524,000km Mitsubishi Mirage engine teardown

[@dadgarage7966]

The Mirage isn't popular but the people who do own them swear by them. Surprisingly, not just urban folks but more rural people who drive far and need an economical, reliable car.

[@jesuscarrillo4344]

I had a 2018 and was original owner. Transmission started over heating around 40k miles and kept over heating till I traded it in at 102k miles. I changed the fluid at the dealer every 40k miles. They even replaced components and it was still over heating and going into limp mode if you drove it on the highway for more than an hour. 78hp is dangerous too. I always felt uneasy going on the highway as it takes ages to get from 0 to 70. The only up side to this car is mpg and insurance cost. Outside of that, it's trash even fully equipped.

[@greggc8088]

I'm a Mitsu tech of 15 years and you wouldn't believe how many Mitsu dealers don't even know about the elusive cooler filters on this and all Mitsu CVT's. In the warmer weather on long trips, they start dropping like flies. Replace the cooler filter and they're good to go a few more miles. Depends on how aggressive the driver is, but the filters usually start blocking up anywhere from 30K miles to 70K. I replace my personal one every 40K. Mitsu reps always get angry when dealers replace a CVT unit under warranty and when disassembling the core back at the plant they find nothing wrong but a plugged cooler filter. @@jesuscarrillo4344

[@claxtoncurtis811]

@@jesuscarrillo4344was it an automatic?

[@turdpailsandtrails]

I used to have to argue with the parts desk at the dealer cause they refused to look up a filter and said they don't have one(or two). I didn't realise it was that common for them to clog up.

[@Oddman1980]

That's exactly why I bought one. Had to drive a looong distance to work. Has been a super dependable car.

[@GrimesGarage]

This honestly is a testament to treating your machines well and the benefit of adhering to factory service intervals

[@summerforever6736]

To facto y 10k oil change for new cars ? No thanks

[@clok1966]

There are some truly bad engines, but most with care and no abuse will last a long time. Most of the "bad" stuff is the cheap stuff and most people who buy cheap stuff do it because they can't afford better which often includes regular maintenance etc.. So they are not cared for and have problems which relate to maintenance often.

[@dexietyy7922]

The factory service interval on my E46 is 15,000 miles I change my oil every 7000 miles it’s on 258k miles now 2.2 petrol

[@GrimesGarage]

@@dexietyy7922 my e46 is at 290k miles, 10k interval with OE filter/synthetic

[@joeb2588]

So true. Some people give Hyundia a lot of crap. I have 144k on my 18 elantra. Most reliable car I've ever owned. I take super good care of it. Synthetic oil every 3-4k. Check oil between changes and add when needed, and I have any maintenance done when I'm supposed to. Car is still running well.

[@jpqch7323]

I have a mirage with 480,000km and a checrolet spark 2013 with 502,000km both are taxis here in mexico, absolutely reliable just regular mantenaince on both.

[@Billycowcrap]

Wow! Are they 5spds or cvt? I think the sparks handle better but are basically a rebadged Daewoo?.

[@jessebrook1688]

All of the cheap small cars: Nissan Micra (Canada only), Honda Fit, Nissan Versa/Versa Note, Chevy Spark are all 5-speed manual or CVT. The Ford Fiesta's 5-speed manual alternative is infamous.

[@jpqch7323]

@@Billycowcrap spark 5 speed manual, the mirage os a cvt.

[@ufork]

@@jessebrook1688if you are talking about the first and 2nd gen fit, pretty sure they had a regular automatic transmission, not a cvt

[@turdpailsandtrails]

@@jessebrook1688I’m pretty sure the Micra had a conventional automagic, not a cvt. At least not the ones sold in Canada. The spark and versa used the same Jatco cvt.

[@ComputerCapone]

Im absolutely impressed. Driving a car 500k is hard in itself. Motor looks almost new. Honestly. That is called regular service. Pretty simple logic.

[@chriskonte1909]

But it's also a hit in the face to all the people that are like: 3-cylinder cars can't be reliable it's to much strain on the engine.. Bla bla bla. I live in Germany and the Mirage (funnily enough they call them Space Star over here) is a pretty popular car. Now the SUV/Crossover trend is doing it's thing on the streets here as well, but there still lots of people who like the Mirge/Space Star for it's fuel efficiency and just size. We don't have such big streets so a small subcompact car is always a blessing. Not much extras if you go for the "Basis"-trim ~14.650$ and you get yourself a brand new car with a 5 year warranty (they don't offer the 100.000miles/10 year warranty over here).

[@POVwithRC]

The secret to the longevity is that it doesn't make enough power to hurt itself.

[@robotech1990]

​​@@chriskonte1909well if you want an unreliable 3 cilinder car, try a Peugeot 208 or a Citroen with a 3 cilinder 1.2 liter PURETECH , with the infamous wet distribution belt. Those engines will make you cry.

[@dwadd7528]

i have one Mitsubishi and one KIA. Mitsubishi has 230,000 miles on it. zero issue the KIA blew up engine at 50,000 miles.

[@CreRay]

@@POVwithRC Would be nice if it was that easy.... low specific power makes it easier to design a reliable engine, but some engines with comparable power have pretty horrible reliability.

