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Mitsi L200 horror stories about the engine


malkiserow
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Yes, they're ****, in terms of mechanics, driver comfort/manouevrability and power. We bought one new in 2005 for farm use and killed it within 3.5 years. It went through brake discs and wheel bearings like there was no tomorrow, it had sporadic and often major engine-management and electrical issues, it drank more fuel than a 600hp John Deere and it couldn't pull a damned thing. It had three new clutches in its lifetime. It was one of the few vehicles I genuinely hated driving. We sold it to a local smallholder for a pittance. And replaced it with another Landy 110 crew-cab.

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ok the pre 2006 2.5 engines have alloy heads that are prone to cracking its not a mega thing and is about a £800 repair for a replacement fitted head. The plus point of lots failing is its easy to pick up a replacement. Bottom end seems strong with few problems. I've run one for 2 years now and mine is a well used version picked up for not a lot apart from the head issue which i knew about when i bought it I've replaced a few bits to get it up to scratch and everything is basic 4x4, wheel bearings can believe it or not be changed in 30 minutes for about £12 from milners and brakes etc are very simple. The post 2006 have a different engine and facelifted body and seem to have less of the faults, generally they are mitsubishi engineering and a lot is shared with the shogun which rarely gets slated so take your views from that. Forums etc only show up problems rather than satisfied owners, I've done 20K in mine and economy is about 30mpg its comfy, great for lamping from and yet to get stuck so its not molly coddled and is certainly a lot better on road then my previous fourtrak. the plus point is a lot are run as cars so its easy to pick up an unabused version. Having heard Baldricks views on Landrovers after buying said 110's I'd suggest they have the gonads worked off them with drivers with little mechanical sympathy which in reality will break most vehicles.

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Suppose it rather depends what you want it for.

I would bow to Baldrick's experience as his sounds like it had more use than mine gets.

But I have had a 2003 4Life for a couple of years now (52k when I bought it for £6k with FSH) and it has done everything I have ever asked of it. It doesn't get used all the time but when it is in use it takes a beating, and in the last few weeks has done a 1900 mile round trip to Sutherland and back including towing out other stuck 4x4's, carting shedloads of gear and dogs, plenty of miles properly offroad on terrible ground, launching boats off trailers etc. It does get well looked after and had cambelt changed by main dealer this year (not cheap). Amazing how much people want to borrow it for this or that job they need to do.

Definitely not the most comfortable car I have ever driven but I am very pleased with mine (watch it break down now on Sat when I'm out shooting....)

M

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Suppose it rather depends what you want it for.

I would bow to Baldrick's experience as his sounds like it had more use than mine gets.

But I have had a 2003 4Life for a couple of years now (52k when I bought it for £6k with FSH) and it has done everything I have ever asked of it. It doesn't get used all the time but when it is in use it takes a beating, and in the last few weeks has done a 1900 mile round trip to Sutherland and back including towing out other stuck 4x4's, carting shedloads of gear and dogs, plenty of miles properly offroad on terrible ground, launching boats off trailers etc. It does get well looked after and had cambelt changed by main dealer this year (not cheap). Amazing how much people want to borrow it for this or that job they need to do.

Definitely not the most comfortable car I have ever driven but I am very pleased with mine (watch it break down now on Sat when I'm out shooting....)

M

 

There's no need to bow, Macnab - as you say, our old L200 had a very different life to your 4Life. What grated was the L200's lack of power, when compared to a LR Defender. It literally could not shift a 35-foot combine header and trailer, even when the load bay was ballasted to optimise traction from the rear wheels, whereas a Defender would pull that load all day long. I appreciate that's not a fair test. One other thing I dislike about the L200 is the height of the seat, or lack of it. I prefer to be perched as high as possible, so that I can see over hedges.

 

A friend, also a farm manager, swears by his X-reg L200, and seems to have less problems with it. However, I know it's not been wholly trouble-free.

 

I also think that if Land Rover can move on from lead springs, surely the more modern Jap manufacturers can too?

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the springs are to give you the 1t load capacity though so yes they could soften them but it would probably then look comical if you put a tonne in the back. Surprised the LR's have more grunt as I thought the mitsubishis were up on the power and torque figures

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High torque is meaningless if it can't be transferred properly - see Clarkson's efforts to control a Merc SL55 AMG Black.

 

Solid axles front and rear on the Landy, a really resilient clutch, the lowest of low-range gearboxes and good weight distribution are all advantageous factors.

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strange as I thought the headers were only about 3.5t though with a heavy duty trailer shouldn't be that much more than they are rated to tow. well nearly double though I guess a trailer designed to be pulled by a tractor won't help rather you than me with no trailer brakes :P

Edited by al4x
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I have a post '06 model which have no complaints with.

