Hello from Western Australia
Hello all. I've only recently joined this site but I've been reading it since I first got my IO in November 2012. Many thanks for this wonderful source of information, certainly very helpful understanding my car, as well as cars in general.
I live in Mandurah, WA, I enjoy camping, fishing, xbox, and of course four wheel driving. I'm not very mechanically minded, but I'm learning pretty quickly living with some of my mechanic friends.
I drive a green and silver '99 Pajero IO 5 door. She's my first car and I must say I was really taken aback by what she's capable of, certainly no softroader, but is let down from time to time by her lack of clearance and a very loose anf flimsy bash plate. I originally got her to test the water with this offroad stuff (which very quickly became my favourite hobby) but I also wanted a car just as suited to car parks planned by a 5 year old as it is on the beach. I started out looking for a Vitara but settled for the IO because of it's price, condition, economy and centre diff lock. Her handling is also impressive and I find her quite comfortable. She's the perfect first car, easy on the wallet and great fun to drive, like my own little rally car.
Most of my offroad driving is on the beach, and the dune track at Preston Beach is my favourite. I frequently go out with friends who run a group of facebook called Mudchuckers, and it's taken a while but they've gradually accepted the IO as a pretty reasonable 4WD. I take her wherever the 'Cruisers go, and everyone is always surprised by what she can do, even if she is sliding on her belly the whole time. The centre diff lock is her secret weapon I reckon, makes a huge difference. She "was" in good condition when I got her except for a spark plug problem which has since been fixed.
She get's thrashed a bit. I've taken her down some serious tracks such as the Powerlines track in Mundaring, as well as on a disasterous trip to Esperance, which involved my friend rolling the only other car we had, a ute we'd used to get all our camping gear down there, so it fell upon her to not only do all the running around, but still allow us to enjoy our trip. Packed to the roof and then some with all our gear, she made the 9 hour trip, with the first section on sand) in 45 degree heat without missing a single beat. If people would like to hear more about that trip I'll gladly share the tale it was quite an adventure.
My IO is stock standard performance wise. I got her a nice set of Yokohama Geolander GO12s which greatly improved her performance off and on the road. I have a dash mounted UHF, and half of my interior lights are green I'm just waiting for the rest of the bulbs to turn up. The roof basket/tray is from Prorak, it fits nicely on the Rhino Racks the IO had when I got it.
At the moment she's missing her rear bumper and tail pipe and could use a good clean.
As for my plans for her, firstly I have to sort out a new rear bumber, the last one met it's demise on my trip to powerlines before the fun had even started at the hands of a poorly placed tree branch. My friend offered to make one up for me because I didn't want to fork out for a factory replacement which would be the wrong colour and most likely suffer a similar accident. It's currently a work in progress. I also would like a litte more lift, I'm slightly confused about some of the information on lift kits, what is best for my model and what is and isn't still available, some help in that regard would be most appreciated. I also want a proper bullbar as I'm slightly worried about striking a roo and damaging the car, and unfortunately there's an abundance of very brave and very stupid roos at Preston. I'm buying a light bar off a friend and fitting that to my roof basket, all I need is for a way to mount it in the way I'd like so it doesn't create any more air resistance. I'd like some shelves in the boot and If I can get my hands on a good spare 4G93 engine for a good price and a turbo kit, I guess I'd have no choice but to put that in her too, but at the moment that's a little out of my budget.
Just so you're aware of it.
The iO has no center diff - it's a viscous coupling - and your center diff lock "secret weapon" - well - when you engage it, it works exactly the same as a part time 4WD (like the Vitara or any of the trucks in your photo) in 4WD - no advantage at all - on the other hand, a 5dr iO should have a limited slip rear diff, which will certainly help.
On the lift - I'm sure you'vre seen the lift thread - there are two different front struts so the first thing you need to do is measure yours to see which ones you have (look for the strut data thread, it will show you exactly where/how to measure) - once you know that, we can help you decide the next step.
DERP. My mistake.
I do have the 5 door and I knew it had a limited slip diff at the back. I was under the impession the 4H setting was the equivalent to what Vitaras etc. had, and when reading the manual when it mentioned "lock" I thought in meant proper diff lock. When my friend who's a mechanic saw my transfer shift reading 4LLc, jumped out, looked under, hopped back in and annouced to everyone I had lockers. Guess that makes me the bigger idiot though because up until that point I thought it was just like a vitara too, and I feel like quite the noob. Reading up on it properly now I understand, certainly explains a lot.
