524,000km Mitsubishi Mirage engine teardown
2024 ж. 11 Мам.
109 835 Рет қаралды
Thissss…is an inside look at an engine from the car that everybody loves to hate: the Mitsubishi Mirage. 1.2L 3 cylinder...It only made 74hp when new.
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Here's a video of the last Mirage engine I tore down: 450,000km Mitsubishi Mirage engine teardown
• 450,000km Mitsubishi M...
0:00 how it sounded before being removed
1:19 flywheel
2:12 pickup tube
2:50 water pump
3:51 timing cover
4:04 timing chain tensioner extension comparison
5:30 top of cylinder head
5:55 camshafts
7:03 head removed
8:30 pistons
11:04 cylinders
12:20 bearings
13:34 bottom of
The Mirage isn't popular but the people who do own them swear by them. Surprisingly, not just urban folks but more rural people who drive far and need an economical, reliable car.
I had a 2018 and was original owner. Transmission started over heating around 40k miles and kept over heating till I traded it in at 102k miles. I changed the fluid at the dealer every 40k miles. They even replaced components and it was still over heating and going into limp mode if you drove it on the highway for more than an hour. 78hp is dangerous too. I always felt uneasy going on the highway as it takes ages to get from 0 to 70. The only up side to this car is mpg and insurance cost. Outside of that, it's trash even fully equipped.
I'm a Mitsu tech of 15 years and you wouldn't believe how many Mitsu dealers don't even know about the elusive cooler filters on this and all Mitsu CVT's. In the warmer weather on long trips, they start dropping like flies. Replace the cooler filter and they're good to go a few more miles. Depends on how aggressive the driver is, but the filters usually start blocking up anywhere from 30K miles to 70K. I replace my personal one every 40K. Mitsu reps always get angry when dealers replace a CVT unit under warranty and when disassembling the core back at the plant they find nothing wrong but a plugged cooler filter. @@jesuscarrillo4344
@@jesuscarrillo4344was it an automatic?
I used to have to argue with the parts desk at the dealer cause they refused to look up a filter and said they don't have one(or two). I didn't realise it was that common for them to clog up.
That's exactly why I bought one. Had to drive a looong distance to work. Has been a super dependable car.
Im absolutely impressed. Driving a car 500k is hard in itself. Motor looks almost new. Honestly. That is called regular service. Pretty simple logic.
But it's also a hit in the face to all the people that are like: 3-cylinder cars can't be reliable it's to much strain on the engine.. Bla bla bla. I live in Germany and the Mirage (funnily enough they call them Space Star over here) is a pretty popular car. Now the SUV/Crossover trend is doing it's thing on the streets here as well, but there still lots of people who like the Mirge/Space Star for it's fuel efficiency and just size. We don't have such big streets so a small subcompact car is always a blessing. Not much extras if you go for the "Basis"-trim ~14.650$ and you get yourself a brand new car with a 5 year warranty (they don't offer the 100.000miles/10 year warranty over here).
The secret to the longevity is that it doesn't make enough power to hurt itself.
@@chriskonte1909well if you want an unreliable 3 cilinder car, try a Peugeot 208 or a Citroen with a 3 cilinder 1.2 liter PURETECH , with the infamous wet distribution belt. Those engines will make you cry.
i have one Mitsubishi and one KIA. Mitsubishi has 230,000 miles on it. zero issue the KIA blew up engine at 50,000 miles.
@@POVwithRC Would be nice if it was that easy.... low specific power makes it easier to design a reliable engine, but some engines with comparable power have pretty horrible reliability.
It's fun when you realize you don't need an engine stand because you can lift the engine up. Cool little engine!
This honestly is a testament to treating your machines well and the benefit of adhering to factory service intervals
To facto y 10k oil change for new cars ? No thanks
There are some truly bad engines, but most with care and no abuse will last a long time. Most of the "bad" stuff is the cheap stuff and most people who buy cheap stuff do it because they can't afford better which often includes regular maintenance etc.. So they are not cared for and have problems which relate to maintenance often.
The factory service interval on my E46 is 15,000 miles I change my oil every 7000 miles it’s on 258k miles now 2.2 petrol
@@dexietyy7922 my e46 is at 290k miles, 10k interval with OE filter/synthetic
Mitsubishi never makes bad and unhealthy cars. Even though this situation almost bankrupts it, it does not give up its traditions. Those who do not like it should not forget that they bought a car according to their money. Good maintenance gives positive results for every car, but engineering quality determines the total quality. This is a nice video, thank you. 35 As someone who has only used Mitsubishi models for years, you showed me how right I was. In my country, Turkey, vehicles are very expensive and we take care of them.
