The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby 89ARIES » Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:29 am

We have some members in this club with original 2.6 Mitsubishi motors. Now, I have heard from Allpar and other sources that with proper maintenance, these motors can go in excess of 200,000-300,000
miles. Yet, they can be susceptible to a host of maladies if not maintained. The biggest of which includes funky Mikuni carb, cracking jet valves or block?, and smoking from lifters that need to be adjusted.
Can someone give a clean, unbiased opinion about the motor, how to maintain it, and what weak points to solve or watch out for?
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby 1of10K » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:17 pm

I remember the salesman telling me back in 1981 when I pondered getting a K with the 2.2 or the 2.6, he said they needed alot more maintenance, adjusting valves, than the 2.2.

Like any old car or motor, the ones that lasted 25-30 years are the good ones!
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby turbokcar » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:29 pm

I was told by the guy that did the machine work on my engine that the 2.6 block can and will crack. If you can stick with the 2.2 or 2.5. I think the 3.0 mitsubishi is good, but the 2.2 turbo is what you need.
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby dodgeariesguy » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:21 pm

The 3.0L Mitsu. V6 was prone to severe oil leaks without warning. But 2.2L and 2.5 are best.
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby Silverbeard » Fri Jul 17, 2009 2:11 am

Never had any problems with my 2.6L.
Some last forever, others are forever a problem.
Glad I got a good one.:P
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby Baron » Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:18 am

had a Dynasty with the 3.0 Mitsu engine. What a disaster. The design was such that it was impossible to seal it from oil leaks (the valve covers had some funky cutouts that, if I remember correctly, were there to fit over the cam shafts, but made for an impossible tight fit) The heads went bad at 50,000 miles, although they were at least still covered under the 7/70 warranty. Bottom line, that car and its drive train was a total lemon. My 83 E-class with the 2.6 engine, however, didn't give me one bit of trouble- although, and I hate to admit it, I traded it in when it only had about 70,000 miles on it.
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby dodgeariesguy » Fri Jul 17, 2009 1:40 pm

The 3.0L is at least 3x worse than the 2.6 in design and function but the 2.6 wasn't too bad because even Mitsubishi was using it in some of their own cars like the Starion. So you could buy a 2.6 if it had been serviced properly and felt like servicing it properly there after.
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby turbokcar » Fri Jul 17, 2009 2:11 pm

Lets be realistic, most of these K cars didn't go in for every scheduled maintenance, that's why someone is always asking if we can save this car or that car. And I'm not saying I love the 3.0, it's like I'm being asked if I would rather have a tooth ache, or a broken bone. I always suggest the 2.2 or the 2.5. :lol:
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Re: The real scoop behind 2.6 Mitsubishi. Good or bad or both?

Postby MoparDan » Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:57 pm

My friend told me he had a mint cond. fully loaded '85 LeBaron Town and Country convertable that had somthing like 35K miles but it also had the 2.6 which blew on him after about a month
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