[Mitsubishi] [Lancer] [Cs3] Timing Belt Change

[HashanJay]

Gentlemen,

I've a lancer CS 3 (Year 2008) and currently the the ODO meter reading is 85000. I got to know that timing belt should be changed around 90k. I'm like 80 % idiot on under the hood stuff of the vehicle. I need to know few things.

1. What's the optimum mileage of changing the timing belt
2. What are the other components that needs to be replaced along with the timing belt (some says Water Pump)
3. Rough estimate on the parts form a person who has recently gone through this process.

I value your advice much.

Many Thanks,

HAshan

[SREE]

how can you assure this ODO reading is genuine?

[Davy]

Welcome to the forum! Although this has been briefly answered before here, here goes:

1. The manufacturer recommended mileage for timing belt replacement is 100,000km (60,000 miles). BUT, if you are not the first owner of this car and have bought it from someone, I advise you to change the belt immediately.

2. Apart from the timing belt, the oil seals (I think there were two - crank oil seal and cam oil seal) need to be changed together with the timing belt tensioner.

3. Rough estimate with genuine parts from Unit#d Mot#rs will be about 40,000 LKR (someone please correct me if they know an updated price). For a repair like this, I recommend nothing else but genuine parts.

Hope this helps.

EDIT:

- The water pump need not be changed. Especially if you have been maintaining your cooling system properly with proper coolant.

- Cost figure given here appears to be off. Sorry about that and thanks trinity for giving the correct figures.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Davy

[trinity]

Davy is spot on..

Buy the parts from Unit#d Mot#rs, give them the cars chassis number or the registration number, they will produce the exact parts which should go in.. parts would be, timing belt, two oil seals & I faintly remember replacing some sort of a bearing as well.. need to check the bills, will confirm tonight after I get back home..

If you know a good reliable mechanic let him do the job instead of going to the gents. But buy the parts from the agents.

Also about the ODO, if you are not the first owner & you don't have the previous service records, you can always get the info from the agents. Since the car is a brand new import theres a big chance they have most of the service records of the car.

I think it was around 80k kms I changed timing belt of my car.

additionally if the car is manual (most probably) get ready for the clutch kit replacement as well.

Edited September 3, 2014 by trinity

[HashanJay]

Good morning & really thankful for your comments. I've never though this forum is this much active and members are so helpful. Seriously I'm so impressed SREE, Davy and Trinity..

@SREE I'm the 2nd Owner and I'm not 100% sure of the ODO. As trinity has explained I will check with the agents for any possible previous service records.

It seems that it'll cost around half a lak and in the same time it needed to be done as first priority since im closing up to the upper threshold.

And @Davy I bought her on Feb and since then I changed the coolant and did the services, only thing that I've replaced is the front brake pads which I bought from the agents which cost me Rs 14,800/= and Rs 800/= as labor costs (not agents).

Edited September 4, 2014 by HashanJay

[HashanJay]

One More thing about the Lancer, I noticed that though the headlights were adjusted properly (did from M@gC1ty people) it's hard to drive at night / low light. Driving ethics may be one cause of this, some people never dim the beam when they meet incoming vehicle....

I'm pretty sure that it's not a fault in my eye sight. i checked the headlight lamps, previous owner told that he had the same issue to he upgraded the lamps to 100/ 90 W (using a relay). What was there originally was 60/55W (he gave those two lamps as well).

Does any lancer owner notices the same issue ?

I tried to find a fog light unit for my car and it's hard to find the proper part to this from after market products.

I would be grateful if someone could get me some idea about this.

[trinity]

Hi Back..

Thanks for the comments. I'm sure you'll find this place much more interesting and educating in the long run as well. I also learnt a lot (& still learning) from AL and met some wonderful people here.

So i checked the bills and found the the price is much lower than i already mentioned in my previous post (i've edited it already). The bill included some other parts which i bhought for a friend of mine and thats why i remembered it as a higher amount. Anyways following are the exact prices & parts they gave for the replacement of the T belt.

Belt Timing - Rs.8648/-

Tensioner - Rs. 6334/-

Crankshft oil seal - Rs. 1439/-

Camshaft oil seal - Rs. 907/-

Total Rs.17,328/- This was on 2011.

