Air Flow Sensor Of Mitsubishi Mirage.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 12, 2012

I'm going to buy a mitsubishi mirage car. It's having a fault in air flow sensor. The engine is 4G15 1.5L EFI engine.

The owner said that the air flow sensor is damaged,because of that,the car has a mis. When i went to see the car,the sensor and the air fllter is removed and the car is running well.

And there is small damage in air filter. I've asked from a mechanic,and he said it occures because of a 'back fire' went through the air filter and that may damage the sensor also.

There is a strange sound coming from the engine also. It's like a 'tappet sound' (i don't know exactly it is a tappet or a not,but it sounds like that).

(One of my friend is having a lancer with a 4G15 engine. That hasn't that sound.)

I want to know about the fault in this engine,the back fire thing and the strange sound.

Thnks.

The Don · June 12, 2012

On 6/12/2012 at 4:07 PM, Dulan Hasaranga said:

I'm going to buy a mitsubishi mirage car. It's having a fault in air flow sensor. The engine is 4G15 1.5L EFI engine.

The owner said that the air flow sensor is damaged,because of that,the car has a mis. When i went to see the car,the sensor and the air fllter is removed and the car is running well.

And there is small damage in air filter. I've asked from a mechanic,and he said it occures because of a 'back fire' went through the air filter and that may damage the sensor also.

There is a strange sound coming from the engine also. It's like a 'tappet sound' (i don't know exactly it is a tappet or a not,but it sounds like that).

(One of my friend is having a lancer with a 4G15 engine. That hasn't that sound.)

I want to know about the fault in this engine,the back fire thing and the strange sound.

Thnks.

I think you will benefit a lot from my experience because I went through quite a lot of what you have just encountered.

First and foremost I own a 93 Mirage 2 door and have done so since 2006. In short it is a lovely car and you will appreciate the sophisticated suspension and little features like climate control AC, remote key (if it still works) which were rare in cars of that vintage. Having said that you have to be very vigilant as parts for these cars (well most cars of this vintage) are becoming rarer and as such the costs can be considerable.

To give you an example I just replaced the suspension (all 4 shocks, all bushes, tie rod ends, shock mounts and ball joints), engine mounts, the fan, the belt adjuster bearing and the idle air control solenoid (IACV valve) and it has cost me 120K

Now if the car has any electronic issue my suggestion is to assume the worst and not believe anything the seller tells you. If he knows that it is the MAF sensor why doesn't he fix it himself? That makes me suspicious. I bought my car under similar circumstances and found a lot of problems which cost plenty to rectify particularly in the electronics department. Mine needed the IACV valve and a new ECU. Ask the guy to replace the sensor and then run a diagnostic scan to ensure problem is rectified.

The tappet noise actually causes me more concern. The tappet noise will first come up when you start the car in the morning and then disappear after a few seconds. If it doesn't then you either have worn tappets, sludge in your engine or a weak oil pump. My car had worn tappets and I first tried changing the tappets which only worked for a few months and in the end my mechanic suggested that we re sleeve the hydraulic tappet guides or simply replace the engine. Those days engines were cheap and we just found a good quality engine and replaced it.

I must say the tappet issue is quite common in Mitsubishis with hydraulic tappets and sometimes you can control the situation using engine oil treatment. But personally my advice is if you can continuously hear tappet noise is to either buy the car leaving enough margin for a full engine repair or just walk away.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 13, 2012

Thanks a lot for your comment,The Don.

The tappet sound comes all the time,not only in the cold starts. The owner said he'll replace the MAF sensor,if i buy the car. And he said the sensor will cost about 6k. But a friend of mine said it will cost more than 50k...

So,can anyone plz tell me the actual price of a Air flow sensor of a 4G15 EFI engine? (brand new & reconditioned ones).

The Don · June 13, 2012

On 6/13/2012 at 4:04 AM, Dulan Hasaranga said:

Thanks a lot for your comment,The Don.

The tappet sound comes all the time,not only in the cold starts. The owner said he'll replace the MAF sensor,if i buy the car. And he said the sensor will cost about 6k. But a friend of mine said it will cost more than 50k...

So,can anyone plz tell me the actual price of a Air flow sensor of a 4G15 EFI engine? (brand new & reconditioned ones).

These days people seem to quote funny prices for these components. 6K sounds like a fair price and if it fixes the problem then I don't think you should worry about it (as in not plan for replacement again). It's probably 50K brand new. The airflow sensor is shared by many Mitsubishi engines so should not be too difficult to find. After the sensors have been replaced, take the car to a mechanic with a scanner and ask him to scan it and confirm no fault codes are returned.

