[limuman]

Hi Guys,
I was driving my paj yesterday when i had sudden loss of power when i wanted to accelerate. Here is what happened point by point :

• driving at about 120km/hr and decided to overtake some car ahead, so i dropped the foot to get acceleration.

• Paj picks up speed for a short while, then i here a sound like a "misfire pop" and then the acceleration goes flat.

• pushed down on the pedal, i could still get a bit of pick but nothing near to normal performance

• Drove another +/- half a KM and stopped cause i realized something was definitely wrong. Just by listening to the motor at idle, it sounded like only 3 cylinders were firing with the engine shaking a lot.

• popped the hood while the engine was still running, nothing seemed to be a miss so i decided to "limp" home (300KM away)

.

• I drove a short distance and the engine warning light came on.

• Stopped, popped hood again, there was nothing obvious except there appeared to be oil coming out from the oil cap. I thought maybe the cap was not firmly closed so i tightened it (mentally cause it did not move), wiped of the spilled oil , closed the hood and tried to start

• she cranked for a while and after a bit of coaxing she started. checked behind and i realized she was belching smoke

• Drove for a while, Engine light came on, I continued and then the oil level light also came on.

• When i popped the hood again, i saw there was a lot of oil actually escaping from the oil cap which suggested to me that some breather somewhere might be blocked and there was pressure build up in the crank case. (Just a thought . No technical explanation)

• Topped up the oil, coaxed her to start and drove on

The above scenario continued for the rest of the 300KM with max speed of 90KM/hr. Shifting also became jerky. I topped up with 3 liters of oil , 1 liter at a time.
I have not opened her up yet . Any suggestions where i should look first? Anybody experienced anything similar?

[Roelf_le_Roux]

I hope I'm wrong, but it sounds like a holed piston to me.

[limuman]

Thanks Roelf. I also hope you are wrong but will do some checks. That already sounds like the head will have to come off

[peterpot]

Yup. Definitely sounds like a cylinder with a holed or broken piston. Take a compression reading but I am pretty sure about the cause. Signs are all there. Sorry to hear about it though, most unfortunate.

Do not mix your injectors. If it is a holed piston the injector is the likely culprit. It will help to know exactly which injector it was. Have injectors ever been done / checked?

Please keep us posted and take photos.

What year model and what kms ?

[limuman]

Hi Pete, It's a 2003 model. She is about 270 000 Km on the clock. The injectors were done about 2 years ago with new Nozzles fitted.
I tend to agree that it is a burnt piston. I did a quick check to zero in on the burnt piston probability (nothing very technical).

• removed the head cover

• removed the cooling fan to allow access for rotating the engine

• cranked engine and let it run for 3-4 seconds

I observed smoke being blown out from the crank case to the top through the opening for the timing chain

• using a 24 socket and ratchet, rotated the engine (in clock wise direction) while observing which piston is in compression.

After a few rotations, i noted that a puff of smoke came up when cylinder 2 was going into compression. At the same time, there was the minimum resistance to rotation. There was also a bit of hissing sound as i rotated the engine. this stopped when cylinders 1,3 and 4 were going into compression.
My gut feeling is that piston number 2 is cooked.
I will be taking off the head over the weekend and will come back and post.

Not what i planned as i was to attend a stag party ( )

[peterpot]

Yes definitely sounds like no 2 piston then. Well I hope for your sake the damage is minimal. i had my injectors done (reconditioned) on my Gen3 and I was not happy with the outcome. I should have just spent double the money and had a surefire fix. So please learn by my mistake. The cost of new injectors vs recon are a small price to pay for the pleasure of a reliable and enjoyable ride. Also check the top chain guide while you are about it. Be sure to get it at TDC no1 before you start stripping. That way you will be sure to get the pump timing right first time.
I am guessing you will have to take the No2 piston out. That means either taking the front diff out or take the whole engine out. If I recall you cannot get the sump off with the diff in the way. At least then you can check out all the cylinders, replace the piston, maybe a new set of rings and good for another few 100 thuosand km.

Some one on the club site was looking for one piston a while back (4 or so months back - can anyone remember?). Search and see where he got one or maybe he has one extra.

I am sure a lot of photo's would be appreciated by all.

[limuman]

Thanks Pete, will keep you guys posted and will sure post photos.

[Bakkies]

Good luck. If i can give any tips. Strip off as much equipment to access it easier. The time used to take off and put back is a fraction of the time strugling past equipment in the way. Also the Mitsubishi manuals normally has the best solution to do the job. Study the diagtams and instructions carefully

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

[peterpot]

I nearly forgot !
If you do fit injectors be careful to torque them to the correct spec. Evidently over tightening injectors causes the injector body to distort and the injector will fail. At R10 000 a set (probably more by now!) that is an expensive mistake.

[limuman]

Thanks Pet and Bakkies. I just got the head off and as suspected, piston No 2 is the problem. Its cracked. see attached pics. Tomorrow am dropping the sump and will get the piston off. will post pics of piston after its out.