Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hello everyone,

Been a while since I've been on the site, but spring is supposed to be on it's way. And with that comes summer road trips with my van. I've been getting around to fixing things that I've been neglecting. Last week my mechanic friend installed a new valve cover gasket. He said it was totally leaking out oil from the back part of the engine. He also replaced my kick down cable that was broken at both ends. Man what a difference that made. It must have been broken ever since I've owned my van because it's never shifted better than it does now!! The difference is amazing!! Sad that I didn't take care of this stuff sooner:(

Anyway, I was looking at some of my old posts and thinking about the timing (and balance belts) thank you growlerbearnz!! I've already had this job done once by a close friend and VW Mechanic. These belts are not necessarily due for a replacement yet, but I'm thinking I'd rather do this job at 70,000K rather than the 90,000K suggested interval.

I work at a high school in Special Education and I have a friend who teaches Auto. He's an amazing mechanic and has been helping with the van. The kids at school love working on it because its so unique compared to what usually comes in the shop. He did the valve cover and kick down cable, and now he wants to do the alternator belts as they're worn and squeak lots. I asked if he would tackle the timing & balance belts to which he replied, possibly...

He's a wonderful guy and would do anything for anybody. He's a fantastic teacher and runs an excellent shop at the school. Since I'm mechanically declined and I don't know how hard of a job this is, I'm wondering if I'm asking too much? They do lots of timing belts on the North American cars that come in the shop, but obviously the Delica would be a first for him.

My van is a 1993 L300 Super Exceed with the Crystal Lyte Roof. I've been researching part numbers for both belts on here and found these as the originals from Mitsubishi:

Balance Belt: MD310484
Timing Belt: MD363481

Can anyone confirm that these part numbers are in fact correct? And anyone that would like to offer their advice/opinion on doing the timing/balance belt job, I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance,

Phil

philmeup1 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 11:13 am My van is a 1993 L300 Super Exceed with the Crystal Lyte Roof. I've been researching part numbers for both belts on here and found these as the originals from Mitsubishi:
Balance Belt: MD310484
Timing Belt: MD363481
Can anyone confirm that these part numbers are in fact correct?

Incorrect: MD310484 is a balancer belt for engines from May 1993 onwards,
MD363481 is another balancer belt for earlier engines.

The belts changed in 1993. Since yours is a 1993, you should go to https://mitsubishi.epc-data.com/ enter your frame number (It's between the drivers seat and the door, under a plastic cover: P35WXXXXXXX), and look up the exact part for your vehicle.
The two belts are listed in Engine->Camshaft and Valve, and Engine->Balancer.

Super, thanks Growlerbearnz. I was just out buying groceries and when I got home I decided to take a picture of that number you mentioned by the drivers seat. That was a good idea. I'll have a look at that link you posted. It's nice to know that all of this information is on here.

I know you do your own servicing on your van. Is replacing these belts a big job? I know this a bit of an ambiguous question, but I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks for your reply. I'm gonna go to that link and poke around some.

Cheers, Phil

It's not a huge job, and the workshop manual is pretty comprehensive, but there are a number of aspects that are easier with some experience (especially when the manual says "Use special tool ABC123").
Undoing the crank pulley bolt, using/making a puller to remove the crank pulley, getting the timing correct, tensioning the belts properly- there's a lot that can go wrong if you mess up.

You've seen Tojo's writeup on replacing the timing belts (and the whole head, but you can ignore the "replacing the head" bit in the iddle of hte process) http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16587

That's probably one of the best posts I've seen. I really dug into it this morning and it kinda scared me. There's no way I could do what Tojo did. But if you're just dealing with the timing belts, it doesn't seem so bad. Especially if you're doing the work anyway, lol. I'm going to show this to my mechanic friend at work and let him decide if this is a job he would like to do with his students.

I appreciate your input Growlerbearnz.

Thanks,

Phil

The 4D56 is a completely normal Mitsubishi balance shaft engine, it's basically a 4G54 (as fitted to Mitsubishis from 1978-1997 and Chrysler K-cars) only it's diesel. There's no reason any competent mechanic can't work on it, especially if given the factory workshop manual (This is
the section you want, the on-vehicle service manual: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_rPUw ... k8ZN61DoAi.

...it's just housed in a freaky 4WD B-movie sci-fi wagon.

Thanks for the link Growler. I'm going to print this off and share it with my mechanic. I have some stuff already printed on the 4D56 Engine, but I don't believe it's this detailed.

This is well beyond my capabilities, but not for the person who might do it. When he worked in the trade before he started to teach auto mechanics, he was considered one of the best in my home town. Other mechanics would often call him if they had electrical issues they couldn't get sorted. That seems to be his specialty. The students are always involved in all of the repair work under his close supervision, and I buy them gift cards for their efforts. Everyone's happy