stuffed magna. where to fix it?

[MrStompy]

Unfortunately i am the owner of a mitsubishi magna.

anyway my problems dont end there...

it needs a new engine in it.

i want to get one of these exchange engines put in it cause i want to fix it as cheap as possible.

anyone in sydney had to get an exchange engine in their car? and if so where did you get it from? were you happy with the job? and what kind of money?

I know there is a jap imports place down on the princes highway i will give them a call on monday but i was hoping for a reccomendation from someone as i tend to get ripped off when i get my car repaired...

[99coconuts]

take it as a blessing mate, thats one less magna on our roads


what model is it? because the older ones are very easy to pick up a whole car cheap as chips. anything before the TS model (95 i think) you should be able to pick up a cheap runner with a crap body/interior for under $1k. swap the motors over and sell whats left on to the next parts scrounger


oh yeah, and why do you need a new motor, what exactly is wrong with it?




god magnas are crap

[Johnnie5]

http://www.simsmetal.com.au

as suggested above find a car somewhere , wreckers or hit the damaged auctions and find a donar car

a decent rebuilt motor you are looking at about $2K even an import is bucks

[Ratmick]

Mate, if you have later model with the twin-cam 24-valve EFI 3.0/3.5 litre V6 you are going to have to sit down before getting a quote. I have a 1998 TF 3.0 litre V6 Auto wagon which has done 248,000km, and I was quoted $4500 for a replacement motor for mine .

Needless to say, I didn't pay it and it still burns and leaks oil ...

...and is likely to until I trade it in on something else, you can buy a LOT of oil for $4500...

[MrStompy]

i would love to just set fire to this car and watch it burn

but if i do that i gotta get something to replace it with...

it leaks a ton of oil (which i dont care about - cause like ratmick says you can buy a lot of oil for the cost of the repair)

but now its started leaking water out of the head gasket i assume.

i assume its the Head cause i cant actually see where its coming from but there are no water hoses in that area and the leak is behind a plastic cover thing on the front of the engine which is a pain in the arse to remove.

tmw im gonna make some calls and hopefully get someone who has a clue to look at it.

is a 95 TS V6. in my street alone there is probably 50 others. so getting bits from the wreckers shouldnt be a problem.

[mike-s]

plastic cover on the front of the engine, not the timing belt cover? that could be near the water pump maybe? If so it may not be such a costly repair. Get that looked at and assessed before goin on much further. If thats just a headgasket, then its a bit expensive, but still its a simple (abeit slightly costly) fix.

first up get a compression test done after sourcing where the leak IS coming from, this will let you know if its shot pistons, or if its a valve stem seal that's borked it. Either way its really a head off job, but theres less stuff to fix if its new stem seals and a valve regrind.

If it has shithouse compression (worst thing you can have short of mechanical failure in the engine) Your cheapest bet if you want to get it done right, is to get the engine redone. You may only be up for rings, or if the bores have gone slightly oval you may be up for rings and a rebore.

This may only cost you $700 if your very very lucky, or as much as 1900 for a complete rebuild. *shrug*

also remember if you go for a non rebuilt engine of uncertain history, you could be putting only a slightly less peice of shit motor in the car, which may only have 6-10 months in it, but if its rebuilt, short of a conrod going through the cases, you'll have a sweet as engine (by comparison of course).

[mrmina]

http://www.simsmetal.com.au

yes the magna will make good pepsi cans

[99coconuts]

i'm not sure about the V6, but the 2.6 4cyl of the same era has a water pump on a seperate drive belt behind a plastic cover on the opposite side of the motor to the rest of the belts. water pumps go VERY easily if you are running low on water so theres a pretty good chance thats all it is. will cost you ~$100 if you know anything about motors and maybe a couple of hundred if you dont.


definately get someone that has a clue to look at it before telling a mechanic you think the motor is gone and getting them to replace it. self diagnosing a worst case scenario is the fastest way to get all the cash from your pocket into theirs

[MrStompy]

thanks guys

you make me feel a little more positive about it.
i automatically go to worst case scenario...

i guess all will be revealed in the next day or two.

hopefully i do get out of it on the cheap side.

[Johnnie5]

yep agree prob a water pump , prob driven by the timing belt if the V6 has a timing belt

if you have half a clue then you should be able to do yourself and get out of it semi cheaply

[mohawk miss]

Dont get a recon motor from Higginbottoms out Blacktown way. Just dont.

[Ratmick]

yep agree prob a water pump , prob driven by the timing belt if the V6 has a timing belt

if you have half a clue then you should be able to do yourself and get out of it semi cheaply

The V6 does have a timing belt, supposed to be replaced every 100,000km at a cost of approx $900 (needless to say, haven't done mine the second time around) .

[MrStompy]

the car is in at the shop now.
they are going to give me the verdict tmw morning.

it had the 100000 timing belt but it is just about to tick over to 200000
i will sell/trade it before i bother replacing it again.

i dont feel right about selling it with the water leak though.

[Neka79]

the car is in at the shop now.
they are going to give me the verdict tmw morning.

it had the 100000 timing belt but it is just about to tick over to 200000
i will sell/trade it before i bother replacing it again.

i dont feel right about selling it with the water leak though.

is it insured???


BOOM

[Johnnie5]

yep agree prob a water pump , prob driven by the timing belt if the V6 has a timing belt

if you have half a clue then you should be able to do yourself and get out of it semi cheaply

The V6 does have a timing belt, supposed to be replaced every 100,000km at a cost of approx $900 (needless to say, haven't done mine the second time around) .

$900 is prob the cost of a 100k service which IIRC is also a replacement of platimum plugs as they are a bitch to get to and IIRC req removal of the inlet manifold to do them

most of its labour and something most people could do in a weekend instead of blowing a week or 2 worth of wages paying some other money to do