I am really looking into buying a 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT LS (only 128k miles, Muffler Master Cat back single to "Y" dual exhaust System, and High Flow Air Filter) and I was wondering if any one knew of any history of a cracked block or blown head gaskets? The reason I ask is because the owner says that white smoke comes out of the exhaust sometimes and I have been told that that could mean a cracked block or a blown head Gasket. Please give me some incite. I need to buy the car by the end of this week!! Thanks.

 

you will never crack this block.

It's probaby a blown head gasket. Check for oil in the coolant resiovoir, or a milky white substance on the underside of the oil cap. Those are the best indications (aside from the billowing cloud of smoke from the exhaust), of a blown head gasket.

 

alright thanks That is a relief... is it usually easy to fix the gasket. I mean it's not a big problem right??

 

blocks NEVER crack on a mitsu, unless some idiot would have replaced his coolant with straight water and let it freeze.
head gaskets NEVER fail on mitsus unless severely overheated, and in that case you would almost assuredly suffer major head warpage.

im not sure why people think the presence of steam indicates a failure of some type, as water is a normal byproduct of combustion of any type. the colder it is, the more the water condenses into steam. Thats also the reason that exhausts systems were the first thing to rot out on a car years ago (before stainless steel became the norm for exhausts).

if you're worried about it, have someone check the cooling system for combustion gases.

 

Not true... well sorta not true. I know Jgroove had a chunk of his block fall out on him


Most likly like stated above is it is the headgasket.

 

&nbsp\\;
Did a rod go through his block?
&nbsp\\;
That is the only time I've ever seen one of these blocks break.

 

blocks dont just "break", especially a mitsu.

Mitsu uses an insane amount of nickle in their iron, making them far, far stronger than most.

Ever take apart a mitsu v6 at 200k miles?&nbsp\\; You can still see the cross-hatch in the cylinder walls.&nbsp\\; do that on a chevy small block, and you'll find so much wear that you need a ridge reamer just to remove the piston.

 

Like I said I've seen it happen once. I'll look it up tomorrow since I'm leaving the office soon.

But it was something along the lines of he removed the front motor mount bracket and a chuck of block came along with it.