Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi all,

I'm the happy owner of a factory reimo-camperized l300 Delica, full deal with pop top.
I'm thinking about getting one of mdrive's hyundai 4D56T engines brand spanking new installed.

Unfortunately my van is a P25V model, which has a naturally aspirated engine. This gets me an awesome 68 hp to play with :) It is just not up to the demands I want to put on it. I haul a lightweight cargo trailer on my travels which holds camping gear and festival booths and such. I am lucky to keep going at 110 on the flats when loaded with passengers and cargo, and the mountain passes on any kind of incline generally settle down to 20-25kmh in second gear...for hours...blah. I know from other Delica experiences that it's not THAT bad for most of you!

I know I would benefit from putting a turbo on the engine, or a full swap for a turbo engine if that's easier. My question is, how much do you think I would benefit from going all the way, and putting in a brand spanking new engine?

It was suggested to me that I might get a significant power increase over a 20 year old engine, just for the young age alone. It should cost $5k all-in to put in the new hyundai. I think a used engine + labour would end up coming to $3k or something anyway?

What are your thoughts: What improvement will I really see? Has anyone put in one of these new 4D56Ts and can relate any experience?

Thanks! David

Hi, david,
pls phon eme maybe i can help you cheers;
mardy

I saw one delica with those engine installed, brings back the life. if you can afford it & love your van, can not go wrong.

It will be the route I will take if I can't fix the one in an l300 that I have.

Jason

well the problem is that when you do upgrade like that its better to upgrade much better horsepower than the 92 horsepower turbo2.5 liter that L300 has.
there is a newer engine now that has 2.5 engine with dual overhead cam 135 horsepower turbo crdi engine not a old style engine.
this is way i think more power to your engien rather than upgrade to this hyundai engine.
no smoke & better performance than this.
it was on 2008-2010 mitsubishi Pajero & Mitsubishi strada ( triton) pickup, available in asain market, europe & australian,
in the phils they have this one available i did test drive this when i went for business trip in the phils 6 month ago.

wow i have to say this is the nice engine upgrade for L300.its runs like a V6 or more power than L400 4m40 which has 125hp.
its a electronic crdi 2.5 liter. same block as the 4d56 but double overheadcam. much better & more powerful
cheers;
Mardy

One of the new style engines, expensive?

hi, dont know yet,
but i dont think it will be much big difference in price
but horsepower & big improvement thru this engine is i think its good.
i did test drive one of this, and the result is good perfect for L300
just need to do the modification & go from there
cheers;

The trouble with the newer engine, crdi (common rail direct injection) is that it is electronic. So this would require installing a different engine wiring harness, and the engine control unit (ecu) which may or may not be tied in with the vehicle body ecu and the transmision ecu. It can definetly all be done, but it is a lot more work, and while it may provide more power, the electronic common rail diesels are not as easy to convert over to veg oil.

Jason

Manitoba deli wrote:The trouble with the newer engine, crdi (common rail direct injection) is that it is electronic. So this would require installing a different engine wiring harness, and the engine control unit (ecu) which may or may not be tied in with the vehicle body ecu and the transmision ecu. It can definetly all be done, but it is a lot more work, and while it may provide more power, the electronic common rail diesels are not as easy to convert over to veg oil.

Jason

You are exactly right, Jason.

Steven

MardyDelica wrote:its a electronic crdi 2.5 liter. same block as the 4d56 but double overheadcam. much better & more powerful

Manitoba deli wrote:The trouble with the newer engine, crdi (common rail direct injection) is that it is electronic. So this would require installing a different engine wiring harness, and the engine control unit (ecu) which may or may not be tied in with the vehicle body ecu and the transmision ecu. It can definetly all be done, but it is a lot more work, and while it may provide more power, the electronic common rail diesels are not as easy to convert over to veg oil.

Jason

You can buy the wiring loom/harness for the upgrade in Japan/Taiwan. Someone posted a link on the oz site. Have to dig for it.

Yes, as I said, it can be done. But along with buying a new wiring harness, you will have to buy the ecu. The crdi engine is not a simple drop in. It also will bring about drive line failure with adding that much power to a stock driveline. We've seen the trany problems that members like Garyo had when boosting his power on the old 2.5l and then trying to utilize all of the available power. The electronic engine can be swapped in, but be prepared to spend money on more than just the engine. And be prepared to spend alot more if you want to run it on veg.

Jason

As an upgrade it would be nice but if running veg you're right about indirect injection being better for wvo

hi, jason,
it depends on the person if they want to go for vege. fuel,
but if need power this hyundai & mitsubishi engine i not the best way to go for upgrade,
as they are under power. no matter what you do. unless you modified bigger turbo.
as you will spend money anyway way not change to the newer one & can make a big difference.
this type of conversion is up to the person need, if owner wants vege fuel or just pure diesel power.
cheers:

Thanks for all the input.

Yes I am running veggie power, so personally I wouldn't go crdi but it's an exciting option for others. Maybe well-made b100 is an option for WVO types.

I was also afraid of driveline issues, but on the phone Mardy told me that my 5-speed would be able to handle it. Probably would depend a lot on driving style and how often you're actually using those extra HP.

While I see Mardy's point, that if you're going to do a swap then go for the big guns... it's also scary to be the first guinea pig in what could be a very expensive experiment, since I'm not qualified to do this swap myself. I look forward to hearing more about the crdi, hopefully someone will try it sometime and tell us all about it :)

A big reason that I think a turbo will help me, is not just the extra few HP, but what I perceive to be a big drop in performance when I'm at high altitudes. Driving around BC and Montana is very painful. There also seems to be a threshold where 'just a little more oomph' and I could use 5th gear more often. Usually it only gains me a few kph and I'm out again on the slightest hill.

I think it was a mistake to get excited early on and get 30" tires too, I should have stuck with stock or smaller tires, with no turbocharger.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Astron_engine
The latest 4d56 with the variable geometry turbo is stated to have 175hp! WOW!
Unfortunately wanting to run Veg and low-budget keeps that one away for now.

DPD what about a pajero 2.5l(4d56) IP/intercooler with turbo set-up?
Would give you a few more horses ,as well as solving (somewhat)
your altitude adjustments.Fitment of the intercooler might be a pain,
its my understanding that the Paj Injector Pump had something on it
to help with the intercooler
Of course you would want a pyro/boost guage to make sure you don't
overdo it on the hills with the new found power.

Right ON!

P.S it is NEVER wrong to get exited about bigger tires....never