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Misc Info & Minicab Spec Info

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by TonyD, Aug 21, 2021.

  1. TonyD

    TonyD New Member

    Didn't know where to post this due to the varying info. If the Mitsu sub-forum is a better place, I can move it or maybe it can be moved by the admins.

    As a new owner I gained a ton of helpful info from this forum. Thought I'd give back to other rank beginners, or poss even some owner-elders in some way. As my knowledge grows through experience I may be able to contribute more to help those that have helped me so much with their mechanical experience and posts. This is an awesome forum with a wealth of info and experience. I haven't found anything anywhere else with so much useful info on all things mini truck. THANK YOU ALL!

    Everything I know so far concerns my truck for the most part, but as you know, many things are crossover. Where shared elsewhere, sry for the repetitiveness. If you see any errors please correct me! I've only owned a mini for 1 month.
    My truck for reference: 2002 Mitsubishi MiniCab Dump U62T Right-hand Drive (Model: GBD-U62T-HKDE9)

    Specs:
    Length 11’2"
    Width 4’9"
    Height 5’9"
    Wheel Base 7’2"
    Wheel Bolt Pattern 4/100
    Ground Clearance 5.9"
    Drivetrain 4WD
    Engine Mid 3G83-5 Inline 3 SOHC 12 valve
    Fuel Injection MFI
    Displacement (cc) 660
    Horse Power (ps/rpm) 48/60 - Thx Zack!
    Torque (kgm/rpm) 6.3/4000
    Transmission (floor) 3FA/T AT3 V3AS1 (4WD 3sp A/T)
    HI/LO 4wd Available Yes
    Weight 1697lbs
    Payload Capacity 770lbs
    Power Steering Yes
    Turning Radius 14’4"
    Fuel Tank(gallon) 10.5
    MPG 38.6 MPG
    Front Suspension Strut
    Rear Suspension Leaf Spring
    Brakes Front/Rear Disk/Drum
    Tires 145R12-6PR (I use 155r12 for a tiny but more height).

    Here are the fluids I used to swap out from my notes. Fluids are like women. Many flavor options and opinions but some are critical to your well being lol. Research before swapping any drivetrain liquids.

    Oil Filter (17mm drian plug nut)
    I use a NAPA 1365 (made by WIX supposedly).
    The OEM part# is md134953, Can also use Wix 51365, ACDelco PF303j, Fram 1365
    More can be found at "https://www.oilfilter-crossreference.com/.../MIT.../MD134953" using the OEM #. (And per group rules - Don't use FRAM lol).
    Engine Oil: SAE 5W-30 3.38 quarts (3.2 liters)
    Fill filter 1/2 way and let sit for 2-3 mins before install. When replacing drain plug washer the rounded side goes towards the pan.

    Transmission Fluid 3.2 Liters (3.4 quarts = 3 qt, 13oz)
    Mitsubishi Diamond SPII (no longer available) SPII and III can still be found NOS.
    Idemitsu 30040097-75000C020 ATF Type HK (SP-III) is supp to be the company that makes Mitsubishi Diamond. Easliy found on eBay/Amazon.

    Transfer Case 0.6 Liters (1.25 pints = 20 oz)
    Mitsu Multi-Gear Oil 75w/85w I could only find it by the gallon. I used Red Line MT-85 75W-85 GL-4.

    Front differential Gear Oil 0.8 Liter (1.7 pints = 27oz) Mitsubishi's "DiaQueen SAE 90W GL-5 Hypoid gear oil.
    I used RAVENOL J1C1135-001 SAE 90w EPX Gear Oil API GL-5 (Amazon or Blauparts.com).

    Rear Differential **Mine is a LIMITED SLIP DIFF** Mitsubishi LSD Gear Oil SAE90 (Diaqueen MZ320345)
    1.1 Liter - 1 quart bottle + 5 oz
    Note: If your rear pumpkin has a tag or fill nut stating it's an LSD, don't just trust that it is. The nut or whole unit may have been swapped. To test yours, lift the rear end and spin one wheel. If the opposing wheel spins in the opposite direction of the one your rotating by hand, you have a LSD. If they rotate in the same direction when one is rotated, you have a "normal" or "open" diff.

    Coolant 5.8 quart (5.5 liters -includes heater core and coolant reserve tank)
    I ussd PEAK® ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY Antifreeze + Coolant For Asian Vehicles - Green OR Blue
    Either color will work - the only diff is the dye and marketing from my research.
    Advance Auto or Walmart.

    Power Steering I use Idemitsu PSF Universal Power Steering Fluid for Asian Vehicles - Cheapest by far at Napa & Amazon.

    Brake Fluid DOT4.