About the head lights, i also experienced your situation. but my car is a pre face lift and i'm not sure about your model. Anyways i installed origial fog lamps and can say that using them gives a lot of ground visibility. refer the post number 22 of this thread for more info on the installation.

[HashanJay]

After tea break, just saw your post. Well I see this place as a university... All The cultures are here along with loads of knowledge. I'll try to learn and share my experience just as you guys did through out these years.

Well surprisingly the costs are now down to 17000+

I just met a guy who has an Mitsubishi Outlander, told me the same, his belt was from agents and he told me that he spent less than 10,000 for the belt... I'm gonna do this operation this weekend. So will update you guys as soon as I do that.

About the fog lamps

Well my car is manufactured back in year 2008, and mine is not a facelift model. I read the "Brief Version" of your fog light story. My lancer has a unoccupied switch slot close to the dashboard brightness adjuster, so I think i better try it out. Have to run around one day to find a suitable lamp and harness (wrong wordings maybe) that match to the slot in the buffer...

Thanks for your support on this.

[HashanJay]

Cutch Kit Replacement

Well yeah mine is a manual CS3, I think i have experienced some of the symptoms of clutch issue.

Normally I avoid traffic as much as possible, recently i caught up in traffic and had to stay around 40 mins just to go below 1 - 2 kms, so what I noticed is after sometime when I shift to the first gear, then releasing the clutch caused the vehicle to start moving like it was in gear 3 or 4.... then I pressed the clutch paddle in and released, issue was still there but with lower intensity. So it was like that until the traffic is over and slowly disappeared when I ended that trip, (Colombo to Kandy) .

But next day it was good as new, but when stuck in traffic she's getting that problem leaping like a frog... That's the main reason i avoid traffic (not fuel), I guess it's a symptom of clutch wear off.

I think that would be my project for Oct, since i'm doing the timing belt is the project of September.

If any thoughts please share...

Again Thanks for the support....

[trinity]

After tea break, just saw your post. Well I see this place as a university... All The cultures are here along with loads of knowledge. I'll try to learn and share my experience just as you guys did through out these years.

Well surprisingly the costs are now down to 17000+

I just met a guy who has an Mitsubishi Outlander, told me the same, his belt was from agents and he told me that he spent less than 10,000 for the belt... I'm gonna do this operation this weekend. So will update you guys as soon as I do that.

About the fog lamps

Well my car is manufactured back in year 2008, and mine is not a facelift model. I read the "Brief Version" of your fog light story. My lancer has a unoccupied switch slot close to the dashboard brightness adjuster, so I think i better try it out. Have to run around one day to find a suitable lamp and harness (wrong wordings maybe) that match to the slot in the buffer...

Thanks for your support on this.

Although the car differs from the outside most of the interior components are almost the same. My car also has that extra slot and my first thought also was to use that.

But after referring the service manual i found that original wire harness carries all connectors irrespective of the car comes with all options or not.

You can inspect this by just removing the triangular bezel which covers the power mirror switch. If you are going through with the installation I suggest you to use the original connector as it is just a plug & play job. Plus points are,

1. It will not damage the wire harness
2. It will have all functionality which was specified by the manufacturer. Such includes,
   1. Automatically switching off the fog lights after 3 minutes if the key is removed from ignition key hole.
   2. Fog light switch has a indicator light which will help you to locate the switch in the dark which will turn on when you turn on the parking lights. It will not work if you use a different method to fix the switch.
   3. Meter cluster indicator light to show that the fog lights are on will also work.
   4. Fog lights will turn off when you switch off the parking lights.
   5. Fog lights won’t turn on if the parking lights are not turned on.
3. It will look genuine & be genuine.

I just checked ebay & seems like this is a good offer.

This is just my approach on the fog thigy. Its bit expensive but i strongly recommend it..

[Davy]

Looks like I was off by a large margin on the cost estimate. I swear I remember like it was something close to 40K. trinity, machang didn't the guys at UniMo tell us that they have this timing belt package for about 15% off and the cost would be about 25,000 after the discount? (This was on the free service campaign day).

