The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

Hi There,

I'm Chris, a 28yr old Dutchie. I seek my wisdom overseas because there is only a tiny group of FTO owners in my country. Bought this FTO GPX V6 MIVEC 1995 4 weeks ago and pretty much saved it from the graveyard. The engine was hesitating and running badly. A flat tire, rusty holes that had to be welded, lamps weren't working, oils leaks and many other small issues. The previous owner was planning to take it apart and sell the parts but when I ran into this beauty I just had to save it! I've played and known this car since the early Gran Turismo games and I needed something to do and play with this summer. The decision was easy and I bought it for a few bucks

What has to be fixed: bold = DONE

MOT
Replace head gaskets
Replace all other gaskets
Replace timing belt + rolls
Replace the other 2 belts
Replace oil filter
Replace engine oil
Replace transmission oil
Replace fuel filter
Replace temp sensor
Replace battery
Replace oil pressure sensor
Replace spark plugs with iridium variant
Re-fill aircon
Find leak in cooling system and refill cooling liquid
Make it go straight again (when I let go of the steering wheel it dived to the left)
Check and service brakes
Weld and fix the rusty hole near the right rear tire
Fix electrical lamp/lights system. Nothing but the emergency lights were working
Replace ALL light bulbs on the car
Check electronics, does everything work?
Replace two front tires
Anti rust treatment in trunk
Re-spray trunk
Anti rust treatment front arms
Anti rust treatment rear arms
Fix small damages with paint stick (car)
Fix small damages with paint stick (rims)
Add 3D carbon sticker on roof ( cheap fix for paint letting loose )
Clean interior ( smelled like wet dogs )
Polish head lamps
Clean under the bonnet
Polish the car itself

At this point she's running and driving like a smooth angel but there's something that is eating me alive: after all this work the MIVEC still isn't kicking in Any tips there would be greatly appreciated!

Anyway, this is her now in my garage!

Lovely motor and a lot done to it!!
Best of luck with it!

Looking good. I've got one exactly like it. I've also got a red on, a black one, a silver one and a white one. They all fit in my hand

But seriously, it's the best colour for an FTO. I've got the icelle blue one too.

Welcome to the forum, hats off to you for rescuing your FTO from the big scrap heap in the sky.

Check this post regarding the MIVEC engagment issues => viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10056

Yes love the color as well!Does anyone know where I can get some the paint stick? Camskill doesn't have the icelle blue in stock

I've read a lot of MIVEC issue topics but haven't found the issue yet.

When I rev the car in N (when warmed up) it goes all the way up to 9000 but in drive or tiptronic it cuts just over 6000 RPM..

But I have a mission, I WILL find and fix the issue

Kace, the most common cause (as you alluded to) is a faulty alternator. Have you disconnected the earth to battery with the engine running to see if the engine cuts out?

CJ

CJ found this in the other topic. I've measured the charging abilities on the battery side and it performed very well.

Still i'm very curious what you mean here. Do i just run the car in idle and remove the - pole from the battery?

And if the engine stops running the alternator of faulty? Please inform.

xchristox wrote: Do i just run the car in idle and remove the - pole from the battery?

And if the engine stops running the alternator of faulty? Please inform.

Basially, yes. Loosen the negative clamp from the battery, start the car and then remove the clamp - if the engine cuts out then the alternator is not providing sufficient charge.

CJ wrote:

xchristox wrote: Do i just run the car in idle and remove the - pole from the battery?

And if the engine stops running the alternator of faulty? Please inform.

Basially, yes. Loosen the negative clamp from the battery, start the car and then remove the clamp - if the engine cuts out then the alternator is not providing sufficient charge.

Thanks. Will have a try tonight and share here!

Welcome! I miss my FTO so it's nice to see another being saved.

If I come by the icelle paint, I will send it to you. My paint work is fresh, so the icelle paint is useless to me.

Did the alternator test last night, it passed the test. When disconnecting the negative pole the car kept running smooth. Also measured the charging abilities once more, between 14 and 17 volts so it did very well.

Next thing to check is the 'clack' from the oil valve but I need more info. What exactly do I connect to the battery, and where can I find it? Can anyone help me with some sort of visual explanation?

I've tried so many things and I'm pretty much down to the oil valve, oil pressure or knock sensor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

You can have a perfectly working alternator like I had and the mivec will still never activate,
my alternator had a faulty diode pack internally

Diagnostics showed code 62 and 64!

Codes explained here:
http://www.ftowa.com/html/workshop/workshopart07.html

So looks it's the alternator after all + the Intake air control valve position sensor

But not sure about the sensor, is this the right one?
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m3b0s9p63718/ ... _1997_DE3A

can't find any other air sensors on camskill but need to know if this is the right one. Can anyone advise? Because I need to get me the MIVEC ASAP!

Any update on your problems and progress?