Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi Everyone,

I’m new and want to thank everyone on the board that has contributed to make this a such a useful resource. I just finished driving back my 94 L400 Super Exceed to Calgary from the West Coast where it was purchased.

I have discovered two issues so far and I have already been in contact with the seller about the first one and will hold off asking about the other one until I have spoken to him about it (who has a decent reputation and don’t want to name at this time as it does not seem necessary). The first issue happened during the drive back from Vancouver and it has to do with inappropriate downshifting. The dealer has not had experience with this so I am asking for information here.

The machine runs great and is in almost pristine shape. Tackled the Coquihalla with no problem and seems built like a brick. The mechanic at the dealer told me about the A/T toggle button and how it modifies the shifting of the transmission and I am well aware of the Overdrive switch and what it does.

OK so the problem happened a few times in the two days it took me to get back to Calgary. The first time it happened was just outside of Kamloops on a flat stretch of perfectly dry road. All of a sudden while cruising along at about 100 Km (remember the road was flat and my hands were on the wheel and no where close to the OD or A/T switches) the transmission downshifted and sort of hunted around for a gear.

The RPM shot up and I instinctively pulled my foot off the fuel pedal to slow the engine. After a few seconds of indecision the transmission seemed to gather its wits and get back into high gear and all was OK again. It did this twice in a few minutes and then it was OK and I drove on to Revelstoke with no problem.

It didn’t do it again until the final drop out of the foothills into the prairie just before Calgary. This time I was actually going downhill and doing at little over the limit, so about 115 Km.

Seems to me (but I must qualify this as I have never owned an automatic, always four or five speeds) that the transmission itself is fine, but perhaps there is a sensor or switch that controls the shifting that is the culprit. I’d like to take care of this ASAP and thanks to anyone in advance for any light that they can shed on this.

PS I need to get my OOP inspection done and have searched the archives for information, but if anyone can recommend someone I would appreciate it. I have booked an appointment at Pro-Active, but what I have read makes me wonder if I should be looking around. I used to have Stevo do work on my old VW and I am thinking about him (if he does them). Any thoughts.

Thanks,

Djelica

There is a fine point on the throttle between 100/110 where it can downshift/skip depending on whether you are backing off or pressing down on the the pedal with overdrive on.

My 2 suggestions would be 1st, adjust the kickdown cable (with the red rubber on it) in literally millimeter increments until you get that locked in 100-110 area. May take some playing around with.

2nd would be to do a transmission oil change unless that was already done.

Congrats on our L400. They are amazing highway machines for their weight to power ratio.

Hey thanks for the quick reply jfarsang.

So you think it's something as simple as adjusting a cable or changing the fluid. It would be great if that was the problem and I hope you are right. The dealer i bought it from tells me that they replace all fluids when they get to Canada, so I will start with the cable adjustment and confirm with him that the fluid was changed (I'll also have a look and see what shape it's in myself).

Unfortunately I will have to wait until I can get the OOP and have it registered before I can try it out and see if the problem is fixed. I has happened only after driving for several hours so it may be one of the jobs that take forever to know if they are done. But I'll let you know if the problem is solved when I can get a chance to try it out and add to the archive.

Yea, these machines are amazing. Never felt better driving through the mountains.

Thanks again!

yes he knows a ton about these things and glad to see there is another l4oo in calgary as soon as mine gets here this monday I believe that will make 5 or six I think..... we'll all have to go for a cruise soon....Cheers

Long time lurker...first time poster. And on a troubleshoot no less!

When I picked up my 400 earlier this year I had seen a similar thing. While driving (city or highway) I would get semi-frequent downshifts where the van seemed to want to run in a lower gear at higher revs. I had suspected crud in the ATF but after a quick peek to the Aussie site, the down-under experience led me straight to look at the throttle position sensor.

http://www.delicaclub.com/viewtopic.php?t=1587=tps

I would defer to the Delica-gurus on the site but it my case a 15 mins job (pop off the intercooler and use a volt/multimeter to get the TPS set) sorted it right out and now she runs a champ with no return of the problem.

Sounds like my problem might be different than what you're seeing but may be worth a look or at least a chat with the dealer. Anyway, just my $0.02 so take this as possibly the finest "non-expert", "non-mechanic", "new-user-who-may-be-leading-you-down-the-wrong-path" sort of advice. Confidence inspired yet?

