BlackIce comes to the aid of TR owners, helping to solve a ‘known’ issue:

After mods to the induction system and exhaust system in my TR, I noticed that a few of the minor niggling habits of the engine and gearbox had gotten worse. These included:

• Over rich mixture smell from exhaust
• Rough idling
• Stalling often especially when hot
• Failed A/C motor (wouldn’t idle properly with A/C turned on , after hard braking or with steering on locked )
• Shuddering from front when accelerating out of corners
• Sluggish performance down in the rev range
• Annoying flat spots between 700 & 1000 RPM and 2700 & 2900RPM

Running Premium Unleaded in the car was a stop gate measure that stopped the stalling and rough idle problems, but not the others. I had come to blame a failed A/C motor and need of auto-gearbox service for the other problems, and engine timing for the flatspots. When I took the car in to have the timing checked the cause of all these problems was found (three kilometers out of town when the engine gave up the ghost on a demo run). The problem? A corroded distributor plug!

If you look down at the distributor (the black thing with the spark plug leads coming out of it) on top is cables going into a black plug. The plug also has a silver spring clip so its easy to identify. On the back of the plug is a rubber seal covering it and the cables running into it. This rubber seal is there to prevent water or dirt getting into the plug and fouling the connectors. Problem is 10 years of engine heat, water, oil and all sorts of corrosives had eaten the rubber away, letting water, dirt and engine bay muck get into the plug. The terminals then corroded and caused breaks in contact stopping the electricity flow. This explained why in certain situations (such as cornering) the engine would shudder. The Mitsubishi mechanic told me that the four wires going in controlled ignition and information feeds for the engine computer. The connection for ignition triggering was intermittent (causing the shudders, rough idle, etc), while the connection for the A/C cable was broken (hence it failed). The timing problems, I was told, were also most likely caused by the bad connection.

To test if the plug is playing up, with the engine idling grab the cables going into the plug close to it and jiggle them around. If the engine splutters, stalls or the idle speed changes, you probably have a problem with a corroded plug. If the rubber protector is perished or has holes in it, you should also clean the plug.

Cleaning the plug:

What you’ll need:

• Mentholated spirits
• Old toothbrush
• Small flat jeweller’s screwdriver
• Fine grit emery board (or sand paper)

What to do:

1. Push the spring clip towards the plug
2. Pull the plug off the distributor
3. Dip the toothbrush in metho and scrub the inside of the plug and the distributor side
4. With the emery board, GENTLY scrub the sides of the tounges in the distributor side plug. You only want to knock off any left over muck that the toothbrush missed so don’t go overboard
5. With the small flat jeweller’s screwdriver, gently scrape the inside edges of the grooves.
6. You should also use the small screwdriver to bend the sides of the grooves close together, so that they firmly contact the tongues when re-attached to the distributor.
7. Make sure all the metho has dried out completely (electricity + metho = fire, so be double sure), then clip the plug back onto the distributor. It will make a clicking noise when in place.

Now kick the car over and check the plug again. If it still plays up there are some possible reasons:

• The tongue/groove connection isn’t secure (pop the plug off and make sure the gap is closed)
• The corrosion has eaten away too much metal and the plug needs replacing
• The cables need replacing

Please be careful doing this. If you are too rough with the connectors in the plug or on the distributor you can break them, resulting in costly repairs (the plug is $60 ! $40 trade price). And ensure the metho is dry before plugging back in or starting the engine (remember, fire bad). Please see a qualified mechanic if problems persist.

I do not accept responsibility for any damage you to do yourself or your car after reading these tips. Please use your common sense when tinkering with your vehicle. If in doubt, consult a certified mechanic.

