Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi there,

I changed front brake calipers and pads and everything was perfect with the 88' Montero parts.
Same for the cover gasket taken out of the Ram 50 4D55T engine.

Things started to be more complicated with the upper ball joint. The Montero is not the same, and I found the one the Mitsubishi VAN to be similar. I had the wrong one at hand, but couldn't get the second (and correct) one before a few days. I will let you know next monday if it works.

But the main concern of the day are the rear brake shoes. The FMS 524 that were supposed to fit are a bit different than the ones I have one my 1990' Delica. I tried to check every single shape out of my dealer's catalogue but couldn't find any equivalence. The only two solutions I see for now are:

1- I take the used ones and get them rebuilt with new linen. This is not perfect since I will have to wait a few days vefore getting them back (and I need the van almost every day) and that won't help next time I will change them again.

2- I do some modifications on the new shoes I got from the dealer. This not perfect since some of the holes I need to do are too close to the edge if I don't want to affect the integrity of shoes.

If someone have a better idea...or had a similar problem with their shoes, I will be glad to hear from you.

If the parts dealers in BC have the exact same ones, I don't mind getting them from there.

Here are some pictures of the problem:

Assuming you got the right shape, you can cut out the notches you need.

I have a set in my shop that need the same thing done to them. If you want to come over and work on them together we can.

I confirmed with a local rebuilder that cutting the notches out is fine.

EDIT: I checked and those you have are identical to mine. I got them for some $35 at DV Aldous on Fraser.

we have the correct shoe ($65)with no modifcation needed. call us for any Delcia L300 parts.

mdrive wrote:we have the correct shoe with no modifcation needed. call us for any Delcia L300 parts.

I propose a forum rule: if you are going to pipe up in a thread with nothing to offer but a plug to sell parts, you must post your price.

$80.00 - two clicks away on their website... seriously.

I agree with Rich about the Business links. Post a price or don't post at all.
I hate the thread being broken up with a 'hey I sell those' msg.
It's different if someone says, I replaced mine with some I got from soandso
for about $. Otherwise sell yourstuff in the forsale area.

FS

I should have worded differently because its meant as a serious suggestion.

There are two reasons behind what I'm saying about vendor etiquette on the forum. File either of these under reasons to flag the post for moderation.

Off-Topic - If you post on the thread you should add more than a business card. Informative: "you can modify this part but see such and such a link about why its good/bad/whatever oh and PS I have these in stock no mod required for $80." Not informative: "I sell these."

Spam - If you are going to offer up a solution that you sell, include the price and your contact information in your post or sig for everyone to see. If you don't want to do this, then send a PM. Not including your price in the post is spam, IMO, because your only aim is to get me to click on your website link.

In fairness, the OP kind of solicits a lead on an OEM part near the end of his post. Also, my comment is a response to a number of vendors' forum posts not this specific one. Mdrive's posts are completely in line with above in different threads.

I'll bring it back on-topic and give a nod to Max OD in next post.

Bringing it back to the thread subject, and to Max OD's credit:

The brake shoes from DV Aldous that are missing a couple of notches are $40 (ish) and the OEM matching ones from Max OD are $80. From memory, I think I've seen the OEM matching ones for more than $80 at several other suppliers. I know for a fact that the imperfect ones from Lordco are more like $90.

So you can either spend half an hour with a drill press and a file modifying the aftermarket shoes to include the tabs that the Delica has or you can spend $40-50 from a number of suppliers around town. I think that for many people its worth the $40.

Now, DV Aldous (who supply a popular importer we all know, btw) has told me flat out that if I bring them an OEM set they will sort out the matching problem for me. So that's another thread I haven't closed yet. With my Delica up on the stands in the shop, only a few blocks away from DV Aldous, I will be following up on this soon.

Thanks for the offer, I'd be glad to work with you, but I feel the 3 1/2 day drive to Burnaby is not worth the economy I believe I'll do the mod on the 524 I have got here. I'll try to post pictures for further references if anyone wants to follow the same path.

I agree with all comments on business links. I considered a forum to be a place where enthousiasts people exchange about their good and bad experiences, and specific threads shouldn't be filled up with ads. Nevertheless, it is useful to know places where we can buy specific parts, and it is good to have a section reserved for that.

RichD wrote:Assuming you got the right shape, you can cut out the notches you need.

I have a set in my shop that need the same thing done to them. If you want to come over and work on them together we can.

I confirmed with a local rebuilder that cutting the notches out is fine.

EDIT: I checked and those you have are identical to mine. I got them for some $35 at DV Aldous on Fraser.

Two thumbs up on comments RichD!

While I am all for MacGyvering things, it seems like a lot of effort to save 40 bucks especially on parts you rely on to keep you safe on the road. I suppose "why not" would be the question provided you are confident you could match up all the holes and grooves. Dunno if I would mess with it myself - but that's just me. I'd sooner source out the correct matching parts and MacGyver some cool mods instead.

Plus... I am ALL FOR helping each other out with mods and repairs and admire RichD's offer to help. This particular one though could be a bit of a potential liability. Again... just my personal opinion.

Now if DV Aldous can produce quality OEM matching parts at that price, that would be great!

Cheers!

@jaggedfish: you are right. It is certainly not worth the 40 or 50$ saving. I was more taking it as a challenge to push further my own limits at Macgyvering things !!

For what I think, brake shoes action and its efficiency relies on its ability to transfert the cylinder brake horizontal forces on both sides of the shoes. The top AND the bottom of the shoes actively participate in this action. The original brake shoes and the 524's share the same shape at these specific points of contact.

The missing holes in the aftermarket shoes are there to keep the parts at the right place and bring back to 'neutral' position after braking. They are not supporting any active pressure and modifications should not be altering their efficiency nor integrity

But anyway, as I said, you are right, and it seems 40$ bucks is not worth the try. But if I ever get stuck in South America with rear brake deficiency, I'll have a clue of a how-to-get-out-of-shit-do-it-yourself solution

About liability: it is true it could be a concern. My opinion is that this concept of liability of actions is overrated in our "civilized' countries, and it now prevents a lot of peolple for helping each other. I trust my judgment so I assume that if I accepted someone else help on a specific problem, it is because I judged his abilities superior to mine, and I freely accepted his help knowing he would do better than I. There is no reason why I would bother him afterwards.

If I want liability, I go and see professionals, and I pay for that liability. If I rely on friendship and free exchange of knowlegde, than I let go liability concerns.

$40 for 15 minutes work is $160 per hour.

I'll shut up now.

Somewhat off topic but... Lost2... I certainly agree with you on liability preventing others from helping each other. It is a sad but real risk we take everyday. I am a firm believer in helping others and accepting liability for my own actions and generally trust others to do the same. Liability is cause for too many rules... I see it in architecture every day and it is incredibly restrictive. Was really just pointing the fact out as it has been pointed out to me at times when I have lent a hand.

On the other hand... I do like a challenge and I don't like being beat doing it.

RichD wrote:$40 for 15 minutes work is $160 per hour.

I'll shut up now.

you are right, and it is eventually the time it would take to do it if you do it for, say, a dozen of these set. But I know by experience that making the first template to align properly the holes, set ting the drill press, punching and drilling the holes, than filing by hand the rectangular hole would eventually take more than 15 minutes at first, maybe an hour or two. Than 40$ bucks becomes 20$/h, witch is still great an economy, I agree, but not worth the time went you already drive a new business, 4 kids and a house under self-construction ...

jaggedfish wrote:On the other hand... I do like a challenge and I don't like being beat doing it.

So am I. But I figure I am now starting to choose my fights!