Project Deli – Filters and Fluids and Belts, oh my!

It’s time to dig under the hood and into the chassis. Although this fine example of a 1997 Mitsubishi Delica Spacegear Series 2 has just over 50k miles, it did not come with any maintenance records—most of them never do. I’m seeing some aftermarket bits and pieces, but for the most part, I must assume nothing.

First, I take on the dreaded fuel filter. This is a critical maintenance item for a diesel. It took me a little under five hours to replace, prime, and bring the motor up to temp.  

Hmmmm. A factory OEM fuel filter? That looks about 30 years old. Could it be? I think so, given how hard it was to get out.

You see, it’s a screw-on filter. But you can’t get your hands on it to unscrew. Instead, all the fuel lines are removed, the base is removed from the chassis, and it is placed in a bench vice with the largest set of Channellocks you own.

The real problem lies in everything that has to be removed to get to it. The windshield fluid reservoir and the coolant overflow tank for starts.

This is a bad time to have dual batteries. Forty pounds each, got to go. Lift with the legs.

And don’t forget the turbo intercooler, including hoses and unhooking all of the electrical connections. Yes, I won’t go another 27 years, but this fuel filter is going to have to last me a while.

The transmission would typically require only a quick drain and fill. The fluid appeared old, yet not worn or abused. However, I really wanted to check the magnets in the pan. They always tell the real story.

This little square fellow fought me every step of the way. The drain tube is welded to the pan and has three massive, over-engineered stand-offs that I had to contend with. Took forever to scrape the old silicon sealer (original). Magnets were not that fuzzy, and there was not much silt. Cleaned up nicely!

Time for gear oil. Of all of the fluids found in an automotive, I hate the smell of gear oil the most. I started with the transfer case because I had the most space to work with. Sticky like syrup. I get nauseous thinking about it. Just to be safe, I ran the strongest bar magnet I have through that nasty soup. No filings. Yes!!

The front and rear differentials were pretty straight forward. Although I had to pull out my offset wrenches to get to the fill and drain plugs, at least all gear boxes used the same size (24mm). For the trio, I went thru just over five quarts. I only use Red Line, which wasn’t cheap ($150), but this is pretty much done for my lifetime.

The valve covers on these 2.8-liter diesel engines are known for leaking. The seal hardens, becomes brittle, and eventually blows out oil all over the place. Although mine was in unusually good shape (just a little seepage), it’s a good thing to get ahead of, especially for long future trips.

Again, lots of top pieces to remove for access. It was a good time to do some general cleanup. When you have cleaning access from a miscellaneous repair, you take advantage of it.

There was BARELY enough room to lift the cover over that last cam, which is almost at the firewall—lots of careful wiggling. I don’t want to scratch a camshaft lobe!

The timing chain was in good condition and snug, with no debris or sludge in the head. All the galleys are clean and open. This engine was cared for and not overheated.

And those lobe faces are like mirrors. No scoring. As clean as the day it came out of the factory.

Ah, the cooling system. Everything looks good, but I need to ensure it can withstand the mileage I intend to put on it. I started with the hoses (used OEM). Got 27 years from the first set (still looked ok), so these will be my last.

I never do thermostats, especially with such low mileage. But if these motors get hot, you can blow a head gasket in no time. It also provided me with an opportunity to inspect the housing for any signs of aluminum corrosion. Clean and smooth, so someone was changing the coolant on schedule. Yes!

The other hose housing also looked in excellent condition. This allowed me to test the glow plugs, inspect the fuel rail, and verify that no leaks were starting around the injection pump. These were mechanical for the first half of the L400 generation. This model is the first year of the all-electric (a little more horsepower with a simpler design).

Did I mention how fun the fan belts were? You can only see two in the photo, but there are actually three of them buried somewhere down there. At least Mitsubishi used belt tensioners and brackets. But the bolts were miserable to get two. I had to almost fully remove the alternator for one of them.

Most of the bulbs are original. I wanted to push for a whiter light for nighttime driving in Montana, so I went with 4200 Kelvin (the brightest legal temperature you can use). Again, not much clearance on the back of the head and side light assemblies.

I lost a lot of skin on the knuckles during all of this, but I like how they came out. I had to be really careful, as those plastic sockets and wire clips are starting to get brittle from age.

That’s enough for now. I still want to pull the hubs and check out the bearings, but the pre-summer list is getting shorter. Old Deli is about 85% ready for Glacier Park this summer.

Delica-Boy out!