Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

The most common problem that almost every L400 owner is going to have to face sooner or later is the overhauling of the fuel pump and it's seals. The Japanese petrol has a very high sulfur content which damages the seals. The first sign of this happening is when the engine is cold it will start easily but stall shortly after. This happens because as the engine cools down the previous day, it sucks air in past the faulty seals (it is under suction pressure) so you end up with air in there. When the air gets to the injectors, the car stalls. It will start again and then be ok. This problem will gradually get worse. The car will start , stop restart and then stop again, usually at the same place every day. My wife's used to stop outside the same property almost every morning. My Jasper did the same. It will gradually get worse and more frequent. This repair is not one you can do your self. It is not one your local mechanic is going to be able to do. The pump has teeth on the front that have to be aligned properly when reinstalling or the timing of the pump will be out as it is purely a mechanical pump. Some members her have tried to get around the problem by installing a 12 volt electric pump in the system to assist the fuel pump but that has been very unsuccessful and members have ended up with diesel in the oil and the Delica having "run on"..... Run on is when the engine continues to run despite being turned off. It is possible that a 15 year old Deli has already had this fixed in Japan but after 15 years it may need replacing again.
Always test drive an L400 in the morning. NEVER test drive and then sign up for a Delica if the dealer says "we warmed it up for you". They may be trying to hide something. Tell them in advance " I will be there in the mornig and I do not want if warmed up for me". Check the dip stick to make sure it is totally cold.
Always make sure you get a written warranty that specifically mentions the fuel pump being covered !
You guys need to sus out a specialist in rebuilding diesel fuel pumps!
We are very fortunate in Brisbane as we have one of the most professional re-builders in Australia here and the workshop manager has his own Delica .
If you join www.delicaclub.com you will find more info re this problem. Cheers..

No worries, we have it covered locally. Mardy at AmazingAuto got a few contacts, same for Glen at CCautos on the Island and other injection shops around. There's been quite a few post on the same subject for the L300 which use a very similar pump if not the same. Thanks for the info.

It is not the japanese fuel that ruins these seals, it is our low sulfer fuel that does this. As a diesel mechanic I stress to every one with a diesel engine manufactured before 2006 the importance of using a fuel addative to increase lubricicty. 20 different mechanics will tell you 20 different brands of addatives to use. the important thing is to use something. The injector pump was designed to be lubricated by the diesel fuel. The sulfer in the fuel we had 5 years ago did this job of lubricating. Todays ultra low sulfer fuel is very "dry", and an addative is nessecary. Bio diesel or straight wvo is your best bet, or even some clean cooking oil added to every tank works great. In colder climates some of these options don't work as well, but there are hundreds of over the counter addatives that work well. The important thing is to add something if you are not burning bio diesel or wvo. In fact, Shell Canada had sent me a letter in 1995. As a bulk fuel customer, they wanted to inform me that they had no control over the government regulating the sulfer content of diesel fuel, and as a result, with the new fuel they were forced to market I could expect to see more fuel leaks, less power, and premature injection pump failure in older diesel engines. I don't sell addatives, but I highly recomend them, find one you are happy with and use it religiously, it will be one of your cheapest investments.

Jason

Excellent Jason.. I have never heard that explained like that before. Yes people here use additives. Quite a few use canola oil. 1 liter per tank. I have used additives in both mine when from the moment they arrived. I mainly used Nulon as well as the occasional liter of canola. Despite this however both the fuel pumps died. That is why we have always though it was a result of something to do with the time spent in Japan. We knew it was to do with sulfur content. If it is to do with our fuel it seems strange that they should have the same fuel pump problems with Delicas in Japan. I know this is the case as I have a friend in the club with a Japanese wife who lives there.. Either way, because of the huge % of Series 1 Delicas here that fail , despite additives and oil ,I think it is something people should budget for when buying a L400 Series 1.. Cheers

Ditto on the diesel additives.

Doesn't matter which you use. Just use one in every tank.

Good thread on fuel additives. I wonder has anyone had a properly rebuilt fuel pump blow its seals due to the new low sulfur fuels. By this I mean are the new seals capable of dealing with the low lubricity fuel or should I be putting additives in even after the IP has been
redone?
Andy Wilson

The "O" ring seals etc are a different compound which doesn't have the same problem . Cheers

Is there anything I should be concerned about with my petrol l400?

Any suggestions on additives? Is canola oil the cheapest/best option? Anyone in town have some WVO that I can purchase in small quantities to use for this purpose?

I have wvo if you need some, just make sure you don't put too much in the winter. But as an additive it's been working good for me although I don't use much diesel anymore.

during the cold months here in Canada, I would caution you all to not put in any Canola with your diesel, its GREAT stuff and the best lubricant and I love the organic nature, but at night when your van sits the oil seperates from the diesel and doesent mix very well, again, In the fuel tank its not an issue, but in the fuel filter it starts to clog it up pretty fast, and if you havent had the wonderfull experience with changing your L400 Fuel filter yet, you sure dont want to do it in the winter on the side of the road, its not easy to get at, your batteries have to come out, and all in all just a P.I.T.A.... this goes more for people in the colder climates, but even dec and Jan here in Victoria, its touch and go, I normally run B100 Biodiesel all year, but when it gets below -5 i go back to pump fuel for a couple weeks, Wvo is fine, bio is fine, diesel is fine, the issues come when wvo or svo (canola) gets mixed with dino diesel....
Noel

Ac.. G'day.. The V6s are great. Don't seem to have many problems.Shame they don't have the sexy bonnet scoop. The spark plugs are very time consuming to replace so they use iridium ones that last a long time. Most people here get them converted to gas. I know you call petrol gas so I don't know where to go from here......ah yes Liquid Propane Gas...LPG. The LWB models get the long big tanks after the exhaust is moved a bit and the SWB get the donut tanks where the spare wheel goes. Our government subsidizes for the install so it is a very popular option. LPG is 1/3 the price of petrol. The V6s are fast, smooth quiet and reliable but lack the torque of the diesels and are more expensive to run as petrol is dearer and the V6 are a very thirsty beast. That is why the go LPG. They buy them with the intention to convert them as soon as they arrive. The diesels outnumber them by about 10-1.. Cheers

Manitoba deli wrote: Bio diesel or straight wvo is your best bet...

If you use Bio Diesel is there a need for an additive as well?

David

What % Biodiesel? B5, B20, B100? , if you are using b10 or higher you don't need a lubricating additive , but B100 and you should use a couple ounces of biocide every couple months so you don't get the dreaded fungi that grows in diesels with condinsation over time...

I'm not actually running anything yet. I am still a couple weeks away from getting my Delica and haven't had to buy diesel gas yet.

Where can you get Biodiesel in Victoria? I've found these two sources on the net (islandbiodiesel.ca and Columbia Fuels) but know little about them.

Thanks for the info.