Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

There is a knocking somewhere in this vicinity. Could be a loose shock. Is this something that I can check by jacking up the van and having a feel? If I jack it up, do I need to put weight back on the wheel? Or is this type of thing best left to the pro's and not the time to try and be hands on.

You should be able to put it on stand and inspect it. Once secured on stands, visually inspect it first. Look for signs of loose things and rubbing etc. Also try to move the suspension around with your hands and see if it is loose. Sometimes though it will not be ascertainable by inspection alone, so you may have to take some of it apart in the suspected areas and once off the van, look at the suspect part and feel it/test.

You should be able to figure this out if you have ever worked on any cars suspension.

It's much easier on a hoist to check as you need to grip the tire with both hands and use force to move it up/down left/right.

To check the shocks, grab onto the shock itself and jiggle it. It should not move at all. If there is any play, look to see if the rubber/poly gromet on top/bottom is worn or loose.

To check the tie rods, grab it near the inner boot and pull/push to see if it pops or if there is any play. It should be tight with zero play. Do the same for the outer tie rod near the wheel. With another person, have the person grab the wheel on both sides and move the wheel left to right (back of the van to the front) back and forth. As they are doing this, grab the tierod and feel for any play.

To check the upper/lower balljoints, same as above have a person move the tire but this time up and down. While they are doing this, look at the upper and lower balljoints. They should not be moving.

At the tire, you may feel the play as well in those components.

If everything is tight with no play but you feel some play at the tire while moving it, check the hubs. They will most likely need to be repacked and adjusted.

All of this of course, is recommended to be done at a good service shop because they know what to look for.

Also, these components (driveline) are not JDM nor unique to RHD/Delica's so you can have this inspection done anywhere and fixed as well.