2002 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear L400 (Garage entry)

[Fummins]

It doesn't have one. I don't think airflow is the problem(though I've seen some nasty pics of Delica's with plugged heater cores and evaporator cores), it blows good enough but just takes a bit for the engine to warm up. I'm just used to near-instant heat with the Mirage.

[Fummins]

I haven't updated this lately. I drove the car more often lately because I never have to pay attention to the gas gauge in it.

I partially installed a chinese diesel heater next to the front passenger seat. I only got as far as mounting it to the floor and then tied the exhaust and fuel line off to the side. Still have to figure out a fuel tank to use along with a place to mount it, mount and wire a fuel pump, seal the bottom of the floor opening. Mount a second battery somewhere and wire it up with an isolator or go ghetto and trickle charge while driving via cig lighter outlet?
I really should see how bad the rust is on the front end one of these days. These vans are known for frame rail rust around the upper control arm mounts, especially the lh side. If it's not too bad I can probably cut out and replace some pieces but if it's too sketchy looking I'll end up finding a fabricator to give it a go. Hopefully not too costly to fix otherwise it may just end up being a parts van or sold as is. I'm on the fence about how much to blow on this thing, most are listed for $10-15k and chances are they either have rust or will start to shortly. US prices that I've seen are even crazier, I saw an add for an older model with the entire rh rear smashed in, interior gutted because van life and they want $15k usd. And I'm pretty sure it's a write off.

[Fummins]

[Eggman]

A needle gun, some Ospho & some POR15 ought to take care of that rust.

[Fummins]

That might take care of the surface rust but not the sections that are thin and holy. It's not as bad as I expected, I've seen pics and video's where people have had to fabricate an entire lower frame rail.

The spot circled above the axle is dished in for the shock to clear and the upper shock mount bracket bolts to the two nuts in the frame on either side of it. I was hoping to avoid messing with that part but it should be cut out and patched at least. I guess a guy could cut the entire side piece out and just copy it.

There also a rusty section along the bottom edge between the two cross-members that bolt to the bottom of the frame rail that will have to be chopped out and replaced. Otherwise, this side is right. The driver's side is in far better shape with just a small section on the side that has some pin holes. I'll chop it all out and replace it. The fun part will be hauling a big oxy/acetylene torch setup and a mig welder home. I have a cheap flux core but it's messy and doesn't have much for adjustments.

I've been putting this off for a while but it's gotta be done. This thing is pulling hard to the left and I can't get an alignment done with holes in the frame and I don't really want to drive it too much like that.....
I'm gonna replace all the ball joints, tie rods, shocks, and sway bar links, with stuff I found on Rockauto that's hopefully compatible. The only part I can't find cheap/local-ish is upper control arm bushings. I found new control arms but they're over $300/piece.

I'm debating installing a 2" lift. The torsion bars were cranked to the max and though it rode ok, it could be better. I think a lift kit would help keep it high and not ride like a pooh. It basically just drops the front lower control arms mounts down(along with the engine and front diff),I'm not sure if the transmission/t-case mounts are dropped too. Then there are coil spring spacers, a brake bias valve spacer, and sway bar link spacers for the rear, and possibly an adjustable panhard bar to help center the diff.

With the 2" lift the largest tire you can go with is only 31". I've seen pics of 6" lifts running 34-35" tires but I think that's a bit much for a 185hp 5000lb turd. But if I lift it and go with taller tires I might not be able to squeeze it into my garage anymore. Not a big deal but I still have a timing belt to replace and some oil leaks to fix one of these days. Lift can wait.

Now for the never-ending revised todo list:

1. Fix frame rust and try to slow it down.(in progress)

2. Replace worn front suspension. (parts being ordered this week hopefully)

2.1 Replace the exhaust! It's horrible on the highway at certain speeds, right around 100k/60mph the drone is pretty bad in the front and deafening in the third row.

3. Get alignment.

3.1 Tires, if I keep it with the torsion bars cranked up I might be able to fit 30's on it. Good enough for me.

4. Replace the timing belt, valve cover gaskets, and anything else that is or could leak, replace spark plugs while it's apart. (should order parts soon)

5. Finish installing the diesel heater. Wire it, install fuel tank, pump, mount controller, etc...Seal the 4" hole in the floor that I cut.

5.1 Better tow/recovery hooks. There's an over-popular 4x4/atv/jeep trail that I might want to try with this van. It's only about 22 km long but takes 2 hours or more so on a side-by-side. It'd take at least 1/2 a day in a minivan if things go well. A winch would be ideal. So would some decent skid plates. Some trails have dozens of river crossings filled with big rocks.

6. Upgrade speakers, they're all blown up. There are 4 fronts, 2 in the dash and 2 in the door, then 2 6x9s next to the middle row
seats. Maybe install a small sub? Maybe get rid of the giant early 2000s backup camera screen and just use the head unit instead. Or replace it with a clearer unit and install a second camera on the left front corner to help make less sketchy left turns.

7. Replace headlight bulbs, and fog light bulbs with LED or just halogen. They're all mismatched right now. Replace the brake/tail light bulbs too. They're crappy, low-quality, glitchy led bulbs. Normally that's right up my alley but they don't work properly and were installed by one of the many previous owners.

8. One day replace the windshield. This one still has stickers from Japan on it and the van has been in Canada since 2017 so it can't be any newer than 6 years old at this point.

9. I'm on the fence about removing the steps or not. They're kinda handy. The one at the sliding door is powered which is pretty neat but needs some help for it to work.

10. I'm wondering if I can fit a small quad in this thing. Probably not a great idea but I think something like a 300 Honda or Suzuki might fit.

11. Sell it at a loss.