I am amazed by how clean this engine is inside, goes to show what regular oil changes can do.
Word
Und auch immer schön seine Kühlwassertemperatur hatte von 90° Celsius.
@@Stratos1988Excel
I have a mirage with 480,000km and a checrolet spark 2013 with 502,000km both are taxis here in mexico, absolutely reliable just regular mantenaince on both.
Wow! Are they 5spds or cvt? I think the sparks handle better but are basically a rebadged Daewoo?.
All of the cheap small cars: Nissan Micra (Canada only), Honda Fit, Nissan Versa/Versa Note, Chevy Spark are all 5-speed manual or CVT. The Ford Fiesta's 5-speed manual alternative is infamous.
@@Billycowcrap spark 5 speed manual, the mirage os a cvt.
@@jessebrook1688if you are talking about the first and 2nd gen fit, pretty sure they had a regular automatic transmission, not a cvt
@@jessebrook1688I’m pretty sure the Micra had a conventional automagic, not a cvt. At least not the ones sold in Canada. The spark and versa used the same Jatco cvt.
Here in Australia, the 1.5L 4 cylinder Mirage(3 door) and Lancers have revered status as bulletproof runabouts. I bought one from a wrecking yard - it just needed a hood - and with some brakes, injector o-rings and roll bar bushings we got it registered for a new driver. He, naturally, ran up the arse of someone and bought something else but still mentions how reliable and simple to work on the Mitsi was.
Everybody wants a 4 door truck or a SUV here then complains when gas goes up sometimes.
yep my first car was a Mirage with the 1.5 4G15 and i cant think of any car ive owned since that has been as painless maintiance and repairs wise as that simple little N/A eco "shitbox" Mitsubishi was. stick oil and filters in it every 10,000km and it would run forever i reckon as seen in this video.
My neighbour has a manual 5 speed mirage, he drives it like a taxi, just services it when it's needed and it just keeps on going.
Arse 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
R.I.P. Mirage, may you be a part of someone's beer can, one day. He did not fight long, but he fought well, fearlessly, and with great fervor.
I worked at a tiny mitsu dealer and i always enjoyed these cars for how fun and cheap and simple they were, especially with the stick shift. Good, BASIC transportation. especially if you get 300k+
the cleanest 325k mile engine i've ever seen.no wonder it went 325k.obviously well maintained.
Oil change every 12k, car is 2015 and driven 500k. Calculating those, owner changed oils averagely 4-5 times a year. Meanwhile i change them once a year, no matter of how much ive driven
could you imagine anyone asking for more out of a $12,000 to $15,000 dollar car !!! back in the day this is what made honda toyota and nissan famous.
For as hard as those engines have to work, there isn't much wear other than the piston skirts. Very impresive.
I remember when Doug DeMuro made a video on this car simply dissing it acting like its a completely throwaway car that would only last like 100k miles 😂 maintenance does a lot for an engine!
That video convinced a lot of people to buy one 😂
@@turdpailsandtrailsReviews like yours are what led me to buy my 2019 G4 5 speed a year and a half ago. I think the difference is terminology. Is the Mirage a *nice* car? Hell no. But is it a *good* car? All the personal/consumer reviews say that they are. Simple, easy to maintain, no major design/mechanical issues, excellent mpgs. They're just slow. I think in 15-20 years these will have a cult following like the Geo Metro since they are similar in design philosophy. Let the haters hate.
Who the fuck takes Doug DeMuro serious?🤣 He has no clue about Cars whatsoever...
I( remember this vidio. what oes DeMuro know about anything?
Yeah and he has a big nose.... CONSOOM EXPENSIVE CARS
That "Red Stuff" is probably anerobic sealer that squeezed out during assembly. Pretty harmless. Impressive little engines these things are!
Typical bulletproof Mitsubishi engineering, run and last forever
Did. Im pretty sure a lot of the mitsi stuff coming out from about now is renault. I swear by mitsi up to this point.
Lucky for now the only rebrand that came to Australia was a Renault van, it failed in the ANCAP crash testing and was withdrawn, we wont get any Renaults because they dont seem to be built in RHD@@jimbooo1365
Looks new
Especially when inflation adjusted, this is easily one of the best price:distance ratio cars I've ever heard of. Wow.
This is an example of a properly mantained engine ❤
I imagine if you replaced the pistons and bearings you could get another 200K miles. Amazing engine.
Yes, if you revise the engine every 50,000 miles it is an "amazing" engines because it amazes people you haven't junked it earlier. 😜
These cars are totaled easily, body panels are expensive but their engines are cheap.