If the tappet sound comes all the time you need to estimate cost of reconditioning tappet sleeves and possible replacement of tappets or replacing the engine head complete with tappets. If you really like the car my advice is to go to the Engine watte area in Panchikawatte (ask anyone there they will point you) and check the price of a new 4G15 engine and estimate about 20K labour and deduct that from the normal price of this car and make an offer. This is to be on the safe side as these things can cost a lot to rectify. I went for the engine swap option after busting 16K on used tappets and because reconditioning tappet sleeves relies heavily on the expertise of the machine shop.

You have to be sure it is the tappet noise though as the injectors make a tat tat noise as well.

Edited June 13, 2012 by The Don

The Don · June 13, 2012

also what is the car idling at? Usually when airflow sensor is removed the car tends to idle a little higher.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 13, 2012

On 6/13/2012 at 4:18 AM, The Don said:

also what is the car idling at? Usually when airflow sensor is removed the car tends to idle a little higher.

I can't remember exactly,it seems to be about 500-700 RPM.

I really love mirage,that's why i'm keeping a hope in my mind about that car. Unfortunately i couldn't find any mirages these days...

So,as you've said i'm gonna check the MAF sensor by a scanner and find about that noise exactly.

Thanks for ur comment.

The Don · June 13, 2012

On 6/13/2012 at 1:59 PM, Dulan Hasaranga said:

I can't remember exactly,it seems to be about 500-700 RPM.

I really love mirage,that's why i'm keeping a hope in my mind about that car. Unfortunately i couldn't find any mirages these days...

So,as you've said i'm gonna check the MAF sensor by a scanner and find about that noise exactly.

Thanks for ur comment.

Is that with AC? Personally machan considering the issues I've had with the tappets I'd advise you to be very careful. Even I love the Mirage, and bought one as my first car and after 8 years still with me. The key is to buy it at a price which leaves room for repairs. I suggest about 100K lower than the standard going price. The 4G15 engine is thankfully very common so you should not have issues finding spares. Suspension and most other parts are shared with the lancer and I've always found the bits I need.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 13, 2012

On 6/13/2012 at 2:07 PM, The Don said:

Is that with AC? Personally machan considering the issues I've had with the tappets I'd advise you to be very careful. Even I love the Mirage, and bought one as my first car and after 8 years still with me. The key is to buy it at a price which leaves room for repairs. I suggest about 100K lower than the standard going price. The 4G15 engine is thankfully very common so you should not have issues finding spares. Suspension and most other parts are shared with the lancer and I've always found the bits I need.

Without A/C. I couldn't remember the RPM with A/C. I've given a offer to the owner about 100k less than the market price yesterday. He didn't seems to be satisfied by that offer. However i'll wait for his reply and if he didn't accept my offer,i think i might go for a another car.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 13, 2012

You've got a Mirage asti.ah? That's a nice ride..

The Don · June 13, 2012

On 6/13/2012 at 2:46 PM, Dulan Hasaranga said:

You've got a Mirage asti.ah? That's a nice ride..

Yeah, I've seen another couple of coupe's around in Colombo but I think those were ASTI Vs Mine's an ASTI Z. While in my ownership I've slowly restored the car back to its former glory. Only thing remaining is the interior which is showing its age and probably could do with re upholstering. I've also slowly replaced bits in the dashboard which had suffered in the hot sun and suffered UV related deterioration.

They are not difficult cars to live with. Mine has always bought me home though once I had a little scare where the car suffered a mis fire and became difficult to drive. I managed to get a garage roadside to look at it and it just turned out to be a severed wire. Back on the road within an hour. Another thing to note is UM the agent is completely useless. Yesterday I went to look for a part and they told me they had never imported it and only have bits ex stock for Monteros. They offered to import it for me though. But the biggest problem is spark plugs with the Mitsubishi brand on them. They are not the right type of this generation of Mitsubishi's but part shops try to sell them to you anyway. The issue is the clearance. The correct plug BKR6VE 1.1 but you can get the correct part from the NGK catalogue. Mine had the wrong plugs replaced twice and when I asked for the right plug they argued with me telling me it was the wrong plug. Then I asked for their NKG catalogue and showed it to them and they had to accept they didn't carry the part.

Dulan Hasaranga · June 14, 2012

Thanks for your information bro. My first car was a Tercel EL43,and i sold it last week to buy a Mitsubishi. But finding a mitsubishi is seems to be difficult now,because the prices are seem to be higher than Toyotas. Even the good CB3 will cost more than 1M. So,if you heard of a Mirage for sale,please let me know.

Thank you.

Cheers.