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6/12/21

Sloppy shifter had to go, late night maintenance ensued. Already had the plastic bushings and solid base bushings on hand, so why not. My original intentions were going to be to wait for the brass bushing kit from @Gsx-Dude to show up. After some consideration and knowing that shipping could take a month, I decided replacing the missing plastic bushings was necessary to avoid the occasional gear grind.

The slop was unreal, bad enough that you’d have to go searching for a gear every now and then. found out 4 bushings we’re missing, glad I bought 6. Everything went smooth and was fairly straightforward. Shifts are much much better. Now just the occasional clunk into 3rd happens. Feels like it’s in the shifter assembly and not a gear clunk. Further investigation will happen after the brass kit shows up.

6/14/21

The chrome trim had to go. You know, the stick on trim. I think it was the OEM trim but who knows. Regardless, it had to go. The top clear layer or clear coat was peeling/flaking off. A few hours with some goo gone and some scrapers went a long way. Will be looking into options for plugging up those openings where the ends of the trim slide into.
 
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8/11/2021

After about 4000 miles into ownership, I’m making note of some symptoms that 231 is exhibiting.

Symptom 1 - Intermittent CEL. It seems like she hates hot weather, mid to high 90s lately. Everything will be fine for a while but once things are heat soaked the CEL likes to pop on and stay on. When this is occurring the car stays out of boost and exhibits no signs abnormal behavior. Idles smooth and drives fine while staying under 3k rpms. Nothing gets weird if I go over 3k and The factory temp meter also stays within its range. I’m certain that the light is set up in ECMlink and for knock warning. I’ve seen it pop on at the top end of 1st once or twice. Feeling a little concerned the constant CEL is constant knock/detonation. The light usually won’t even stay on long enough to attempt to decode it.

Symptom 2 - Intermittent no start. Car has full power. Everything works but won’t start. There seems to be a click from up front but I dont think it’s a starter click, more like a relay click. Starter does not engage. The first time this happened the negative cable on the battery was a little loose, tightened it up and still no start. Push in clutch and try again…it starts. Second time this happened, made sure the battery cables were tight…still no start. Push rolled the car a bit to move it out of the way. Tried to start it for shits and gigs…without the clutch…starts right up. Things I’ll be looking into here. Battery check/test, ignition switch test, starter test. All grounds need to be checked as well as the wiring between the stated components.

Symptom 3 - ongoing since I took ownership. A constant whine that increases and decreases with RPM. Apon doing some reading, it could be a few things. Aftermarket belts can whine. Oil pump on its way out or straight cut gears in the oil pump. Timing components could be a source. Hasn’t gotten better or worse.

There are few things I need to stop procrastinating on. Picking up a laptop for data logging is top priority as well as a proper voltmeter. I then need to familiarize myself with the software and this cars safe operating parameters. Second is upgrading to a SPAL fan. The only fan on this car right now is…pause for effect….the AC pusher fan. 231 doesn’t even have AC. Lol That’s gonna have to change. Third is to fix the leaking drain plug on the unknown brand aluminum heat exchanger. Hopefully it’s just a seal, we shall see.
 
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Between July first and the eighth I was able to get some work done on 231. The brass shifter bushing kit from @Gsx-Dude showed up in the mail. I was very impressed with the quality and fit. The window switches I purchased from Pot over on GVR4.org showed up as well.

Window switches were quick and easy. Just had to do some case swapping, clean up on the driver side panel, plug it in and bingo bango, all windows go up and down as they should. Door panels really need to be pulled so the window tracks can be greased up.

The shifter bushing installation was smooth also. The shifter tower was pulled, cleaned and scuffed for some primer and paint. Bushings we’re installed and everything bolted back up fine. The transmission side of things went smooth also. The cable ends needed a bit of rust removal and a coat of paint. Popped the bushings in and buttoned everything back up.