Also HashanJay, the prices trinity has put down are from 2011, which means the prices would have increased now. That being said, i guess there is no other option than to get the parts from the agents themselves. You can even call them up and get a quotation for the parts over the phone (they will ask the registration number or chassis number of the car).

As you say, if the coolant is fine and if you're not noticing any abrupt fluctuations in your temperature gauge (in traffic especially), then your water pump is good. Don't worry about it.

I always thought the night visibility on the CS was pretty good. I have not had a problem with visibility at all. I adjusted the headlights on my own after referring to the workshop manual (found here) and it has been perfect ever since. Doesn't your headlights get heated up unusually because you're using bulbs of such a higher wattage?

As for the fog lamps, the eBay link trinity has shared would be the way I would have done it.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Davy

[HashanJay]

Hey @Trinity Thanks a lot for your research n for sharing exp, I'll try to get that e-Bay item through a friend since shipping cost is higher than the item itself... I have a electrician who has been with us for long. I'll check the wire harness with him. Me too believe that going for the OEM is better than fixing other parts on this beauty...

@Davy thanks for your reply, I also think that prices might have gone up, but im pretty sure that it's below 40k coz one of my friend who has changed the timing belt of his OutLander last month told me that it cost him around 10k... Let me check with the agents tomorrow. Will update the thread after getting details.

The heat doesn't indicate any noticeable fluctuations. Anyway I will keep that in mind.

Yes, my headlights are getting heated up, I noticed that, knowing that it's harmful I'm using this just for the visibility... SL roads are full of people who wear full black and cross the roads @night, and the motorbikes that don't have lights on them... Since i have the original lamps, after installing the fog lights i might can switch back to them...

Downloaded the manuals... Going through them..

Friends, I really value your time and effort... Just for two days I learnt a whole lot of new things. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude....

[Sierra Charlie]

Cutch Kit Replacement

Well yeah mine is a manual CS3, I think i have experienced some of the symptoms of clutch issue.

Normally I avoid traffic as much as possible, recently i caught up in traffic and had to stay around 40 mins just to go below 1 - 2 kms, so what I noticed is after sometime when I shift to the first gear, then releasing the clutch caused the vehicle to start moving like it was in gear 3 or 4.... then I pressed the clutch paddle in and released, issue was still there but with lower intensity. So it was like that until the traffic is over and slowly disappeared when I ended that trip, (Colombo to Kandy) .

But next day it was good as new, but when stuck in traffic she's getting that problem leaping like a frog... That's the main reason i avoid traffic (not fuel), I guess it's a symptom of clutch wear off.

I think that would be my project for Oct, since i'm doing the timing belt is the project of September.

If any thoughts please share...

Again Thanks for the support....

Welcome to the forum bro. Like you, I've also benefited from the collective wisdom of the wonderful people in this forum. AL is almost like a handbook for me. I've this forum open in two computers and a phone literally 24*7.

I've a Galant and I kinda, sorta have similar issues with my car. In my case, it's a bad Throttle Position Sensor and a faulty IACV. Like you, I also thought that there's something wrong with the clutch.

I could be wrong, but before anything, eliminate any other factors that doesn't include the transmission. Here's a thread from the forum that you might find helpful.

[trinity]

Looks like I was off by a large margin on the cost estimate. I swear I remember like it was something close to 40K. trinity, machang didn't the guys at UniMo tell us that they have this timing belt package for about 15% off and the cost would be about 25,000 after the discount? (This was on the free service campaign day).

Also HashanJay, the prices trinity has put down are from 2011, which means the prices would have increased now. That being said, i guess there is no other option than to get the parts from the agents themselves. You can even call them up and get a quotation for the parts over the phone (they will ask the registration number or chassis number of the car).

As you say, if the coolant is fine and if you're not noticing any abrupt fluctuations in your temperature gauge (in traffic especially), then your water pump is good. Don't worry about it.

I always thought the night visibility on the CS was pretty good. I have not had a problem with visibility at all. I adjusted the headlights on my own after referring to the workshop manual (found here) and it has been perfect ever since. Doesn't your headlights get heated up unusually because you're using bulbs of such a higher wattage?

As for the fog lamps, the eBay link trinity has shared would be the way I would have done it.

Davy Hi machang..

