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Got Any MITSU Tips or Tricks To Share?


Starfighterpilot
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All of us that have been wrenching the Starquest's for a while have some tricks that we use :wink: :D :idea: 8) O:) when removing/installing, disassembling/reassembling the Starquest's to make it easier or to prevent a screw up. :cuss: ](*,) :-({|= #-o

 

 

Care to share it with the rest of us? :D

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*When removing the rear struts, I found that the strut is just a tick too long for it to slide all the way out from the rear hub carrier when the suspension is resting on it's own.

 

A simple piece of wood or a prybar wedged under the hub between it and the suspension arm with you foot on top of it does wonders for gaining that last inch of movement you need. :D

 

*When installing cylinder heads, put the intake and exhaust manifolds on first. They're a royal pain to install once the head is in the car. :roll:

 

*If you do install an intake manifold after the head has been bolted to the block, remove the a/c pump and you'll gain a lot more room to reach those lower studs. (Helps if your system wasn't charged like mine was)

 

*When installing an engine, remove one bolt from the passenger's side engine mount and rotate it up. Then drop the engine in, stab the driver's side mount and secure it loosely with the nut. Then rotate the passenger's side mount into place to stab it.

 

*On manual transmission cars without an engine, a piece of baling wire can be used to hang the bellhousing from the line clip attached to the firewall that holds the a/c, abs, and other various lines in place. Now the car can be rolled around without a jack holding the transmission up.

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DJ that is realy a good piece of info right there,, also take pics,, draw pics make diagrams etc , what ever you need to do to enable you to come back 1 yr later and put it all togather , of course we don't want to wait a yr,, but just incase you had to do it

 

i do this all the time and i have done most of this crap 100 times befor

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When pulling the timing cover, draw a diagram on a piece of cardboard and stick the bolts in it accordingly when removing.

 

I use zip-lock sandwich bags, a marker and post-its. As I a pull a part off, I label the post-it and put all the bolts for that part in a bag and zip it shut.

 

Both of these come in handy when you go to put stuff back together.

 

Stock the refrigerator with beer before hand..don't hit it heavy til the job is done :wink:

 

When you finish using a tool, put it back where it belongs, don't just lay it "somewhere".

 

Jimmy

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REPLACE EVERY BOLT YOU TURN. EVERY ONE.

 

I did it on my Galant, and I'm doing it on my Quest. All I did was repaint some panels and heat sheilds, and I switched out every bolt. The ones on my Galant were litteraly made out of marshmallows and i couldn't tell you how many I had to drill out. So if you get a bolt out clean the first time, REPLACE IT!

 

P.S. And it makes the engine pretty!

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Im going to have to go with dito on putting tools back when your done using them. When i did the head replacement on my laser i dont even know if i can count on fingers and toes how many sockets and screwdrivers i lost.

 

Also unless your rich a good rule is "if it aint broken it doesnt need fixin"

 

Dont smoke dope when you work on your car it makes it real hard to remeber where you put stuff. (clean for 8 months)

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Im going to have to go with dito on putting tools back when your done using them. When i did the head replacement on my laser i dont even know if i can count on fingers and toes how many sockets and screwdrivers i lost.

 

I hear that. I'm always putting my tools someplace that at the time I will think is the perfect place for it, but later can't find it. I'm bad about not putting tools back, but have a very good organization for when I do. Every tool has its place, my sockets are organized in my drawers- I used sheets of plywood, then got 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" wood dowels, drills of the same sizes and some wood glue. Now I have a socket rack where you can label which socket is what so you can grab the right size without looking at the socket. All the tools that hang on the walls have a special hanging place and then I traced around every tool, so if something's not there I know what tool it was. I go through a cycle tho....

 

I have about three of everything as far as basic tools go, so I usually do a project, dirty the garage and throw tools everywhere. Then another project gets worked on and everything gets worse. Eventually I will need a socket or wrench and I can't find any of the 3, and that is when I pull the cars out and spend half a day cleaning and finding everything, only to start the whole process as soon as I'm done. You'd think I'd learn :roll:

 

 

Dont smoke dope when you work on your car it makes it real hard to remeber where you put stuff. (clean for 8 months)

 

 

Congrats on your sobriety. I don't ever plan to stop, but I admire you as I can imagine it would be a hard thing. Anyway, I won't smoke dope whenever I do any mechanical or serious electrical work, but when I'm doing audio and bodywork/paint stuff I will. I've found it helps with my ability to feel the bodywork as I'm sanding, and also works wonders when I'm doing "creative" stuff like custom bodywork/audio stuff. Deffinately helps with the "vision" of a car- Its when I get some of my best design ideas.

