AWD not taking off fast but speedo goes up...

[obsidian]

So I had this problem a couple of weeks ago and I just got the time to get to it.

1990 Eagle Talon TSi AWD 5 speed.

A big thanks to John Shepherd for pointing me in a good direction.

So I was driving to work and doing alright with the Talon. Work is one hour away, about 40 miles.

Going down the interstate I hear a loud bunch of clunks under the car. Sounded just like something fell out the engine and hit the ground and bounced down the undercarriage...



Then I turn off the interstate and get on a local highway. Going down that stretch (7 miles straight) I hear TWO MORE things falling...

So I get to the first light and it's red. I stop and when it turns green I take off... and it is a SLOOOWWWW take off. FML THE CLUTCH IS GOING OUT!!!!!!!!

But wait... the speedo is going up with the RPM but the car is definitely NOT going that speed. Now that is sounding like a trans issue and another FML

1st gear slips badly... 2nd gear slips bad.. 3rd gear just a bit, and 4th and 5th act like there is nothing wrong even under a heavy load. What the HELL is going on here?

So I go to work, leave work the next day (military) and get her home with the same symptoms the whole way.

So I e-mail Shepherd Trans and ask them how much for a built stage 1. I give them my problems and 'lo and behold! John himself replies back with some helpful advice to check the axles and a few other things.

The axles are whole and they seem to be locked down tightly. When I jack up the front tires, one spins the opposite of the other when I move them by hand.

But then I find the problem. On the back of the block is a support for the driver's side axle that seems to have a roller bearing in it. It had fallen completely off. Two bolts are supposed to hold it to the block. One is gone, the other had snapped and part of it was still there.

Today:

I grab the bolts I need. Pretty much any time I go to a yard i grab every bolt I touch.

So I go through my stash and find two that will work. Once I get the the broken bolt I feel a long battle coming with a pair of vice grips (part of it was sticking out). Nope, I touch it once and it FALLS out of the block. Lucky me.

Two new bolts (The axle had popped out by the smaller of margins) and a test drive later and the car takes off like a bat out of hell.

-------------------------------------

So here are the cliffs.

Car acted like the clutch was slipping but the speedo increased with the RPMs but the car wasn't actually going that speed.

Axle support bracket on back of block had fallen off due to hardware breaking and falling out.

Reattached and ensured the axle was fully in. Car drives fine.

Hope this helps someone with a similar problem.

-Brandon

 

[ed1380]

I was about to say it has to be the axles. Speedo runs off the diff speed.

Dont you just love the free fixes

 

[SrKegler]

Just curious, did you remove the air conditioner pump. Heard of a lot of people breaking those bolts because they removed the bracket the a/c mounted on. You got lucky, usually it requires and engine pull to get the broken bolts out.

 

[thirsty]

G'day.
If the a/c bracket is not on the block you will need a 4-6mm spacer on one of the bolts, think it is the one closest to the timing belt end. Otherwise the axle brace is sort of unsupported on one bolt. It is easy to overtighten the bolt and stress the axle bracket.
Cheers
Ross

 

[jtmcinder]

deleted ... reading pwns me

 

[obsidian]

I actually forgot about that thing. No I do not have A/C

Also I saw that space there and I added a couple of thick washers to insure they're nice and tight but not causing anything crazy.

Boy I miss that A/C down south....

 

[obsidian]

So, just incase someone didn't want to read the long post.

The drivers side axle support had fallen off after one bolt fell out and the other was sheered off.

The fix?

Make sure if you have no a/c to use some sort of spacer/shim setup and to use proper high grade bolts. I have a couple of 8s in it right now.

 

[1990AWD]

For future reference, the correct part for the driveshaft bracket is part #MB297732 and can be bought from your local Mitsubishi dealer or from a non a/c equipped AWD car. As said however, you can just space it with washers or a spacer, as long as there is no gap and it can be properly torqued down.

 

[scott90gsx420]

Just went though this a few months ago.. Thought the same thing and everything got home to find the cv axle and intermediate shaft were hanging..

I never put the spacer and it cost me.. Two months while i waited to borrow a motor hoist and then about 20 bucks to order the bolts brand new and a spacer for when you have a/c delete.. If you removed the a/c and dont get that spacer it will happen again..

I thought they fell out too and both were snapped off a flush with the block so i had to pull the motor to get them out.. It sucked ..