[@wt29]

Here in Australia, the 1.5L 4 cylinder Mirage(3 door) and Lancers have revered status as bulletproof runabouts. I bought one from a wrecking yard - it just needed a hood - and with some brakes, injector o-rings and roll bar bushings we got it registered for a new driver. He, naturally, ran up the arse of someone and bought something else but still mentions how reliable and simple to work on the Mitsi was.

[@anthonyrowland9072]

Everybody wants a 4 door truck or a SUV here then complains when gas goes up sometimes.

[@fujitsubo3323]

yep my first car was a Mirage with the 1.5 4G15 and i cant think of any car ive owned since that has been as painless maintiance and repairs wise as that simple little N/A eco "shitbox" Mitsubishi was. stick oil and filters in it every 10,000km and it would run forever i reckon as seen in this video.

[@Alabaster335]

My neighbour has a manual 5 speed mirage, he drives it like a taxi, just services it when it's needed and it just keeps on going.

[@tokyotopp]

Arse 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@bubbleman2002]

R.I.P. Mirage, may you be a part of someone's beer can, one day. He did not fight long, but he fought well, fearlessly, and with great fervor.

[@hardwaylearner]

I worked at a tiny mitsu dealer and i always enjoyed these cars for how fun and cheap and simple they were, especially with the stick shift. Good, BASIC transportation. especially if you get 300k+

[@imnotusingmyrealname4566]

It sucks that today these are going away. Here in Austria a Yaris starts at 21k USD with some rebates and 26k USD MSRP and it's only available as a hybrid. Meanwhile in Japan they can buy a Yaris with 1.5L 3-cylinder and 6-speed manual for 12k USD. The worst part is I can't really import one, I'd have to get a used one fron the auctions.

[@lot6129]

Typical bulletproof Mitsubishi engineering, run and last forever

[@jimbooo1365]

Did. Im pretty sure a lot of the mitsi stuff coming out from about now is renault. I swear by mitsi up to this point.

[@lot6129]

Lucky for now the only rebrand that came to Australia was a Renault van, it failed in the ANCAP crash testing and was withdrawn, we wont get any Renaults because they dont seem to be built in RHD@@jimbooo1365

[@LaszloGaspar-s3x]

Looks new

[@jongonegone1262]

could you imagine anyone asking for more out of a $12,000 to $15,000 dollar car !!! back in the day this is what made honda toyota and nissan famous.

[@a8f235]

I'm more impressed by someone driving a little matchbox car close to 60.000km a year than the condition of the engine lol. That's quite a human achievement. 😅

[@turdpailsandtrails]

And without cruise control. 🙃

[@space_cowboy007]

@@turdpailsandtrails how's the noise on highway?

[@turdpailsandtrails]

​ @space_cowboy007 I don't drive them too often on the highway, I have one as a daily and maintain a fleet of them at work. It's bearable to me but not to a lot of other people I guess. My Mirage is much quieter on the highway than a my Dodge diesel and a V6 Delica.

[@piotrcurious1131]

it's actually far less of a chore to drive a small car. It's lighter so it does not throw you around when driving though bumps. It's smaller so it easily fits everywhere and You always have a margin. It's easier to go in and out, especially in crowded parking lots. Tires are cheap so if you feel they are getting old you just change them without needing a loan. Windows are big and the hood is small so visibility is great.

[@a8f235]

@@piotrcurious1131 Driving 60.000km a year continuosly is far *_more_* of a chore in a small car because then you have to do long distance runs often. It's not just skipping about between shops in the city that will make all that in a year.

[@ericwhitehead6451]

For as hard as those engines have to work, there isn't much wear other than the piston skirts. Very impresive.

[@g18886]

I imagine if you replaced the pistons and bearings you could get another 200K miles. Amazing engine.

[@worldhello1234]

Yes, if you revise the engine every 50,000 miles it is an "amazing" engines because it amazes people you haven't junked it earlier. 😜

[@earlscheib7754]

These cars are totaled easily, body panels are expensive but their engines are cheap.

[@johnnybagofdoughnuts4193]

@@worldhello1234 because we should take your word over that of the mechanic who made this video? who has provided actual proof to back up the claim that 200k miles is easily expected from this little 3 cylinder?

[@nodak81]

To be fair, replacing pistons and bearings would get you another 200k out of pretty much any engine.

[@johnnybagofdoughnuts4193]

@@nodak81 I know what you’re saying, but plenty of engines with this kind of mileage, revving high as these do because there’s only 3 cylinders, would have a lot more problems. Camshaft, valves, seals, timing chain guides and tensioners, main bearings on the rods, etc would all have more trouble. Especially when you can buy decent used replacement engines for less than 1000 bucks, this is an incredible value.

[@TheBlake1191]

I wish I kept my mirage, most reliable car I've ever owned. Just catches wind like a sail, so not too great for daily interstate travel.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Yeah that’s one of the downsides of a 2000lb car🤣. It’s doable but can get old after a while.

[@Oddman1980]

I haven't noticed that much in my mirage, BUT I'm comparing it to my Samurai and that thing is just a rolling box kite.

[@bubbleman2002]

@@turdpailsandtrails What do you mean? It's like torque steer but it can surprise you! It makes commuting more exciting.

[@juki6377]

how is it on the freeway? besides catching wind, rain or trucks would seem a worry

[@tysone1254]

I remember when Doug DeMuro made a video on this car simply dissing it acting like its a completely throwaway car that would only last like 100k miles 😂 maintenance does a lot for an engine!

[@turdpailsandtrails]

That video convinced a lot of people to buy one 😂

[@jnordne2]

@@turdpailsandtrailsReviews like yours are what led me to buy my 2019 G4 5 speed a year and a half ago. I think the difference is terminology. Is the Mirage a *nice* car? Hell no. But is it a *good* car? All the personal/consumer reviews say that they are. Simple, easy to maintain, no major design/mechanical issues, excellent mpgs. They're just slow. I think in 15-20 years these will have a cult following like the Geo Metro since they are similar in design philosophy. Let the haters hate.

[@jugobetrugo7213]

Who the fuck takes Doug DeMuro serious?🤣 He has no clue about Cars whatsoever...

[@bartlevenson7851]

I( remember this vidio. what oes DeMuro know about anything?

[@1marcelfilms]

Yeah and he has a big nose.... CONSOOM EXPENSIVE CARS

[@Charger1908]

Mitsubishi has been around a very long time remember the “zero”? Plus your maintenance regime is top notch. I’ve been in engines with 70 thousand miles that looked a hundred times worse. Great job😊

[@alexbaerhold7239]

I currently work for Mitsubishi, well a dealer. I work on these all the time and they are brilliant little cars. I personally own a 23 outlander sport SE 4wd. We had a lady that drives for Uber and Lyft as her occupation, she had a 2019 outlander sport and she traded it in with a little over 300k miles. The car ran perfect and had no issues. She did all of her maintenance. If I had the spare money I would have given her cash and used it as a beater lol. It makes me happy to see all the love for the Mirage because a lot of the time all i hear are negative things, people act like its a luxury car when in reality its a cheap economy car meant for reliable transportation. I'm a bigger guy so I would have gotten one but obviously its a bit too small for me so i went with the Outlander sport. I will always support Mitsubishi but a heads up to anyone wanting or thinking about getting a new Mitsubishi, do it sooner rather than later if you want an actual Mitsubishi not some Nissan/Renault/Mitsubishi hybrid monstrosity. most of the new models coming out (like the current generation DG Outlander (2022+) are going to be alliance vehicles with Nissan powertrains or some mix of them all.

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

I can see one of the reason why it lasted so long. The engine block isn’t open deck, it’s closed deck. Those are less prone to warping.

[@crispyjokingtuna1495]

You call it one of the worst and yet it’s still running halfway decent after more miles than most engines see. Haters are silly people 😂😂

[@turdpailsandtrails]

If you're talking about the tumbnail, I was making a funny. A couple people didn't get it though. 🤣😂

[@ronaldderooij1774]

My 2015 (almost 9 years old) Mirage CVT has 80.000 miles on it and I had zero defects. Zero oil consumption (yes, it is possible!). I only drive below 60 mph (= speed limit here) on highways. 60 mpg on average. What was replaced? 16 wipers, 2 front brakes (discs and pads), 4 tyres, oil every 10.000 miles, 1 oil change for CVT, a dynamo belt (not a defect, just screaming at cold start), 2 times an alignment (and due again, it is a weak point apparently), a top off of the airco refrigerant, and a small leakage at the roof (just some kit applied). No rust visible, no rattles anywhere. As new.

[@JohnEvans-ct6mz]

Amazing how clean the inside of an engine is when it DOESN’T have direct fuel injection. Most pistons get skirt wear on one side. The firing event happens more on one side of the piston than the other, causing the piston to tilt slightly and forcing it harder in to the cylinder wall on one side.

[@ВГаража]

Send this to Doug Demuro. I agree that the car is basic and cheap, but the amount of kilometres gained and the condition of the engine is pretty remarkable.

[@timothykeith1367]

Demuro have the Mirage a poor review

[@Jamouse200]

By the look of this, I’m going to die before my mirage. I bought mine in 2014 at 30. Now I’m 40 and the car doesn’t have 90k. So another 40 years of duty for her I guess 😅

[@qwerty86381]

it will definitely rust through before engine gives any sort of problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@runner3033]

You've got a family heirloom!

[@Soh90]

Lol yeah the little Mitsu is definitely gonna give you a run for your money. I remember back in the early 90’s my mom bought a Toyota Corolla that she swore she would keep until it died. She said she would NOT buy another car until the Corolla was done. In 2005 she flat out give the Corolla away with 250,000 miles on it. Me being the cheeky bastard that I am was like “mom I thought you were gonna keep it till it died? 🤣” She says “no I got tired of waiting for that thing to die. No one should have to drive a 1990 Corolla for as long as I’ve been driving that car” lol. She bought a brand new 2005 Camry SE that she drives till this day.

[@bubbleman2002]

@@Soh90 Toyotas are awesome just because of how many owners they can go through without becoming a piece of shit. A lot of cars are designed with only the first owner's experience in mind, but Toyota's interiors, drive trains, and chassis', are all engineered to go through several owners while still feeling as good as the day they rolled off the dealership lot, provided they are properly maintained. Many other brands, even when well maintained mechanically, have disintegrating seats around where the thigh meets the chair, melting steering wheels, and a rut worn in the carpet or floor mat right where you pivot your foot on its heel from the brake to the gas, but very few Toyotas, even extremely high mileage ones, I've seen these kinds of traditional wear patterns in. For contrast, my place of work has a Nissan Frontier with less than 30,000 miles, which is used as a company vehicle. There is a literal HOLE in the carpet where the driver rests their foot that is deep enough it catches the heel of your shoe if you try to adjust the angle of your foot to the pedal.