@@worldhello1234 because we should take your word over that of the mechanic who made this video? who has provided actual proof to back up the claim that 200k miles is easily expected from this little 3 cylinder?
To be fair, replacing pistons and bearings would get you another 200k out of pretty much any engine.
@@nodak81 I know what you’re saying, but plenty of engines with this kind of mileage, revving high as these do because there’s only 3 cylinders, would have a lot more problems. Camshaft, valves, seals, timing chain guides and tensioners, main bearings on the rods, etc would all have more trouble. Especially when you can buy decent used replacement engines for less than 1000 bucks, this is an incredible value.
I’ve owned 5 Mitsubishi’s now and never really had a issue with any of them. Currently have a ASX/Outlander sport with 220k on it and still no issues
I wish I kept my mirage, most reliable car I've ever owned. Just catches wind like a sail, so not too great for daily interstate travel.
Yeah that’s one of the downsides of a 2000lb car🤣. It’s doable but can get old after a while.
I haven't noticed that much in my mirage, BUT I'm comparing it to my Samurai and that thing is just a rolling box kite.
@@turdpailsandtrails What do you mean? It's like torque steer but it can surprise you! It makes commuting more exciting.
how is it on the freeway? besides catching wind, rain or trucks would seem a worry
I'm more impressed by someone driving a little matchbox car close to 60.000km a year than the condition of the engine lol. That's quite a human achievement. 😅
And without cruise control. 🙃
@@turdpailsandtrails how's the noise on highway?
@space_cowboy007 I don't drive them too often on the highway, I have one as a daily and maintain a fleet of them at work. It's bearable to me but not to a lot of other people I guess. My Mirage is much quieter on the highway than a my Dodge diesel and a V6 Delica.
it's actually far less of a chore to drive a small car. It's lighter so it does not throw you around when driving though bumps. It's smaller so it easily fits everywhere and You always have a margin. It's easier to go in and out, especially in crowded parking lots. Tires are cheap so if you feel they are getting old you just change them without needing a loan. Windows are big and the hood is small so visibility is great.
@@piotrcurious1131 Driving 60.000km a year continuosly is far *_more_* of a chore in a small car because then you have to do long distance runs often. It's not just skipping about between shops in the city that will make all that in a year.
I miss my '18 Mirage ES manual...reliable, simple and dependable...fun to drive and fantastic gas mileage...loved that little car 😢❤
Mitsubishi has been around a very long time remember the “zero”? Plus your maintenance regime is top notch. I’ve been in engines with 70 thousand miles that looked a hundred times worse. Great job😊
Looks like a perfectly good and reliable engine, i'm impressed.
My 2015 (almost 9 years old) Mirage CVT has 80.000 miles on it and I had zero defects. Zero oil consumption (yes, it is possible!). I only drive below 60 mph (= speed limit here) on highways. 60 mpg on average. What was replaced? 16 wipers, 2 front brakes (discs and pads), 4 tyres, oil every 10.000 miles, 1 oil change for CVT, a dynamo belt (not a defect, just screaming at cold start), 2 times an alignment (and due again, it is a weak point apparently), a top off of the airco refrigerant, and a small leakage at the roof (just some kit applied). No rust visible, no rattles anywhere. As new.
By the look of this, I’m going to die before my mirage. I bought mine in 2014 at 30. Now I’m 40 and the car doesn’t have 90k. So another 40 years of duty for her I guess 😅
it will definitely rust through before engine gives any sort of problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You've got a family heirloom!
Lol yeah the little Mitsu is definitely gonna give you a run for your money. I remember back in the early 90’s my mom bought a Toyota Corolla that she swore she would keep until it died. She said she would NOT buy another car until the Corolla was done. In 2005 she flat out give the Corolla away with 250,000 miles on it. Me being the cheeky bastard that I am was like “mom I thought you were gonna keep it till it died? 🤣” She says “no I got tired of waiting for that thing to die. No one should have to drive a 1990 Corolla for as long as I’ve been driving that car” lol. She bought a brand new 2005 Camry SE that she drives till this day.
@@Soh90 Toyotas are awesome just because of how many owners they can go through without becoming a piece of shit. A lot of cars are designed with only the first owner's experience in mind, but Toyota's interiors, drive trains, and chassis', are all engineered to go through several owners while still feeling as good as the day they rolled off the dealership lot, provided they are properly maintained. Many other brands, even when well maintained mechanically, have disintegrating seats around where the thigh meets the chair, melting steering wheels, and a rut worn in the carpet or floor mat right where you pivot your foot on its heel from the brake to the gas, but very few Toyotas, even extremely high mileage ones, I've seen these kinds of traditional wear patterns in. For contrast, my place of work has a Nissan Frontier with less than 30,000 miles, which is used as a company vehicle. There is a literal HOLE in the carpet where the driver rests their foot that is deep enough it catches the heel of your shoe if you try to adjust the angle of your foot to the pedal.