 

I would agree with Baldrick's synopsis re towing near the max weight, they just don't have the guts of Land Rover... but then that is true of the majority of pickups, not just the L200.

 

Other than that, great vehicle which does all I need it to do, returns over 30mpg and is comfortable to drive.

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strange as I thought the headers were only about 3.5t though with a heavy duty trailer shouldn't be that much more than they are rated to tow. well nearly double though I guess a trailer designed to be pulled by a tractor won't help rather you than me with no trailer brakes :good:

 

I've never struck the header on the weighbridge, in fact. I will check it out next summer. We only use the 4x4 for header moves when all the tractors are carting or on cultivations. It's hardly an ideal solution, but at least the option is there with the Defender.

 

We had a pimped '09-plate Hilux for about two months, with a big 3-litre engine. It had a heck of a lot of grunt, much more than the Defender, but it just couldn't hack it in really sticky boulder clay, pulling diesel bowsers. It got chopped in for a new Defender.

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  • 2 weeks later...

interesting, it seams to be the 'jap' 4x4 are designed for the US market and the Landy with it's routes in the UK and tested in the midlands comes out best for heavy UK off road use.

 

I recently brought an old 03 4life at say 60k, (see L200 tracking post) for what I use it for on a shoot it's great, but get the both cam belts changed and check the bottom pulley out. The problem is the bottom pulley has a built in shock absorber - why? but it can fail.

 

Now the interesting part; the fan belts drive the water pump and alternator - and the steering belt drives the steering pump and the water pump - so if the bottom pulley fails this means the steering pump belt is now driving the water pump as there is no drive from the fan belt bottom pulley. So if you have alot of fan belt noise and the belts are over tightened to compensate, it could be the bottom pulley - and can damage any of the belt driven parts mainly the water pump. To change the water pump all the front needs to come off inc the cam belts = big job.

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I read all the reviews to and about the Nivara engines ..puts you right off with the £££ potential but then as mentiond people only write bad when miffed about something ..or give praise when they only just got it . Dont they do a 3 ltr which is less prone to fail ..or did I make that up ?

I bought a Ranger 05 made up with it to date..seems to have loads of grunt,nice ride for a truck,big load bay and keep clean leather ...so will never read a review about it as cant afford sleepless nights :welcomeani:

Edited by PWD
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I read all the reviews to and about the Nivara engines ..puts you right off with the £££ potential but then as mentiond people only write bad when miffed about something ..or give praise when they only just got it . Dont they do a 3 ltr which is less prone to fail ..or did I make that up ?

I bought a Ranger 05 made up with it to date..seems to have loads of grunt,nice ride for a truck,big load bay and keep clean leather ...so will never read a review about it as cant afford sleepless nights :welcomeani:

 

 

having worked for magazines over the years I can tell you that most reviews are written by people who know squat about the subject, their speciality is writing, and the more favourable the review is directly proportionate to the amount of freebies offered

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I have heard bad stories about Rangers but I had a 2001 4x2 supercab from new - jacked it up & put 15" wheels on and used it offroad alot over 8 yrs + caravanng, bring loadsa wood home etc totally reliable, in fact the next guy hasn't put a spanner or hammer on it yet.

 

I religously believe in maintenance before engine death - as I hate suprise bills.

 

My replacement 03 L200 has had a hard life but why buy new for sliding into gate posts in mud with dogs 'n' logs to muck it up, did loadsa work on it before winter sets in, should be ok now. Most of the local pickups locally are L200 but I have know 3 - with trashed engines recently; suspect cam belts and not changing fluids and excessive hard use. My truck is ok on fuel if not pumped hard - not easy to do when having fun.

 

I read reviews as a precaution but do my own checking out. :welcomeani:

Edited by pigeon popper
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the main issue with the L200's is cracked heads and isn't related to maintenance, but its not as bad or as expensive as it sounds if you're half handy with a spanner. They get worked hard and with that things break it happens but generally you do get a lot of truck for your money these days. Mines worked hard and have had the cam belt etc done as lets face it if they fail its expensive and its also your fault for not changing them usually at the right interval

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Been driving L200 since just before 2003, was allways swapping in for a new truck every 12 months untill the new model came out 2005 I think.I still have the truck I bought in 2005, work it hard, drive it EVERYWHERE, including on the tank runs, and have never had a problem.

Baldrick I am suprised that you rate the L/R over it , you served did you not?I still am and I am sure there is more pull in my L200 than the TUL/TUM at work.It certainly has no problems with hauling logs/horse trailers/loads of building material in a 3 cubic meter trailer.I am sure the L/R's at work would let you know the load was there.