    Fair for the price OBDII reader that Works on mine: AUTOPHIX Japanese Vehicles Scanner OM500 JOBD. About 45 bux. There is also an OM126 model at about 1/2 the price out there that may work as well. My unit states that it works on all 1996 and newer JOBD compliant Japanese vehicles: TOYOTA / HONDA / DAIHATSU / MITSUBISHI / MAZDA / NISSAN / SUZUKI / SUBARU.
    https://www.amazon.com/.../ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00...

    Following are a couple of simple & cheap stowage, lighting and stereo projects I'd like to share.
    Small Outboard stowage:

    A $16.00 steel .50 cal ammo can from Harbor Freight makes for a fast small outboard stowage box.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/metal-050-caliber-ammo-can...

    On my 2002 Minicab there were several options to mount one under the dump bed. I opted to use the 4 holes holes in the frame on the right-hand drivers side (where some minis have tool boxes mounted). I only needed to use 2 of the holes. The holes were threaded with 8mm 1.25 thread. I drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the ammo can and used 1 1/2" bolts with rubber washers against the frame and lock washers. I got the hole spacing layout in the bottom of the can for drilling quickly with some fast Pennsylvania hillbilly thinking. I threaded the 2 bolts 1/2 way into holes, then applied peanut butter to the hex heads, then pressed the can into it's mount position. (the wife snarkly mentioned that chocolate icing would have worked better, but hey, the PB was already opened lol). Anyway I then drilled right through the peanut butter marks. It worked fine as drilling metal works best when lubed lol. 10 min install time (20 mins to find the 8mm bolts at Lowes).

    Fabbed a lightweight aluminum roof rack for small stowage basket or waterproof box and a light bar. Used 3/4" square tubing and a 3/4" piece of alum L channel from Home depot. Also used a 3/4" aluminum flat from Lowes for the top rungs. Needed 2 steel L brackets & bolts nuts & lock washers. FWIW, I have a small wood shop and metal shop, but only used hand-tools on this so anybody can fab this with basic hand-tools. Took about 1 hour (minus paint prep n painting). If you want to pretty one up, clean it with alcohol after fab (isopropyl works better than bourbon), lightly sand with 120 grit, give it a coat or 2 of self etching spray primer, then spray paint to your liking. $35.00 in parts as I already had everything but the square tubing and flats. Btw, I riveted the top flats instead of bolting to maintain a flat top.

    The light bar is a Nilight - ZH006 LED Light Bar 20 Inch 126W Spot Flood Combo. Ran the wires along and down the rack and rear roof gutter to the underside of the cab. Then up through the engine bay into the cab.
    https://www.amazon.com/.../ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02...

    The bed sports a HAUL-MASTER 2.31 cu. ft. Steel Trailer Tongue Box. I didn't use the supplied U-bolts opting to rivet it to the bed. It's a solid mount - trust me.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/231-cu-ft-steel-trailer...

    Also from Harbor Freight is a 48 in. x 72 in. Trailer Net from Harbor Freight. Perfect fit for $9.99.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/6-ft-x-4-ft-heavy-duty...

    Battery protector. Wanted something open-top for a battery tender during winter, but some protection from rock throwback etc. I used a .30 plastic BUNKER HILL SECURITY 0.30 Caliber Ammo Box from... you guessed it. Removed the lid and cut off the back with a pocket knife.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/030-caliber-ammo-box-63135...

    Stereo was updated to a single DIN Blue Tooth radio for hands-free phone calls. It's also simple to add a Blue Tooth speaker and power it from the cig port/

    The wiring on my particular truck is:
    Red: constant hot +
    Blue: acc switched hot +
    White w/green stripe: original stereo back light (tape this off when installing your new stereo).
    Green: neg/ground AND switched hot - (tape off or blow fuse to parking lights, dashboard and brake lights) - run you new stereo ground to the chassis.

    Spare key? Try a Hillman (Cassette B/52) off the rack at Home depot for $3.50.

    You can download Japanese owners manuals and open them in Google Docs, then translate them for free, but there isn't much useful info and the translation is off (though often funny).

    Take a picture of your Japanese info stickers and plates. Then download a free picture translation app to yourt smartphone to easily translate them. I'm using TranslateZ for Android.

    Hope there is something helpful above for somebody out there. And thanks again to the many veterans for sharing their info wealth. This group has been and continues to be an invaluable resource to me and many others I'm sure!

    *** Forgot to mention: If you add the rack as is, you may get a woodwind reed effect that you will swear is a drive train hum at both/either ~25mph, or ~ 35 mph. Wrap a bungee or mount an accessory. The reed effect when the rack is empty is from the air sliced (turbulence/vibrato) by the rack and traveling down the rack, into the tory/roll bar and into the frame - denoting itself as a drive train hum that can only be heard inside the cab. I drove with an engine cover off, sat in the bed while the wife drove etc. - only homing in on it with a stethoscope. Put my hand on it and it and the hum stopped. