2001 XLS

[dirk]

Heyya everyone. Just wanted to say that these boards have been a god send since owning my MS.  I purchased it about May of 2013, It had 155K miles on it, but was n pretty good shape especially for a vehicle in northern NY. It was a dealer trade in and was sold as is from that dealer to me. I new it would need work and didn't know what if any preventative maintenance had ever been done. 


So I have hit a couple of snags that I am reluctant to deal with. I had never done anything mechanical to a vehicle before, my dad was the jet engine mechanic, I am a computer Tech guy, but with this vehicle he is no longer available. So I decided to learn. I've done a ton of maintenance, Right off the bat Before leaving the dealership I knew it had a misfire code, and looked at the wires and  seen they were manufactured in 200 they were the original wires.  I figured no biggy, I will swap out plugs and wires. Boy oh boy for a computer geek with no mech experience I was blown away by the 8.5 hours Is pent changing them. That is where I found this site. And the DIY section was amazing. changed differential and transfer case fluids to royal purple full syn. I have been doing my oil changes with top quality filters and Penzoil Platinum synthetic. The list goes on and on. I absolutely love this vehicle. Best vehicle I have ever owned for diving in the winters, and still a blast the rest of the year. Runs smooth, drives super smooth and it cleaned up really nice

I have learned a valuable lesson, if changing one major item, look at other maintenance items that are right there while it is apart.

I am about to change the timing belt (no clue if it has ever been done) and it has 170K on vehicle now. And the vehicle just started it's first oil leak coming from under timing cover area, dealer and I agree it is probably the cam seal.


So question would be

While doing timing belt, I am having them replace about every exposed seal that is known to leak on these beasts. Front and rear cam seals, having them flush and put the blue long life mitsu coolant, changing the temp sensor send unit, Thermostat, PCV valve and grommet, I put in NGK laser cut Iridium plugs that I am sure are still near perfect but am changing the the wires to NGKs top ones for this vehicle also now Since Autozone only had Bosch ones for it at the time. Valve cover gaskets, etc. Oh and having them flush and refill the tranny with Mitsu SPIII also.


Is there anything else I should be having done at the same time?

[russiankid]

I did not see you mention the water pump, defiitely get that taken care of while they're doing the timing belt. Also, wouldn't hurt to put in new upper and lower radiator hoses. Every vehicle I have purchase with over 100k on it, I have done new hoses when messing with the cooling system.

[dirk]

Yeppers, The water pump was part of the timing belt tune up, along with Oring seals for the spark plugs and valve cover bolts. The hoses hard to access once together? I have been doing odds and ends as I go. Like changing the  grounds out to heavier gauge crimped and soldered gold plated ends, and about to change to heavier grade wires to and from alternator. SO pretty familiar with the engine bay. I have swapped out radiator hoses on my previous vehicle, and if similar I can do it,. If like the plugs and wires then I may have them do it while its apart. Hardest thing for me is I do not have a garage so its hard to do work when there is 2 feet of snow and below zero temps. But I prefer DIY stuff when possible. I just felt he whole seals and timing belt DIY was a little beyond me currently.

[dirk]

I was thinking of having them look at the various vacuum lines just to be safe also. I have changed out the one that controls the cruise control so far.

[dirk]

Well since the dealer did the front and rear cam seals, valve cover gaskets, pcv gasket, spark plug and bolt gaskets, all seems dry under the hood again except back corner of drivers side, the mitsu mechanic believes it to be a mildly warped valve cover. I am bringing it back to the mitsu dealer Wednesday for a new valve cover and another valve cover gasket. I am crossing my fingers that I have no more leaks. The current leak is trickling onto my manifold, and it scares me. With having a soon to be born daughter and a 2 year old daughter in the car with me I don't want it to catch fire.

Ill list what I have done, and what I have had the dealership do, and if anyone would like to give me more of a to do list my current one is slowly disappearing. I am hoping to keep this vehicle for at-least another 5 years

[dirk]

So Far myself
I Have changed Front, and Rear Differentials, and transfer case to royal purple gear lube.

I changed to a K&N air filter
I changed out the main belts (mitsu)
I changed plugs (NGK Iridiums) and wires, (NGK) and throttle position sensor (mitsu).
Changed 2 power steering lines and changed out steering fluid
Changed a couple of vacuum lines to fix the cruise control
Changed 3 of the 4 O2 sensors
Switched to full synthetic
Changed front brake pads
Polished up front lights and changed to silver star ultra bulbs
Added stock style fog LED fog lights and customized the bumper grills (the lights suck they looks great tho LOL)
Changed reverse lights to 80W equivalent Cree LED bulbs
Brake lights and both over head interior lights also to LEDS
Fixed power mirrors and all 3 12V sockets
Changed out the windshield washer tank (what a PITA)
Changed out the stock deck and change holder cubby to an aftermarket MP3 deck and surround field processor EQ and custom bezels to make it look like a double DIN unit
Added in channel rain guards, and a bug deflector
Changed the 4 primary door speakers
replaced all the missing trim pieces both inside and out
Built a custom amp rack in one of the rear cargo cubbies and installed new amps, capacitor, cross over and ran a lot of heavy gauge cable.
Ran new heavier gauge ground cables to engine and body in various locations with crimped, soldered and shrink wrapped gold connections to decrease corrosion.
Added a temporary 10 inch sub box till I finish fiber-glassing 2 new ones
And a crap ton of cleaning, Its been a busy 1.5 years with the mini beast LOL

[dirk]

As for the dealership
They changed out timing belt
Water pump
Valve cover gaskets along rear and front cam seals, and PCV seal, etc pretty much all new seals through out the engine bay
Flushed the Transmission (full flush was like 14 quarts of fluid to make sure the torque converter was clear) and changed trans filter
Changed thermostat and temp sending unit and flushed and refilled with Mitsu blue long life fluid
Last o2 sensor I couldn't reach

Wednesday they will be taking alot back apart to change valve cover and pray no more leaks.