[@jnordne2]

I bought a 2019 G4 5 speed a year and a half ago. I bought it with only 10,600 miles on it, now it has 20,500. At ~8k miles/year, I think mine will last a long time.

[@kristianhermann5971]

Cool teardown, thanks for sharing - the greater cylinder wear on the firewall side is normal - all piston engines have a major thrust side caused by the piston pressing harder on one cylinder wall side during the power stroke, which causes more wear - the opposite side is the minor thrust side

[@doctorunicorn5550]

not only is it normal, engineers often design around it. the pistons in the 2zr-fae (the newest 2zr variant used in the 2020 corolla and a 1.8L NA four banger) for example are offset either 0.8cm or 0.8mm from the crankshaft. this is done to improve fuel economy by reducing force and thus friction between the pistons and the major thrust side, but as a side effect it makes the engine a bit more durable.

[@kristianhermann5971]

@@doctorunicorn5550Indeed - offset piston pins/cranks aren't new though - Toyota introduced an offset crank in the 1NZ-FE 25 yrs ago - many engines don't use offset to balance power, noise, and low friction - while offsetting towards the major thrust side lowers piston slap, noise, and friction it costs mechanical advantage and power, which is why some race engines have offset towards the minor thrust side instead - offset also creates greater imbalance

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

Looks like a perfectly good and reliable engine, i'm impressed.

[@BIGBOICOMBO]

For the bearings that's not a spec of dirt , that's a spot caused by acids accumulating in the engine oil due to it not getting above 100 degrees C (212 F) , the acids remain there and eats the bearing surface , it's caused by short drives and not letting the oil warm up so that it can evaporate those acids and vent them through the crankcase breather

[@19jacobob93]

The scored piston skirts also tell of short trips in cold, or being driven a bit too hard before warmed up. The majority of the mileage must have been highway overall though!

[@johnmurphy9688]

Wow, that little mitsy engine still looks in phenomenal shape. 👍👍

[@waynemurphy4542]

I have one of these, 5sp manual, almost same age as this one too. Only 78,000 km so far. V good economy, I get around 5.4 litres per 100km around city driving. Sub 5 when it's continuous and doesnt involve hills but not the mosr refined car to drive and weak as cats piss on the hills. V pleased to see that with regular maintenance, the engine will last a good while. Which is surprising as Mitsis dont have the best reputation for longevity. Thanks for sharing.

[@thom_lapatate4842]

I worked at the dealership for a while and we did replace these engines from time to time simply due to piston slap. You could simply replace the pistons and go for a while longer but at the dealer it wasnt worth the labor for the customers so we replaced the engines instead Interesting teardown!

[@turdpailsandtrails]

I had a 2014 with 30,000miles that I took in and had the engine replaced under recall or warranty because of this same noise. It seems to be pretty hit or miss. We have a 2015 here with almost 350,000miles/560,000km and it still runs great.

[@thom_lapatate4842]

@turdpailsandtrails since the skirts aren't quite long enough, it causes excessive slap and over time, that noise If all the wear components like the block and bearings are still in usable shape it might be worth changing the pistons to get at least another 200k km out of the chassis

@@thom_lapatate4842 These cars don't have a chassis. You'll still need to replace worn out suspension components and tires etc.

[@thom_lapatate4842]

You are right but everything is pretty cheap on these including the 14 inch tires. Point is it could last a lot longer with love and with the milage this one has its hard to say someone didn't love that thing

[@williambeck6364]

154,000 miles on my 2018 Mirage SE $13,790 OUT-THE-DOOR with the automatic and all the goodies. Compared to other folks, I feel like I'm almost driving for free. I expect to get another 100,000 miles out of it!

[@sepg5084]

The fact that this economy car lived to half a million kilometers is an achievement.

[@Komputar]

*Still alive when dismembered* was making noise only

[@turdpailsandtrails]

@Komputar it was down on power but still useable, just sounded like crap.

[@antipathous]

Simple cars like this are great. Nothing fancy to break. As long as the engine is reliable, the car goes forever and is cheap to keep going. I don't think people realize how getting such a simple car can reduce their expenses and hassles so much and they're all convinced that they need to tick the 'yes' box to as many features that they can afford.

There are plenty things to go wrong other than the engine!

[@Psychx_]

I'm driving a 2012 Mitsubishi Colt 5dr with a 3 cyl. 75HP petrol engine. The car has been rock solid so far (Mitsubishi engines from this time are said to be indestructible when taken proper care of and not pushed into the red line). The only non-minor repairs needed until now were a new exhaust pipe and AC compressor. I plan on using the car until it breaks down. Only 85K km so far (I drive 4000-5000km/yr), yearly service/oil change, and the car is parked in a garage, so it's going to last me a very long time :D

[@juki6377]

i'm starting to see more and more of those, looked after ones too

[@Scr3amer42]

Stumbled randomly upon this video. I am not a car guy, I don't even own one but I really enjoyed it !! Learnt a bunch of stuff :)) ! Pretty cool content !

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

if you do regular oil changes it will last forever. I drive a 2015 Toyota Tacoma 4 cyl, currently has 280k miles. Still runs as good as original, also have a BMW 325i from 1989, 472k Km so far

[@Camsimsy2k]

I'm impressed by this little engine

[@danburby7936]

my daily driver is an 87 lancer.its 37 yrs old and runs like a swiss watch,only been apart once to replace head gasket and timing belt,nothing else,except water pump,valves and cam were fine,also replaced valve seals..great car

[@canuckfixit7722]

This clearly demonstrates how frequent oil changes extend the life of any engine, even cheap little 3-cylinder mills like this one. Real clean inside and good bearings.

[@802Garage]

Can instantly tell it was well maintained when that valve cover comes off. Not even golden brown varnish built up. Impressive! Simple little engine. Not highly stressed. Should go a long while with proper maintenance. Really not much wrong inside there. Looks like only real issue is pistons and hurting cylinders. If designed for durability, not fuel economy, would last even longer. I'd expect some brands to go much further with the same maintenance. Of course, other brands will be dead long before this.

[@XX-sl2ir]

Still better than a Hyundai Theta engine 😂

[@glock18supercharger]

Yeap

[@DGTelevsionNetwork]

A bicycle is better than a Kia/Hyundai product.

[@EdmundSampson-pd7vi]

The older Hyundai Exels engine was suprisingly durable. There was Turbo kit that sold that could be pretty much bolt on pretty much ready to go, so they could even handle a little boost

[@jessebrook1688]

Is that what went onto the Scoupe? Those engines are basically Mitsubishis, and the good Mitsubishis, too: 4G15s are durable engines.

[@crown674]

​@@jessebrook1688 It was the Sirius (licensed 4G15) and Alpha. Theta appeared in 2004.

[@michaelw6277]

I’m really happy to see that these cars can go the distance. It’s great that such affordable cars like this still exist.

[@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074]

Not any more. Discontinued.

[@Anthik]

@@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074 depends on the country, just bought one new in italy

[@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074]

@@Anthik The Mitsubishi is in its last year of production.

[@Anthik]

@@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074 sad

[@nokomokwele6205]

That's very impressive. These Japanese cars are just bricks, ive just clocked 300 000 km in my 2009 honda accord. The engine has never been opened

[@alvinhang8721]

This is the car many high-school and college students drive here. This is what they can afford. Not fancy but it works.

[@rotaxtwin]

Damn, it's pristine inside. When you popped that valve cover off I couldn't believe it. I'm used to (and it's been a long time) pulling apart greasy carbureted engines that have been rather neglected and leak oil everywhere. This was like something under a jewelry counter. Old smogger carb'd junk was alwasy so incredibly coked and and just plain done. This could go back together with just new pistons and the bores cleaned up. Thanks to your frequent maintenance.

[@Thomas63r2]

Unless the oil pressure was low from bearing wear, the noise was most likely just a needed valve lash adjustment with different shims in the lifter buckets. Lots of life was still in both of these engines.

[@zef1097]

I heard these engines can get piston slap, so it might have been that. I hope he properly diagnosed the engine before replacing it or scrapped the car.

[@ianrobertson3419]

Piston slap, cylinder scoring and wear. It was running but power and efficiency would be reduced. Valve lash would make noise but it's the easiest thing to check before even removing the engine.

[@Thomas63r2]

@@ianrobertson3419 The thrust side piston skirt wear shown in the video is mild, especially considering the miles. He said that it was running and drove fine and was in daily use, just that it was noisy for the last year or so. The bucket shim valve lash is a very robust design and often never needs adjustment for the life of the vehicle - but at this mileage would not be an unexpected service. I was especially impressed with how nice the camshafts looked.

[@ianrobertson3419]

@@Thomas63r2 the pistons are worn on the skirts and scored the cylinder. The rings are no doubt worn too. When those things happen it'll still run but it will make noise and produce less power. A simple compression check would show how much.

[@Thomas63r2]

@@ianrobertson3419 I've seen so much worse on engines with a fraction of the mileage compared to this engine, He said it was running and driving just fine, I don't believe there were any oil consumption issues and they had already been driving it for ~ a year with it being noisier. I think its likely that because of the mileage that after the engine was noisier the decision was made to be on the hunt for a low mileage salvage engine as being a less expensive fix than an overhaul. They just kept driving it until the right engine became available.

[@ItsMeGaryG]

Also, I replaced the clutch once (190k) , all 4 wheel bearings (140k), the ac compressor (140k), the clutch cable and clutch pedal pad (220k and 200k) . As far as i know, the alternator and water pump are both original. Run synthetic super tech 0w20 20kmi oil & 10k mile fram filters and change it at 10k (doesnt even look dirty, i do add 1/2 quart at 5k)

[@CurtisL8.3066]

Dingle ball and put new pistons and rings with the same wrist pins and run it. See what happens. I bet it runs like a top, this engine is clean as hell

[@timothykeith1367]

Probably does not need new pistons since the rings were not carboned . The low tension rings don't wear the block much when the rings are not stuck.

[@pietmahli282]

My friend bought one in 2017 n still driving it, it never had problems, what a car 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@r0ast5_61]

Got one for a longer term rental, i carry 60 lbs of equipment in my car and im 230lbs. It was super slow but sipped fuel and ran like a watch. I dailied a kia Rio which was way faster but engine codes galore at the time. decided to split the different with a honda fit. 200k miles and it runs like new

[@roger__100]

Nice video, thanks for sharing. It would be nice to see the engine assembled and working again.