 

Funny isn't it how the experiences are different from person to person, maybe Mitsi quality controll is not what it should be?

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I had a run of L200s and have now gone back to Land Rover myself. I started my 4x4 life with two Defenders, then moved to the L200 for comfort. I have to say I found my 2000 4life quite good compared to a Defender. Then I changed it for a 52 plate L200. Had engine management trouble with that and got shot of it. Bought a 54 plate 4work club cab and that was ok for about a year. Then the 4wd system developed a fault. Fixed it only to have another fault about a month later. This carried on for months so I got fed up and went back to the Defender. The drive home was horrible. Loud, bumpy, slow. You name it it was awful. But now I'm used to it I appreciate what it was designed for. It does the job extremly well.

 

I think to sum it up the L200 is a road going pickup that's got 4x4 and is ok off road and doing the heavy work. A defender is a tractor with a higher range gear box, a pickup bed and no PTO. It's uncomfortable on the motorway but in the rough it's very hard to beat!

 

When I look at the reasons for giving up on the Defenders in the first place I can see why I did it. I wanted more comfort. Now I have a car for social life so I want a real work tool that I can rely on, I'm back to the Defender and very pleased with it!

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I run a 2005 4Life for 3 years & recently traded it in with 48K on the clock, only problem was a broken rear leaf spring :sick: I got a new Trojan & it is night & day both on & off road :good: 2002/2003 model years had some overheating issues - sometimes it was the head, sometimes the block & ocassionaly both :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Have a look on the L200 owners website & if you are thinking on getting one it's worth the joining fee for the technical info -

 

http://www.l200.org.uk/

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I've owned and or driven most the pickups over the last few years, my most recent below;

 

2007 Navara Aventura Double cab - great ride, really comfy, not great off road with standard tyres, STUPID electronic 4x4 selector which seems to fail monthly rendering the 4x4 system unavailable!!! Mines a manual and with a rear canopy and quite a load i still get 29.8mpg on 1500 mile trips involving motorway - a roads - b roads and 4x4 access. This is so far my favourite all rounder!! ( a mate does have an auto which he claims never to have seen more the 22mpg)

 

2007 Mitsi L200 Singlecab 4work - a bottom of the range workhorse owned from new, did 70k in just over a year, found we were replacing brakes a lot!!! This really wasn't good on fuel (lacking the 6th gear the navara has) and a strange seating position. Pretty good offroad as standard but strange and unpredictable road handling.

 

2006 Ford ranger thunder double cab - This was a great vehicle, again used as a workhorse, covered intergalactic mileages in it and suffered very few problems, very comfy and easily clean leather, fuel economy better than L200 not quite as good as navara, 4x4 capabilities fairly good as standard, vehicle really served us vary well.

 

2006 Isuzu rodeo denver max LE (AUTO) a fantastic vehicle, really good offroad out of the box, comfy and even ok on fuel considering the auto box!! I didn't use this vehicle a whole lot but found no problems when i did, don't recall it ever having had any problems.

 

 

Not a very technical round up, but we've had allsorts of trucks and use them pretty hardly, 50k+ annually on each one, all carrying tools and equipment, a lot of motorway driving. But also a considerable amount of 4x4 use. All suffer with road tyres as standard, but we have to maintain a certain amount of road performance, have yet to try a newish hilux, maybe next year!! :hmm:

 

Cheers

 

Dan

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I've just bought a 59 l200 & dont plan on keeping it past the warranty (3 years) so i'm hoping it'll be fine

I used to own a hilux but find the l200 way better.

 

I still cant seem to get the hang of posting pics on here (help?)

 

i use photobucket & Flickr but neither seem to be what this site understands ??

Edited by mmm_a_luv_a_fish_supper_me
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Hi all!

Not sure about your shiney new L200's but my 21 year old (1988) is still running. Maybe not as glossy as yours, but still getting from A to B, on or off road.

Also, previous to this i ran a 88, Shogun, 2.5 LWB, A 94 Shogun, 2.8 TD, LWB, A 94, Shogun, 3.0 V6, LWB & am presently

running along side my L200, a 94 Pajero 2.8 swb no probs for last 4 years.

This lot covers 20 years motoring with nothing but a clutch on the v6 & brake pads on them all.

 

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE GET A MITSUBISHI!!!!!

post-8839-1258328603.jpg

post-8839-1258328656.jpg

Edited by tbeagley
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03 and 04 were bad years for heads on them and there is nothing you can do maintenance won't stop it happening. However new heads aren't that much, if it failed after 4k I'd suggest there was a fitting problem or a cooling system problem as well. these vehicles do get a hard life in some cases even the ones that aren't used off road a lot can have spent a long time on motorways doing 80-90 which seems to give the engines a hard time

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