Geoff57

Hi gang It has been a while since I have posted here. I made up and fitted a brace nearly exactly the same as this around 4 years ago. I used it to mount the rear end of the one piece bash plate I fabricated. It worked well and caused no problems. The only problem with their design is it doesnt look crash safe and will significantly reduce the movement of the engine downwards away from the passenger compartment in a crash. To over come this problem I hole sawed two large holes at either end in the top of the box section. My theory was these top holes become shear points if the engine is pushed downwards but would not significantly reduce structural strength for upward impacts on the bash plate. Geoff

Great news Daniel, These plug sockets really are very inefficient at conducting any sort of decent current load. For such a large plug they only have a very small actual contact area for the current to flow through. This is why they generate so much heat and destroy themselves. When replacing them always pay extra and get good quaility ones that are less likely to overheat. Geoff

May not be your problem, But my 99 R50 had a slight miss at idle. Eventually found the mechanic at the dealer where it got its last warranty service changed the plugs and cross threaded No6. Looking at the marking on it when I pulled it out I doubt the end of the plug was even in the combustion chamber. Retapped the thread (fun job) and replaced the plug and the miss was gone. Geoff

Some sockets have a thermal fuse strip mounted at the back of the positive terminal that melts if the socket over heats. It is generally non repairable but can be bypassed by soldering a piece of wire across it. Geoff

The Highway tyres are 265/70/16 Yokohama HTs on 16"x 8" rims The offroad are 31x10.5x15 BFG ATs on 15" x7" rims They are as big as we can legally go here in OZ for an R50 (well there almost legal). This may change early in 2009 when the new national standards allow a 2" increase in diameter. This change has been a been delayed for years as the states cant agree on what is legal and what is not. Geoff

I have used manual FWHs with the All Mode system for over 5 years now. The only problem I have encountered is very occassionally the 4wd system light may come on when on the highway travelling at over 110km/h (65 mph approx) but not always. It is very random and if I stay below 110km/h it doesnt come on at all. The light is reset by stopping and switching off the engine and back on. With the hubs disengaged Auto and 4Hi can be engaged with out any problem, although it is best to select them when stationary in neutral. Geoff

Yes I recognised your mud puddle splash pic from the PCOA Your avatar is certainly different here ..... and more entertaining Geoff

Set up for highway Set up for no highway

For it not to be tightening up it is either the wrong ball joint and has the incorrect size taper for the knuckle hole. Or the hole in the knuckle has be flogged out (enlarged) from the bolt coming loose at some time. You could try putting a flat washer under the lock nut to let the taper go further into the hole and hopefully hold You will have to make sure there is enough thread left on the bolt for the nylock nut to hold. The flat washer hole must be slightly larger the top the taper on the bolt. How do you hold the bolt to get it torqued down to 175

If you have access to a large bench press it will make the job a whole lot easier. In the FSM the 3 figures showing where to support and where to press the bearing (using a "Suitable tool") when installing is very important A new bearing can be damaged (and fail prematurely) if these cautions are not taken. Also check the axle seal area is OK and doesnt have any deep grooves /scatches Geoff

79 litres if thats any help Geoff

They just rely on the frictional grip of the taper on the bolt to hold it. The bolt taper and hole must be clean, free of grease/dirt and has to be sitting straight in the hole to begin tightening. You may need to push hard against the joint while tightening to get the taper to start to hold. From your photo you seem too have to much reverse angle on the bolt and it cant sit straight enough in the knuckle hole to allow it to start tightening. You need to sort out what is going on with the UCA mounting. If the all the c shims/spacers are in place then there is a real possiblity that the chassis rail is bent.

You need to get better photos of the UCA mounting point to the chassis ( looking in from the side and from angled ) The main pivot bolt looks suspect (bent) in your first photo The UCA itself dosent look bent, certainly not enough to cause that much lean. The Impact may have caused some/all of the mounting bolts c shims to fall out Check to see how may shims are on the other side. There should be a similar number on this side. Geoff

Couldn't agree more, had them in all 3 of my Mitsubishis. The last thing you are looking at when things get tricky is the inclnometer.

Sort of gives new meaning to carrying a bed roll doesn't it Geoff

Your auto makers seem to easily get out of touch with their markets and keep making the same mistake of producing the vehicles they want to make, rather than producing vehicles the market wants to buy. Geoff

31 x 10.5 x15s can be used with standard suspension but the distance from the flange mounting face ( goes up against the hub) to the outer edge of the rim needs to be 4 inches (100mm) or less on a 7" wide rim. It would be better to change your rims rather than trying to space them out. Geoff

You have to be very careful when disconnecting and connecting the multi pin plugs nowdays as they use such small pins that are easily damaged. Geoff

I have been noticing that a lot of Australian made 4WD assessories are used and talked about in these forums. ARB was started by Anthony Robert Brown back in the 70s. I used to compete against him when I was offroad racing Old Man Emu (OME) was started by John Chapman also back in the 70s and I also used to compete against his OME racing team I think the guy who started TJM still lives here in Brisbane. I would have though with the vast number of 4WDs in the US there would be heaps of US accessory manufactures with some really good gear. The Australian gear seems to be very popular though Geoff

Did you check the plug on the back of the hazard switch to make sure all the connection pins are ok ( assuming you needed to disconnect it to remove the fascia panel)) Check for a broken off or a bent pin as a result of the disconnection. Also make sure the factory grounding points are still all connected and that you havent disconnected/cut one when you wired in the player The only other thing to try I can think of, is to pull the blinker fuse out and replace it with a new one. Just to make sure there is no problem with it Geoff PS I wouldnt worry about checking the blinker fluid level. Most blinker systems now days are sealed so the blinker fluid cant leak out

One thing I and others on the PCOA forum here in Oz have noticed with the auto VG33 R50s when towing a van or some other heavy load. Is it takes the engine and the auto ECUs quite a few kilometers to figure out extra weight is being towed. Initially the performance is poor with lots of full throttle required to get the thing moving. After a 100ks or so the Ecus seem to get there act together and learn to adjust to what is required and the vehicle performance improves markedly. Fitting FWHs is one of the simplest and most effective ways to get extra performance from a VG33 R50 Still I thinK I would rather have a ZD30 diesel R50. Love that diesel smell and the rattle rattle at idle Not to mention all that torque under 2000rpm Geoff

Most 15" rims will fit on a 99.5 onwards R50, especially steel rims. I had a brake caliper clearance problem on a set of 15 " Mitsubishi factory alloy rims I was considering buying. The problem with these rims was that they where heavy duty and had a thick alloy centre. I presently have a set of 15"BFGs play tyres mounted on a set of aftermarket alloy rims and have no clearance problems. Getting the right offset is important. IMHO, I think 15" wheels are better offroad as rubber side wall flexs much easier than metal rim. So the more rubber side wall you have, helps improve wheel/ suspension travel especially when lower pressures are being used. Geoff

Nice, looks very original and untested offroad Wish we had VQ35s here in our Oz R50s Pity about the steering wheel being on the wrong side, but I surpose you will get used to it Geoff

LJ One of the forum members here in Oz who used to leave her sway bars disconnected ended up breaking 2 rear upper control arms within a few months of each other recently. The cause was never really established but I suspect it may have been due the extra travel putting strain on them. It would be interesting if any one else has experienced this problem with or without the bars disconnected? Geoff