[@tytotheler92]

That noise is valve train. The 13-15 cars have adjustable valves and flat tappet lifters, The 17+ cars got hydraulic roller lifters, tend to be quieter and don't need adjustment. They also make a little more power.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Negative. The only way to adjust valve lash is to replace the lifter bucket with a different size. 17+ have rollers on the cam lobes. 9-ish min mark on this vid shows the buckets kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnqXZXyZaJpmrKssi=JLWuA0XIK0mrKPoE

[@pokedude104]

Oil changes, Oil changes, Oil changes! If there's one thing to be anal about with your cars maintenance its regular oil changes. The manual for my car says 15,000 KM But I don't really like the idea of going that far between changes so I do 8,000 instead. I don't drive all that far so it only ends up being twice a year I change the oil.

[@pupi-pupi]

This is amazing. I never knew that 3 cyl can go this much

[@Bill-wz6tw]

That noise could be the timing chain tensioner failing or the variable valve timing actuator if it is not piston slap or lower end bearing noise which from the looks of this engine it doesn't appear to have much wear despite having high mileage looks perfectly rebuildable to me

[@The_Touring_Jedi]

It was clearly Vvti failing as timing chain was not that streched that Vvti could not compesate.

[@jugobetrugo7213]

Pistons & Cylinders are done. Everything else looks okay-ish for 500k+ km

[@jungleexplor]

Thank you for making these awesome videos!! ❤❤

[@lancetheb.m.c]

If anything this person got every single penny out of this car!

[@wildbill6366]

That's amazing but that kind of mileage!!! Good maintenance and good engineering❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@platec4798]

I have a manual trans Mirage and I maintain it very well and drive it like a rally car at times. Best little car I have ever owned. Very reliable and easy on fuel. Never once has it let me down. Far more reliable than some more expensive vehicles that I have owned in the past and currently own as well. Note sure what the stuff is on the oil pickup tube. I am wondering if its glue pieces from oil filters. Some filters have glue holding them together. I think the clatter sound is from the crown of the piston tapping the side of the block and the piston goes up and down. Let its clatter on and keep driving. When it grenades itself on my car, I will take my snow brush and plate off the car, leave it in the intersection blocking traffic and take an Uber for the rest of the way home. LOL I enjoyed your tear down. I have always wondered what the inside of one of these engines look like. Plate C

[@turdpailsandtrails]

My personal beater 2014 Mirage is the lowest cost of ownership car I've owned. I bought it used a couple years ago with around 300k for $1000 and a wonky cvt. Drove it 6 month then spun a rod bearing! I was thinking of scraping it but found a used engine and cvt with under 10k kms for $1200 from LKQ. It should be good til it rots away or someone crashes into me. I don't have theft insurance on it cause I can't even program a key for it with my scan tool like I can with other mfg so chances are low that it's getting stolen. And it's a Mirage so that itself is a theft deterrent. The 5spds You might be right about the oil filter glue. There's nothing in these engines that's red like that. I've only used oem mitsu and wix filters in these cars. And I think that noise is piston slap too. It could have kept going a lot longer, it just sounded like a diesel and nobody wanted to drive it cause they were afraid it was going to blow up.

[@combustion1476]

Keep doing the videos the way you are doing them, technical and informative.,well done, new subscribtion added. A great little engine indeed !

[@WorivpuqloDMogh]

Looks well maintained. The skirts is a shame but well, 524.000 kms, it is really cool. That for a 3 cylinder and on top a gasoline one is impressive to say the least

[@dasrusse1030]

500k km for such a small displacement gasoline engine is pretty good, i would say. Many of those little engines dont even last 200k km, especially the ones from vw, unless you get lucky

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Yeah, these things hold up well for the most part. There a handful in this fleet with over 400k km and a few others with 530k and 560k kms running the original untouched engines. What I'm most impressed with is they don't leak oil or coolant. This 524k engine did have the front main seal just barely starting to sweat and the back/rh seam of the timing cover sweats a little but never enough to form a drop.

[@The_Touring_Jedi]

​@@turdpailsandtrailsAny expirience with Honda 1.8iVtec? SOHC engines? Many said these are bulletproof and long runner.

[@Psychx_]

VW can have extremely shitty engines. I used to have a Skoda Fabia HTP 54hp 3cyl (same engine as VW Lupo) and ultimately had to scrap the car because the engine block ruptured at a mileage of just 60000 km, filling the cylinders with coolant. Turns out these engines were pushed to produce much more torque (more than my 75HP Mitsubishi Colt 3cyl) than they could handle. According to the plethora of people on the internet, who also had their engine block rupture, it's a design flaw.

[@dasrusse1030]

@Psychx_ Yes, I have that same engine too in my skoda fabia. It's at 117000km right now and sounds like a diesel for whatever reason. But it's been running like that for the past 4000km 😂😅 it doesn't burn coolant and almost no oil at all, thankfully. But I know these engines can blow at any given moment. My favorite vw engine so far has been the 3.2 Vr6. I have 190000km on the clock, and it still runs like butter. Not timing chain problems, no carbon buildup thanks to intake manifold injection, doesn't burn any oil like not even a single drop. It's been very reliable for me till now.

[@rider9187]

Kudos to Mitsubishi for still making cheap and reliable cars for people.

[@realmongolianhours6502]

As someone with no opinion on these engines besides that they are smol…. Any engine would last with how you take care of it looking at that crank… wow.

