Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hello, I'm having a problem with my Delica and I wants to hear from the collective. About a year ago an injector popped out of my engine. Failed at the head not the injector. I had recent injector work done so my first thought was mechanical error at the shop. Once the head was off we saw cracks, not at the injector but in other spots in the head. Opted for a replacement cylinderhead. This was January of last year. I had to be in Veron one day after getting the van back so with some trepidation I drove from Vancouver into the snow covered mountains. I noticed the van wasn't putting out much in the way of heat. I stopped to look her over but there was noticeable signs of problems. Coolant level good, no bubbles, not signs of over heating. As I got into higher/colder elevations the lack of heat became moe noticeable; still no signs of over heating or leaking. I pulled over for a rest break to let the van cool off thinking it as an air pocket due to the recent repair. When I went out I opened the rad cap, started the van and let it run to work some air out of the system. Long and the short of it it did little to help. As there was no signs of other problems and the weather was getting worse I decided to drive on. The return trip was about the same no problems except when it got colder in higher elevation I got cold. Back in Vancouver, the van appears to be ok, I don't think it puts out as much heat as it did before the new cylinderhead but it's doing the job so I accept this as the new reality of my Delica. Fast forward to Jan 26/2014. Notice a small puddle of antifreeze and dripping from somewhere deep inside the motor. After spend a fair bit of time looking I can't be certain where it's coming from. I top up the fluid, less than a litre down(a little more than what's on the ground). I start it up give it a road test it running ok but it seems like it's burning a little white smoke. Hard to be sure as it's a cold evening and it's foggy. I try to make an appointment for the mechanics. My wife drove the van to work the next day on her way home it started billowing white smoke from the exhaust. It's back at the shop that did the original cylinderhead. It's off now and we see some burning and discolouration on the gasket in a couple of place. I'm being told that it cause we overheated it because of fluid loss from a leaking heater hose. I am a queit 99% certain the van has not been over heated at all but certainly not because of lack of coolant. I am then told that the only other thing could be a warped engine block. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give the history. I am going to have the cylinderhead pressures tested. Before deciding what to do for a repair. But aside from that I'm not sure what to do. Any thoughts on what could cause this failure. Pretending the block isn't cracked, should I reuse the same CH? Is there a good way to check the block without yanking the engine? Anybody recommend a shop for pressure testing?

A quick check with a metal straight edge and some feeler gauges to check for gaps. Its called Check the Deck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C_y_kkPSBo

There are dyes that can be added to the coolant which when exposed to a black light will glow. This is how tech's find leaks that are elusive. If coolant is bypassing the gasket and being burned your exhaust will be white and smell a bit sweet. If its just white and no sweet odor its probably unburned fuel which can appear as white smoke. There is lots of evidence supporting this point on Delica.ca

The head can be checked for flatness as well, same process as the engine block.

If you want a pressure test (uses engine compressions to fill a gauge) Will only tell if you have poor compression but won't tell you if its the block or the head or just a gasket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrfT0LFMhc

I would recommend having a leak down test performed (uses compressed air the tech listens/looks for evidence of the leak). This test provides more evidence of where the air is escaping to.

Who did the rebuild last time?

Thank you for the advice. What I am trying to figure out is what caused the failure. The cylinderhead is off and I am having it examined for faults. There is no history of overheating, that I am aware of. I have trouble believing that the block is warped as has been suggested. There is evidence of gasket break down I'm told by overheating but if true what is the root of the excessive heat? Any thoughts?

Where was the head gasket sourced from? The 4M40 is notorious for eating non-oem (cheap) head gaskets. Over here in the UK the standard rule is genuine Mitsubishi (expensive) only. They also come in four different thicknesses......

There is a small coolant line down by the fuel pump, really hard to see the area with the batteries installed but this coolant line can leak/fail causing varying degrees of coolant loss before they fully give up. A good friend of mine with a 2.8L Pajero had an elusive leak that he couldn't locate....at least not until he got near the fuel pump. I wonder if yours has a similar issue?

Once you get the head checked over for flatness and potential cracking you will have a better idea of what your next steps are. *I too agree with Diver, use an OE head gasket.Its a critical part and worth the xtra cash.

Get a new thermostat as well and double check thats it for a Delica....not a Pajero. They look the same but the Pajero has a hotter range due to its larger radiator. Mardy at Amazing Auto and Steven At Rising Sun Imports carry the right ones.

Hi there,
Thanks for the in put. I have the cylinder head back from the shop. No leaks, no warping. The pucks were approximately 4000 over and there was a small scratch in it. I had it machined flat. On closer inspection I can see a repetitive heat patern in the gasket at the pucks. At this point it seems the most likely cause of the failure was poor tolerances in the replacement cylnderhead and or a sub standard gasket. the cylnderhead I believe came out of China. I asked about the gasket but didn't get a definative answer. I'm not sure how to tell whether it's an original Mitsubishi gasket or some off shore knock off. I've asked the mechanic to follow up on this and to send it back to the manufacture with the tolerance issue and see what they have to say.
The only leak in the coolant circuit that I'm aware of, was the one incident where I had a puddle under the van which started this process in the first place. There was some minor loss of fluid but not that I could visually confirm. I did have to top up the fluid from time to time. But this has been the case since day one I assumed it to be the normal state of the van. Is this true of every Delica or has it the result of the problems I've been experiencing with mine?
Any thoughts as to whether this was the root cause of the failure? I dont want to have it put back together just to have it fail again in a year or so.
What's a typical warranty on a cylinderhead and gasket? Anyone ever have success going after the manufacture? I was willing to accept the respocibilty of this failure as my maintenance has been less than perfect. The possibility of an over heat event exists as I am not the only driver an so cannot be 100% certain it didn't happen. This said the evidence does not point in that direction. I can eat the cost of the repair if I can be certain that the cause has been eliminated.
One more tech. question. Do I need to shim the cam or some other compensation for the valves due to the 4000 I had removed from the cylinderhead? Thanks again for waiting into this quagmire.

Couple of thoughts. Firstly, the coolant should not need topping up from time to time. If the level is going down, you're losing it somewhere. Secondly, did you have the head checked for cracks properly (i.e. pressure tested) rather than just visually? The most common cracking occurs where you can't see it. Lastly, the genuine Mitsubishi head gasket comes in different thicknesses denoted by notches at the back. Therefore if you've had your head skimmed, you fit a thicker gasket. The procedure for figuring out which thickness to use is in the workshop manual (I think there's a copy on here somewhere?) Can't check myself at the moment, typing on a phone at work!