[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by kirsn

lancer_rit, since you mentioned that you intend to get some of the mechanicals sorted out at Sai Colorium... just checking, do they work on the mechanicals too, alongwith paint jobs?

Off-topic: Maybe there should be a Mitsubishi Lancer Owners meetup in Bangalore. I really could do with a bit of information / experiences exchange.

Yes, they do - degree of expertise I cannot fully comment on. For Lancer, they had a supervisor and a technician who where in Mitsubishi A.S.S. earlier. I oversaw everything standing by the car.

My car has now done 128k km. Still haven't managed to do the front suspension, and all round bush/link kit changes due to lack of time. Ride isn't bad, but down a couple of notches from when it had done 100k km.

[lancer_rit]

Well, the front suspension strut change, and front and rear suspension bush replacement and overhaul was long pending - partly also as I had difficulty sourcing the KYB gas struts.
The front suspension was still soldiering on - LH strut boot was cracked though, and ride and handling (though not bad) was down noticeably, of late. Car is 13+ years old now and at 143k+ km, is still enjoyable to drive.

Finally, managed to buy the Gabriel front struts for the Lancer ... Seems Gabriel also makes gas charged struts these days for the Lancer. Here is a link to their product sheet.
http://www.gabrielindia.com/uploaded...price-list.pdf

Unlike in the document, Gabriel only provides the struts, not the struts with the strut bush kit. This i sourced from JC Road, along with other front suspension and rear suspension bush kit.
Cost of parts bought so far:
* Gabriel front struts : Rs. 6643 for pair (incl VAT)
* Pair of front strut bush kit : Rs. 440
* Front suspension bush kit : Rs. 765
* Rear suspension bush kit : Rs. 1950

Now need to find a day or two, to give the car over (i am thinking nearby Bosh garage near Hoodi circle in Whitefield) and get the work done. Probably, need to supervise it - and also find out if some other parts like tie-rod ends etc also need replacement.

[kirsn]

Wondering if you have tried out the Vijayachandra Mitsubishi service station (http://vijayachandramotors.in/servicecenter.html)? ... My naive hope is that it may be easier to source original parts through them, and get things fitted out to the correct tolerances. Supervision is definitely required.

In any case, thanks for sharing the details of the suspension work. This is something I'll keep in mind, when it comes to my 12+ year old Lancer.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by kirsn

Wondering if you have tried out the Vijayachandra Mitsubishi service station (http://vijayachandramotors.in/servicecenter.html)? ... My naive hope is that it may be easier to source original parts through them, and get things fitted out to the correct tolerances. Supervision is definitely required.

I went once to the Vijaychandra Banerghatta road A.S.S. last December. My car was making a 'kich-kich' noise at low engine RPM in 1st gear at times, and I was going for a 1000km trip to Kerala. Their mechanics were away at a car rally, but the Supervisor indicated to me that the AC/steering pulley has play, and so both the pulley and belt (is worn out) needs to be changed. They didn't have the pulley in stock and no mechanic to do anything that day.
So, I went to SVR as I was worried more about the steering than the AC function (while driving in hills and forests). Told them the complaint of noise, and maybe AC/steering pulley acting up. After half hour, they told me its fixed and I was puzzled ? Seems they just tightened the pulley belt, and the play was gone. I was expecting a replacement required (of the belt if not the pulley itself), and they reaffirmed belt is fine. I checked the play myself with AC on, and engine idling, and problem was resolved. Touch wood, no sounds or issues in 6 months.

Moral of the story: Query and verify what the A.S.S. tells you in first go. Maybe it was a one-off, and Vijaychandra would have also told me the same when their mechanic really worked on it, but who knows ? Definitely not confidence inspiring!

