Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi there,

Im currently in the market for a Delica on Vancouver Island, and am aiming to take one to Mexico. Im not mechanically inclined however, and was wondering if anyone had any advice on this venture. Would another sort of vehicle be better, something that parts will be readily available for.... Thanks a lot

hi jadair

i went to mexico. ive got some mechanical knowledge, but didnt have to do any repairs. if you get a new deli, and its been serviced, you should be fine. many parts are available in a lot of places. glen at coombs country auto loaned me a starter and an alternator to have as spares. he also offered to courier any emergency parts i might need.
i had my brakes done in mexico from parts i got at a parts store in arizona.
lots of delis have gone to mexico, click the link in my signature to see my adventure! and you can search to forum for what to bring on a long road trip

and since youre looking for a deli, perhaps youd like to check out the one ive got for sale?
http://www.delica.ca/forum/93-mitsubish ... -6500.html

Hey we are driving to the Baja leaving from Whistler on Nov. 1 and then driving all the way to Panama to go surfing all the way up the west coast. We actually bought a Delica just for this and we have one for sale as well we imported 2!!!!

I did the trip to Baja last year.
Ran into a couple hiccups along the way.
Had to replace the head gasket in N. Cali.
Then replaced the block in Loreto, Mexico.

Parts are a problem, there are none in the US or Mexico. I looked for parts off the same motor that came in a 84 dodge p.up or another 80's Mitsubishi Fuji or something with no luck. But I had Glenn ship me down a both of those items listed above, well I had the block brought down by someone I found on Craigslist rideshare. I was able to find fuel and oil filters relatively easy. I MacGivered a valve cover gasket. And as for assistance with fixing it ... you learn as you go. The Mexican mechanics are fairly handy but the a gun shy of the diesel. I had a diesel boat mechanic help with taking the engine out to replace the block, that was fun as we were both limited in our language skills.

One tip of advice for going on the back roads. Baton down the hatches and reduce your tire pressure to 25 psi (have a tire guage handy) as the whole van shakes. The back windows with the latches shock loose and scratched the tint. The horn shook right off. The little doohicky on the dash with the temp, sea level guages shook off as well. Lost a cap that goes over the bearings of the wheel. Bring good duct tape.

Oh and check your fluids every other fill up!

Have fun. Enjoy the adventure. Bring your laptop and sign up for Skype. And consult this AWESOME community with any problem you come up with. I would have had to leave Dewy at the side of the road a few times if it weren't for it.

peace
neil

PS PM me for any reason !!

J Fox .. if you are going surfing you have to. an absolute must. go to Scorpion Bay in the Baja. If you get there I will tell you wher you can find fossilized sharks teeth that are 3-5 inches long!

check out www.comoxvalleydelica.ca he has some great vans that are in great shape for a great price. He is up in Cumberland. Bought my van from him ( Benn ), did a 4200 km road trip around BC. The only issue was that the wife wanted to drive lots. :)

doesn't the Hyundai starex use the same parts as a delica I ask because in mexico Dodge sells the starex as a dodge H100

richmond2000 wrote:doesn't the Hyundai starex use the same parts as a delica I ask because in mexico Dodge sells the starex as a dodge H100

that will depend on the part... some parts will be the same, however by the time you start looking at the differences to our normal delicas which are 15 years old, diesel, 4wd, right hand drive, and usually of a much higher trim level then the dodge, you're left with only a few parts that will likely match...

i looked over that 2008 dodge "delica" last year in mexico... the body parts appear the same, but not the headlights, and they dont say DOT
but windows, doors, body panels, some interior stuff like center console... those things appear to match. every single dodge "delica" i saw was white.

richmond2000 wrote:doesn't the Hyundai starex use the same parts as a delica I ask because in mexico Dodge sells the starex as a dodge H100

Hyundai Starex = Mitsubishi L400

Hyundai Grace = Mitsubishi L300

The current Hyundai Grace is a badge-engineered Mazda Bongo, which Mitsubishi sell as the L300 Express. This is completely different vehicle from an L300 Star Wagon.

...laura

I have had pretty good luck down here with buying parts. The crossover items from the montero/pajeo and the hyundai h100 have
covered me pretty well so far until today when I got stumped looking for leaf spring bushings. Mine are not too bad just enough wear
in them to clunk a bit on uneven roads. I was just able to get a windshield out of Guadalajara for 180 $. Best advise is to be way ahead
on your maintenance items so they don't bite you down here. Baja may also be a little more remote parts wise than the mainland. Buen Suerte.
Andy Wilson
Sayulita Nay. Mx.