This one’s nice and easy, but a few tips don’t hurt - might save you from tearing off a few layers of paint…

What You Need:

• A scraper (plastic!!!) - if you have to use a knife, be very, very, careful (go buy something plastic!)
• A tin of Prepsol/Prepwash - available from auto shops and good paint shops - check with the manufacturer that the brand is ok to use on a painted surface (as it is actually designed as a pre-paint solution).
• Rags (x2, clean)
• Some new badges (if you intend to ‘rebadge’)

How To:

Very carefully, use the scraper to pull up the edges of the badges - don’t just pull them up from one side - do a little from the left, a little from the right, from the top, from the bottom, and so on. Go slow - you don’t want to pull the paint off, just the goo. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the goo off - it’s stubborn shit.

You can also use fishing line to cut through the goo (remember cutting clay in art class?) - thanks to Troy for that tip.

A hairdryer or hot glue gun (careful!) can be used to soften the goo before you attack it. Adding some lubricant (ie: RP7) to your scraper will also aid in the removal process - thanks to Murray for those tips.

Once you have the badges off, there will be some residual goo. This is where the Prepsol/Prepwash comes in.

Dab the solution on a rag (not too much) - then rub it into the goo. Some paint will show on the rag - don’t worry. Every now and then, use the clean rag to wipe off the solution (you don’t want it on there too long) - remember to use all of the rag - otherwise you’ll just be rubbing the solution back onto the car (dummy!).

Do one badge mark at a time - rub off the goo, keep wiping it clean, and once you’re finished, hose the badge area down - then move to the next badge.

Once you’re done, take the opportunity to wash your car - three reasons for this:

1. It probably needs a clean anyway
2. You can give the debadged area a final wash down
3. It may need a cut-n-polish - to buff back the paint a little. The area under your badges hasn’t seen the light in a while - so it’s probably a slightly different colour to the rest of the car (nothing a good polish won’t fix).

Rebadging:

Your car will look great with a ‘clean bum’ - it’s suprising how uncluttered it will look without the badges. However, you may want to add a few exotic badges (like a Diamante badge if you’re from oz, or a Magna badge if you’re from the US).

A few commonsense tips:

How do I stick the new badges on? Easy - good badges come with their own adhesive - you just peel off the plastic and whack them on.

Be careful!!! that goo sticks good - make sure you have the spot marked out well (use a ruler if you have to) - nothing worse than sticking a badge on, taking two steps backward, and realising that it’s on a 45 degree angle (doh!). I suggest you use double sided tape (or something similar) for a ‘test run’ - make sure you’re happy with how it’s going to look.

Too many badges is ‘rice’

Have fun, and don’t get that goo on your fingers!

I do not accept responsibility for any damage you to do yourself or your car after reading these tips. Please use your common sense when tinkering with your vehicle. If in doubt, consult a certified mechanic.

These are an excellent product and look fantastic - no wonder all the new Magna Sports models come with coloured dials!

Do yourself a favour and get a set. They are inexpensive and easy to fit (we did it in about an hour).

How to get them: Click here, send an email to Geof at Emtech - he will quote costs (freight, etc) and will send you a set ASAP - wherever you are in the world.

MENTION THIS SITE TO GET A 5% DISCOUNT!

This article refers to TE-TF Magna and same era Diamante (late ‘96-’00) - check with Geof for other vehicles.

How to fit them: Brian E. sent me an email ‘how to’ for the dials - and it served me very well. I will include it here as it is quite thorough (thanks Brian!):

First, though, make sure you know the exact location of your rev (tacho) needle when idling and temperature gauge position - this makes life easier when recalibrating.

“To remove the instrument panel you first remove the panels above and below the steering column (3 screws).The meter bezel ( that’s what they call the panel around the instrument pod ) has just 2 screws. It has push in clips at the bottom and above it has plastic tab that has its own slot.

Using a screw driver slip it between the top of the meter bezel and the dash. Enough so that you can get your hand over it and pull it forward.

Once you have pulled it free at the top you can then pull the bottom section free (this will require some muscle as they are metal clips holding it in - be careful though). It now should be free, then there are a couple of plugs then to remove from the back.

It’s very easy to get to the gauges - just don’t use undue force - everything will come out without much hassle.