I can't find my bloody measuring tape. As soon as I get hold of it, I'll measure them.
welcome
Welcome to the forum, very nice picture and always good to see an io with the bigger 4x4...and your secret is safe, we won't tell anyone :)
For the secret weapon...driving an io is just that...a secret weapon !!
Regarding the lift, do a bit more reading and see how it goes. There are several option but they have been discovered a bit at the time, and some older post might say differently than some new one.
Happy io
On the subject of un-learning everything that guy has told me
Guess that means my secret weapon is just confidence haha. I should go and get a real locker before everyone else figures that out.
Every now and then whilst going over a bump or hill my gear shift becomes skewwed to the left or right, making it hard to shift into reverse/5th or 1st/2nd. It also makes a grinding, banging sort of noise. The same bloke had a look at my car, and after I convinced him my IO was not leaking transfer fluid (it was water from the aircon) he told me my engine mount was busted and the engine had jumped out of place.
This problem is recurring but usually corrects itself over time or going over another bump, which is why I believed him that time because its like its vibrating itself back into place or something.
I'm not really sure what to look for to check this but I've also noticed something else that doesn't seem right.
Is that supposed to be so low? It's almost as low as the support bar that goes under the car.
Cheers
engine mount.
From the picture it seems ok to me, similar to my car anyway. You are not the first one to have had the problem with the gear box not lining up properly because of the engine mount. Get them replaced...not cheap, but need doing. Check all mount, gearbox and all, if one fail it can put some unwanted stress to the other.
Happy io
Good, I don't want that falling off it looks important.
As for the engine mounts, I suppose the best place to get them all checked properly would be the local Mits Dealer. She is due for a service just haven't had the time nor the money lately.
Had a good day out with the crew today, produced some great pictures. Of course, the IO performed exceptionally.
Good turn out. 13 vehicles at one point.
IO had no trouble with this hill.
This hill was all rutted, loose and steep. Everyone was surprised that I even attempted it, and even more so when I got further than everyone else. A well timed drop in gears would have seen me to the top, but in my last attempt I stalled, leading to an uncontrolled descent with no brakes. I decided not to push my luck further. We did get a video with the GoPro mounted on my roof just waiting for it to be uploaded. The patrol in the top left corner of the left hand photo broke in it's attempt, nothing major though he got it running again. Typical 60 series owner favoured the red Grand Vitara over my IO, I like zooks too, but he was soon eating his words. His engine mounts broke completely at some point during the trip, you could see his engine moving around as you drove.
And I taught everyone how to fly. Not my biggest jump of the day. Probably not a good idea given my engine mounts though.
?
The iO has no center diff - it's a viscous coupling - and your center diff lock "secret weapon" - well - when you engage it, it works exactly the same as a part time 4WD (like the Vitara or any of the trucks in your photo) in 4WD
I always assumed that having super select meant it did. Kinda a let down.
My IO has a limited slip diff
My IO has a limited slip diff in the rear (came from stock) and when its engaed it has NEVER had problems with opposite wheeling in bush, mud or sand??? Both wheels spin at the same time.. I am sure lockers would help in extreme circumstances but the "Secret weapon" is definetly an advantage whether or not it immitates a proper center diff lock or not.
I felt the same way
The iO has no center diff - it's a viscous coupling - and your center diff lock "secret weapon" - well - when you engage it, it works exactly the same as a part time 4WD (like the Vitara or any of the trucks in your photo) in 4WD
I always assumed that having super select meant it did. Kinda a let down.
Yeah, its a pretty common misconception from what I've gathered, but still, super select is pretty awesome, you get the best of both constant 4 and Part time.
That rear LSD must be pretty good if it convinced everyone following me I had lockers haha, I don't have any problems with opposite wheeling either. I don't have a lot of flex, especially at the front, so I don't always have 4 wheels on the ground. The thing is though, most toyotas and nissans also have LSDs but theirs don't seem to work as well.
.
The iO has no center diff - it's a viscous coupling - and your center diff lock "secret weapon" - well - when you engage it, it works exactly the same as a part time 4WD (like the Vitara or any of the trucks in your photo) in 4WD
I always assumed that having super select meant it did. Kinda a let down.