First, this emailing thing is not working man.. call me in a free time..we haven’t talked in ages...

Yes you are right about the Unit#d Mot#rs prices on TB which they quoted on that day. Maybe they included some other charges as well. Like labor chgs. Same happened with the plug wires as also. Cost of the wires 19k labor charges 1.5k, emission test 2k, scanning 1.5k & so on...

Anyways prices should be higher now cuz of the new tax regulations on motor spare parts imposed after 2011.

Also since we are in the subject of spare parts, the golden rule i learnt while owning the car of the last 5 years, is that if you plan to use the car for a longer period of time its always better to use genuine spares as much as possible. Especially the parts that are taking lot of strain when the car is driven. Following is a list of things i had to replace more than once just cuz i used non genuine parts.

1. Lower arm bushes

2. Rack ends

3. Front wheel bearings

4. Front brake pads

5. Power steering hose

6. Engine mounts

7. Drive belts

OP sorry for taking the topic slightly OT but i believe at least this will help you & whoever sees this post in future to make a correct decision when purchasing spares for the car. (Especially CS model Lancers)

[HashanJay]

Hey Sierra, Thanks for your info and the thread that you've shared. As explained in the referred thread it's always best to check the first things first other than doing a replacement based on random guesses.

@Trinity, man I checked up with the Agents regarding the timing belt, I couldn't get individual prices but the Timing Belt + Tensionner + Two Oil seals are now priced at Rs. 19000/=

I talked to their services adviser who was in the Orugodawattha Workshop and he told me the labor cost for changing those things will be Rs 7,700/= Changing timing belt is roughly a three hour process according to him. Planning to get these next week to get this thing done...

I will try to get them to check my issue in the clutch (if i have enough time)

Those are the updates for now. I agree upon Trinity's Golden Rule of Spare Parts, for all the critical parts of the car it should always be genuine.. If possible the rest of the things...

Edited September 5, 2014 by HashanJay

[Davy]

About your issue with the clutch: Do you rest your left foot on the clutch (especially in traffic)? Doing this can cause the clutch to wear off prematurely and cause the clutch to heat up excessively. Always rest your foot on the foot rest next to the clutch if you are not in gear (and obviously when not shifting).

Another thing is that the pressure plate can develop "hot spots" when they get heated excessively. The "leaping like a frog" behaviour might be a result of a bad pressure plate which has developed hot spots. When you go to UniMo to get your timing belt replaced, ask the technician to drive the car and check if the clutch is worn out.

Thanks for the updated prices of the timing belt parts HashanJay. I must have been half asleep when I said 40k.

Davy Hi machang..

First, this emailing thing is not working man.. call me in a free time..we haven’t talked in ages...

Hey hey... long time huh. Call you tonight for sure.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Davy

[trinity]

Ok good.. So afterall it costs arount 27k if you change it at the agents..

About the fog lights, just check with kapruka. Since the seller is from US, they might be able to bring it to you cheaply.

[trinity]

About your issue with the clutch: Do you rest your left foot on the clutch (especially in traffic)? Doing this can cause the clutch to wear off prematurely and cause the clutch to heat up excessively. Always rest your foot on the foot rest next to the clutch if you are not in gear (and obviously when not shifting).

Another thing is that the pressure plate can develop "hot spots" when they get heated excessively. The "leaping like a frog" behaviour might be a result of a bad pressure plate which has developed hot spots. When you go to UniMo to get your timing belt replaced, ask the technician to drive the car and check if the clutch is worn out.

Thanks for the updated prices of the timing belt parts HashanJay. I must have been half asleep when I said 40k.

Hey hey... long time huh. Call you tonight for sure.

Not tonight.. have a wedding, call tomorrow night.

[NRX]

Not tonight.. have a wedding, call tomorrow night.

I smell a bebadda here

[HashanJay]

@Davy yeah I had that habit of resting my foot on the clutch peddle while ago, but now I'm not doing that.. Let me check with a technician about the clutch issue.

@Trinity yeah checked with them and with duty and all it'll cost around 11k. I'm in search for someone who's flying back to SL, let's see... enjoy the wedding !!!

Thanks gentlemen for your support.. Have a great weekend..

[HashanJay]

Hey All, Good day to you....

