New To The Forum, New To My VR-4

[justjon]

Just thought i would post this and say hi to everyone, just found this forum, and just got my shiny new Legnum vr4 ...well, i say new, it's a 97 p-reg, but it's new to me, only had it three weeks, but it is shiny!...well i say shiny, it was yesterday, and then it snowed!
So, to sum up then, my car is old and dirrty....lovely!

[elnevio]

to CVR4! They're good motors, aren't they?!

Plenty of friendly folk on here. Sure more will be along to say hi in a mo!

Tell us where you are and post up a few pics when you get chance, and the rest of us won't lynch you...

[Axeboy]

Welcome mate..

Have a look around here... lots of info and help from the crew

[justjon]

Thanks for the hello, will plug in my camera phone and post the couple of pics i have unless i have to have more than 10 posts before i can do that or something, like most other forums,
As for being a decent motor...oh dear god yes! mine has a few issues that need sorting out though, but i guess thats why i got it so cheap...lucky me

[elnevio]

No post limit to post up pics!

And another member in Ches! Whereabouts are you?

[justjon]

Old Whittington where are you?
Apparently i have to resize my files...typical...all my life ive been told that size isn't important, and now it it! pmsl

[peter thomson]

Hi and welcome to the club

[justjon]

Thanks pete, look forward to getting on here more and spending less time with the wife,
all in aid of "research love!"

And how the hell do i resize my files?

[Kieran]

Hello and Welcome Jon! Another local lad - I'm just the other side of the M1 from you there Enjoy the car!

[justjon]

I am doing so far, but that damn speed limiter is a little annoying, not that i always go up to and beyond 115 you understand, i just thought i would try a top speed rturns out, my old 1.5 Honda Civic was faster at top speed! lol

[elnevio]

I am doing so far, but that damn speed limiter is a little annoying, not that i always go up to and beyond 115 you understand, i just thought i would try a top speed rturns out, my old 1.5 Honda Civic was faster at top speed! lol

Hehe... don't worry, we can help you with that, er, issue...

I'm in Brimington, by the way!

[aboo]

Hello & welcome. Enjoy
My Wife's going nuts at the time I'm spending on here.

[justjon]

Hehe... don't worry, we can help you with that, er, issue...

I'm in Brimington, by the way!

Brimington...and it hasn't been stolen yet?...do you have a lot of guns?

And as for issues, i have loads of the damn things to make you scratch your heads.
i.e. When i pull up to stop at a junction either in auto or tip mode, sometimes the engine forgets what it's supposed to do and just cuts out, not all the time, just usually when i least want it to!
Number 2: have discovered that when the engine/gearbox is cold, changing gears seems to be the last thing on my cars mind, "what?! you want ANOTHER gear?"seems to really struggle untill i'm almost all the way to work, and sometimes the little green led that lets me know what gear i'm in starts flashing at the side of neautral as well as being lit next to D and letting me know that third gear is my only choice from now on, turning the engine off and then back on again seems to sort it, but it's mighty annoying!
Number 3: only one of my electric folding mirrors folds.
4: on a run to St Albans and back last week the battery light came on during the run home, had to leave my wife in the car with engine running (just in case it wouldn't start again ) while i filled the tank...AGAIN! but so far, the car has fired up perfectly every morning and the battery light hasn't been seen since!
5: only the drivers side window washer works and the rear washer has given up (wiper is fine, no rubber on it but it moves just peachy!)
6: None of the tyres match, i need decent, new tyres that don't cost the earth.
7: the front brake discs are warped and judder like hell when braking from anything more than 70mph! AAARRRRGGGGHHH.

I'm going to be Slightly mental and a little bit more than skint by the time i'm done with this car aren't I?
On the plus side, my wife loves the boot and the sheer amount of shopping "we" can get in it!



And....Breathe!.....

[ANTHONY]

hi and welcome

[Kieran]

Sounds like a bit of a project there!