Shifting has improved dramatically. However I’m still having some shifting issues. I still get a clunkly, notchy, gritty noises going from 1st to second. Sometimes going into 3rd. Very rarely into 4th. My guess is that the cables are way out of adjustment or in need of replacement. Maybe I’ll try lubricating the cables to see if it helps a bit. If new cables are no help, I may find myself upgrading to the boostin performance shifter.

Other possibilities for these shifting issues could be the system needs a proper bleed. Clutch pedal adjustment. Clutch itself or the transmission is just clapped out. I am just going to take the approach of going down the line until the issue is fixed. Should be a fun rabbit hole.

I have a ton of footage of the work I’ve done thus far. It needs alot of editing but I’ll try to get that uploaded to YouTube soon.
 
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This video is my first attempt at filming and editing video. By no means is it any good. Just ten and a half minutes of me doing uninteresting shit to my car. If you happen to watch this video, I appreciate you.

 
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8/11/2021

After about 4000 miles into ownership, I’m making note of some symptoms that 231 is exhibiting.

Symptom 1 - Intermittent CEL. It seems like she hates hot weather, mid to high 90s lately. Everything will be fine for a while but once things are heat soaked the CEL likes to pop on and stay on. When this is occurring the car stays out of boost and exhibits no signs abnormal behavior. Idles smooth and drives fine while staying under 3k rpms. Nothing gets weird if I go over 3k and The factory temp meter also stays within its range. I’m certain that the light is set up in ECMlink and for knock warning. I’ve seen it pop on at the top end of 1st once or twice. Feeling a little concerned the constant CEL is constant knock/detonation. The light usually won’t even stay on long enough to attempt to decode it.

Symptom 2 - Intermittent no start. Car has full power. Everything works but won’t start. There seems to be a click from up front but I dont think it’s a starter click, more like a relay click. Starter does not engage. The first time this happened the negative cable on the battery was a little loose, tightened it up and still no start. Push in clutch and try again…it starts. Second time this happened, made sure the battery cables were tight…still no start. Push rolled the car a bit to move it out of the way. Tried to start it for shits and gigs…without the clutch…starts right up. Things I’ll be looking into here. Battery check/test, ignition switch test, starter test. All grounds need to be checked as well as the wiring between the stated components.

Symptom 3 - ongoing since I took ownership. A constant whine that increases and decreases with RPM. Apon doing some reading, it could be a few things. Aftermarket belts can whine. Oil pump on its way out or straight cut gears in the oil pump. Timing components could be a source. Hasn’t gotten better or worse.

There are few things I need to stop procrastinating on. Picking up a laptop for data logging is top priority as well as a proper voltmeter. I then need to familiarize myself with the software and this cars safe operating parameters. Second is upgrading to a SPAL fan. The only fan on this car right now is…pause for effect….the AC pusher fan. 231 doesn’t even have AC. Lol That’s gonna have to change. Third is to fix the leaking drain plug on the unknown brand aluminum heat exchanger. Hopefully it’s just a seal, we shall see.

Issue 1 - Is the CEL/knock set to be "inactive" under a certain tps % or knock count? The knock sensors are extremely finnicky, "phantom knock", etc. I have my ECMlink set to ignore knock under 50% throttle and a certain count, think it was 3 or so?

Issue 2 - Did you car come with an alarm from the factory? I had a similar issue with my Galant, it would just randomly not start for a few mins and then run fine. The car also locked itself all the time and alarms itself.

Issue 3 - Are you sure the whine isn't something in the drivetrain? I would assume the whine is there in neutral and increases when you rev it.

After I typed this I see that you don't have a laptop yet to connect to Link.
 
Issue 1 - Is the CEL/knock set to be "inactive" under a certain tps % or knock count? The knock sensors are extremely finnicky, "phantom knock", etc. I have my ECMlink set to ignore knock under 50% throttle and a certain count, think it was 3 or so?

Issue 2 - Did you car come with an alarm from the factory? I had a similar issue with my Galant, it would just randomly not start for a few mins and then run fine. The car also locked itself all the time and alarms itself.

