching in these forums should turn up some info). I had mine fitted by a trans specialist so don't know exactly what brand/size it is sorry. Trans coolers from 2nd gen Magnas have been successfully used.

Brackets are simple enough so that should be pretty simple to get running, definitely have to add on one of these.

I am pretty punishing on my car in general, is there likely anything else wrong with the gearbox, or any things I should do to improve the efficiency and longevity of my engine/gearbox?

Mount the cooler one side of the centre brace so you can use the centre brace to mount one side of the cooler and a strip of alluminium to mount the other side. The strip is bolted to the top and bottom of the radiator mount. Just go to bunnings and get a 1000x25x2mm strip of alluminium and bend it into __,-------------.__ shape.

So just for clarification, is the car starting now that you have replaced the fuse?

Mount the cooler one side of the centre brace so you can use the centre brace to mount one side of the cooler and a strip of alluminium to mount the other side. The strip is bolted to the top and bottom of the radiator mount. Just go to bunnings and get a 1000x25x2mm strip of alluminium and bend it into __,-------------.__ shape.

Cheers, we easily have enough scrap material that I can make that kind of bracket from. Infact I think there is something very similar up in the shed.


So just for clarification, is the car starting now that you have replaced the fuse?

Yep, it starts and runs smoothly, except for the noise. lol