I bought a 2019 G4 5 speed a year and a half ago. I bought it with only 10,600 miles on it, now it has 20,500. At ~8k miles/year, I think mine will last a long time.
Can instantly tell it was well maintained when that valve cover comes off. Not even golden brown varnish built up. Impressive! Simple little engine. Not highly stressed. Should go a long while with proper maintenance. Really not much wrong inside there. Looks like only real issue is pistons and hurting cylinders. If designed for durability, not fuel economy, would last even longer. I'd expect some brands to go much further with the same maintenance. Of course, other brands will be dead long before this.
Wow, that little mitsy engine still looks in phenomenal shape. 👍👍
Kudos to your maintenance regime! That's cleaner than some 80,000km engines I've seen!
Thank you for making these awesome videos!! ❤❤
Incredible. So clean! Shows you what good oil at regular intervals can do!
I can see one of the reason why it lasted so long. The engine block isn’t open deck, it’s closed deck. Those are less prone to warping.
I'm impressed by this little engine
Amazing how clean the inside of an engine is when it DOESN’T have direct fuel injection. Most pistons get skirt wear on one side. The firing event happens more on one side of the piston than the other, causing the piston to tilt slightly and forcing it harder in to the cylinder wall on one side.
Cool teardown, thanks for sharing - the greater cylinder wear on the firewall side is normal - all piston engines have a major thrust side caused by the piston pressing harder on one cylinder wall side during the power stroke, which causes more wear - the opposite side is the minor thrust side
not only is it normal, engineers often design around it. the pistons in the 2zr-fae (the newest 2zr variant used in the 2020 corolla and a 1.8L NA four banger) for example are offset either 0.8cm or 0.8mm from the crankshaft. this is done to improve fuel economy by reducing force and thus friction between the pistons and the major thrust side, but as a side effect it makes the engine a bit more durable.
@@doctorunicorn5550Indeed - offset piston pins/cranks aren't new though - Toyota introduced an offset crank in the 1NZ-FE 25 yrs ago - many engines don't use offset to balance power, noise, and low friction - while offsetting towards the major thrust side lowers piston slap, noise, and friction it costs mechanical advantage and power, which is why some race engines have offset towards the minor thrust side instead - offset also creates greater imbalance
Keep doing the videos the way you are doing them, technical and informative.,well done, new subscribtion added. A great little engine indeed !
I'm still in shock at how amazing those rod bearings look after all that time. Good design + good maintenance gets you that I guess.
The fact that this economy car lived to half a million kilometers is an achievement.
Nice video, thanks for sharing. It would be nice to see the engine assembled and working again.
I currently work for Mitsubishi, well a dealer. I work on these all the time and they are brilliant little cars. I personally own a 23 outlander sport SE 4wd. We had a lady that drives for Uber and Lyft as her occupation, she had a 2019 outlander sport and she traded it in with a little over 300k miles. The car ran perfect and had no issues. She did all of her maintenance. If I had the spare money I would have given her cash and used it as a beater lol. It makes me happy to see all the love for the Mirage because a lot of the time all i hear are negative things, people act like its a luxury car when in reality its a cheap economy car meant for reliable transportation. I'm a bigger guy so I would have gotten one but obviously its a bit too small for me so i went with the Outlander sport. I will always support Mitsubishi but a heads up to anyone wanting or thinking about getting a new Mitsubishi, do it sooner rather than later if you want an actual Mitsubishi not some Nissan/Renault/Mitsubishi hybrid monstrosity. most of the new models coming out (like the current generation DG Outlander (2022+) are going to be alliance vehicles with Nissan powertrains or some mix of them all.
Stumbled randomly upon this video. I am not a car guy, I don't even own one but I really enjoyed it !! Learnt a bunch of stuff :)) ! Pretty cool content !
Oil changes, Oil changes, Oil changes! If there's one thing to be anal about with your cars maintenance its regular oil changes. The manual for my car says 15,000 KM But I don't really like the idea of going that far between changes so I do 8,000 instead. I don't drive all that far so it only ends up being twice a year I change the oil.
