Yep... another one...

[dspace9]

Here's today's video! Fixing the smashed in radiator support. Enjoy!



The red one had the engine replaced while I owned it. The black stick one I have had the engine replaced before I got it. This car I guess could use a new engine to be quiet but forget it the thing can tick and like it.

Fummins, the engine has to be noisy for Mitsu to approve replacement. If your high mileage car isn't clacking away then they probably won't replace it.

Have you done that oil change on the black Mirage with the rattle? I wonder if it's just the thick oil sludge going through that unkept car that may make all the difference. My friend got my old lawn tractor a few years ago, put carburetor cleaner in it and ran perfect after.

[Dodge Aries K]

I did change the oil once and will be doing it again here after running some seafoam in it to help clean it out.

[dspace9]

Right on, I have been enjoying your videos. Interesting to see what happens at the end with this Mirage and the weird noise.

[Dodge Aries K]

I'm glad you're enjoying the videos! It's fun for me to make them and hopefully pass on a little knowledge here and there.

Well, I've had it running for hours, driven it all over town, revved it a bunch of times to the redline... the noise hasn't changed at all. It's either piston slap or possibly a noisy lifter or something along those lines. It wouldn't be a rod bearing or anything like that because the engine would have exploded already hahaha.

I'd love to know if this is the cause of the "overfuelling" issue that Mitsu was replacing these early engines for. This might be the cause of that especially since the guy who I bought it from told me the noise started when there was that cold snap last December in the area. Was fine before then and then it got super cold especially for the St. Louis area and the car started to tick like that and hasn't stopped.

You know what, it's clacky just like Fummins' white Mirage was before they replaced the engine under the service campaign now that I found the video of his car again. So yeah, pretty sure it's piston slap from cylinder scoring or whatever. At this point, it's just going to probably be that way which is fine for whatever young driver gets it and subsequently undo's all the work I put into cleaning and fixing it when when they smash it into a tree because they were too busy texting and taking selfies or some garbage like that.

[dspace9]

Maybe you'll end up replacing the engine then, that's always a possibility. Or live with the tinging like you say.

Yea eh lots of distracted drivers out there too busy texting to drive, like blindfolded 2 ton moving objects as far as I'm concerned.

[Dodge Aries K]

Well, I have a nice quiet 2017 engine sitting here that needs a home but this car isn't going to be it since it still runs good and drives fine. I rather cut someone more of a deal on this one and find it a home with a bit of a noisy engine. It'll still run and work like that for a long time. I'm used to older Chryslers that clack and knock like crazy all the time (K cars, Neons, etc... they all do it) and it's just part of them being that way.

What I'd absolutely LOVE to find is a really nice green ES hatch or a nice SE sedan that needs an drivetrain to put my nice 2017 setup into. But that would be for me then, not for anyone else hahaha.

[dspace9]

My friend told me to buy a purple Mirage, this was 7 years ago now. For me it was a toss up between red and dark grey, and I went with the thunder grey. The paint looks good, I wash it by hand or at a distance with a power washer a few times each winter.

Anyway I have never seen a green Mirage before in real life. With the right aero kit I do think green looks good. I would get the side body stripe thing on mine like on Dirk's green Mirage. Mopar colours came on the Mirage at one point or another; orange, purple, kiwi green.

[Dodge Aries K]

I've seen a few green and purple ones in person. My daughter loves the purple (it's basically pink... let's be serious) but I've always loved those bright green colors. The Prius C came in a crazy bright green color for a few years that I absolutely loved... the 1995 Neons had the nitro yellow green for that year only that I love. I'm actually planning someday when I work more on my project 1987 Aries K wagon to have it painted that nitro yellow green color. That's going to be so damn cool... I can't wait to be able to actually start on that whole project.

[dspace9]

There is an orange Mirage not that far from me, but other than that orange Mirage, I barely see another Mirage around. My neighbour's daughter bought a Mirage years ago, but then I wonder if she sold it and I only know that because her dad drove up to my car and asked me all sorts of questions a few years ago.

Then again, I'm not driving as much right now, and nobody is, so maybe here are more Mirage's around than meets the eye. Hard to say. Not the most popular car that is for sure. There was an old EVO V driving around that would be cool to own, never see that car now. I was walking around my small town earlier and I saw a truck carrying a 70s trans am or camaro down the road, something going on with the car and/or the trailer that was making a racket along the way.

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm glad you're enjoying the videos! It's fun for me to make them and hopefully pass on a little knowledge here and there.

Well, I've had it running for hours, driven it all over town, revved it a bunch of times to the redline... the noise hasn't changed at all. It's either piston slap or possibly a noisy lifter or something along those lines. It wouldn't be a rod bearing or anything like that because the engine would have exploded already hahaha.

I'd love to know if this is the cause of the "overfuelling" issue that Mitsu was replacing these early engines for. This might be the cause of that especially since the guy who I bought it from told me the noise started when there was that cold snap last December in the area. Was fine before then and then it got super cold especially for the St. Louis area and the car started to tick like that and hasn't stopped.

You know what, it's clacky just like Fummins' white Mirage was before they replaced the engine under the service campaign now that I found the video of his car again. So yeah, pretty sure it's piston slap from cylinder scoring or whatever. At this point, it's just going to probably be that way which is fine for whatever young driver gets it and subsequently undo's all the work I put into cleaning and fixing it when when they smash it into a tree because they were too busy texting and taking selfies or some garbage like that.

Even with that engine noise, it's still a reliable engine wouldn't you think? Probably good for another 100k miles with a little luck.