Mitsubishi Delica

[whatcharterboat]

The pop top on the Delica we have is a god send. I have yet to see one on an L400 that can fit two adults up top.

I certainly wasn't trying to take away from your vehicle or imply anything negative. The extra short wheel base should be a great benefit on the tight offroad stuff and the having the poptop for sleeping is a huge space saving.

I've never even seen one of the next generation with a camping roof and as we both said the new ones are very narrow across the roof. Personally I would prefer the engine out the front both from an access point of view and also maybe a little extra safety but having the engine weight so far forward may create other issues.

One more thing. This happened with my Mitsubishi 2.5 TD and also a couple of others I know of in Mitsubishi forums. The front crankshaft pulley bolt came loose at about 200,000 k's. I caught mine in time before any damage was done and made double, double sure it wasn't going to happen again. However my friend wasn't so lucky with his, which came loose at around the same mileage. When his came loose the pulley flogged out the end of the crankshaft which then had to be removed for repair or replacement. Can't remember exactly but I know it ended up turning into a major rebuild that could have been avoided by a little extra care the last time the cam belt was replaced. And some one else I heard of in a forum in the UK, just replaced the motor which was a cheaper option when the same thing happened to them.

Don't want to sound like a prophet of doom cause overall they should ultra reliable. Just a friendly little tip / warning to check this and then double check at the next cambelt change.

The only other issue I had was from using quality brand, but never the less, non genuine exhaust manifold gaskets. The engine would just keep spitting them out one after the other. The manifold was true but it wasn't till I replaced with a genuine gasket that I had no more dramas.

BTW Is your intercooled?

Hope this is all some help to you one day.
Regards John.

 

[jfarsang]

Not intercooled .. yet :sombrero:

As for the crank bolt. One of the 1st things I checked. :chef:

The 2.5 TD's are solid engines. :smiley_drive:

 

[T.Low]

Hey J, hows about a pic or two from that Vancouver Deli meet I saw on the DeliDotCom forum (or whatever it was). Looked like a great group of vans. I was thinking about crashing it to take a good look at the Delicas.

Looks like you guys really get out in the Mountains a bit. Some great pics on that forum. Sweet.

T.Low

 

[jfarsang]

:elkgrin:

Going to toss in the locker next week. Finally :wings:

 

[jfarsang]

It's been a while but finally got the bumper/carrier on.

It's been a work in progress over the past few months.

If we have time, may make one up for our syncro. Only difference really would be the frame mount points. Mounting it on the syncro will be a piece of cake compared to this thing.

Making the brackets to mount to the unibody frame was the most difficult.

There are 9 bends, many welds, holes to line up, etc...

Visibility from the inside looking back/out (rear view mirror) is excellent. You can barely see the top of the spare tire.

3rd brake light is 80% visible so there is no need to relocate it.

Rear lights/brake/signal/driving lights are all unobstructed rear/sideways.

It's very light for a full-sized double carrier bumper with a class III hitch.

175 lbs without the tire.

I don't notice it on the back with all the gear while driving until someone pulls up and points to the back and says "where did you get that ? do they make them for other vehicles ?" :-D

It looks great and it's very functional. I care less about the former and more about the latter so it fits my bill quite nicely.

I'm going to mount my 20gal wvo/long range tank underneath where the spare tire originally was residing and will make use out of the solid frame/bumper frab'd brackets to bolt to.

That puts us at

Stock tank = 17 gal
WVO tank = 20 gal
x2 Scepters = 10.5 gal

= 47.5 gallons total diesel @ 25 mpg = 1,187 miles range. Not bad.

Integrated shackle mounts and the hitch was pretty easy to weld in place.

The latches are from Mcmaster and are rated over 2,000 lbs ea same with the spindles. It's overkill, but I'd rather be safe then have bits flying off.

The hilift jack, wheel and scepter diesel cans are all locked down to prevent shakin' and thieving morons.

All in all, I'm more than happy and very pleased with the end result.

 

[T.Low]

Excellent work, J. Very nice.

2 things:

1. Now that you've built one and see the result, do you think one can be built similarly but with an added receiver welded on (to the side opposite the spare tire) that would hold a receiver mounted bike tray for two bikes? I need my mountain bikes to swing away from the back of the van also and have been struggling with a design.

2. I'm not sure that I realized that you still had a Syncro also. Is there a link to any sort of comparison/contrast post or bloggy thing that you may have done? I'd love to hear from someone who owns both about the off road capability comparisons etc.

Again, the system and workmanship look super.

 

[BlueBomber]

awesome van! i love the way your tire carrier looks. a few questions... how much does your van weigh, and how strong is the front light-bar?

 

[jfarsang]

Excellent work, J. Very nice.

2 things:

1. Now that you've built one and see the result, do you think one can be built similarly but with an added receiver welded on (to the side opposite the spare tire) that would hold a receiver mounted bike tray for two bikes? I need my mountain bikes to swing away from the back of the van also and have been struggling with a design.

2. I'm not sure that I realized that you still had a Syncro also. Is there a link to any sort of comparison/contrast post or bloggy thing that you may have done? I'd love to hear from someone who owns both about the off road capability comparisons etc.

Again, the system and workmanship look super.

Shoot me a PM and I'll show you.

