Leaky Seals, undercarriage Rust

[Delistyle]

Hi
I've just bought a 1991 exceed with 64 000 K's on it, Auction grade 3.5. some scratches and upholstery damage, but overall a nice looking machine for $10 500. The dealer replaced the timing belt, Crank, Cam, Balancer and oil pump seals during the servicing, as well as putting on nice tires, replacing fluids, replacing brake bads and grinding rotors and basically giving the thing a solid once-over.

1) Are the leaky seals (they were apparently in poor condition when he took them out) are indicative of a harsh life in Japan that may have seeded potentially catastrophic problems that will surface down the road. The dealer assured me that he replaced all that were potentially catastrophic, but that there may be a couple that he missed that will surface when we put Cdn diesel in it. What should I look out for?

2) IS a small amount of undercarriage rust common, what does it tell me about the history of my vehicle, and am I going to be fighting a losing battle against frame-rot for the rest of the life of this vehicle? We live in Bamfield at the wrong end of a 2 hr logging road ride that is pretty harsh in the winter (hence the move from a ford escort to the wonderful delica).

Any and all observations/words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Regards,

[BCDelica]

Welcome. There wasn't a option for sell it for 11k and find your self one with no rust?! Otherwise I'd keep it, if it's not too bad.

First, like here, some vehicles have a harsh life and some of those are neglected to boot. Shame. That's a 16 year old van with rubbers bits that degrade with time and motion, that goes with all cars. More so you'd think on a 4x4 then a Kia car. I say change as many as you can find, it'll pay for it self with that road. Any clunking or other mysterious noises emanating from under your Deli? Have you considered adding a diesel lube?

Second, a small amount of rust, is to be excepted. Touch it up if your so inclined and get some sort of yearly rust treatment, we get a yearly rust check done. Look under a domestic vehicle of aged five years or more, bet it's browner under it's skirt then most JDM's you'll see. Guess the area it was driven would account for greater or less rust, north/south. One importer brought in a rusty on the underside unit that he's parting out, much to benefit of all of us here! Do you have newer shocks or did you change em?

Third, hmmm, Bamfield. Sounds like a good place for a Van Isl Delica meet. Know of any good backcountry up that way?

Cheers

[Delistyle]

Man, it's nothing but logging roads here. You can take the logging roads from Victoria around Lake Cowichan, into Bamfield, down to Port Renfrew, Up the Juan de Fuca Ridge and into some fabulous backcountry. Fall's a good time as the fishing traffic is down, but you still have to watch out for the big offroad logging trucks.

Thanks for your reassuring answers. I got a similar reply from the dealer (Sabir at Maximum Overdrive in Vancouver. He seemed like a straight-up sort of feller.

As for noises, I haven't driven it yet, but my wife describes it as 'zippy'. Runs well, no knocking or smoke. It's a stick shift and high-roof with no crystal and no sunroof, which suits our needs perfectly. too much glass attracts high-speed rocks and the sunroof is an invitation for leaks.

Anyhow, I'm already looking forward to perusing the mods section for tips on suspension lifts to get into some of our gnarlier backroads.

Thanks also to poll repliers!

tb

[Delistyle]

Oh yeah - What's Diesel Lube? Whatever it is, sounds like a good idea.

[EnviroImports.com]

Hi, since your around diesel logging trucks, go to where ever they get their fuel, buy some sort of diesel lubricant, Raycor makes a good one, the pump fuel here does not have enough lubricant in it for your seals. also diesle plus is good as it has a cetain boost . Cetain is in diesel, like octain is in gas,
also buy some BIOCIDE, diesel fuel grows a type of bacteria that can eventually take out the tank and pump.... but a simple oz of biocide about once a month will save you all sorts of problems, one bottle should cost about 20-30 dollars, and should last you about 6 months-a year, pretty good investment, and anywhere the logging trucks get fuel should carry both, Ive been a logging truck driver for over ten years , and trucker for 15+ years

[BCDelica]

What he said. :lol:

[Nisseman]

Just a little clarification on cetane and octane. These two aren't products found "in"diesel or gasoline they are a rating. Octane is a rating on gasoline's volatility. The higher the octane the less volatile it is, meaning the burn is slower, less of an explosion.
Cetane is diesel's measure of volatility. The higher the cetane, the more volatile it is, meaning it ignites easier. Additives change these numbers, but they don't actually "add" octane or cetane. Higher octane gasolines will help prevent "pinging" under heavy loads, which is your fuel-air mixture pre-igniting due to the high cylinder temperatures or burning too fast, more like an explosion than an even burn. Diesel fuel additives generally add lubricity to compensate for the low sulphur content in todays diesel. Low sulphur fuel has been in the pumps for a long time but
in Oct of 2006 diesel changed to Ultra low sulphur due to the 2007 emissions requirements. I believe the difference between the low sulphur to ultra low is from 500 ppm(parts per million) sulphur content to 15 ppm.
So a significant change.

[EnviroImports.com]

soooooo to keep it simple for the average joe, NEVER NEVER put in a octane boost, that is for your 17 year old to help kill that car you gave him by going stupid fast all the time,
Diesel owners want Cetane with a good lubrication, and you will not need antijell unless you are going up to the arctic or if we get a rush of -20 weather.

[James@JDM]

Leaky pump seals are pretty common place, they don't however always surface immediately, ULSD is the cause. It's not just a delica fault it's pretty much all Japanese imported diesel's that suffer from it. Luckily it's not an expensive fix and parts are readily available.

James

[thelazybrownfox]

James
Whats ULSD?

Thanks
Wayne

[Adrock]

Ultra
Low
Sulfer
Diesel

Or, Ultimate LSD.

[James@JDM]

Ultra
Low
Sulfer
Diesel

Or, Ultimate LSD.

Either of those two work for me!

[Adrock]

yeah the LSD makes you feel like your seals are leaking, along with a ton of other things that will probably make you forget you bought a deli for a while anyways.

[josh]

So many people double take at the Delica now that I am begining to wonder if everyone up here is tripping on that ultimate LSD... I mean really... is it really that c - actually nevermind, it really is that cool (they all are!)

Josh