Right... some assistance.

1:The 'Cutout' thing.... A lot of VR-4s tend to have a similar problem. Normally, if you've been cruising at speed (Say on the motorway) and then you get stopped at the bottom of the sliproad... Quite often as the car has just come to a halt, the revs will dip a little too low and it'll almost bog. Seem this loads of times and my own car sometimes does it, though actually stalling out is rare.

2: Being reluctant to change gears when cold is normal. It keeps the revs higher to warm up the engine more quickly and also the the lockup mechanism doesn't work properly with cold fluid (pressure is too high) so it tends to keep you out of top untill there's a bit of heat in there.

However, a flashing 'N' light is NOT normal and indicates a problem. Now this could be related to the stalling now I think about it; if the gearbox fluid is knackered, or the level is too low, it can cause this. You need to check the fluid level with a HOT gearbox, engine still running and the selector in 'N' - Not 'P'.


3: Squirt WD40 in behind the mirror glass and into the join between the mirror and the stub it swivels on. work it into the mechanism. This usually frees them off provided the previous owner hasn't burned out the motor or stripped the teeth trying to force it to move.


4: I bet your car is a Cold-Area car... Be prepared for the alternator to go pop - You're one of the lucky ones, at least you've got a warning. It's worth in the meantime making sure that the voltage across the battery terminals is 13.5v (with warm engine) or just over 14 if you've just started from cold. But yes - I would say the alternator is about to let go - It's not unknown. It *COULD* be just a duff battery but usually if the battery cells have gone, it won't start the car in conditions like we've had recently!

5: Bet the passenger side jets are bunged up. Clean them with a needle and make sure the joint under the bonnet between the two is intact. There's a plastic T-piece that sits right above where heat rises from the rear turbo and the heat can make it go brittle and leak.

Rear washer uses the same tank but a different pump - make sure this is working, then suspect a line blockage/split. The majority of the rear washer line is in the car so if you suspect a leak, look for wet carpets.
only the drivers side window washer works and the rear washer has given up (wiper is fine, no rubber on it but it moves just peachy!)

6: Mismatched tyres all round on these cars is potentially dangerous. It can really upset the handling and it also means the AYC diff will not be as effective. Change ASAP.

7: Very, very, very, very..... Um, very common this is. It's either caused by hard use, people who use the footbrake at traffic lights (rather than leaving the car in 'D' and putting on the handbrake) or stuck caliper pins. Standard discs and pads aren't mega expensive. Don't use copperslip on the brake pins though.

[elnevio]

No I don't have a lot of guns. Just enough...


Kieran is definitely the one to listen to .

As well as checking the ATF level on the dipstick (the level of which is hard to read anyway!), check the colour too. The dipstick is the white-handled one down between the battery and air intake. The fluid (unless it is the ultra-rare orange one from Mitsubishi (i.e. unlikely!!)) should be a nice ruby red colour, orange, or worse brown, means it's knackered and is doing the autobox no good.

[Nick Mann]

Not much to add, except to consider buying a set of Falkens, potentially from Camskill. Around £60-£65 a corner, depending on size, and the best tyre I have used in that price bracket by a long way. Others on here also use them and you hear many more good things about them than bad, also unlike most other tyres in the same price bracket. I tried to save an extra £10 a corner a couple of years ago and it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made!

Welcome to the club and enjoy your old dirty car!

[fuel]

the stalling at idle will be the idle stepper motor - it's a very common fault of fuel injected Mitsubishis from the 90s. Often leading up to the stalling the idle speed will surge and fluctuate between a number of revs. usually it's one pair of coils in the stepper motor which have failed, and the ECU is having a trouble of a time getting the stepper motor to do what it wants it to do.

[valleyforge1]

Welcome to the club.

As for the resizeing thingy try this, dead easy to use.

http://www.vso-software.fr/products/image_resizer/

[bradc]

Exactly what Kieran said. Make sure you change the ATF asap though!