Update on a L400 Adventure

[djelica]

‘94 Super Exceed

Purchased Nov 2009 with 113K kms

127K kms as of 8 June 2010

14 000 kms of almost all highway driving in just over 7 months. I have been to kootenay Pass (Salmo-Creston) almost 10 times. This past trip I have put on about 4000 kms; was out to the Island to see the guys at CC Auto (they did their usual delica over haul for me and made a trip to the Island very worthwhile, so thanks to you all), I was then back over to the mainland via Powell River and south to Portland. Back to the Kootenays for a nice stay and I just in to Calgary this afternoon.

So, along with what I got from my original seller (good tires and an OK stereo along with an expansion bottle, in line heater and some other cherry-picked replacement parts) the L400 now has pretty much a new coolant system, all the usual suspect suspension parts and rubber (seals, boots) has been replaced. Brake work, alignment and bearings were done. They installed the necessary block heater for Calgary winters (took out the inline heater along with the 15 year old hose). But most important (imho) they replaced the injector pump seal, then replaced the fuel filter and timed, tuned and adjusted as need be; they know what they are doing. I also invested in a new battery and glow plugs this past winter.

So the machine runs great (lots of power, nice road feel in all conditions, great off-road) and I still feel like I did very well for my investment, all things considered.

Its getting pretty good milage (kilometerage?) too. I just did 360kms for 36 litres a few days ago (rolling country between Spokane and Nelson average speed about 90 kms). I was also doing 120+ on the American freeways and at these speeds consumption goes up, but not much. At higher speeds I can still do things like 320 kms on 38 litres (I always try to fill on the 1/2 tank and want to get 300 kms if I can, so my numbers are always somewhere in the 300 kms to 30-35 litre range).

Other notes:

The guys at CC Auto noticed my over ride of the heat sensor unit and wondering what that was about. I explained that it had solved the Over Drive problem I was having (losing OD while cruising at highway speeds; the OD was cutting in and out at random and had become bad) and they had never heard of this as a fix (found it on a Pajero site).

I went over 5000 kms with this fix with no OD problem at all.

So, when the guys at CC were done they hooked it back up, but they were not convinced that it was an actual fix and I agreed to take it off at some point and see if it was not just a loose wire (as they did tighten up the original connection that looked kinda dicey). I did eventually unhook the over ride while I was in the Kootenays for a few weeks and within 50 kms I had the same old problem, so I reground the switch (in a better place this time) and drove from the Kootenays to Calgary (700 km) with no OD problems once again.

I am convinced this is a good fix and the over ride is a pretty easy thing to try. If this doesn’t work THEN I would look at the switch on the shift (unless it is obvious with wires hanging out and such).

OK, other things I have discovered:

There is a drainage channel that takes the water collected from the windshield and channels it to the wheel well through the fender. It’s under the hood beside where the hinge connects to the hood. I just happened to stick my finger in the hole (I an always looking for potential rust and still have found only a small section of rust on the passenger frame end that seems to be an issue with a debatable cause) and came up with enough dirt to sustain a small plant of some kind. The port was completely choked and it took some time to dig it out enough that I could then flush it out with a hose. The stuff had been there for long enough to have become soil, but thankfully there was no rust inside.

You might want to check it out.

This is long but I hope it is useful to someone.

[mycale]

All good info! I am thinking of heading up island and have ccautos take a look at my suspension as I am sure there are some issues up front...nothing serious.