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All pictures and texts in this web page are the property of nomaallim.com. Any use of any part of those contents without the written consent of nomaallim.com shall be subject to legal procedures as per international and local laws in the concerned country. Using the name "nomaallim" or "nomaallim com" or "nomaallim.com" in the text describing the unauthorized copied content shall not constitute an exception and shall be sanctioned in accordance to the effective laws and proceedings.
DISCLAIMER:
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry out similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry out similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.
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BEFORE YOU START!
All below checks are to be carried out on a COLD engine.
All below checks are to be carried out on a COLD engine.
Engine identification on Mitsubishi Lancer EX
The engine identification number on Mitsubishi vehicles is generally found within the manufacturer's plate on the driver's door frame, 4B11 in this case, which is the MIVEC 2.0 16V engine.
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Checking motor oil level and quality on the Mitsubishi MIVEC engine
Check your oil level every 1,800 miles or 3,000Km.
Simply pull out the engine oil dipstick, wipe it with a dry tissue, then put it again in its sleeve and pull it out again to read the oil level, which should be between 3/4 and max.
The oil dipstick also allows you to appreciate the oil quality, just look well into its color under a good amount of light: the oil is still good as long as its color ranges between light brown - gold - brown, and is contaminated and burnt enough, thus needs change, if close to black while remaining transparent.
If your motor oil is thick opaque black, then your engine could have a major problem like worn piston rings, in which case other symptoms will appear.
If your motor oil on the dipstick is found with an off-white or beige thick paste on it, then you have a leaking head gasket and a mix of oil and coolant, other symptoms will then also appear in this case.
Simply pull out the engine oil dipstick, wipe it with a dry tissue, then put it again in its sleeve and pull it out again to read the oil level, which should be between 3/4 and max.
The oil dipstick also allows you to appreciate the oil quality, just look well into its color under a good amount of light: the oil is still good as long as its color ranges between light brown - gold - brown, and is contaminated and burnt enough, thus needs change, if close to black while remaining transparent.
If your motor oil is thick opaque black, then your engine could have a major problem like worn piston rings, in which case other symptoms will appear.
If your motor oil on the dipstick is found with an off-white or beige thick paste on it, then you have a leaking head gasket and a mix of oil and coolant, other symptoms will then also appear in this case.
Once you check the dipstick and oil level, check also the motor oil filling cap and what's underneath, for the presence of the thick white mayonnaise like paste described above, as it also signals a broken head gasket.
To note that the absence of the "mayonnaise" doesn't mean necessarily that your head gasket is good, its presence confirms the diagnostic but its absence doesn't.
To note that the absence of the "mayonnaise" doesn't mean necessarily that your head gasket is good, its presence confirms the diagnostic but its absence doesn't.
If you're noticing smoke coming out of your engine, then click on the below link to understand smoke interpretation and what it indicates about your engine condition:
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Looking for leaks on the Mitsubishi MIVEC engine
Like on any engine of any automaker, the Mitsubishi MIVEC engine could have with time oil leaks resulting from aged and worn seals or gaskets, but a particular attention must be given to its coolant circuit since its manifolds and housings are made of aluminum, not plastic. Aluminum is subject to corrosion and leaks could appear on connections between coolant hoses and aluminum housings, especially when the rubber also ages and becomes stiff and brittle.
Check for direct oil leaks from oil filter and oil change plug, which is however improbable if the oil change was carried out correctly.
Other oil leaks concern mainly the overhead cover (timing gear cover) which could leak from its corners as shown in the below pictures:
Other oil leaks concern mainly the overhead cover (timing gear cover) which could leak from its corners as shown in the below pictures:
A coolant leak was detected on this 4B11 engine due to the use of water instead of coolant by the vehicle's owner.
As a result, the aluminum corrosion was accelerated and the coolant started leaking as shown:
As a result, the aluminum corrosion was accelerated and the coolant started leaking as shown:
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Checking spark plugs and COPs
When removing your COPs and spark plugs, it is important to inspect them well; the COPs in order to diagnose or prevent misfires, and the spark plugs in order to determine the engine condition.
Both provide a precious indication per cylinder, thus the importance to keep them in the same order than the engine cylinders after removal.
Check the link further below on how to do the correct interpretation of your MIVEC engine condition based on the spark plugs appearance.
Both provide a precious indication per cylinder, thus the importance to keep them in the same order than the engine cylinders after removal.
Check the link further below on how to do the correct interpretation of your MIVEC engine condition based on the spark plugs appearance.
Engine inspection with endoscope
Once the spark plugs of your MIVEC engine are removed, do not miss the chance of introducing an inspection camera inside each of the spark plugs holes as this allows you to visually inspect the combustion chamber of each cylinder.
In particular, you will be looking for:
In particular, you will be looking for:
- water droplets (coolant in fact) indicating a broken head gasket
- carbon build-up indicating poor engine air intake maintenance, like a non-respect of the air filter replacement frequency, a defective injector, non-respect of motor oil replacement frequency, or simply very bad gasoline quality combined to an all-time city driving at low speeds and with frequent stops or traffic jams; it also can be a combination of the above factors, which is almost always the case!
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Checking the drive belt and
One of the most forgotten wear parts in a car is the drive belt!
Its inspection on transverse power trains (like it is the case of all MIVEC engines on all models) is not always easy but is possible with a strong torch light or by taking pictures with your phone.
Look well for cracks on the inner side of the belt, or simply replace if its has 60,000Km (35,000 miles) or more.
Click on the link further below to see how to replace the drive belt (shown on a Mazda 2)
Its inspection on transverse power trains (like it is the case of all MIVEC engines on all models) is not always easy but is possible with a strong torch light or by taking pictures with your phone.
Look well for cracks on the inner side of the belt, or simply replace if its has 60,000Km (35,000 miles) or more.
Click on the link further below to see how to replace the drive belt (shown on a Mazda 2)
When inspecting the drive belt of your Mitsubishi Lancer or any other Mitsubishi vehicle equipped with a hydraulic power steering, do not forget to check for leaks around the power steering fluid reservoir like show in this case.
Intervene if the leak gets worse and the power steering fluid level needs a weekly adjustment.
Intervene if the leak gets worse and the power steering fluid level needs a weekly adjustment.
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Reading DTCs
If you own a scanner, do not miss the opportunity to plug it in your Mitsubishi vehicle and read the eventual error codes that are stored in the MIVEC engine ECU or ECUs as there are two of them in some cases. For the Mitsubishi Lancer, the OBDII diagnostic socket is directly accessible underneath the dashboard on the driver's side, without the need to remove any panel.
