4g61t.org

Alright so I just bought a 3g 1.5 hatch today for 500 bux. When I test drove the car it ran fine, but apparently it didnt get up to operating temp.

On the way home (45 mins away) the car started missing pretty bad making it hard to accelerate, and up hills even worse.

The car has new plugs, wires, distributor cap. I dont know if the rotor button was replaced as I just got home with the car and its dark now. So far everything I've read about these cars and misses everyone says the ecu. I'm not looking for a miracle answer off the first reply, but a list of things to check would be a great start.

Some other things that are strange:

The car is rigged with a push start button. Turn the key to the on position and then press a button to start the car and release it like you would a key.

New radiator, and the fan is rigged to turn on with the key. (it started to overheat at a stop sign by my house and as soon as I started giving it gas to drive the temp dropped immediately. It seems to be low on coolant, so for now Im not too worried about this, unless it continues after I add some.

I got the car for some pizza delivery job, and cheap gas mileage LOL.

Any other questions or ideas feel free to reply.

Ben

Fuel injectors are known to have that symptom with heat when they are on there way out.

_________________
89 Mirage Billet 20g 63t 12.4@120 417whp 400wtq @ English Racing.
89 Colt GT E316g
06 Silverado SS
07 ZX6R

Check engine light on? Any codes stored? With any older Mitsu, the first thing to check is the ECU.

_________________
93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

When I turn the key to the on position the check engine light does come on, and then goes off. While the car is running and driving the check engine light stays off as well.

Hmm fuel injectors....whats the easiest way to check those out? I haven't been to the local yard around here for quite some time, so I don't know if they would have any 3gs still. If they do, are auto 1.5's and manual 1.5 injectors the same? It's my first 3g, so I'ts gonna be a learning experience LOL.

Will an auto 1.5 ecu work for a manual car too? I ask because when I was there last, there were 2 or 3 auto 3g hatches, and no manual ones left.

Thanks for the replies, keep the ideas coming as well

Ben

Coolant temp sensor, IMO. The ecus go bad, yes, but it's a constant problem not dependant on temp. It'll die and refuse to restart too.

If it's never getting out of warmup, it'll be rich as heck and stumble at op temp.

_________________
Early 2000's: 1992 Summit sedan - 14.1 @ 100.9mph w/ 155/80 13s
2012: 1989 Dodge Colt GT Turbo - 14.9 @ 100mph, 10psi/s16G

If the colt is a 91-92 w/the 12v engine just grab the ecu, maf, throttle body and injectors from a 1g 1.8 dsm. These parts will give you a little more power and rule out the ecu and injectors.

Our 1g has been giving issues lately, CEL comes on and goes off like it should. Tossed in another ecu just to check and sure enough that was the problem. Never hurts to have spares either.

_________________
93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

When I first bought my car, the ignition coil started dying when I was most of the way home.

_________________
"A good day racing is better than a great day fishing!"

Hmm, well it's and 89 colt. I'm not too sure how to check if its an 8v or 12v head. The valve cover is just silver, and I havn't noticed any markings on it.

I ran the car this morning for about 20 mins, lightly holding the throttle down to try and get it to op temp, but it never made it. A good lil puddle of water in the back of the exhaust pipe though. I figure since the car never made it to op temp that could be why. I've been wondering if the head gasket is done, but why would the car run fine at all if that was the case?

It ran good the whole time, and no misses at all while I was trying to warm it up too. Once the women gets home I want to take it for a spin around town here and see If i can get the temp up.

Is there any repair manuals that are free out on the web somewhere that i can check around for part locations? And will any of the 1g stuff work on the car if it has the 8v head? -- particularly looking for the location of the temp sensor that goes to the fan and ecu so I can try to get the fan working the way its supposed to be, and get the ecu the correct temp of the car to rule out the stumbling at op temp because it still thinks the car is warming up. My friend knows of a place you ship your ecu off and they pretty much fix them or whatever needs to be done if anything, but I'm not sure on his price, could be an option though. Never hurts to make sure something works correctly.

Any other options that come to mind? After i take it for a spin, if the coolant is low then I'll let u all know too. I checked under the car and saw nothing leaking, the oil looks fairly new too, and the coolant that was left in the car was still light green, so I dont think the oil is mixing with coolant or the other way around.

Also, when I get a chance, I want to pull the plugs out and make sure they are gapped right, and pull the dist cap off and check the rotor button as well. What are the plug gap supposed to be? And when the cap is off the distributor, is there anything else i should take a look at?. Also, the distributor is on the driver side pointing back tword the fire wall.

I believe 90 dsm 1.8 parts swap into the 89-90 colts. Most of the time there is a decal on the VC that says 12v. Unless your engine has been replaced you have the 8v version. Pretty sure the distributor on the 12v's is on the transmission side of the head but it's been a while.

Plug gap should be on a decal on the bottom side of the hood assuming its original. It also sounds like you have an air pocket in the cooling system. Drain the coolant and add it back slowly with the engine running. Squeeze the upper radiator hose from time to time to burp the bubbles out.

_________________
93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

sounds like a plan. I added some coolant earlier as mentioned. it took about a half gallon, and i added it while the car was running. if the problem continues and the coolant is full, i'll drain it and re-add it. The women was out partying late last night, so i got the kids and cant do much with the lil 9 month old. I just layed him down for a nap, so if he does sleep i'll go take a look at the car some more and see whats what. hope the yard here has a 90 dsm 1.8. I'm short on cash now that i got the car so it will be a while before i can actually buy some parts. more looking to buy a couple things and "drop" a couple of things into the tool bag pocket LOL.

Too bad noone here is a little closer for me to come pick them up and help me look it over LOL. I got a friend thats been helping me here and there with my 4g build, but he just got a job thats pretty time consuming, so I dont know when he'll feel up to helping me out a bit. I got another friend who is working on getting a compression tester from his work. Once he lets me know hes got it, I'll drive out there and see what it comes up with.

I work tonight, so it seems I'll be driving the ol ford explorer gas hog again. It's got its own issues with tranny slipping etc. so I'm a little anxious to try and get this car going.

On a side note, my 4g 4g63t swap is almost complete. Just ned a couple of shifter bushings, hook up the intake, run a wire from the alternater to the fuse box, and the wire from the harness to the starter before i can try to start it. then to move it and get it inspected I need full exhaust, and atleast 15 inch wheels/tires for the front to fit over the mini cooper rotors and diamante calipers. So close and yet so far when you dont have alot of time and no money LOL

So I took the car for a spin a bit ago, just got back. The usual run good for a bit, but after about 10 mins it started missing again, not as bad as yesterday though. It's still too hot to check for the coolant level, but if I had to guess i'd say its going to be a little low. On the temp gauge there is a little line that the needle tends to sit at most of the time, probably where its intended to stay. It went slightly above it, and I noticed there is a slight steady stream of white smoke.

Also while driving, it smells a bit of antifreeze. I'm about 90 percent sure that the head gasket is blown, and coolant is getting into one of the cylinders causing it to miss. It also has the faint sound of wussy helicopter when giving it gas, and the last time I heard that sound there was a hole in the head between cylinders 2 and 3 of my 4g, which spewed white smoke steadily.

I'll work on getting a compression check to find out for sure, but any info related to changing a head gasket is probably going to be the next step.