The Mirage is an amazing car. Is it comfy, fast, or fancy? No, obviously not. But it is (or at least was) dirt cheap, ultra reliable, and if something did break you either didn't care or it was cheap to fix.
Regular oil changes make a big difference. What a concept!
Yes but as more people use synthetic oil 500,000+ miles won't be uncommon.
@@BeingMe23not likely
And coolant changes.
You call it one of the worst and yet it’s still running halfway decent after more miles than most engines see. Haters are silly people 😂😂
If you're talking about the tumbnail, I was making a funny. A couple people didn't get it though. 🤣😂
My 1999 mirage has 410k miles and still running great never had to rebuild anything . Original engine and trans.
Awesome for its price! What a tough engine! Thanks for sharing.
I bought a 2017 G4 with a 5 speed brand new, and the only issue I've had with it is having to replace the oil pan because the ham-fisted teenager doing oil changes at the dealer damaged mine. The entire car seems to be built so that a normal person can take it all the way apart with socket wrenches.
my daily driver is an 87 lancer.its 37 yrs old and runs like a swiss watch,only been apart once to replace head gasket and timing belt,nothing else,except water pump,valves and cam were fine,also replaced valve seals..great car
Excellent, informative video. Thanks Fummins!
For the bearings that's not a spec of dirt , that's a spot caused by acids accumulating in the engine oil due to it not getting above 100 degrees C (212 F) , the acids remain there and eats the bearing surface , it's caused by short drives and not letting the oil warm up so that it can evaporate those acids and vent them through the crankcase breather
The scored piston skirts also tell of short trips in cold, or being driven a bit too hard before warmed up. The majority of the mileage must have been highway overall though!
I have a Peugeot 206 1.9D from 2007 since new, it has 880.000km and still rocking like new, with 10w40 Shell semisynthetic oil changed every 8000-9000km with oil filter, the manufacturer recommends oil changes every 15.000km, around 2/3 of the km were done in highway, foot to the floor at 140kph, its top speed at 4k RPMs, since I work on the city I mostly use this car to do 800km every weekend to visit my family, and not a single problem inside the engine. The only reason my engine was opened at 560.000km was to fix oil leaks changing all the seals (that i will need to do it again next year, is starting to leak again). In all this time it had gone through 3 alternators, 10 distribution kits and coolant changes (every 80.000km), in the fist distribution kit change i also deleted the EGR, that ruins your engine when it gets old, 3 sets of coolant hoses just to be safe and don't risk and overheat due to a hose breaking, steering pump rebuild due to bearing noise at 630.000km, one injection pump rebuild due to diesel leaks at 530.000km, a set of new injectors in this same service, 18 diesel solenoids (yeah those are a piece of junk, I always take all the tools to change it with me, you never know when it will die). Conclusion: if you want your engine to last a large amount of km, just change your oil every half the time your manufacturer recommends and nothing will wear inside of the engine, manufacturers want you to buy new cars, so "recommended" oil change intervals are way distended, so your engine doesn't last long, all the owners of this same car that I know had to rebuild their engines with pistons and crack bearings worn out between 300.000-450.000km, I have done over twice that without problems, just changing the oil with good quality one more frequently, and still don't have a single noise in the engine.
I’m really happy to see that these cars can go the distance. It’s great that such affordable cars like this still exist.
Not any more. Discontinued.
Send this to Doug Demuro. I agree that the car is basic and cheap, but the amount of kilometres gained and the condition of the engine is pretty remarkable.
Demuro have the Mirage a poor review
This is amazing. I never knew that 3 cyl can go this much
I worked at the dealership for a while and we did replace these engines from time to time simply due to piston slap. You could simply replace the pistons and go for a while longer but at the dealer it wasnt worth the labor for the customers so we replaced the engines instead Interesting teardown!
I had a 2014 with 30,000miles that I took in and had the engine replaced under recall or warranty because of this same noise. It seems to be pretty hit or miss. We have a 2015 here with almost 350,000miles/560,000km and it still runs great.
@turdpailsandtrails since the skirts aren't quite long enough, it causes excessive slap and over time, that noise If all the wear components like the block and bearings are still in usable shape it might be worth changing the pistons to get at least another 200k km out of the chassis
@@thom_lapatate4842 These cars don't have a chassis. You'll still need to replace worn out suspension components and tires etc.