[dirk]

My TO DO list currently is

Front brake pads rotors and new bearings (I have the parts, vented dimpled slotted black rotors, Greenstuff pads, and synthetic grease etc for all of the front )
Rear Brake pads and rotors and repack bearings
Brake fluid flush
Fuel pump mesh bag filter
Fuel filter
Remote Starter
Crowning Shield rust proofing
Rear window spoiler (or deflector)
Adding a tow package (just to put a bike carrier on)
Touch up a few rock chips
Front window tint
Put better fog/driving lights in
New drivers door power window motor
Windshield washer pump change (have new one)
Fiberglass sub boxes
Finish changing out the front speakers to 3 way components
Shorter antenna
Slightly larger tires and rims ( with no modifications how big of a tire can be used?)

[youngblood]

You may also want to change out the cam and crank shaft positioning sensors and new crank shaft bolt as long you have the front of the engine torn down, this is just good preventive maintenance.

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 31, 2015 9:46:50 GMT -5 youngblood said:

You may also want to change out the cam and crank shaft positioning sensors and new crank shaft bolt as long you have the front of the engine torn down, this is just good preventive maintenance.

If there's nothing wrong with the sensors there isn't much point in replacing them. However, since the entire front is off, yes, its not necessarily a 'bad idea'.

Definitely replace the crank bolt, inspect the snout and key and make sure that its torqued back down EXACTLY to the factory spec.

And, yes, don't forget the water pump.

With the mileage on this I'd also do all the hoses you can't get to normally without disassembling things.

Edward

[dirk]

The mitsubishi service tech said same thing, while it was apart he did the tension-er pulleys water pump etc. he did crank bolt for sure, literally the list was a mile long on parts it didn't all fit on the receipt. He said the engine looked top notch from what he seen and felt. The original gaskets though were more like super hard brittle plastic. He seen the vehicle when I got it originally and knew there wasn't any fluid in the engine bay prior. He is a really great guy. They brought in from Australia as a lead mechanic. He knows these engines better then any other mechanic I have spoken to. I don't think he did those 2 sensors, but they actually ordered a bunch of extra parts to play it safe and just returned the ones the vehicle didn't need after cleaning it all and working it up. They spent about 18 to 20 hours over 3 days between taking it apart and cleaning it up and putting it back together. Only charged me for 9 hours labor. And since they have to go back in and change the valve cover now because of the small leak still present they are only charging me for parts.

It runs so quiet with the new belts and alternator. Only fluid left to flush is brakes in the whole vehicle, and slowly changing over the greases to synthetic also as I have been getting time.

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 31, 2015 16:45:58 GMT -5 dirk said:

... He seen the vehicle when I got it originally and knew there wasn't any fluid in the engine bay prior. He is a really great guy. ...
It runs so quiet with the new belts and alternator. Only fluid left to flush is brakes in the whole vehicle, and slowly changing over the greases to synthetic also as I have been getting time.

Flushed the power steering and antifreeze?

If you can't do things yourself, a good tech is worth half his weight in gold. One that actually knows the theory behind the vehicles he's working on is worth his entire weight.

Edward

[dirk]

Yeppers to both

I had them flush and fill the antifreeze when they did the waterpump, gaskets, thermostat, temp send unit. They used the 10 year blue mitsu antifreeze.

Power steering fluid with amsoil after I changed the 2 rubber lines out with new ones. They had a minor leaks just starting both were damp near the connectors. So I figured just replace them and put fresh fluid in the system. Glad I did. The old stuff looked and smelled old lol. Power steering pump is super quiet now even when cranked all the way.

[dirk]

Mar 31, 2015 17:14:48 GMT -5 ES_97Sport said:

If you can't do things yourself, a good tech is worth half his weight in gold. One that actually knows the theory behind the vehicles he's working on is worth his entire weight.

Edward

Oh you're not kidding. Between him and you guys I am slowly becoming self sufficient at working on my rig.

I am a tech geek. I know electronics and been building and repairing computers for over 25 years. Since owning this I have actually doubled my tool collection and done alot more then I ever thought I could. Normally I just do car electronics.
I even changed jobs to one that is both electronics and mechanical building large busses for NYC Philly Austin Chicago etc for Volvo Bus.

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 31, 2015 18:06:27 GMT -5 dirk said:

Yeppers to both

I had them flush and fill the antifreeze when they did the waterpump, gaskets, thermostat, temp send unit. They used the 10 year blue mitsu antifreeze.

Power steering fluid with amsoil after I changed the 2 rubber lines out with new ones. They had a minor leaks just starting both were damp near the connectors. So I figured just replace them and put fresh fluid in the system. Glad I did. The old stuff looked and smelled old lol. Power steering pump is super quiet now even when cranked all the way.

Cool. Everyone forgets the power steering flush. Stuff gets pretty nasty after a couple years. I'm pretty anal about that on my big Sport. Those big tires and steering generate a lot of heat. Couple years and its definitely change time.

Mmmm. Didn't know Amsoil made P/S fluid.

Edward