Sorry for the super delay of posting this. I got the job done by "the Agents". Well it went upto 28k...

Tensioner, Val Timing Belt - 7,664.00

Oil Seal, Crankshaft - 1,217.00

Oil Seal, Camshaft - 1,098.00

Belt Valve Timing - 10,464.00

Gloves - 160.00

Labor Cost is 7,770.00

I managed to check the clutch issue and they said the clutch peddle pressing looks too hard and did some adjustment so now it's bit smoother. But yet I was not able to test it (didn't caught up with traffic).

They recommended me to do a Tuneup, since my car didn't have service records after late 2008. I forgot to get a quotation for the tuneup and would you recommend to get that thing done by "The Agents" or other place.

I've heard that ex-Toyota guy has a tuneup place in Madiwela Road, need to get there to get a quotation first.

I would like to thank all of you for helping me out with everything, for making my life easier...

Edited September 18, 2014 by HashanJay

[Sierra Charlie]

Hey All, Good day to you....

Sorry for the super delay of posting this. I got the job done by "the Agents". Well it went upto 28k...

Tensioner, Val Timing Belt - 7,664.00

Oil Seal, Crankshaft - 1,217.00

Oil Seal, Camshaft - 1,098.00

Belt Valve Timing - 10,464.00

Gloves - 160.00

Labor Cost is 7,770.00

I managed to check the clutch issue and they said the clutch peddle pressing looks too hard and did some adjustment so now it's bit smoother. But yet I was not able to test it (didn't caught up with traffic).

They recommended me to do a Tuneup, since my car didn't have service records after late 2008. I forgot to get a quotation for the tuneup and would you recommend to get that thing done by "The Agents" or other place.

I've heard that ex-Toyota guy has a tuneup place in Madiwela Road, need to get there to get a quotation first.

I would like to thank all of you for helping me out with everything, for making my life easier...

Hey Hashan, Nice to hear that you got the timing belt done, albeit at a higher cost than you would've expected. As for the tuneup, I highly recommend Mr. Dhammika Perera. He works from his garage in Borella. Highly recommended. I was expecting to part with at least 12k when I visited him (For sparks plugs, injector cleaning, etc.) But the guy inspected everything, observed that I shouldn't worry about either of these until the next service and fixed my errant idling that has been a worry for a while. All this cost me around 3500 IIRC.

[HashanJay]

Hey Thanks bro,

I've got recommendation for Mr. Dhammika Perera from some of my friends too.. So I'll try to get an appointment and get the car first inspected by him. Let's see what would be his comments.

Some cold morning I noticed a little miss in the engine, so as far as I know engine missed cannot be happen on EFI engines due to cold starts.

[The Don]

Hey Thanks bro,

I've got recommendation for Mr. Dhammika Perera from some of my friends too.. So I'll try to get an appointment and get the car first inspected by him. Let's see what would be his comments.

Some cold morning I noticed a little miss in the engine, so as far as I know engine missed cannot be happen on EFI engines due to cold starts.

It can if the injectors are blocked up a bit. Kind of goes away as the engine warms up.

[HashanJay]

Sierra, I saw you were telling that your Galent's having some issues, sorry about that.

hey Don,

After the tuneup it never happened so far, still observing.

I went to Mr Dhammika Perera, and he told me that he doesn't check injectors but he checked the Throttle body, fuel pump and fuel lines status and plugs. The throttle was blocked and he cleaned it properly. The spark plugs were the originals, my car was completing the 86,000 kph, they were pretty bad, so replaced with same brand plug set.

Other parts were okay according to him. He recommended me to put a "Valvoline" fuel injector cleaner to the fuel tank once a 5000 km cycle. I'm gonna try that this weekend since i'm planning to travel to Kandy.

After the cleanup process, the accelerator peddle feels very smooth and the engine too. The cold start thing I've never experienced after that tuneup. But I'm still observing. As per my observation my car reached 65 kph at 2000 rpm in 5th gear, but now it reaches almost 80 kph at same revs.

I didn't get a chance to check the fuel economy yet, i'm working on that. Hope it has gone up a bit...

Many thanks for introducing him to me..

Edited September 30, 2014 by HashanJay