You are right but everything is pretty cheap on these including the 14 inch tires. Point is it could last a lot longer with love and with the milage this one has its hard to say someone didn't love that thing
That's very impressive. These Japanese cars are just bricks, ive just clocked 300 000 km in my 2009 honda accord. The engine has never been opened
Damn, it's pristine inside. When you popped that valve cover off I couldn't believe it. I'm used to (and it's been a long time) pulling apart greasy carbureted engines that have been rather neglected and leak oil everywhere. This was like something under a jewelry counter. Old smogger carb'd junk was alwasy so incredibly coked and and just plain done. This could go back together with just new pistons and the bores cleaned up. Thanks to your frequent maintenance.
Thanks for the video 👍🏻 the more wear on one side is normal as pistons lean on that side in the combustion stroke, a quick question Was it burning oil? And if so , how much?
Goes to show that maintenance is key. Thank you Sir for the video.
Not only that, but shows how well engine is designed. Try to push too much torque or power and it dies faster
Anything Mitsubishi that was designed and built from the mid 90's on is builtproof if the servicing is kept up. Late G series engines, and all of B, K and J series are as good as any Toyota in terms of reliability.
My friend bought one in 2017 n still driving it, it never had problems, what a car 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Pistons & Cylinders are done. Everything else looks okay-ish for 500k+ km
This is the car many high-school and college students drive here. This is what they can afford. Not fancy but it works.
That's 3x's the mileage of a Ford focus, Ford Fiesta, all little Chevy cars, etc. Mitsubishi doesn't have many dealers because their vehicles never need dealer servicing. Just oil, brakes, air filters, battery and gas.
Mitsubishi doesn't have many dealers cause people aren't buying them, not because their cars don't need dealer service.
@@13bfcThey are everywhere up here in Maine.
And everyone always hated on them for not making the Evo and 3000GT but even when those were in production, they were niche vehicles. I’m glad they’re making good, reliable products.
@@joefell7845 Never see them in AZ.
This clearly demonstrates how frequent oil changes extend the life of any engine, even cheap little 3-cylinder mills like this one. Real clean inside and good bearings.
Could you make a video about your recommendation for maintaining the mirage. Intervals and what to check. Thanks in advance
The cleanest engine tear down ever
I'm driving a 2012 Mitsubishi Colt 5dr with a 3 cyl. 75HP petrol engine. The car has been rock solid so far (Mitsubishi engines from this time are said to be indestructible when taken proper care of and not pushed into the red line). The only non-minor repairs needed until now were a new exhaust pipe and AC compressor. I plan on using the car until it breaks down. Only 85K km so far (I drive 4000-5000km/yr), yearly service/oil change, and the car is parked in a garage, so it's going to last me a very long time :D
i'm starting to see more and more of those, looked after ones too
Great video. Do you know the oil change interval for both cars? I am very curious and that information will help me. I always liked these little Mitsubishi's. Subscribed.
Amazing video, thank you it was very intresting.
Still better than a Hyundai Theta engine 😂
Yeap
A bicycle is better than a Kia/Hyundai product.
The older Hyundai Exels engine was suprisingly durable. There was Turbo kit that sold that could be pretty much bolt on pretty much ready to go, so they could even handle a little boost
Is that what went onto the Scoupe? Those engines are basically Mitsubishis, and the good Mitsubishis, too: 4G15s are durable engines.
@@jessebrook1688 It was the Sirius (licensed 4G15) and Alpha. Theta appeared in 2004.
Obviously a well serviced engine, Kudos
If anything this person got every single penny out of this car!
Dude that engine is TINY I could probably pick it up with my hands
They’re light. 112lbs without manifolds or accessories.
Wow, you really took good care of it. I expected to see the usual brown film covering the valve train that I see on cars with many fewer miles.
Man if those pistons had cooling jets this motor would last a lifetime
OMG! The camshafts look almost brand new! 🤩👍 Does the engine have port injection? How about having a look if the valves are dirty and probably causing the noise?
this is really interesting. thanks for the video. just wondering, would you rebuild this engine and put it back in the mirage and clock up a load more miles ?
you can really tell that the metal parts more exposed to higher temperatures have a thin layer of brown colored coat on them: piston heads and crankshaft body all the carbon deposits and micro metal powder from abrasion have been constantly removed from the inside of the engine with every single oil change very good job 👍
I ran a Diesel version of this engine in a Smart 4-2 & the engine was the only system in that car that was bullet proof, so when I moved on to a newer car all I did was look for a new car with the same block as the 4-2.....voila, the Mirage! If the 4-2's running gear/transmission was as reliable as the Mirage's I would still be driving it.