Issue 3 - Are you sure the whine isn't something in the drivetrain? I would assume the whine is there in neutral and increases when you rev it.

After I typed this I see that you don't have a laptop yet to connect to Link.
Thank you for the CEL notes. I’ll check that first when I’m able to connect to link.

I believe that the car does have a factory alarm system, I’ll do some comparisons to confirm it’s factory and not aftermarket. Haven’t had any issues with it locking itself, yet. I have triggered it a couple times by pulling up in the tab on the door to unlock it while the windows were down while outside of the car. The alarm horn doesn’t work but the lights will start flashing and you can hear relays clicking. Putting the key in the door to relock and unlock the door disables it.

Correct on the whine. It’s there in neutral and increases when rev’d. It could be a normal noise for the car and I’m just being overly paranoid.

I have to decide what laptop I want, I read somewhere that as long as it can run Windows10, it will run the software just fine. I currently have a old MacBook Pro that I wanted to use, but it’s proving to be a pain.

When I got the car back from California I took it to a local to me service manager that’s had 3 VR-4s. He was able to connect to link and confirm the tune is fairly solid and nothing was out of the ordinary.
 
I'd bet your first CEL issue is due to engine temp. Link has a CEL on over XXX temp setting. 230 is generally that setting out of the box.

For the starting issue, make sure the B+ terminal on the starter is tight. At 190K the starter lug on my galant had vibrated it's way loose, I've noticed this on higher mileage dsms I've had come in as well, all of which didn't seem to have any work done around the starter in their lifetime. Seems they were just breaking loose over time.
 
I'd bet your first CEL issue is due to engine temp. Link has a CEL on over XXX temp setting. 230 is generally that setting out of the box.

For the starting issue, make sure the B+ terminal on the starter is tight. At 190K the starter lug on my galant had vibrated it's way loose, I've noticed this on higher mileage dsms I've had come in as well, all of which didn't seem to have any work done around the starter in their lifetime. Seems they were just breaking loose over time.
I think a 180* thermostat and some spal fans are in order.

I’ve added checking the B+ terminal to my list. Thank you for that. 169300 on the clock right now but carfax stated 210,000k at some point in it history so who knows.
 
8/13/21 - Oil change day with a side treat.

Nothing exciting about an oil change. Just here to note that I’m not sure if 231 likes Royal Purple HP 10w-40. Only ran for 2k miles but valve train noise was bothersome. About 1 quart was consumed over that 2k run.

I decided that I wanted to go back to running the Valvoline VR-1 20w-50. Not ideal during winter time around these parts. However it’s summer and there are still a couple few month left of good weather left so, why not. The valvetrain is much happier on VR-1. I’m a little bummed it is not offered in 10w-50.

Next day Cold starts are still awful. Louder but quickly goes away with VR-1 and less loud but longer duration on the Royal Purple. I had hoped that switching from the WIX filter to a OEM unit would have help with dry starts but the anti drain back feature didn’t seem to help. It may be a safe bet to say I still have early model lifters and/or a very tired valvetrain.

I would be interested in hearing some experiences with 3g lifters or updated units and their cold starts.

Side treat for the day was uninstalling the Forge BOV and install a Turbosmart unit. There was a healthy coat of sealant on that sucker.

C121B7C4-16CF-4852-877C-EA97DAB244B4.jpeg


It was a little too hot boy racer for my tastes. I got my hands on a Turbosmart Kompact Plumback. It’s labeled as a nissan flange, part number TS-0203-1226. Im impressed, this finish is great and the noise is subtle and soft. Stelf achieved.

08F5339A-0B14-41B6-AC7E-1909ACA03177.jpeg


The BOV install revealed something to make note of. After I disassembled everything I found a nice puddle of oil in the turbo inlet. Could of been a side effect of the 10w-40. We will see how she fairs on the 50. A rebuilt 16g or new or good condition 20g may be in my foreseeable future.

