L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Does your Mitsubishi L300 make a strange noise? Need wheel alignment specs?
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Mazdax605
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Mazdax605 »

I did the same thing you are doing (sans the awesome picture diary) on my 1990 US Spec L300 gas model. Only I had to do it twice because the new head I got had the wrong length valves in it that wouldn't close so it wasn't making any compression. The LHD 2.4 litre gas model maybe seemed a lot more simple as it didn't have a turbo, and the hinged engine cover didn't need to be removed, just swung way up. Also had the extra room by Mitsubishi allowing you to unbolt the drivers seat, and the floor it was mounted to to gain more access. Excellent job with including all of these pictures! Keep up the good work. I hope I never have do what you're doing, but chances are I will at some point.
Chris

89 P25W L300 Aero GLX
74 Mazda REPU
78 Mazda RX-7 GS
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Now that the snow has melted, I'm getting back to the task at hand.
Crossing back to the passenger side of the motor, the next move was to crack loose the glow plugs.
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Then loosen all the unions for the fuel injection pipes, there are 8 in total. Use two wrenches and be gentle! Not a lot of room down in behind the injection pump.
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Remove the two electrical connectors on top of the injection pump.
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And remove the two connectors near the front of the head on the passenger side, for engine coolant temperature.
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Here are a couple more pictures of the back of the injection pump. Awkward to get in there, but it's doable with a bit of patience. Personally I get nervous around the IP. Try not to break anything!
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

With the fuel pipes removed, it looks like this:
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Make sure you've marked where everything goes for reassembly.
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Remove the small rubber return fuel line.
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Now make some fuel injector condoms!
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And remove the bolt that holds the transmission dipstick, and the rubber hose off the back of the head.
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Remove the hoisting bracket at the front of the head.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Well, I've put this off for long enough. Time to finally remove the crankshaft pulley. There are a few ways to do this. If you have the proper tool, then by all means use it! I've decided to do the starter motor blip method. Remove the glow plugs (if you are really paranoid like me) reattach the battery leads, put a long breaker bar and impact socket on the crank bolt, then turn over the starter motor for a fraction of a second just to get it to turn. You DO NOT want compression ignition due to a bit of fuel being left over in the system cause that would be bad m'kay.

Here is a picture of my setup. I took a piece 2 x 4 and attached the breaker bar to it. My thought was that if something fails, it won't fly around the inside of the van and puncture something, like me. The 4D56 is a clockwise turning motor, so ground your breaker bar on the passenger side. Crank turns clockwise, bolt stays put, that's the theory.
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Something I should add. Before removing the crank pulley I counted teeth on the timing belt. This will just help to verify that I've got it right upon reassembly.
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Et voila! Crank pulley bolt came loose! Then removed the pulley. Mine was snug, but I could still pull it out by hand. If yours is stuck then you'll have to use a puller tool.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Now replace the crank bolt just finger tight and rotate the motor back to TDC (top dead centre) and the arrows will align on the cam pulley and injection pulley. Then remove the crank bolt again. Always turn the motor from the crank in a clockwise direction only, never turn it from the injection pump or camshaft pulley.
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Remove the rest of the belt tensioner and the last plastic timing cover.
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Remove the valve cover.
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And there you have it. Ready to take off the head, well almost.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Today was a good day, and now I'm at a turning point and start to see the journey back home.

Remove the other hoist bracket at the back of the head, drivers side.
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Remove the ground terminal on the passenger side.
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Detach the oil line from the turbo by undoing the bracket on the intake manifold and following the line to the back of the head where there is a hard to get at connector. I got in there from underneath. As you can see from the photo, the infamous half moon seal on the back of the valve cover was leaking oil back there. This will get fixed on reassembly.
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Remove the intake manifold by undoing the two bolts to the turbo. You'll have to get under there and remove the split pin that holds on the linkage for the turbo waste gate.
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Last edited by Tojo on Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Remove the hose on the bottom of the turbo.
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Pull the exhaust manifold to the side and remove the gasket.
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Then wire the manifold to the side of the engine compartment, pulling it out of the way.
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Back to the front of the motor to remove the timing belt tensioning pulley and bracket.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Here are a couple of images of removing the head. It required the longer breaker bar. The bolts were under a lot of torque, and some were stubborn. Just make sure that your 10mm hex head socket is well seated in the head of the bolt. Corrosion might cause the hex to lift and this will round out the fastener. Also, do yourself a favour and buy a high quality hex head socket. Follow the pattern laid out in the service manual, attached below.
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This is the pattern for disassembly. It's the opposite pattern for reassembly.
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I ended up standing in the engine compartment, grabbing the head and placing to the side. And there you have it!
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by lrp374 »

I've been following your progress and must say this is the most detailed, best picture, logical DIY I've ever seen. It will make a lot of people realize this job is not magic but an orderly operation with a lot of attention to detail. Thanks for taking all the extra time for the pictures and write-up. This post will be used for years. I can't wait for the reinstall.