 

 

 

My SQ tips- I'll start in the front and work my way back....

 

 

When removing the front bumper from the car, remove the grille and header panel. Then undo the airdam to fender bolts. Once those are off, there are only 4 main bolts to worry about to get the bumper off. 3 of them are easy to get at but one, not so much. Luckily the bad one to get is the rear passenger side bolt, and both rear bolts only have to be loosened. The front two bolts need to be removed all the way and then the whole asembly will slide out. The rear passenger side bolt is kinda hard to get at with all the IC pipes going thru that area, but if you have a swivel and/or knucle socket extension, its a piece of cake- especially since you just have to loosen it a few turns. For those just looking to swap out an airdam, its best to follow this too as the airdam is easier to remove when the bumper is off the car.

 

 

 

The outside door handles were a pain for me to remove the first time I did it- even broke one of them. The problem was that I could get the nuts off, but couldn't get the handle rod clip undone so I couldn't get the rod out. I have since heard of somone else who had the same problem when they went to sell the handles out of a parts car- they couldn't get them unhooked either so they took a set of air shears to get them out and ruined a perfectly good door. Anyway, after fussing and fighting with it I realized there is an access hole just for this purpose. Its an oblong looking hole/slot thing in the inner door frame pretty much right behind the key cylinder- this hole is often covered with silvery metal foil tape. Once you find that hole you get a fairly large flated screwdriver and you will have the proper angle to use the tip of the screwdriver to pop off the clip. Once the clip is off you can use the same screwdriver to kinda pry the rod where it hooks to the handle to pop it off. The location of the access hole gives you the perfect leverage.

 

 

If you have to remove the majority of the rear axles/suspension/diff., its way quicker to drop the whole assembly, but be advised that it is not easier to put in that way. You'll have to plan on putting it together one piece at a time.

 

 

Rear bumper- This one's pretty easy, but I've heard some people get stuck. There are two bolts in the trunk pan going down into it- one on each side- those are the easy ones. There are also two that screw up from the bottom, but those are also like the rear bolts of the front bumper in that they only have to be loosened.

 

 

 

I guess that is all for now.

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Well my sobriety is because my gf was like you choose me or dope. At the time the girl seemed smarter and now im sure i should have chose dope. It would have been cheaper then she is lol. Im sure when she passes i will start again cause i planned on never stoppin (plus i still have all the parifinalia{sp}).

 

Also at school we organize the sockets on the rails. I used to just throw sockets everywhere but now i find it better to know exactly where it is rather than searching through 100's of socket.

 

Check and see if bolts are torque to yield bolts. Its kinda a pain when you are trying to torque head bolts and they just wont tighten all the way.

 

If your car is hybernating or sitting for whatever reason (for a period of time) TAKE THE E BRAKE OFF. Itll help when you decide to move it or drive it again.

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I'll say it because it can't be said enough.....

 

Clean all of your fusible links, and grounds at least once a year. So many electrical gremlins are exorcised by this alone. Make sure to not forget the ground at the ECU.

 

Always use a Mitsubishi exhaust gasket, the slice-your-a** three layer metal job. While we're talking exhaust, replace the nuts every time you have to take it off. Those copper nuts are actually one time use.

 

When changing the framerail fuel filter, it's much easier to remove the fuel lines at the injection mixer, and at the junction just at the firewall, and pull the filter and hoses as an assembly. Just pay attention to how it goes when you reassemble it.

 

For '88-'89 model cars, restore the gloss to your A/C control panel by cleaning with NON-CHLORINATED brake cleaner.

 

I have found that changing thermostats every 3rd or 4th oil change is a wise move. Seems like they become compromised fairly quick.

 

Use only dealership PCV Valves, and oil filters.

 

Tim

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If you know the Starquest is going to sit for a while, invest in gas stabilizer, HEAT moisture absorber and fuel injector cleaner and put them in just before you do the final adding of gas. They help keeping moisture (rust) down and keeping the gas from turning into a gooey mess.

 

When you are going to shut down the engine, instead of turning the ignition switch off - goose her past 4k RPM's and have someone pull the secondary then the primary injector clips off as she is spinning up past 4K.

 

Then pull the plugs and have someone spin the engine while you spray "copious" amounts of WD-40 (or similar) into each of the plug holes. Re-install the plugs hand tight.

 

Disconnect the battery and put it on maintenance charge.

 

For what it's worth.

 

KEN

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