The Smart Fortwo diesel is a Mercedes OM660. It is only the second-generation petrol onwards that run the Mitsubishi 3B21 - entirely different block to the 3A90/3A92 in the Mirage.
they had carbon fiber structure for crash saftey on one fo them, mercedes was saying theirs is just as safe os their s class they crashed it into. if it could keep its low end height up in the moment of a crash sort of like audi a 8 suspension precrash geomtry change , itd maybe be the saftest car ever too . but thats like 30k for a compact 4 seater whos competition is around 15k-20k
great video, thanks, but what about transmission? how many transmission have you gone through? and what other troubles with that car? such as starter, water pump, etc. please let us know. thanks
I gather you maintain a fleet of these vehicles...? If so, you do a very good job doing it. I tip my hat to you.
i think one reason a lot of smaller engines last a long time compared with many larger engines with everything else being equal (like quality of bearings, quality of assembly,for instance), is that they hold more crankcase oil, in proportion to their size/displacement than the typical larger engine does. for example a ford 302 or small block chevrolet holds 5 quarts i think with the filter (this is the older models i am talking about, like the 60's and 70's ones, i don't know much about the later versions), yet for example i have a factory service manual for the toyota 20R engine and it says the oil capacity is 3.9 quarts for the pickup, and 4.1 for the corona, if i remember right. so , you have a 2.2 liter engine as opposed to a 5 or 5.7 liter engine, less than half the displacement , but it has much more than half of the amount of crankcase oil to circulate and lube everything. half as many pistons, half as many rings, the same amount of main bearings as most V-8's but they are probably smaller/less surface on the toyota, less camshaft bearings, and half as many camshaft lobes and half as many rod bearings. surely the oil stays cleaner in the smaller engine with everything else being the same such as amount of blowby the engine has (which contaminates the oil faster), and the frequency of oil and filter changes
Mainly, it comes down to less moving parts and low horsepower. Horsepower and torque increase wear on the engine and transmission.
The smallest enginees are substantially oil cooled, although none has an external oil cooler.
Dingle ball and put new pistons and rings with the same wrist pins and run it. See what happens. I bet it runs like a top, this engine is clean as hell
Probably does not need new pistons since the rings were not carboned . The low tension rings don't wear the block much when the rings are not stuck.
That's amazing but that kind of mileage!!! Good maintenance and good engineering❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉
That noise could be the timing chain tensioner failing or the variable valve timing actuator if it is not piston slap or lower end bearing noise which from the looks of this engine it doesn't appear to have much wear despite having high mileage looks perfectly rebuildable to me
It was clearly Vvti failing as timing chain was not that streched that Vvti could not compesate.
Don't know why everybody hated the Mirage. It's a good car. Exceptional value and good reliability. Of course you need to change the oil regularly which was the case with this engine
Value, yes. Reliability likely average. Safety minimal. They are good basic transportation for the lowest price. You might call them a minimum viable product.
@@802Garage Reliability is definetly above everything that European and American car brands build. Don't try to tell me that the Chevy Equinox is as reliable. Probably average for Japanese cars which is exceptional in my opinion. A/C, automatic transmission, radio, electric windows, central locking etc. definetly make it more than a minimum viable product. Of course that car is not made to eat miles on the highway.
@@no-damn-alias I guess my standard is usually based on Japanese cars, hahaha. There are some American engines I'd trust for several hundred thousand miles, but rarely the rest of the vehicle. Euro there are some engines that can go forever, often with a bit more expensive expected maintenance, and at least the chassis are well made. I pretty much stick with Japanese brands though and personally own something like 10 cars with 200-350k miles on them. Mostly Subaru, despite what internet memes will tell you. Family has owned tens of 200,000+ mile Subarus in the last couple decades. The reason the Mirage is reliably largely has to do with how little there is to go wrong and how small and light it is. That's why I say likely average reliability. It kinda depends on what lens you're using. Are the individual components actually reliable and well made, or is the car just simple and not hard on its parts? Two sides of the same coin I guess. Definitely cheap to own all said and done! Mitsubish tends to fight for last place in Japanese reliability with Nissan. At least the Mirage was really cheap. Overall, I agree with what you're saying.
@@802Garage well American engines tend to have little power for their size and to not be the most economical. Well Subaru is another horse. Mostly reliable but again in my eyes not very fuel efficient. That might be not as important over in the US where fuel is very cheap. Yes some Euro cars are fine and worthwile buying in Europe as parts are very very cheap for them over here and readily available. Problem are luxury euro cars where a lot of stuff is just a pain to change or maintain
In "Europe" it was there handling was not on par with vw up. peg 106 ect
I sat in a mirage last year and I never wanted to get out of it. That was in a dealership that had range rovers and corvettes and high-end toyotas
The interior is better than most budget cars of the past. The outside is not so stylish, but this car is good for maxing the 401K. Then, you can any vehicle you want.