[lancer_rit]

Finally, dropped the car at Sri Raghavendra motors, Bosch workshop near Hoodi, Bangalore. The clutch was also juddering/shivering a fair bit in 1st gear at low rpms, and on slopes - got pronounced since last 1k or 2k km, its still the original Ceekay clutch in my car!
So, work being done:
a) Suspension overhaul
- Front strut pair (Gabriel OE) - Rs. 6643/-
- Front strut kit pair - Rs. 443/-
- Steering Ball joint pair - Rs. 1800/- (low cost option - Rs.1200/-)
- Tie Rod End pair - Rs. 1600/- (low cost option - Rs. 800/-)
- Steering Boot pair - Rs. 480/-
- Front lower arm pair -Rs. 4800/- (low cost option - Rs. 3600/-)
- Rear Strut kit (not struts which I replaced @90k km) -Rs. 700/-
- Rear bush kit - Rs. 1950/-
- Cross-member Gear Box, bush kit (4) - Rs. 320/-
b) Clutch overhaul
- Exedy Japan OE Clutch/Pressure plate kit - Rs. 2950/-
- Spring Release Bearing - Rs. 650/-
- Gearbox mount - ~ Rs. 2000/- (still to get the exact cost)

All parts bought from Manu Automobiles JC Road except for Gabriel Struts.
Today, while removing Gearbox, the Gearbox mount was declared end of life, so workshop procured it from JC Road.
Total cost of parts till now - Rs. 21,836 + approx Rs. 2k (GB mount)

Hoping that work will be completed tomorrow and the car back to its smooth and great handling ways again!

[abeerbagul]

Can you post the contact number of Manu Automobiles here?
The number of shops which stock Mitsubishi spares is vanishingly small in India.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

Can you post the contact number of Manu Automobiles here?
The number of shops which stock Mitsubishi spares is vanishingly small in India.

Well Manu Automobiles seems to stock a large variety of spares for all car brands.
They are pretty busy as I found - I suggest to visit in person. Located at 3rd cross off jc road.
Phone :080 4131 1898, 080 4131 1897
They have different sections for different brands grouped together. I interacted with Narayan who was knowledgeable and helpful.

[lancer_rit]

Got the car back on Sunday with
a) Clutch overhaul, gear oil change and clutch bleeding
b) Front suspension overhaul
c) Rear suspension overhaul

The Rear bush kit rubber bushes for the link arm/trailing arm were _not_ exact fit for the lancer - the rubber edges protruded a bit more/thicker than stock around the metal central band. So, when we went for test drives, there was a 'kich-kich' noise coming from the suspension on speed breakers and on undulations/potholes. Had to change the smaller link bushes on both sides back to the original 13 year ones - noise seems to have gone.

Lesson learnt - just replace the link kits etc - high risk of bush replacements not working out completely... - may have to do that some months later, let's see.

Clutch and gear shifting working butter smooth - judder is more or less gone (i guess i have to unlearn nursing the old clutch etc).

Replaced the 38k run Potenza MY02 tyres with Yokohama Earth1 195/60R15 - 2 had developed manufacturing defects on the road surface part of the tyres. Not impressed with the quality, and robustness. With the old worn out suspension, and poor tyre combo, car was pulling to the left etc.

Now the alignment seems spot on, and no vibrations at highway speeds in a short test run. Car feels younger by many years :-) Need to observe for next 500-1000km ...

[lancer_gypsy]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Got the car back on Sunday with
a) Clutch overhaul, gear oil change and clutch bleeding
b) Front suspension overhaul
c) Rear suspension overhaul

Hi lancer_rit,

This is a very informative thread, thank you very much for sharing over so many detailed posts! I will need this information dearly as I get to ironing out the niggles in my Lancer one by one.

Currently am working on resolving two issues, one with air conditioner and another with play in the steering rake. I've posted these in two different related threads as follows.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4081455
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4070852

Given your experience with maintaining your Lancer, it would be really helpful if you could share some tips on these issues.

Thanks in advance!

[Manjit24x7]

Hi, does anyone have the Parts Replacement Schedule chart Kms/Age wise and a Workshop service Manual for the Lancer.