The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

by **soc** » Fri May 16, 2003 11:47 am

I got my car back from the garage and they couldn't find anything wrong with the steering rack or any of the joints or the arb bushes. I've already replaced the drop links. They just cannot figure out what is knocking. They took everything apart and then put it all back together to make sure everything was nice and tight. Cerntainly the car feels "tighter" now - the steering is more direct and the knocking is almost gone... so I'm wondering has anyone ever had experience of the manifold downpipes knocking?

btw on aother note.... i watched my fiance drive the car up and down our road (wanted to see if it was sitting level) and I have to say the FTO is a seriously cool looking car! when you drive it you forget how good it looks on the move...... IMO it looks much better on the move than static and puts most other cars to shame.... no wonder so many bmw etc. drivers keep staring!!

by CJ » Fri May 16, 2003 1:08 pm

Sounds like you covered all of the options, Rory may be able to help out, I think he's on holidays though.

You're right about the car turning heads, it still amazes me how many people look and stare while you're sitting at lights. Its hard to find a car for the money that has a similar impact, thats why you should hold out for a GPX and knock the Golf idea on the head

Ciaran

by **soc** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:56 pm

CJ wrote:Sounds like you covered all of the options, Rory may be able to help out, I think he's on holidays though.

i'll have to give him a shout - do you have an email address?

[qoute]You're right about the car turning heads, it still amazes me how many people look and stare while you're sitting at lights. Its hard to find a car for the money that has a similar impact, thats why you should hold out for a GPX and knock the Golf idea on the head

Ciaran[/quote]

the gti idea is almost dead and buried. ever since i considered one i've seen a few on the roads and just thought.... boring! alfa gtv/156 is out cause of alfa's un-reliability so i'm staying on the hunt for a nice GPX!!

by **steelroe** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 4:48 pm

Shane,

I have been having a similar problem with my GPX since i bought it. Replaced all ARB links and bushes, checked all other bushings on front and rear. I presume you are getting the knock driving slowly over rough road. I have narrowed it down to either of two things.

1. Shocks are weak and the coil springs are knocking on the mount. Also the pillow mount bearing may be worn. I am in the process of ordering new springs and shocks all round anyway because they have 50K up and have served beyond expected.

2. (I hope its not this because expensive to replace). Lower wishbone ball joint or inner bushing may be worn. Very hard to know. On previous cars I have had this problem and the ball joint was the cause. Simple and cheap to replace on other cars as the joint can be bought seperately. On the FTO you have to purchase the entire wishbone. (€250 each approx)

I have to say that the knock on my car is getting worse and is extremely annoying, especially over rough road. I have checked everything else.

Afraid something like this is very hard to pinpoint. I will keep you posted on how I get on.

Regards,

Rory

by **soc** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:58 am

steelroe wrote:Shane,

I have been having a similar problem with my GPX since i bought it. Replaced all ARB links and bushes, checked all other bushings on front and rear. I presume you are getting the knock driving slowly over rough road.

Mine is kinda wierd - it happens fast or slow but only on very rutted roads, i.e. roads where the bumps/pot-holes etc, are sharp sudden ridges. And the knocking itself can be felt coming through the drivers footrest - I was convinced it was the exhaust knocking but Kwik Fit swear that is couldn't be that. Someone on smargroups suggested it might be the track rod end - I don't know a whole lot about the details of the various suspension components so I dunno if it could be that but I sure hope it aint a EUR250 jobbie - if that's the case I'll live with it as it hasn't gotten any worse in the 2 years I've had the car.

by **steelroe** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 3:38 pm

Shane,

I would agree with Kwik Fit. Banging exhaust would be easy to eliminate. I definitely reckon you have a suspension/steering component fault. You said the knocking is not getting any worse, so i would try the track rod ends (€40 for a pair, I have the part number if you wan't, same as galant. I changed mine earlier this year. Remember you have to re-align the front toe when completed. You have exactly the same type of knocking as me so start with the cheapest components and work from there, you may get lucky and cure it first go. My problem is gradually getting worse so I will strip out all the front suspension this weekend and check further.

A while back I had a knocking from the rear of the car, checked all of the bushings on the rear and everthing seemed fine, eventually I got so pissed off I stripped out every part of the suspension and found that a very slightly worn bushing insert was causing the problem. €13 Part from Mitsi solved the problem.

This may be no help but from past expierence this type of problem is hard to cure in one go. Even seasoned mechanics cannot be specific.

Regards,

Rory.

by **soc** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 4:46 pm

Cheers for all the info Rory. I'm not really clued in enough to strip down suspension parts (not to mention not having the tools) - things like droplings and track rod end I'll have a go at but that's about it really.

If you find out anything else this weekend it'd be cool if you could let me know.

Cheers
Shane

by **steelroe** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 4:50 pm

Shane

Got ever more pissed off after our conversation yesterday, so I went home last night put the car on axle stands and stripped out the entire drivers side suspension. Found the following.

Shock top mounting bearing is worn (badly), mount wobbles from side to side. This was definitely causing a lot of my problem. Also shock is weak.

Forget about buying shocks from Mitsi, crazy (you can buy a full set of four for the price of one Mitsi front.

Unfortunately you cannot replace the bearing, only the entire mount. Part number is MR131420, stamped on under side. Contacted two local Mitsi dealers in Kerry, part is available ex-stock and the price varied quite a lot between the two. Cheapest €72.93 each plus vat. I also found out from the guy that the mount is exactly the same as on a Colt or Lancer from 1996 on. I will check with my mate in the local factors to see if it is available. Probably order from mitsi anyway. This guy will also price the KYB shocks for me.

This type of problem is to be expected as bearings and shocks only have a certain life expectancy and this is greatly reduced by the wonderful roads in Ireland.

I will keep you posted on how I get on.

Rory

by CJ » Tue Jun 17, 2003 4:57 pm

Interesteing stuff Rory. I never did get around to replacing my own shocks
that time, but I reckon at least one of my rear top mounts is shot. By the way, how do you assertain if the shock is 'weak' or not, have you another method apart from the tried and tested approach of taking the jamjar down some potholed backroads?

Ciaran

by **soc** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:42 pm

steelroe wrote:Shane

Got ever more pissed off after our conversation yesterday, so I went home last night put the car on axle stands and stripped out the entire drivers side suspension.

sorry mate - didn't mean to cause you so much trouble

steelroe also wrote:Unfortunately you cannot replace the bearing, only the entire mount...............This guy will also price the KYB shocks for me.

Assuming that the mount is separate to the shocks/struts? So getting a replacement set of shocks won't do the job? mmmmm, it this is the case I'd be interested in some adjustable top mounts - i assume these would do the job.

cheers for the info

shane

by **steelroe** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:41 am

Replaced the front suspension mounts on Saturday and that annoying knock is gone. Part no is MR131420, cost me €180 for the two. I am going to replace the rear mounts and all 4 shocks over the next couple of weeks. Definetly the rear monuts are shot.

Hope this info helps.

Rory.

by **soc** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 11:56 am

steelroe wrote:Replaced the front suspension mounts on Saturday and that annoying knock is gone. Part no is MR131420, cost me €180 for the two. I am going to replace the rear mounts and all 4 shocks over the next couple of weeks. Definetly the rear monuts are shot.

Hope this info helps.

Rory.

How's this for amazing.... as I only had mudflaps on the drivers side of the car, and I prefer the car without them, I took them off - and that knocking I was getting is gone. Totally amazing. All I have now is the usual FTO dislike of potholes but no more knocking. How wierd is that??

Still gonna get those ARB's done cause I think some poly's would make the car that little bit tighter.

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