While Fordem info are very true... you are having fun with your io, it does what you want, look great, being called differently or properly understand how it work does not change the car at all....it is the same as before...The only thing changing is that you are more informed and it is a good thing....
Do like Daniel (from Brazil) used to say....mental locker...
Happy io...with or without locker.....
Some reading http://www.howstuffworks.com/differential5.htm
Upgrades and repairs
Well after a pretty fun weekend at Logue Brook Damn 2 weeks ago I returned with a fairly hefty repair bill. My roof rack snapped, my clutch is non-existent, engine mounts completely gone, comressor and power steering bearings are stuffed, alternator belt snapped and was replaced on the side of the road (luckily I'd bought a spare), the list goes on...
I'm still cleaning mud off the car after getting stuck in the mud with no bash plate.
Anyways, I'm halfway through fitting a new roof rack system. I got the heavy duty Rhino Racks that require tracks being fitted to the roof, I got halfway through that then noticed it was about to rain.
I also measured the struts for the front wheels so I can start looking at a bit of lift. 246mm from the base to the bottom of the pan weld. I took a couple of photos but they're of terrible quality.
Bad news...
After a $2500 bill my IO was running almost like new. I had the timing belt done because I was not sure if it had been done already, also had an oil leak fixed, new brakes, and the engine mounts replaced plus a lot of other little things.
Just this weekend I was on holiday with my girlfriend at Donnelly Lakes, and on the way back to the chalet after lunch the car suddenly cut out. All attempts to revive her failed, and the owners down at Donnelly Lakes towed us back to the chalet.
The next morning Mr. RAC paid us a visit. The timing belt had either broke or fallen off. Not sure what damage this has done to the engine yet but I've heard it can be pretty fatal. Depending on how much the tow costs and how much I can hit this useless mechanic up for, this might mean goodbye unfortunately.
Update.
According to the mechanics, it was not the timing belt but the camshaft has broken.
Not entirely sure how I broke the camshaft? I guess I've been pushing her too hard.
Good news is the valves at least are fine according to them. So she can be fixed but the thing is camshafts don't break on their own so it's probably hiding a bigger fault like a warped engine from the engine mounts not being replaced soon enough or something?
4G93?
being in WA - have a chat to RPW about a 4G94 performacne camshaft - good time to drop one of those into your Io!
That'd be a pretty good idea, but my Io is running a 4G93.
Though, given that Lancers are fairly common, I guess it wouldn't be hard to find a performance cam for my engine, preferably something with low end power.
Cheers.
camshaft
I have been already tempted to get a mild camshaft for mine, low end for a bit more torque....but haven't got too far. I have talked to the Lancer mad mad owner, and replacing the camshaft is a common practice (more for top end, not 4x4!) The advantage for them is that the engine is east west (not like the io North south) and the camshaft slide out with little work. Just a bit more work for the io. If you go that way, get an adjustable pulley as well. Would be interesting to get a dyno test before and after.....
I have read in Lancer forum that the camshaft on the 4g93 and 4g94 is the same, to read the complete opposite in the same forum, different thread/people....?????
This is a bit out of my knowledge/experience, but it would be interesting to see what sort of result can be done. The downside could be an engine that is a bit more thirsty...???
Happy io
I'll check them out, thanks!
Sounds like a good idea, I'll check it out. Any boost in power is good, but a more low end would be great. I don't understand a lot about cams so I'll need to do a bit of homework. Is a stage 3 too aggressive ie make the car more fragile? There's one discounted.
In the mean time, I'm going to look at an Isuzu Mu tomorrow, one of the 3.1L turbo diesel models. They're a little better suited to off-roading, snatching and crawling, not that the Io was bad, it's been awesome, and it's record on that hill still stands. I'm just concerned I'll rip off my towbar snatching a patrol as I've had to do a couple of times, or hit something harder than the car. I'm also a bit of an Isuzu fanboy.
I'm in no mood to replace my Io but I do need a car I can count on and I don't know if those mechanics have left any other little surprises. Call me paranoid but I find it odd a camshaft snapped on its own without any help from seized bearings or an over-tight belt. Still, not much I can do about it now and given her current state she's more useful to me as a second car than the money I'd get for selling her. We'll see how things go financially, as it'll take some time to gather funds to fix her if I do get this Mu, but with two cars I can start learning to mod without fear of being left with no car, and I know once I start I won't stop.