[@desubtilizer]

Mitsubishis from the early 2000s are getting pretty rare as most of them are on the scrapheap. I thought Mitsubishis were shit but to get 524,000km out of a pretty cheap relatively modern car they must be doing something right. Obviously this car has been well maintained but that is still impressive.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

I used to think the same thing. My only prior experience with Mitsubishi's was seeing clapped out,oil leaking, smoking cars of the early 90's and knocking 2.6L engines that came in 80's Caravans that rolled into the wrecker. Who knew?

[@neil1997]

Got to consider these cars are designed for "emerging markets" where a) fuel/oil/maintenance aren't at the same standard as N.America, b) they are expected to last a long time in harsh conditions. Looks like you took great care of it , could probably do another 100k easily

[@AndrewR10001]

My highest fuel consumption was 23 kp/L (54 mpg).. really fuel efficient! Basic maintenance is only needed. Really reliable small car... It doesn't have those fancy tech...

[@dkbaker121]

One of the last simple, dependable, affordable small cars😢

[@kristianhermann5971]

Next teardown you might consider measuring a couple bearing clearances with plastigauge - comparing to spec would allow you to quantify bearing wear - you could also measure oil pressure - very low pressure would indicate excessive bearing clearances - I believe these engines use solid lifters, so it's likely that excess valve clearance with that high mileage is a noise contributor, in addition to some piston slap - piston slap is usually loudest at startup and quiets down as the pistons expand in their bores - excessive valve clearance though will cause noise all the time - still very impressive mileage 👍 solid motors!

[@Ariccio123]

Wow solid lifters... Wild in 2024

[@kristianhermann5971]

@@Ariccio123 Yes many OEs have been using since the mid-2000s - they all use special hard coatings that minimizes wear and allows them to last - but they wear eventually and because there's no adjustment, you buy new lifters - lifters also rotate under the cam lobe, which spreads wear over a larger area and extends life

[@exidy2290]

The angle of the con rod on the power stroke is the cause of more wear on one piston skirt face - the major thrust side.

[@nahpets2345]

It's known as Mitsubishi Space Star in Europe

[@ryan176eircomnet]

Obviously a well serviced engine, Kudos

[@jareknowak8712]

Very impressive. Years ago i had na Euro Space Star from 2001, a small minivan with a 1.8 GDI engine. It was a great pleasure to drive this car and it never let me down. An incredibly economical car. I love old Mitsubishi and I'm very saddened by what happened to this company. In Europe, they now sell a Renault Clio with a different badge as Mitsubishi Colt !!!

[@turdpailsandtrails]

I've seen pictures of that Colt. It looks nicer than the Mirage I think. Over here the newest Outlander is a reskinned Nissan Rogue. The internet rumor mill says they'll kill off the Mirage in North America soon just like the other mfg's did to their smallest cars here over the last few years.

[@holdenbrougham1056]

Well done on video mate eye opening experience, wow 524km ,, worked for Mitsubishi sold heaps of these mirages, i thought they wouldnt make 100k without dying, these engines worked hard to with cvt , many hrs above 4000 rpm range , yet this 524 car must of been well serviced by somebody who had good care factor and guess wanted to see just how far it will go or last , piston slap seems only fault otherwise this engine is a ripper dipper little marathon champion, i,m mega impressed at the cleanliness of it and next to no wear just boar and piston scraps not bad for 524,000km and tiny little engine

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Thanks! I’ve been maintaining a small fleet of these things since new. I thought they’d be finished by 200k initially. I wanted to keep this one going til it got much worse but it sounded like a diesel when driving it. Wasn’t a good look. Some of them are hit or miss. I tore one down before this with 450k and the pistons and rings were gunked up. Then there’s a few others with 536 and 560k that run great still. The one should hit 600k by September. They are holding up well. I drowned my daily Mirage in a river once on a camping trip. I can’t kill the thing 😂

[@holdenbrougham1056]

@@turdpailsandtrails yeah 600 k , bloody hell impressive shit from such a tiny engine , well they turned out much better than I thought, now was everything else still working in the car such as air conditioning, door locks , radio cruise control etc , if so it's like the Nissan pulsar from late 90s , 729km yes in a pulsar ,, everything working still , even exhaust fumes still clean as it was new,

[@u.e.u.e.]

OMG! The camshafts look almost brand new! 🤩👍 Does the engine have port injection? How about having a look if the valves are dirty and probably causing the noise?

[@LcFan96]

idk if anyone wrote this in the comments yet, but the red stuff in the oil pickup screen is most likely some sort of paint they use in the engine assemlby line to mark off bolt that already have been tightened. lots of engine have this, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow

[@michaelsheehan2086]

I like that the engine has a timing chain. The timing belt on my chevy aveo snapped and I've been trying to fix it for a year.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Yeah, I have a Chevy sonic in the shop with a broken timing belt. Swapping the engine then will fix the old one and keep it as a spare if it’s not too mangled. Likely needs a bunch of valves replaced at least.

[@Mr--S.]