Larry
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Thanks for the vote of confidence Larry! I've enjoyed working on this motor. All mechanical with very few electronic parts, and most of it comes apart with just a 10 mm, 12 mm or 14 mm socket. I really like the design philosophy that Mitsu had with these L300's. Strong, versatile, with a long service life. I see the head as a maintenance item that anyone can tackle with a bit of patience. I have to give a shout out to all the posts made on this site as well as the MDOCUK which I've consolidated here.

The new head and the old head are laid out on the bench and I've started to transfer all the bits and pieces. If you've got a 1993 or earlier head with protruding valves like I do, then raise up the head on blocks of wood to avoid damaging the valves.
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New gasket for the coolant outlet fitting.
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The exhaust studs are a little finicky to remove. Either buy some fresh ones, or remove the old ones using two M8 steel nuts. DO NOT use the nuts that came off of the studs as they are soft metal and will fail. Spin both nuts on and tighten them against each other, then reverse out the stud using the inside nut. Some of the studs were really stuck in there, so again I just soaked it for a day with the penetrating oil and eventually worked them loose.
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Removed the return fuel rail.
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And this is where I'm at. Reattached the glow plugs, sheet metal shield on the front, temperature sensors, tapered oil fitting on the back, heater pipe on the passenger side, and ground bolt. Going to pause for a few days as I've ordered some waterjet cut parts for a combination cam and crank pulley tool that I'll be using for reassembly. If it actually works, then I'll post all the design files and drawings for y'all.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Deliwagon »

Up to now a great post that many will follow.. Thanx for all the time and effort you're putting into this and,as was said earlier, i'm looking forward to the rebuild pics and description too...
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

It's been a few weeks, but winter came back so I had to go and sample some powder in the backcountry! Also, some waterjet cut parts came in the mail and I sourced some fasteners and assembled my custom L300 crank/cam tool. Now to test it out...

First, back to the block to clean up the mating face with a 3M Roloc, 120 grit, 2" bristle disc #07528
These will work on steel, but if you are polishing up aluminum then be very careful not to dig in to the metal. Clean off any residue with brake cleaner.
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It does a fine job of cleaning, and I'm happy with the look of the mating surface. Note the area around the fire ring needs to be perfectly smooth with no pitting as in this photo. If it's badly pitted, then you're pulling the block and having it decked at a machine shop.
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Check to see if the surface is perfectly flat with a high quality straight edge (I'm using the Veritas one from Lee Valley) and a feeler gauge. I couldn't get a 0.001" feeler under the ruler, so I'm happy about that.
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Back to the head, and I assembled my cam and crank pulley removal tool using 4 of 2.5" long, 1/4"-20 carriage bolts and it looks like this:
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Then attached a 30" long steel bar. NOTE: The cam pulley can be removed while the head is still on the vehicle!
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Crack loose the cam pulley bolt, it takes quite a bit of force unless of course you have a rattle gun.
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Dabbed some oil on all the moving parts on the new head. This will help during initial start-up.
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I also had seven 1/4" discs made which I stacked together and fastened to the cam tool to convert it to a crank tool.
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Test fit it to the crank pulley. Looks like it should work, and if it does I'll post up technical drawings and a DXF outline so you can fabricate your own. I'll be the guinea pig.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Tojo
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by Tojo »

Removed the water pump, gross. Cleaned up the mating surface.
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Move the inlet pipe over to the new water pump and replace the thermostat and gasket. Using an 82 degrees Mitsu part. Torque to 15 Nm or 11 ft lbs.
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1993 Delica L300, SWB, LSD, Super Exceed with Crystal-Lite, mostly stock but it's got a digital EGT!!!
1995 Delica L400, LWB, Super Exceed with Crystal-lite, Airlift airbags, SS intercooler pipes, soon to be WVO
1997 Isuzu ELF 2.0Ton Crane truck, 4300cc diesel, NKR66E
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Re: L300 Head replacement and timing belt DIY, step by step

Post by FalcoColumbarius »

Which brand of water pump did you use?

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