Once free the dash will be in plain view, four screws will take care of the dash removal.

Pull the dash forward and to the right to remove the plug from the back left corner. At this time drop the steering column down to give that little more room to pull the dash out. First remember how much fuel that you had in your car to help with needle replacement when putting it all back together later (to make things easier - fill up your car before you start).

Once removed take it to your work bench and using a screw driver carefully press down on taps that hold the plastic covers covering the gauges. There is also 2 more screws to remove also.

Using a fork it is time to lever off the needles. Take care when removing needles - but they will come off easily.

Place the new dials on top of the old ones. Remove the needle stops and place them in there new positions.

Once this is done place the black instrument cover back on and screw it back on. No needles at this time as we are now going to replace the instrument panel back into the car and screw it back in after replacing the connector plug.

Remember to write down all the original settings before you start!

First step
Start the car and being it up to temperature - replace the temp needle once the normal temperature has been reached.

Second step
Place the fuel level needle back into position at the level it was before it was removed.

Third step
Speedo and Tach needle replacement.

This is the way that I have done it - with the ignition on replace the needle with the needle shaft sitting on the needle stops. I found that you place the needles on without the ignition on they will jump up and hold position above the needle stops. Do not fully press on the needles for the Speedo and tach quite yet. Go for a drive and check and see that everything is reading right, you may not have it exactly the same but you should be so damn close. If you are happy gently press the needle down.

Once this is done the plastic cover then can be replaced without removing the dash again.Then replacing all the other parts back in there position in the reverse of the way they were removed.”

Thanks again to Brian. I would add one other bit of advice - as a final calibration test - get someone to drive ahead of you and signal when they are cruising at 60km/h (or another designated speed) - that way you can be absolutely sure everything’s back to normal.

It’s not as daunting as it sounds. The installation is very straight forward.

I do not accept responsibility for any damage you to do yourself or your car after reading these tips. Please use your common sense when tinkering with your vehicle. If in doubt, consult a certified mechanic.

When this article was originally written, it described how to fit a generic pod air filter to your Magna/Diamante. Mark Thomas of RPW wrote in, saying that fitting a generic filter was not a very good idea:

The Magna air mass sensor registers the amount of air coming into the motor and tells the computer to adjust the fuel curve accordingly richer or leaner. The MAS unit registers the air via ultrasonic waves that pass through the honeycombed section. There is also a section surrounding the honeycombe section which bypasses the honeycombe section which is not measured air.

The fitment of a traditional rampod cone / round shaped filter causes a swirling action of air which in any other application is beneficial to the air flow of the vehicle. Unfortunately this swirling action promotes a bad running problem on 90% of Mitsubishi’s.

In order for the air to be passed evenly between the honeycombed section of the MAS unit and the bypass sections the air must come through straight with no tumbling action. When it is being tumbled or swirled it tends to bypass the honecombe section and go through the path of no resistance - the bypass section which the computer then tells the car it is getting less air and in most circumstances the car runs lean or can sometimes run rich. The end result though is that it will eventually damage the engine.

K&N released a specific K&N Rampod filter to suit the Mitsubishi MAS sensor units which has a specific adapter plate that is not round but is Oval and is the same shape as the MAS unit. Secondly the filter is a very large and flat / oval shaped filter that smoothes the air out and promotes a more accurate MAS sensor system. This is 100% guaranteed to not cause problems with the MAS and does not harm emission controls.

If K&N had of thought a cone shaped filter would have done the job they would not have made a specific filter for this application that is not suitable for any other model vehicle.”

David Thomas

And indeed, the new filter, while altering the power distribution of the car, was not making the car run at it’s normal efficiency. While there was a stronger midrange surge and a slightly higher peak power change, the idling had deteriorated and the car was showing signs of running rich.

Original Filter:
 

New Filter:
 

After fitting the filter supplied by RPW the change was immediate - the idling had improved and the power flow was much better - a more steady curve. There was still a loss in low-end power (as happens with this sort of modification) but there was even more guts in the mod.