Also I forgot to mention, if anyone is looking for a good place to stay in WA I highly recommend a couple of nights at Donnelly Lakes Resort, it's an absolutely amazing set up they have there. Hands down the most beautiful and relaxing place I've ever stayed, you get your own private chalet with a spa, a lake stocked with trout and a personal canoe, they'll even bake a fresh loaf of bread to give to you when you arrive.
Cheers.
camshaft
Not sure about the camshaft stage 3....but I think that it is hard, if not impossible, to "win" everywhere: power and torque, the more you push it on one side, the more you might loose on the other, ie : plenty more of torque but loosing a bit of power or good gain in power but loosing some torque. Again, while I have some good basic mechanical knowledge, modifying car (like swap camshaft) is not something that I have done myself....Still I would be very interested to see the result.
I was tempted to get a camshaft to give more torque (loosing a bit of power) then get a turbo properly fitted to gain power. But the cost of installing the turbo by someone is nearly the cost of the car....
Try to get some picture of your camshaft, it would be interesting to see what sort of damage it does have. More likely the pulley snapped ???? if it the case, they may have been the last people to have touched it, may be to replace the seal behind.
I would let them know how you feel, that a short time after they done the timing belt, problem arise, coincidence (same as bad luck) do happen but they should supply an explanation (don't ask with a gun !!!!)
Happy io
Camshaft stages
If this was a carb-fed engine i'd er on a mild cam, but with an ecu you can run a much more aggressive cam without loosing much if anything.
If there is a towing cam i'd go that way, but if you want a mega lift & duration cam you'll just need an extra few 100rpm for climbs
More delays.
I went into the workshop to see the car and speak to the mechanics. She's been there 2 weeks now and nothing has been done. Apparently they can't find parts for arguably one of the most common engines in the state.
I asked them what they thought the reason for the camshaft breaking was, and they said wear and tear and listed a bunch of completely different cars that suffered this problem.
Then the guy said they were looking for a second-hand camshaft.
If it was actually wear and tear, and not an over-tight timing belt like I suspect, why would you use a second-hand camshaft? If this guy is right and it is just "wear and tear" then a secondhand camshaft wold already be on its way out and in three weeks she'll break down again. Unless they know it wasn't wear and tear and there's no harm in putting a second-hand camshaft in. I'm convinced they're lying, but I must concede, well played.
I'm considering taking this to consumer affairs, but there's no way I can really prove anything, and the fact I've been pretty rough with this car certainly isn't helping my case. Guess I'll have to suck it up...
Coppo's Mechanical, not even once.
Just my opinion and I'm not a mechanic by profession.
Camshafts don't break from "wear & tear" and they don't break from an "over tight" cam belt - also - a cam for one of the most common engines in the state isn't necessarily the correct cam for what is probably one of less common vehicles in the state.
The cam for a 4G93 in a Lancer is not likely to be the same cam used in a 4G93 in a Pajero iO - granted it may fit and work - but the torque curve is going to be different, the engine in a utility vehicle used off road is going to be cammed to provide more torque lower in the power band, the same engine used in a sedan is going to be cammed for horspower higher in the power band.
Let's go back to the broken cam - the cam rotates in journals in the head, driven by the belt - if that cam were to seize in the journals, I would expect it to either snap the belt or strip the teeth off of it (this is based on experience with non Mitsubishi engines - it's a rubber belt, the camshaft is steel. Normal cam wear occurs mostly on the cam lobes, in extreme cases you'll find wear on the journals - I'll take a bet with you - your cam did not break on either a journal or a lobe.
busted camshaft
yeah - would love to see the break, you can tell a lot about the failure of parts based on the break.
sourcing a new cam might be easier done by yourself - there are a few io motors around, price for a cam could be expensive as they would need to pull the entire motor appart. RPW charge about $450 for a race cam from memory, maybe just do this
other option would be replacing the motor which might be an easier option again.
there was a 4G93 io wrecking in a coffs harbour wrecker - googling "pajero io wrecking" brought it up - think the wrecker was "mid coast auto wrecking"
The break
The camshaft broke at a point pretty much at the front of the engine at a point somewhere just after the pulley. The break itself is hidden but you can tell it's there by rocking the car with the handbrake off and seeing the belt at the front moving and the cam not. I forgot to get photos, sorry.