Working on a short video for a in car before and after.
 
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I’d pissed if my Forge sounded like that too LOL. It sounded odd compared to mine. The Kompact sounds fantastic!
I’ll blurb ab the lab top for a sec, go buy the $200-$250 Asus. Mine lives in my car/garage. When you drop it you won’t be too mad and it does the job just fine.
 
I’d pissed if my Forge sounded like that too LOL. It sounded odd compared to mine. The Kompact sounds fantastic!
I’ll blurb ab the lab top for a sec, go buy the $200-$250 Asus. Mine lives in my car/garage. When you drop it you won’t be too mad and it does the job just fine.
Is yours vent to atmosphere or recirculated?

4000 miles with it was more than enough for me. In person it almost sounds like belt chirp.

Thank you for the laptop suggestion, I need to make time for a trip down to Microcenter and see their ASUS selection in that price range.
 
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Today I finally captured my first data logs. I’m not the savviest with tech so it’s going to be a slow learning process for me as far as tuning. I set the small goal of learning how to connecting to the ecu, capturing some data logs and burn and monitor coolant temps in traffic. I've yet to learn how to share logs online, for now I’ve added it to my list.

@Tyeler18 your hunch was correct. I was able to confirm my CEL issue in traffic as being coolant temp related. 225* triggers the CEL. However coolant temps didn’t exceed 226* while sitting in traffic with mid 80* overcast weather. Curious what they were hitting during the upper 90 days.

Couple photos from today’s drive.

A865EBC2-559B-4AE7-A558-52CAEC795BBC.jpeg

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So this morning I woke up and had a wild hair up my ass to try and attempt replacing the front cv axles on #231. They are both leaking grease but had no noticeable tears. I decided I would call Orillys, however I couldn’t get them to answer so I just went up there. I wasn’t expecting to have much luck but surprisingly they had some Import Direct axles in stock. Part numbers MI8009 and MI8012.

After picking up my axles from Orillys I was eager to get home and work on the car. I got the car prepped and up in the air. I started with the passenger side. Everything came apart super easy, zero complaints about disassembly for both sides of the car. While working on the pass side, I forgot that if you remove the axle…the trans will want to take a piss. I didn’t have anything ready so naturally it made a huge mess. After a bit of clean up I got the new axle into place and started to bolt things back up. It’s at this point I notice the Moog suspension parts. Then I notice a big issue…the grease ports on the Moog sway bar end links were touching the boot of the new axle, bummer. I decided to remove the end link for now And move on to the drivers side.

ACA29968-ED9A-4F19-8CAD-8972E2ACC1E2.jpeg


As I’m inspecting the drivers side I notice the grease port is also touching the old axle as shown in the picture above. I know that I have put on 10k miles since I’ve owned this car and from the looks of the Moog parts and axles, they had at least another 20k if not more on them before I got my hands on #231. I’m very surprised that the ports didn’t wear through both boots. Glad I noticed the issue and didn’t repeat the POs mistake. To fix this I went back to Orillys and picked up some Master Pro end links, part number K80186. Sans the end link issue, the drivers side went back together as easy as it came apart.

B5B5E3C1-245C-4A7D-BAD0-DE5AAA742EF0.jpeg


Tomorrow I’ll be installing the Master Pro parts and torquing everything down. Seeing how I lost some transmission fluid I’ll also be making a run to the Mistu dealer to see if I can get my hands on some Mitsubishi MTF 75w-85 and some seals for the drain and fill plugs. A quick shot post axle install.

BCC27662-DF53-4D56-8A74-06A59FFC43DD.jpeg


Another issue I noticed when removing one of the axles.

0B65E070-C657-4963-8FFB-9840DE46660A.jpeg


The old axles didn’t have any trigger teeth on them but the new unit for the drivers side did. I decided if it wasn’t there on the old one I didn’t need it on the new one. So I knocked that sucker off.

77F1C7F8-6957-4902-A2C5-8CFA08CC9893.jpeg
 
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