1. Yes. We're doing some custom stuff on the bumpers. Some people are looking for bike carriers, some propane, etc....

2. Syncro is better (smoother) on washboards, logging roads, but the Delica feels and handles rough stuff much better. It's just more stout. Because of the shorter wheelbase compared to the syncro, I enjoy it better for maneuvering.

 

[genie4x4]

Next to impossible I would imagine.

Canada is 15 year import rule while US is 25 years.

Go figure

2010 next year, be good for you in canada you will be able to gain access to the L400 delica even better than the l300, 4 way xfer case 2wd, AWD, 4WD High, 4WD Low same as jeep setup with locking unlocking centre diff, ARB lockers fit front and rear, based on a pajero chasis not a van, 7 or 8 seater, 2800 TDI but no more sitting over front wheels, mine has 10-11 inches of ground clearance.

Heres mine i use for medium offroading, we dont have rocks just mud!

http://genie4x4.com/index.php?page=Project-green-Field

 

[T.Low]

Good work, G.

Lots of great little detail work. Like it a lot.

 

[jfarsang]

2010 next year, be good for you in canada you will be able to gain access to the L400 delica even better than the l300, 4 way xfer case 2wd, AWD, 4WD High, 4WD Low same as jeep setup with locking unlocking centre diff, ARB lockers fit front and rear, based on a pajero chasis not a van, 7 or 8 seater, 2800 TDI but no more sitting over front wheels, mine has 10-11 inches of ground clearance.

Heres mine i use for medium offroading, we dont have rocks just mud!

http://genie4x4.com/index.php?page=Project-green-Field

Great work.

I already have two L400's (2" lifts and loaded with upgrades) that I imported (below) that just arrived yesterday.

After seeing them, driving them and comparing them, I'm going to keep our L300.

The L400 has some disadvantages compared to an L300 =

Weak subframe metal
poor departure angle
less than 1/2 articulation front & rear

I pounded my L300 into the ground 4x4ing and I don't think the L400 would fare as well in the places I've gone to and will look forward to going to in the future.

I've owned Montero/Pajero's and love the superselect tcase.

But the overall L400 body is very long, tall and would need two or three times as much invested to make it equal to a good solid 4x4 worthy L300.

My 2 cents.

Love them both though. They should not be called Delica's.

They are completely different vehicles.

This is one of them :

Here is the other :

 

[78Bronco]

That pop top is the shiznit. I think I'll get one in the future.

I've just bought a Pajero because I didn't want to be loading kids and gear onto the traffic side of the road. Too bad it doesn't have dual sliders.

Have fun!:smiley_drive::snorkel:

 

[T.Low]

Ever notice all the cute girls that drive these Delica vans, then realize thats the passenger seat?

We saw 8 different Delicas on our Sunshine Coast trip this August, including the run to Horshoe Bay from the border.

 

[jfarsang]

New one coming.

I love 'em :bike_rider:

I'm trying to find the best 'fit'. Think this may be it.

I found a low roof with a huge moon roof in the rear and sunroof in the front.

I've been looking for this specific model for a while.

Want this one because of the low roof (less weight up top) and the moon roof which will allow me to climb up into the RTT from inside.

 

[VicHanson]

I've got a '96 Delica Space Gear 4x4 that I will happily sell to anyone! Come and get it! Here in Peru, they import used vehicles from Japan and then convert them to left hand drive. They also changed the sliding door to the right. Mine has been a hunk of junk. It may have 4x4 with a low range and locking dif. but it is not an off road vehicle. It looks like it is sitting up high, but that is just the body, the ground clearance is poor. I live in the Andes, the roads are rough and they beat it to pieces. The rear shocks go out in less than 5,000 km, although to be fair I can't get original shocks here, but even the Gabriels I put on last time aren't working. The ride is rough and bouncy on gravel roads, I have had trouble with the 4 wheel drive selector locking up in 4 hi (2 times), have rebuilt the front suspension twice. The last time I spent about $1100 on repairs, including a broken rear coil spring, suspension, steering, rebuild on the turbo, brakes and rear hatch latch. Repairs are cheap here, that would have been a lot more in the States. Mine is a diesel, it doesn't like to start at high altitudes or when it is cold, where my friend's Land Cruiser has no problems. Even at 60 degrees, it will start right up but dies after a couple of blocks, and that is at 7,000 feet. I have to let it warm up for about 10 minutes before I can drive it. I have replaced the fuel filter, removed the air filter, doesn't make any difference. Anybody have any ideas?

Also mine is an automatic, gets terrible fuel mileage (about 17 mpg). The latest problem was the transmission overheating when I climbed up a steep snow covered road, had to keep stopping to let it cool off. They replaced the fluid and it is better but still smells hot when I am going up switchbacks. I have also had lots of problems with the electrics, but that may have been caused by the poor conversion job.

It probably would have been OK if I would have stayed on paved roads, don't know, but it isn't made for the rough stuff.

Edit: Yes I was shoveling, got stuck going up around the curve, Toyo Open Country AT tires
Edit: I'm guessing that what I have is what you call a L400. Have seen the older L300s here as well, didn't realize there was so much difference in them. Mine has the glass windows on top with the electric shades, front sunroof and an electric closing side door. Looked cool but not durable.