I should probably stop making assumptions, everyone seems to have a different reason for a camshaft to break.
This thread had a similar scenario though, but it is a lancer and a DOHC I think I'm not sure.
http://www.4gtuner.com/topic/22996-4g93-died-randomlyelectrical-help-please/
I'll call RPW when I have the time, to see if they've got anything for more low end torque, might even work out cheaper. Coppo's were also looking at getting one machined, that sounds expensive too. Replacing the engine would probably mean the "lancer version" with it's different torque curve gets put in.
Out of curiosity is it possible to replace the engine with a 4G94 if I do go down the engine replacement path?
4g94
i'd say so - it more thank likely would be 99.99% compatiable, you'd probably want the 4G94 ECU to be safe and might run into some teething issues i.e. gauge cluster might not be cross-compatiable. / airbags and ABS etc.
other option is to drop the 4G94 in and run all your 4G93 manifolds etc ECU would tune it in by itself for the most part but again not sure - lancer forums would be the best infact if you signed up to OZ lancer and started a thread "4G93 to 4G94 conversion" someone out there must have done it.
4gtuner forum
sign up to the 4Gtunner forum and start a post - you will get an answer within 24h about the MPI 4G93, and probably get a camshaft free from someone perth based.
OTHERWISE get in touch with LLT Racing, louie is the boss on 4g motors and will probably have a 4G93 cam for sale or sell you a twin cam nitrous monster.
interference engine
No idea, either it is or not. Anyway if it is, you may have done some damages to the valves. To check, put a new belt on and give it a try, as Bob said it is an easy job to do and shouldn't cost you too much to try. On some car it is very hard (or a very long job) to replace the timing belt and trying would not be a good idea, or would at least be a very costly one.
Again, just an idea, I don't have enough knowledge to give the best advice.
Hope you will sort it...
Happy io...soon....
I believe it is an interference engine.
A "leak down" test can be done to verify valve damage/condition without replacing the belt - in fact - since you have no camshaft, this would be the only way.
Remove what's left off the cam shaft, remove all the spark plugs and connect the leak down test fixture to the cylinders one by one - be warned the engine will rotate until the cylinder under test reaches BDC when you pressurize the fixture - how it works is that you pump compressed air at a specified pressure (usually 100 psi) through a calibrated orofice or restrictor (in the fixture) and the gauges show the difference in pressure on the two sides of the retrictor and display the difference - a large difference means an air leak in the cylinder under test, and you can then listen to the intake or exhaust to determine which set of valves it's leaking past - other possible leaks are into the crankcase (past the rings, through a cracked head or block, or a bad head gasket) - listen at the oil filler cap - or into the cooling system ( check the radiator for bubbles).
More dramas...
After 1 and a half months of waiting, I finally got my io back on the road.
When I asked for a price to compare getting a lancer camshaft as opposed to getting a proper io camshaft, Coppos assumed that was an instruction to get a lancer camshaft. So I got landed with a $100 camshaft I didn't ask for. I had to literally scream at them to stop before they went ahead and put it in. Had to argue with two of the mechanics whether or not it was an intereference engine or not and over the likelyhood of valve damage. Eventually got it towed home, then three weeks later the other mechanic, the one I usually go to, got around to picking it up. 2 weeks of waiting, and surprise surprise, two bent valves and a bit of the camshaft was interferring with the cam sensor or crank sensor I can't remember but either way they were out of sync and she wasn't going. That all fixed, got her back. Decided to just put the lancer cam in, you know, for science, to see if it actually made a difference, and if it made a drastic difference and I decided to keep the car I'll get that fixed later, at least I'm not short of money right now.
If anyone else suffers the same unfortunate accident and feels like going the cheap, easy option of putting a lancer cam in, don't. It isn't worth it. Takes quite a bit of throttle to get her moving and beach driving became tricky, couldn't hold anything less than 4000rpm on flat sand. I did notice however that she didn't seem to be using as much fuel but I didn't get a chance to check that properly. Here's why.
The car is currently sitting roughly 6km south of the carpark along Preston Beach and behaving like the sword in the stone.
I haven't got the faintest idea why, but it just won't move. We couldn't tow it with a landcruiser, it might as well be in lock, low and reverse.
