Riz // Newbie from Brisbane :)

[Guest]

Hey fellas .. I believe the dealership i'm looking at to get this Vr-4 is the same one where a member (or 2 ?) from here have already bought one from.

now to the car that I have my eyes set on , (which I'd like some professional views on as well) . is this..

is there anything in particular I should look out on the Vr-4s ? its a 5 speed tiptronic gearbox, 90,010kms.. theres (what they call) tappet noise (have a report from Option 1 to prove that its tappets only and bottom end is fine) .. it looks sweet and drives pretty decent (compared to the Aristo ) .. just felt a shudder effect on hard braking which they say is front rotors requiring machining..

Are tappets easy to fix ? and anything in particular that I should look out on these ? ALso when I start to accelerate there's a ticking sound that sorta builds and stays there in the background whenever I accelerate, (turbos dying or something?)

Cheers

 

[hawks]

Welcome to the site,

I don't want to dampen you spirits, but that car sounds like a basket case. There are plenty of good examples around, don't settle for something that you will regret buying later,

 

[bradc]

the tappet noise isn't an issue at all, and the shuddering when braking isn't much to worry about at all either.

The only real problem is the ticking when accelerating, does it happen if you are just driving along at a constant speed?

 

[Guest]

Hey cheers for the replies.

Yes I've got my suspicions as you can tell a few of the panels have had work, be this just scratches that they had worked or dints I'm not too sure, however the ticking picks up as I start to accelerate and is always there.

Any other places you can recommend I look for a vr-4? I've really got my eyes on it but fellas from NZ reckon that it's just a hefty bill waiting to happen any time , with blown turbos, weak auto transmission (going without indication) and very exxy to maintain (100,000kms service etc)

 

[snickells]

Welcome to the site Riz. I think you should listen to the guru (Bradc) and not touch it. Why not have a look at our importers section, I know Ben from J-Spec listed some fine examples just the other day.

Seeing as how annoying it is to get components here, you really want to look for a car that has minimal issues, and this one, well it sounds like a piece of crap! don't rush into anything, bide your time and wait for a nicer one, with lower K's too.

 

[leebutts]

Hi,

you're right, a couple of guys have bought from that yard (and seem happy with the cars they got), and a couple of others have had "interesting" dealings with the salesmen there. Sounds like this one might be one to leave.

cheers

Lee

 

[VR-04-TT]

The ticking could be a leak in the exhaust primaries. As weird as it sounds, I had this ticking noise in my magna when it had the original motor and I was trialling a set of headers made by Liverpool Exhaust.

End result was they were so badly made they they had cracks all over them (one you could even fit a paperclip in!) and when I got someone else to make me headers instead, it was gone. Tje ticking in that case sped up with rpms.

Test the car again and see if it does it in neutral.

Oh also, the tappets are fine...it's a very common mitsu thing. The hole for the oil to pass through in the lash adjusters is about 1mm, so any thick oil will have a really hard time getting through. You can get 3mm ones which solve the problem, or try a thinner oil, such as 10w-40 or even 5w. I had the lifter tick scenario in the DOHC 6G72, I used magnatech 10w40 and it was sweet after that.

The dealer is spot on with the brake shudder...just get THEM to get the rotors machined and pads changed before you buy it.

 

[bradc]

As I said in the thread on CVR4, I've NEVER heard of a VR-4 turbo blowing up. EVER.

The auto transmissions are finicky however, and if it doesn't look as if the car has been treated really well then I would stay away from it.

imho if I was in aussie, I wouldn't get an auto. They are too picky and very expensive to fix and there aren't spare transmissions readily available. Stick with a car that has been maintained well and you will be fine.

 

[snickells]

mho if I was in aussie, I wouldn't get an auto. They are too picky and very expensive to fix and there aren't spare transmissions readily available.

Brad, just so you know, lots of us are getting auto's! Perhaps you should start buying them up in NZ and shipping them over here?

 

[bradc]

I know, and I hope that none of you have any serious problems, just make sure you do a full (10 litre) flush with either SPIII or Amsoil ATF and ideally a transmission cooler as well and you should be fine.

 

[Guest]

yeah, unfortunately for me .. Galant didnt work out.. called up a few places for repairs etc and one of the guys mentioned here (Neal, quoted from EvolutionOZ) and was advised to avoid .. being on a uni budget student doesnt help much lol... i.e parts availability , mechanics to work on it and the transmission plus Mitsu Aus, not being too helpful in terms of parts etc. So I've settled for an Aristo with a 2jzgte instead .. Same place I bought my Levin at and they have a fair bit of parts for it.. so guess I can't join in the Vr-4 bandwagon, as much as I wanted to

 

[snickells]

Oh well, these things happen. Good luck with your Aristo.

 

[Harves]

Yeah that car sounded to need to much work done on it. Better off with the Astrio in this case

 

[Guest]

Or you should have found another Galant oh well you can't win them all, i do like the aristo's