Hey guys,

First post, but longtime reader of the forums (and happy customer of RussellM of mitsubishiparts.net ). I drive a 2005 Ralliart.

I had just brought my car in for scheduled maintenance at the Mitsubishi dealership this past Wednesday in London, ON, one that I've come to trust and have had good luck with before. Did the timing belt/water pump package and the "Type 4" package (spark plugs, fluid changes, inspection of many parts, etc.). Less than 30 minutes driving away from the dealership the car jolted and the check engine light came on (only a P0300 code at the time). I pulled over and restarted the engine and nothing sounded out of the ordinary so I drove it right back to the dealership. They "greased up the plugs and put them back in" and told me I should be okay now. I left and the car was fine for several days...

Saturday evening I was driving home and my engine that died when traveling at 115km/h. And by died I mean it seemed to "turn off" - radio was still going, lights, heater, etc. and the check engine light came on. I just coasted my car to the shoulder and tried to start the car again but the engine would not fire up (would crank and sounded normal, that's it though) so I had Diamond Care tow me the rest of the way home. I pulled the P0300 (random misfire) and P0335 (crank position sensor) codes using my ScanGauge while I was waiting for the tow truck.

I searched the forums quite extensively yesterday and it seems that these codes can be directly associated with a timing belt change. I have a few questions but forgive me if they're already answered somewhere - most of the posts I could find had to do with people modding their car or needing a timing belt change (my car is stock and this happened after the timing belt change).

1) Do I have any need to worry at this point about the possibility of any permanent damage to the engine? (e.g. skipped tooth or something from timing belt change)

2) I found out from a friend that the RA's come with iridium plugs from the factory, I wasn't aware of this (my fault, should have checked). Obviously the dealership replaced them, but with what's happened so far I get this feeling like they may have given me the wrong plugs. If they were to put in something like platinum plugs could this cause any of the issues I'm seeing?

3) If there is the possibility of permanent damage, what should I get them to check? The entire valvetrain?

I greatly appreciate everyone's help in advance!

I'm just waiting for a call from the dealership this morning so that I can talk to the service manager as my car will need to be towed.

 

Wow one after another well since all the parts were from mitsu and they did the fixing you should not have anything to worry about it's still under warrenty. I dont think spark plug will have anything to do with the problems. If their is damage mitsu will fix it if it's caused either by their work or parts.
side question though how much did it cost you to do the level 4 change. Im at 97000 km and I was thinking about doing it soon with clutch but so much $$$$

 

The belt was likely off by a tooth when installed, hopefully it didn't jump a tooth, but it's definitely a possibility. They're going to need to do a leakdown test to check for damage. If something is damaged, they're going to owe you a rebuilt head.

 

Price tag is $449.99 CDN on type 4. I didn't really need to get it but I don't go to the dealership very often (one hour drive) so decided to get it while I was getting the timing belt/water pump replaced. I'm currently at about 102000km.


Ugh, I was afraid of something like that happening. Would a compression test be sufficient or should I also insist on a leak down test too? I talked to the dealership this evening and asked if they had the equipment for a "leak down test". He said "oh yeah, definitely" but I'm afraid he may be thinking I'm referring to only a compression test and won't check for pressure loss specifically.

They're going to need my car until tomorrow for sure, "possibly Wednesday" if they need to order parts. I'll keep my thread updated for anyone that is interested in the results.

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

 

Leak down test is a very common and standard test nowadays, I'm sure they're able to do it. A compression test could be done, but that'd involve cranking the engine, and if there's damage, it could just make it worse.