Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

OK, so I bought my Delica in Winnipeg in January from James. Haven't driven it much till now; left August 2 for a month-long camping trip with the kids. All went well till yesterday, when the Deli quit on the 401, between Toronto and London. Yesterday it was towed to the Canadian Tire in Woodstock, ON, and then today to Woodstock Imports, who say the timing belt broke. They're investigating the extent of the damage, but say it's serious.
Apparently the timing belt is something I should have checked, but didn't. Maybe too dumb to be driving a Delica?
If there's anyone nearby, I'd love to hear from you. Also anyone with advice.
Worried,
Susan

If the timing belt broke, the chance of it causing havoc internally is high unfortunately.

Did you buy from dealer or private ?

I bought privately, from James, who is, or was at the time, working for MaxOverdrive.
The mechanic here has just informed me that I need a complete cylinder head. Any ideas where I might find one?
Down in the dumps,
Susan

Mardy at Amazing Auto Imports

Glen at Coombs Country Auto

John at Rocky Mountain Imports

All in BC but shipping should be straight forward.

Good luck. Hope it gets resolved shortly.

Good for you that you're part of this club! Contact Glenn at CCautos 250-927-4536 or 250-954-2157 (not sure which # works). He's on this site as well.

Sorry for your trouble and good luck with the repairs.

ps. don't feel too bad, you're not the first one to neglect a timing belt with horrible results, sometimes dealers were to blame as well...

David

ok so i just bought a delica recently..my husband checked the t/belt figures its fine.Should we replace anyway?? Wow I didnt realize it could cause so much damage!!Thanks for posting on this subject.You may have saved other people like me from an unfortunate situation.Hope all works out for you..
Best wishes

lisairwin2001 wrote:ok so i just bought a delica recently..my husband checked the t/belt figures its fine.Should we replace anyway?? Wow I didnt realize it could cause so much damage!!Thanks for posting on this subject.You may have saved other people like me from an unfortunate situation.Hope all works out for you..
Best wishes

If you don't know for sure it was done I would recommend getting the timing belt, balancer belt, the tensioner pulleys, water pump, rad, rad hoses all replaced. $1,500 for that is WAY cheaper than getting a new engine or new head and pistons or what ever else got crushed shipped to what ever corner of the world it dies in and get it all installed by "joe blow the-steering-wheel's-on-the-wrong-side mechanic"

Thanks, folks, for your thoughts and encouragement. Seems that the problem DIDN'T start with the timing belt. The fellow here says the cam shaft wore out and broke, which then damaged the cylinder head, then the timing belt, etc.
I'm not sure if anyone's ever seen or heard of this. The man here does specialize in foreign imported cars, esp. diesels, though, like most everyone in Ontario or Manitoba, he has little exposure to the Deli. He had managed by this afternoon to locate a cam shaft and a cylinder or something, but still needs a rotor shaft. Any errors in this description are most likely mine since I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the inside of cars. I will certainly pass on your suggestions, including names and contacts, to the mechanic here.
Meanwhile, the kids, dog and I are going to catch a train to Toronto tomorrow and then fly to Winnipeg so they can start school while this gets sorted. Then I'll have a (hopefully) lovely trip back to Winnipeg alone in the deli next month with a now-more-precious vehicle.
Cheers,
Susan

Ouch, that's unfortunate, for sure. Hope you get it sorted out OK and end up with a nice, newly renovated motor! You are not the only one to have cam-shaft issues; Check out this post: http://www.delica.ca/forum/pooched-cam-3432.html#p24589 Good luck with the fix-it process and please let us know how it works out

Also refer the mechanic to this site, as there are lots of helpful posts and the delica wiki site as well. He wouldn't be the first mechanic to ask a question on the site.

FalcoColumbarius wrote:The timing belt ought to be changed every 60,000 kms.

I've understood that it is 90,000 km or 5 years, which ever comes first. My Delica only had 24,000 km on it, but at 15 years, I wasn't going to see what happened. So I had everything changed.

Sue, so sorry to hear this. Hopefully it is remembered as an adventure, not as a horrible thing. Sounds like the mechanic has a clue, which is always a good thing. Keep us posted.

've understood that it is 90,000 km or 5 years,

the official numbers I've seen are 100,000km or 5 years, however this is one of those "can't be too careful" items, so many people change them quite early and recommend the earlier numbers.

Hi, Susan,
sorry to hear that from you, unfortunately this thing happen to you.
if only i have spare now now i can send & sell you the parts.
i just sold my spare to green 1 when he has problem with his delica.
the way it will only happen is that if your delica has not been change timing belt so a while & it broke, then it will damage the camshaft holder. sometime you need to have new camshaft like what happen to green 1, but your valve wont bend like toyota. mitsubishi delica & Pajero engine dont tend to bend its a diffrent design but will only damage your camshft holder or camshaft.
if you need orig,mitsubishi part i do have in stock. timing belt, all (4 seals),thermosthat. brand new water pump ( Japan), tensioner & balanceshaft bearing all made from korea under japan guideline.
hope for the best & good luck.
if need help Pls give me a call anytime.
Cheers;
Mardy

Thanks again, everyone, including for your offer of help, Mardy. As far as I know, we've got it sorted: There was a record of the timing belt having been changed less than 40,000 KM ago, but my mechanic Andy says the problem is that the pulleys weren't also changed; I hope that makes sense to those in the know. I didn't own the Deli then, so I don't know.
Andy was able to find what he needed in, I think, England. Andy and Glen at CCAuto chatted; I chatted with Glen, too, and it seems that Andy's projection of costs is on par. I've booked a ticket for September 8 to fly down and drive the baby back. I'll be leaving the 2 kids at home, so I hope to have a lovely, peaceful journey.
I'll let you know.
Sue