V6 bounce at idle

[lorriman]

Has anyone who owns a 'newish' Galant V6 complained about the car bouncing when the engine is running and it's in neutral? I did and it took AutoExpress to intervene. The good news is that there's a solution.

After taking delivery of my 2002 V6 Auto I immediately noticed that it appeared to be misfiring at idle, but only when in neutral. Several visits to the dealer and evantually 24 hours with Mitsubishi HQ in Cirencester and it was decided that this is completely normal and the result of new stricter emissions regs. Apparently because the engine design is 10 years old, over the years they've had to run the engine leaner to conform to the latest standards and this has now resulted in a less than smooth V6 at idle.

That was the end of the story until I was invited to attend the AutoExpress Car Cure Clinic last May and they said it was due to a soft front engine mount which was transmitting the engine vibration through the subframe and into the passenger cabin. They stuffed some rubber tubing between the webbing and told me to get Mitsi to fix it with a stiffer mount under warranty. At fist they refused, but after 2 articles in the magazine they finally took it in and fitted a 'stopper' mounting and lo! it has sorted the problem.

I bought the car partly on the back of the promise that the V6 engine was 'as smooth as silk' (according to the brochure). It obviously is not, but all credit to the top techie at Mitsi for finally sorting out the problem and AutoExpress for fighting my corner for me. :)

[enigma]

Toptastic tip! Fantastic info! Thanks! :D

[Kieran]

Interesting tip, but I must disagree with you on the subject of the V6 and it's smoothness. Considering it's design and it's history, I'd say it still performs excellently and very smoothly too!

Just my twopenneth.... :)

[enigma]

Put two turbos on it as well and it flies!

[Nick Mann]

The manual I had was silky. I had several comments on it from passengers. The quirk with mine was a crunch into 2nd gear when the box was cold. (First mile or so). You could avoid it by changing gear v. slowly. Apparently that was/is a common fault.

[ritch_w]

I've never known my V6 to be anything less than silky smooth :p :-D

[adam_shaw]

The manual I had was silky. I had several comments on it from passengers. The quirk with mine was a crunch into 2nd gear when the box was cold. (First mile or so). You could avoid it by changing gear v. slowly. Apparently that was/is a common fault.

I get this as well - how i miss my auto :noshake: - and when the box is cold it can be an absolute !@#$ to get into reverse, and then into first.

As one might do, say reversing off the drive.

Got the same 'they all do that' from the dealer, but have decided to see what happens - if it gets worse they can change the box for me.

Can't really complain though, 'cos when its warm its a brilliant box.

[Nick Mann]

Try letting the clutch up in neutral between reverse/first when the box is cold. It helped big time in mine.

[Dmac1969]

Smooth engine...shame about the lash adjuster ticking that you get from the top end...well that I get anyhow....how much is a new set of 24 valve lash adjusters anyhow?... :rolleyes:

[Spirit]

I think you are looking at a stupid price - somewhere around £700? Someone posted it before so sure they will correct me if I am wrong. Worth importing some if your gonna do this, Barry did for a LOT cheaper if I recall.

[adam_shaw]

Try letting the clutch up in neutral between reverse/first when the box is cold. It helped big time in mine.

Yeah, I figured that out after a while, it just seems absurd to double-de-clutch a modern car.

Still, like I said when it's warm - can't beat it.

Adam

[colVR4]

ahem...back to the original thread :D now that one of the cars has been done under warranty for a known fault, does this mean that the rest of us with the problem can get it done under warranty too?

I had noticed the fact that when you put it in neutral the car tends to judder a bit, but goes away when you put it into drive. I always thought it was a minor problem with the transmission...doh!!

[lorriman]

Back the the original thread...

I was led to believe by owners of older Galants that their engines were very quiet and smooth, but I suspect that at some stage, in order to get the car approved it had to be tweaked and the bounce is the result.

Bear in mind that this is an auto and another symptom, which they will never be able to solve is the fact that the car bounces along when in drive and you're in traffic going at about 1mph. It's just ticking over and the 'misfire' is because it's running too lean.

Of course, once you open it up the engine's fine and it runs well at revs (ooh what a nice sound, quite refined, but not as racey as my wife's Ralliart FTO GPX :rolleyes5 ).

A quote from the top techie at Mitsubishi (I can't quote his name for fear of him getting into trouble :lipsrseal ) was "It's running on almost air alone".

Nuff said!

Back to whether other cars should be covered under warranty. Quote me and see. Otherwise, surely it wouldn't cost much to have the front engine mounting replaced with a solid 'stopper' mounting. Get the garage to speak to technical support at MM HQ in Cirencester.

[colVR4]

Thanks Lorriman,

Is there anyway that the engine can be changed to run richer at idle, or does this involve getting a new chip? How badly would it affect emissions? I always thought that the emissions check was done with the car at about 2000-3000 rpm after a warming up period, is this right?

I will speak to my local mitsi dealer and see what they say. The car is going in soon anyway for a new throttle assembly (butterfly valve sticking apparently, causing throttle to stick, all done under warranty...hurrah for warranty :laugh: )

Cheers

Col

[lorriman]

Col

I asked the same question and they said they could adjust how it runs at idle, but then it'd fail the MOT or any spot check! I don't understand the technology, so can't say what effect it would have on mpg etc, because as you say, the engine runs fine at higher revs.

As far as the stopper engine mount is concerned, I'd like to think that they have set a prescedent with mine, but you have to get past the statement "That's normal in this model, Sir" :wall: . The only way I got anything done was to complain through the press, but I can't see how they can refuse to fit this revised part.

Give it a go. Good luck!