Basically, I was driving along the beach, tried to go up a hill, and it stopped.
Suddenly, the car won't start, feels like it's still in gear even though it's in neutral. Put the clutch in, and she starts, but no matter what, can't get it to move. I can be in any gear, any revs, the moment I take my foot off the clutch she stalls.
Understandably I'm a little ticked off, and my thinking cap got thrown at a nearby swarm of bugs. If anyone's got any ideas as to what I should check and look for when I go back out there tomorrow to have a look, and hopefully its something fixable or at least get it into a condition where we can tow it.
My mechanic friend (an actual mechanic) had a look under the car, banged on a couple of things, says it might have something to do with the clutch slave which was also done by Coppos, or a seperate clutch problem altogether, might be something as simple as a linkage snapped, some of the other boys suggested it might be something to do with the 4wd system and that getting it out of 4wd or at least into 4H should make it towable. I don't know. Help would be much appreciated.
Cheers.
Not being able to tow it is not a good sign.
And it's not the clutch slave or a clutch problem because the clutch is operable - you can start with the clutch disengaged (pedal depressed), and it stalls when you engage it (pedal released) - your problem is either transmission or transfer case.
I doubt it's as simple as getting it out of 4WD - but - that easily done - jack the front end up, slide under and locate the free wheel actuator - it's on the front axle roughly in the middle of the car - you're looking for a vacuum actuator with two rubber vacuum lines and a rubber accordion boot on the left of the actuator - slip the rubber boot back so you can reach the actuator shaft - pull it to the right and tie it off with a cable tie or wire - at this point both front wheels should rotate freely.
...
Are you sure that you took your car to a mechanic ?, having to argue with them about the fact that you may have bent valves doesn't seem right. (chances to have no valves bent were very little) Is it writing "veterinary hospital" in front of that shop could mean that you left your car at the wrong place and would explain why they seem to have no much idea. You probably talked to a nurse.... Sorry bad joke...:)
I would agree with Fordem about your clutch. Have you done the basic, like clear all the wheel with a shovel ?
I am not completely surprise about the camshaft, but I would have done the same as you did...try. From what you say it seems that this camshaft doesn't suit your car, maybe it doesn't give enough torque to move a vehicle that it is stuck (a Lancer doesn't need to be unstuck from a bog or whatever) and could explain what happen (engine stalling, just too much for him, just like a Lancer try to move against a wall, at the best the wheel will spin...unless they are gripping very well the ground ) and would explain the possible fuel saving and unable to rev while driving in the sand (again lack of grunt)
Or the "nurse" at the vet stuff it up again and haven't put your belt properly back in and your timing is out.....
Stay away from these people.....unless your pet get sick !
Happy io
Yeah the first mechanic was
Yeah the first mechanic was bloody shocking, I have no kind words for them, but rest assured they definitely weren't nurses... nurses are usually clean and vets are a little smarter... I will get round to reporting them eventually. It's unsafe. They did my brakes as well and now my brakes are also playing up, there's like a knocking I feel in my foot when I use them. Haven't looked into that problem yet either because they still work for now.
Well since the car is now likely stuffed I guess at least we learned something. Our regular mechanic put the new camshaft in and did the belt, they're slow but they'll do it properly and won't violate your wallet space.
Yeah, that's why I didn't settle for clutch because you couldn't tow it with the clutch engaged either.
A long time before this happened I'd noticed the car wouldn't get into 2H the lights would just keep flashing. Would that have something to do with this? I figured that'd just be a solenoid thing. The transfer lever still moves freely, but the gearstick not so much, but if you give it a yank you can move it from gear to gear and I'm fairly sure 1st and reverse are engaging because it gets stuck in each one but I didn't mess around with that too much it doesn't feel good for the car.
So pulling the little shaft out will make it so the front wheels turn freely, but what of the back wheels? Is there an easy way to get them to turn freely too?
My 4wd group wants to have a competition to see who can tow it the furthest. Oh dear...
Drop the drive shafts
Disengaging the front freewheel is just a way to get in into 2WD - if there is a problem in the transfer case or transmission you may need to drop the drive shafts (both of them) to be able to tow, and if it won't roll with the drive shafts out the problem is either in the axle or the brakes.
And then everything was okay...
I had to leave her there overnight, the 4wd group was camped nearby.
