Mechanic Cringe
 

My mechanic puts out the closed sign when I pull up. Are these cars that hard to work on or is he not as qualified as should be?

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

what kind of problems are you having? one of the biggest problems, while i was a mechanic, was the availability of parts...

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

Maybe he just doesnt like you, bad breath?

I'm not too sure, mitsu's in genral arent too hard to work on. Pretty much everything is accesible in the engine and is bolt on.

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

Overheating at higher RPMs, No power when floored, Mechanic sayes change fuel pump and filter to the tune of 1000$. How can fuel pump and filter cool it off? Mechanic says timing belt OK.

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

i am going to talk to someone who knows alot about the 3000GT platform, and hopefully he will drop in and comment on this...as for the overheating and high speeds, and the lack of power...when was the last time that the car was tuned up? how about the catalytic convertor, is it stock? what model do you have?

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

It would really help to know what model your car is? VR4, SL, Base??

A filter is 35$ and a pump is around 200$ (depending upon where you go). To get to the fuel filter, you have to remove your battery and tray and unplug a few harnesses. It's kind of a pain to get too, but not that hard of job. If you have some open end wrenches (metric) you can do this yourself. The fuel pump is not that difficult either, you just have to tear out alot of the rear hatch (where the spare goes) to get to it. The pump can be a pain because the nuts holding it in will rust. PB Blaster or equivlant should do the trick. Again, not a hard job, just a PITA. It does sound like your mechanic is getting over on you. 250$ for parts and 750$ labor, this is not a 10 hour (at 75/hr) job.

I'm having trouble figuring out how the pump/filter is causing you to overheat though. I think Patrick is on the right track in thinking the cat. converter is plugged up. That will cause a car to overheat and run poorly.

It would really help to know exactly what model 3kgt you have.

edit: Did it start overheating, then proceed to run poorly?? He did at least check your cooling system? Thermostat sticking? Have you ever flushed your cooling system??

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

Year is 93 VR4 Twin turbo. power lost started about 4 months ago----overheating 1 week ago. Quotes price of pump a little under $500. Cooling system checks out.

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

OReilly auto quoted the pump at $230, I bet the dealer would be near $500. I think it is either the pre-cats (between the turbos and downpipe) or the main cat is getting plugged. It started losing power 4 months ago and finally plugged up to the point causing it to overheat. Do you live in a state that requires smog checks?? If not, you might want to pull the cat(s) and use something to "gut" them. That would let you know for sure. If you live in a smog state, you would need to buy a new cat. converter. I am still puzzled as to why your mechanic would think a lack of fuel would cause overheating??

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

well, in bad mechanic math...very lean=hot...like too much nitrous/not enough fuel builds sudden heat...but this guy sounds like a bit of a dud.

RE: Mechanic Cringe
 

I was thinking that maybe running in a really lean condition could cause the engine to run hot. It seems to me that when I had a fuel filter plug up, it would affect everything from starting, idling, running, everything. There should be some more indicators of a plugged fuel filter, bad fuel pump than just the overheating. If that's the case, it could be a faulty injector(s), MAS, ECU and everything else involved with the fuel system...???

Before you pay this mechanic gobs of money, do a couple of test yourself. One would be to change the fuel filter, it is a pain in the ass, but if you have a few tools and some time, it is a pretty easy and straight forward job.

After that, check voltages at the fuel pump to make sure that it is getting sufficient voltage. I have heard of voltage problems to the fuel pump on these cars when they age. It is normally the boosted cars that are affected. This is usually more prevalent to modified cars, with larger injectors, turbos, ect. It doesn't seem to be common with fairly stock cars. It is worth checking though. You just need a volt meter and some time.


EDIT: You haven't been running 87 octane in your car have you??