There are two real plusses about this kit - the first is obvious - as David explains, this is a filter specifically tailored for this sort of engine. The other is the adaptor - it’s a much better unit, which is much more air tight. The filter also looks a lot better - it is bigger, more purposeful looking and the top is finished in chrome.

(I think this one might be a few decibels louder than the last one…. and it does have a better bark to it). MkII - Thanks to RPW

How to fit: It’s very easy really. The stock airbox can be removed in no time - it’s a simple matter of unclipping it and removing a very screws. The adaptor then bolts into the place of the airbox. Slide the filter over the adaptor hose, tighten the zip tie - and you’re done. Well, not quite. The RPW kit comes with a universal bracket to hold the filter stationary (as it isn’t connected to the air intake - it will flop around and probably break something, or itself). We’re still making do with our trusty bit of tin - ’til we get around to making something a little more aesthetically pleasing.

You may note that I have left the front half of the airbox on. This was done for two reasons - 1. to use it as a heat shield, to deflect some of the hot air rising from the manifold, and 2. as I’d like to hope that the intake is still sucking in some cool air.

Some sort of alternate cold air induction system will be installed - possibly a combination of bonnet vents (flowing air into the filter, and out from the radiator area) and a pipe from the front of the car. I would even like to integrate this into the design of the front bar - if it can be done without ‘cheapening’ the looks of the car.

I have read a lot of discussion about the virtues of the original airbox and panel filter setup. I personally have my doubts about the stock cold air intake - as it draws air from above a hot radiator, under a very well sealed bonnet. If anyone has done some airflow testing I would love to see it.

What else? You could move the battery (to the boot for example) and run an inlet pipe to the area behind the headlight. Then add a heat shield (made of perspex or similar), and perhaps some cold air induction (from above, below, or both). The area behind the headlight should be good for air flow - it is where many other factory and aftermarket intakes draw their air. Once again, your only problem is finding an air flow sensor adaptor (or adapting the original - if possible) and not having an intake resonator. Intake resonators are something of an enigma (which I am trying to learn more about) - but seem to be better left ‘on’ (power may be lost when they are blocked or removed). Apparently some companies are now making intake pipes which include resonators.

What to expect from this modification: I didn’t have my car dynoed before and after, so I can’t give a precise kw/hp increase. In any case the effectiveness of the filter also has a lot to do with other mods - from air intake to exhaust to fuel modifications and so on. It would vary as to what your car has had done to it already. A change in engine management (aftermarket computer) is also required to get the best out of all your modifications - as they will change fuel/air delivery to suit.

You should expect to find at least a handful of extra kw/hp on the dyno chart.

David claims that the kits have been dyno proven to increase power by 5hp (at the wheels) - with no other mods (7-8hp with other mods).

There was a definite power increase (nothing huge), though, as I have noted, there was a definite change in power distribution - ie: when the power arrived. Air filters, like most ‘air’ modifications, rob from the ‘low’ and give to the ‘mid to high’. There is now a little less power at the beginning of the power curve (when you first put the foot down) and a strong ‘power band’ has developed (kicking in at around 3500rpm). I should add - this is in conjunction with a cat-back 2.5″ system (top muffler removed, hi-flo muffler at the rear).

Noise: louder, but hard for me to judge (as the noise of my exhaust would drown out a lot of it anyway!). With the bonnet up you can hear it - the filter is very ’slurpy’, and roars when a hefty dose of throttle is applied. The overall noise of the car now includes a hiss. Don’t expect the degree of intake roar you hear in many other cars - the Magna/Diamante has superior sound deadening under the bonnet so it cuts a lot out (if you’re really stupid you can remove this). Manual cars may notice it more - as higher revs can be sustained.

Please send me your input - I am more than happy to add to this article. Articles on other tech tips are especially welcomed.

I do not accept responsibility for any damage you to do yourself or your car after reading these tips. Please use your common sense when tinkering with your vehicle. If in doubt, consult a certified mechanic.