Hi Madmazda and Bullwinkle,

Thanks for you replies and I will look at all the suggestions and let everyone know how it goes.

I need a bit more time to get mine on the road legal like, but I'm in for a cruise in the future.

Take care, Darren

I would agree.. TPS(throttle position sensor) need adjusting. Commonish problem easily fixed with a multi meter and a phillips screw driver and a 10ml socket. Remove 4 x10 ml bolts that hold intercooler in place, disconnect 2 harnesses from under the intercooler and just swing it over to the left. You will then see TPS sitting on top of fuel pump. Undo screws just a little and adjust accordingly. See the previous link at Delicaclub.com. Part of compliance here is for ALL liquids to be changed so if your rules are the same that should have been done.. Cheers..

Hey thanks Stiful for filling in some of the details. I went to check the link that Bullwinkle provided but I guess you need to be a member to see posts. I'll become a member and check that site out as well.

Thanks again to everyone.

You will need to find the right voltage and which wire to chect with the MM. I think the voltage, once you establish which wire to check I think it is .87 volts with the ignition in the on, but not running, position..Cheers

from what I've read, the TPS seems quite plausible... beyond that, welcome to the Calgary L400 group, I just got home with mine a few hours ago

Should have mentioned that you need to be a member on the Oz site to read that post but there really is a wealth of knowledge over there especially for us 400 owners so well worth checking it out. The have a "how to adjust your TPS" with great pics but as Stiful mentions, you really need to find the right wire to measure from.

Mine turned out to be opposite of what was shown in the how-to and would read something like 4.78v regardless of the position of the TPS. I moved the positive lead from the multimeter over to the other wire (only two to choose from) and just like that it now showed 1.4v which was a bit high. After a few small adjustments, I settled at 0.8 but as Stiful points out, you may need to fine tune it a bit to get it where it works for you.

Good luck and happy motoring.

<off topic> Since the L400s are new to Canada this year, I really should take the opportunity to give a shout out to our brothers and sisters on the UK and Australian Delica sites for freely sharing their knowledge and experience, it will likely make our "getting to know your SpaceGear" period much friendlier. So...thanks!

HI, Darren,
check your overdrive switch if working o.k. this is one of the common problem with this L400. as you say its going downshift when on high speed. only way to see if transmission filter is change it take you can check the gasket if newly install & chnage the filter:
most of my L400 i change & replace the transmission filter is dirty, its a must. from there, then will see what other problem we will encounter;
thanks;
Mardy

Hey thanks again Bullwinkle and Stiful for the help and hello to Green1. I look forward to meeting other delica owners and swapping information and such.

(Hey Green1 where will you get you OOP done?)

Hi to Mardy and thanks for those ideas. I will be checking into all of these suggestions and will post here what I have discovered. This may take a while as I still need to get the machine on the road legally and I have all of a sudden become very busy with other things (like work).

Just a quick question on checking the Overdrive switch Mardy. I have switched in and out of overdrive and the switch seems to respond in a way that I would consider normal (but remember I have never owned an automatic), but that of course doesn’t mean there is not something wrong.

Is there a way to check to see if the OD switch is malfunctioning sometimes? Or is a black and white issue? In that it either works or it doesn’t.

Again thanks to everyone for their help,

Darren

hi, Darren,
sometime it happen when there is a load while your car is running, try to see if the light overdrive switch came off when this thing happen. if doing normally then your switch is fine.
now try to check the trottle cable located in your injection pumpmaybe its loose or sometihning sticking when you step the gas hard when cruising a high speed. if this thing is all o.k. try to consult a transmission mechanic specialized in japanese transmission:
you probably having problem with another overdrive switch that attched internal inside the transmission; maybe its just faulty that the overdrive dont hold when its your runnin gin high speed.
try to do it step by step before you go further nthen see the difference. i never see any kind of problem for L400 Transmission re-acting weird like what you are experiencing in your L400.
hope everything will be o.k.
cheers;

Thanks Mardy,

Each time it happened I took a look at the panel and never saw the OD light on. I will take your advice and go step by step and get this fixed up. Thing is that it has only happened after more than two hours driving, so it may be difficult to know when and if it is fixed.

Cheers, Darren