Send that engine to the BMW engineers, so they can learn how to develop and build long lasting reliable engines :)

[@joskjj3625]

Considering that modern bmw engines are some of the most reliable engines on the market today that even Toyota felt comfortable borrowing from them? I think you need to fix your comment and send Mitsubishi engineers a video of how to build an engine.Just because the Mitsubishi in the video has 500,000km doesn’t mean all Mitsubishi’s will hit 500,000km. Toyota and Bmw engineers would be laughing at this pile of trash car

[@leroyybrown]

Incredible 524K engine, try getting that from your BMW or Range Rover

[@7privet_]

Im surprised how clean the engine is inside

[@johnsmith7676]

I gather you maintain a fleet of these vehicles...? If so, you do a very good job doing it. I tip my hat to you.

[@Jamouse200]

Could you make a video about your recommendation for maintaining the mirage. Intervals and what to check. Thanks in advance

[@kalleklp7291]

It looks all good to me. 500 K is some achievement for a little 3-banger. An old Mercedes would go twice that and still look impeccable inside.

[@streamingvideo6654]

Awesome for its price! What a tough engine! Thanks for sharing.

[@BlueHaze7024]

Wow, you really took good care of it. I expected to see the usual brown film covering the valve train that I see on cars with many fewer miles.

[@chamwow168]

No oil on leaks, no burned oil under the valve cover. How is that even possible

[@lungduan240]

great video, thanks, but what about transmission? how many transmission have you gone through? and what other troubles with that car? such as starter, water pump, etc. please let us know. thanks

[@cwfqayin]

Hello from Thailand (the country of origin of the car). 10 years ago my country passed a law to support 1200 cc econobox that spawn the Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Micra, Toyota Yaris, etc. In the country that call the Camry large and call the Ranger gargantuan. All these economy car is enough for most of us. The only problem is that, many of them used the CVT made by JATCO (a subsidiary of Nissan) and it's pretty shitty.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

The cvt's are hit or miss it seems. For the most part I'm seeing lots in the fleet with over 400,000kms on them. One has 536,000km in a 2017 Mirage. I've seen a handful of thrust washers fail on the input shaft housing on some 2015's(including the car this engine out of). There's pics of that in one of the cvt teardown video's.

[@randyvillanueva1798]

Its a mitsubishi its sure reliable in any of their model

[@G_de_Coligny]

I had a loaner one (jdm) once… There was nothing special (not as fun as an old Nissan Micra for example) But she was doing the job without any issues or restriction. Would buy one if i needed a smaller car.

[@azeez8399]

The best economy car you can buy.

[@doodskie999]

Aside from that piston slap, the engine was impeccable. See, this is why oil changes are very important. Also, I don't get why people shit on this car, its a basic economy car that gets you from point a to b.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

They're slow, what would the neighbors think, and lot of people are worried about the high driver fatality rate. They do have poor small front overlap crash rating. So, the only logical choice is an SUV.

[@charleshollingsworth1583]

I have had 3 mirages all 5 speed manuals for runarounds and they were great for what they were.. I was always a mits fan but now that nissan owns them they will go down farther. I am a retired ford tech and will not buy anything with a cvt, but i have a friend that put over 300,000 miles on his 14 mirage and his cvt never failed. Front wheel bearings seem to be the only issue i ever had. I also had an outlander sport with 5 speed manual But this old fart made me an offer when it has close to 5,000 miles on it that was over 5 grand more than i paid for it new.

[@PaulMyers-q1m]

Last generation mirage in early 2000 was only a 2dour coupe was a fun to drivre some one at work had one an loved it

[@wayneschenk5512]

Oil changes make all the difference.

[@dangoris4164]

Any German engineers seeing this? Timing chains can actuslly last! Oil seals can stay clean forever... yust saying VW, Mercedes, Opel, Ford, ...

[@7privet_]

Yes and no, this engine is very simple, compared to some german ones, that usually break because of emissions requirements, like having to up the running temp, (bmw switched to +-104*C thermostat, instead of 90*, caused a lot of valve stem seal, and other gasket failiures, bore scoring) or having turbos, more heat in the engine, plus it also dpeends on the driver, cold starts and service intervals

[@dangoris4164]

@@7privet_ fair point, but as a mechanic myself I've seen many simple N/A engines failing from weak timing chains, broken valves, lost compression, broken con rods...most at low milage. Either an engine is durable or it isn't. But of course good maintenance is a huge contributor. But look at indestructible Honda's...you can neglect them and still they won't die. While reving high, beeing efficient and kinda complex when coming with VTEC. The urge to extract the last penny out of every product ist the killer of most things I think. We need engineers that say NO to developing cheap crap for the sake of profit.

[@ThePandasian34]

These 3 cyl the manual are where its at for these mirage’s reliability..to be fair, all it needs is oil squirters to lubricate the cylinder walls better and those scorings would be non-existent, forged pistons and rods, would allow it to be still reliable with a turbo in it to fix its anemic power

[@CreRay]

VERY impressive result, any engine that goes that distance without major mech is a good engine, especially for a compact. Surprisingly low wear on the timing chain. Why was the engine taken out of the car, was it because of the mechanical noise? Is it known if there was oil consumption?

[@nosajkeram]

love my 2 mirages, i have a 2014 and a 2017

[@TheBigdog868]

This engine looks overbuilt for the 75 or so horsepower it makes. That probably has a lot to do with why it lasts so long.

[@sekopiski]

For what was this car used for? I'm more impressed by the fact that someone did that kind of mileage in a Mirage than i am about the condition of the engine.

[@turdpailsandtrails]

Used for delivery's.

[@williambeck6364]

Excellent, informative video. Thanks Fummins!