Met up with them at the shop on the road to the beach and they'd grabbed some of the gear out of the car but the lightbar and roof rack got stolen and someone had been jumping on the roof of the car and it was pretty beat up with smashed windows etc. This wasn't a surprise, I did sort of expect the car to be torched or rolled into the ocean.
One of the blokes came up to me while the rest of the group were busy, said some of them had been talking about taking the stuff off my car and saying it was all stolen, and that he'd grabbed my lightbar so they couldn't. So I don't know what's going on there, but I at least have my lightbar back. I find his secrecy a little suspicious though his intentions may not have been wholesome but he came clean.
Moving on.
I hire a guy with a tractor to pull the car back to the carpark and from there towed home. I get to my car to find its not actually in that bad condition considering, and my icebox was even still inside it. No windows were smashed, no door seals busted, the roof had been stood on but not jumped on, nothing I couldn't fix with a good punch. The bolts for the tray were still on the roof, the lightbar lead had been yanked as far as it could go then cut, and the rear work light had just been yanked off and someone had tried to just pull the spotlights off. By the looks of it the offenders were drunk.
As I'm being towed back to the car park I start stuffing around with the gears and unlocked the VCU which I could do now the car was rolling. Suddenly I had rear wheel drive, and I hadn't bothered to disconnect front wheel drive as Fordem mentioned. I tried moving back to 4HLc and heard a sort of whiney grinding sound so I moved back to 4H and waited a while before trying again. It worked the second time and from that point on everything worked fine. I fixed the tractor guy up and drove myself home.
So the good news is, the car lives to die another day, the bad news is I don't know what the problem was and if it happens again I need a tractor to fix it.
Cheers.
....
Gosh nice people, I wonder how they would feel to have they 4x4 trashed, one of them probably work for the "vet"... anyway, you may have to put your io to sleep :)
I hope that you sort the all lot soon.
It might be a good idea to check with Mitsubishi or an online part number if the io have the same camshaft than the Lancer...
From memory someone had bought an io with a Lancer engine fitted and didn't seem to be a pb. I wouldn't be surprise that you find more pb related to your belt/camshaft/valves.
Happy io
Two questions...
One - when you said towed back - is that literally being towed backwards - and - two - what sort of surface were you driving on?
I'm puzzled by why the transmission/transfer case would lock up and then turn freely after fiddling with theVCU lock and what comes to mind is something known as "drive train wind up" which would normally only be an issue if you had the VCU locked on a high traction surface.
By towed back I meant towed
By towed back I meant towed back to the carpark, the car was towed forwards. Also noticed while being towed that while 4H was selected, it appeared it only had rear wheel drive, if the rooster tail is anything to go by, and I hadn't messed around with anything under the car. It wasn't until it locked the VCU that I had 4wd.
While driving on road, 4H, as I mentioned 2H doesn't engage properly and if it does, the front wheel lights flash occasionally like its trying to engage 4H by itself, and if it does that while I'm doing 110kmh down the freeway it could do damage. So I leave it in 4H so it doesn't try and switch on its own.
I only engage lock when I'm actually on the beach sand, in this case 4LLc. No problems aside from requiring a little more throttle than usual, that is, until it locked up. We did try and unlock it that night but that doesn't always work if you can't move.
It sounds sort of like wind-up, but I only ever drive locked on sand, mud or really slippery gravel roads. The stick still moved freely as well. Still not sure why the car was stalling while neutral was selected though.
One of the Coppos mechanics did mention that the transmission oil might need a change soon.
Its a pity that a fellow io owner was probably also involved in the vandalising and theft. I've let the group "leaders" know, but there's not much we can do about it. Might leave this group and sign up to a proper club, this one's getting a little dodgy.
2H to 4H
I haven't try at 110 km/h but I don't think that you will do any damages by going from 2H to 4H at any speed. I have change it around the 60 km/h with no problem.
May be other could confirm...right or wrong...
I think that it is always a good idea to at least check ALL level when buying a second hand car. Changing all oil, and coolant, is wise if you don't have a service history.
Happy io
Syndicate
Photo
If you're having trouble spotting her she's the one on the right. I didn't take the photo blah, taken at Preston Beach.
I find there are very few problems in life that can't be solved with a heavy pair of boots. That hill is no exception.
Stock standard '99 5 Door IO, with a few accessories and bling.