Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

I'm new to the forum and I hope someone out there can help me diagnose a problem. I have a 1991 Delica diesel with automatic transmission. When I accelerate from a stop there is a pronounced shutter or bucking feeling for the first few feet then it will smooth out and all's good. It's worse starting up when on a hill but is still slightly noticeable on flat roads. I checked it in 4 wheel drive and have the same shuttering. It has me stumped. Anyone out there have any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tim Sevison

Hey Tim where are you located?


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It sounds a little like transmission shudder, though it could be a failed engine or transmission mount. Either one needs to be fixed ASAP.

There are four mounts at the back of the transmission, check the rubber for obvious splits or damage. The engine mounts are more difficult to see, but they don't fail very often.

What's the transmission fluid like? It should be clear and light red, and be between the "hot" marks on the dipstick with the engine running and transmission hot (go for a 30 minute drive). I would change the fluid and see if it improves. There's more info about fluids and the transmission in the Technical Reference Library. (TL;DR: use Dexron 3 fluid, drain the transmission pan and refill, then drain the transmission at the cooler with the engine running while refilling through the dipstick tube.)

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. The transmission fluid was just changed and looks good. I'll check the engine and transmission mounts. The greater the load the worse the shuttering. A very slow start on flat ground produces a tiny bit of vibration for the first ten feet. But on even a minor incline or a fast start (relatively speaking) the shutter is quite noticeable.

I'm in Dana Point, California and have had my Delica since December. There are now three others here in south Orange County so we have the start of our own little club.

This forum is great and I really appreciate the help. I look forward to contributing in the future.

Cheers,

Tim

Check out your driveshaft universal joints. I had one start to fail with a deathly shudder about 2000km from home, and had no choice but run it. Eventually, it catastrophically failed (calculated risk ).

I luckily was able to drop the whole shaft on the side of the highway and run back to safety in 4-high until I got new u-joints.

You'll feel the side-to-side play in the cross pieces if they're wearing out.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check U joints along with engine and transmission mounts. There is a new piece of the puzzle. When it starts to shutter there is a high pitched chirping sound with each vibration. The shuttering and sound only last for a second or two.

Sounds like you came up with a pretty clever way to get yourself home. Hopefully I won't have to be that creative.

Thanks,
Tim

Did the shuddering happen before the transmission fluid was changed, or did it start after? It might be the wrong fluid- our transmissions like Dexron 3.

Universal joints is a good suggestion too!

The shuttering was happening before the fluid change. I checked the transmission mounts and found that 2 of the four rubber bushings are craked or torn. One on the left transmission mount and a crack on the left side bushing at the end of the bar that runs over top of the transmission. Not sure what that part is called. Does it sound like I've found the problem? If so does anybody have any ideas for finding replacement parts?

Thanks,Tim

The bushes attached directly to the transmission are easy (RHS trans mount MB581261, LHS trans mount MB581258) but the two attaching the crossmember to the frame are only available with a whole new crossmember (Transmission x-member MB581265) which seems insane.

One user on here claims to have found compatible bushes (http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17629), but hasn't provided much more information. If you manage to track down some bushes that work, please let us know!

Great. I'll start with the easy ones and stay on the hunt for the cross member bushings. I found a lead to what looks like a Russian website.

Thanks for the info. I'll let you know how I do with the search.

Tim

I"d also love to hear what you find in the search! I ordered all the mounts from Amayama. The x-member is out of stock until Mitsubishi makes more. Their best guess was about 4 months.

tnt wrote:Great. I'll start with the easy ones and stay on the hunt for the cross member bushings. I found a lead to what looks like a Russian website.

Thanks for the info. I'll let you know how I do with the search.

Tim

Hey Tim, I'm from Dana Point as well. Living up in SF at the moment and rarely back in the in the last year but you may have seen my Delica (or I might have even met you?) Owned it since last October. It's funny to see the Delicas popping up everywhere in South County. Growler posted this thread to another forum I commented on regarding the shudder from take off. Mine sounds not as bad as yours but I'm still going to try and pin it down when I get the time so I'll keep following this thread. I'll probably be in Orange county soon with the Delica, we should meet up. Is your Delica white?

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