Unless the oil pressure was low from bearing wear, the noise was most likely just a needed valve lash adjustment with different shims in the lifter buckets. Lots of life was still in both of these engines.
I heard these engines can get piston slap, so it might have been that. I hope he properly diagnosed the engine before replacing it or scrapped the car.
Piston slap, cylinder scoring and wear. It was running but power and efficiency would be reduced. Valve lash would make noise but it's the easiest thing to check before even removing the engine.
@@ianrobertson3419 The thrust side piston skirt wear shown in the video is mild, especially considering the miles. He said that it was running and drove fine and was in daily use, just that it was noisy for the last year or so. The bucket shim valve lash is a very robust design and often never needs adjustment for the life of the vehicle - but at this mileage would not be an unexpected service. I was especially impressed with how nice the camshafts looked.
@@Thomas63r2 the pistons are worn on the skirts and scored the cylinder. The rings are no doubt worn too. When those things happen it'll still run but it will make noise and produce less power. A simple compression check would show how much.
@@ianrobertson3419 I've seen so much worse on engines with a fraction of the mileage compared to this engine, He said it was running and driving just fine, I don't believe there were any oil consumption issues and they had already been driving it for ~ a year with it being noisier. I think its likely that because of the mileage that after the engine was noisier the decision was made to be on the hunt for a low mileage salvage engine as being a less expensive fix than an overhaul. They just kept driving it until the right engine became available.
idk if anyone wrote this in the comments yet, but the red stuff in the oil pickup screen is most likely some sort of paint they use in the engine assemlby line to mark off bolt that already have been tightened. lots of engine have this, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow
Last generation mirage in early 2000 was only a 2dour coupe was a fun to drivre some one at work had one an loved it
Great video, thanks
Got one for a longer term rental, i carry 60 lbs of equipment in my car and im 230lbs. It was super slow but sipped fuel and ran like a watch. I dailied a kia Rio which was way faster but engine codes galore at the time. decided to split the different with a honda fit. 200k miles and it runs like new
Amazing condition
I have a manual trans Mirage and I maintain it very well and drive it like a rally car at times. Best little car I have ever owned. Very reliable and easy on fuel. Never once has it let me down. Far more reliable than some more expensive vehicles that I have owned in the past and currently own as well. Note sure what the stuff is on the oil pickup tube. I am wondering if its glue pieces from oil filters. Some filters have glue holding them together. I think the clatter sound is from the crown of the piston tapping the side of the block and the piston goes up and down. Let its clatter on and keep driving. When it grenades itself on my car, I will take my snow brush and plate off the car, leave it in the intersection blocking traffic and take an Uber for the rest of the way home. LOL I enjoyed your tear down. I have always wondered what the inside of one of these engines look like. Plate C
My personal beater 2014 Mirage is the lowest cost of ownership car I've owned. I bought it used a couple years ago with around 300k for $1000 and a wonky cvt. Drove it 6 month then spun a rod bearing! I was thinking of scraping it but found a used engine and cvt with under 10k kms for $1200 from LKQ. It should be good til it rots away or someone crashes into me. I don't have theft insurance on it cause I can't even program a key for it with my scan tool like I can with other mfg so chances are low that it's getting stolen. And it's a Mirage so that itself is a theft deterrent. The 5spds You might be right about the oil filter glue. There's nothing in these engines that's red like that. I've only used oem mitsu and wix filters in these cars. And I think that noise is piston slap too. It could have kept going a lot longer, it just sounded like a diesel and nobody wanted to drive it cause they were afraid it was going to blow up.
I like that the engine has a timing chain. The timing belt on my chevy aveo snapped and I've been trying to fix it for a year.
Yeah, I have a Chevy sonic in the shop with a broken timing belt. Swapping the engine then will fix the old one and keep it as a spare if it’s not too mangled. Likely needs a bunch of valves replaced at least.
if you do regular oil changes it will last forever. I drive a 2015 Toyota Tacoma 4 cyl, currently has 280k miles. Still runs as good as original, also have a BMW 325i from 1989, 472k Km so far
Looks well maintained. The skirts is a shame but well, 524.000 kms, it is really cool. That for a 3 cylinder and on top a gasoline one is impressive to say the least
Simple cars like this are great. Nothing fancy to break. As long as the engine is reliable, the car goes forever and is cheap to keep going. I don't think people realize how getting such a simple car can reduce their expenses and hassles so much and they're all convinced that they need to tick the 'yes' box to as many features that they can afford.
There are plenty things to go wrong other than the engine!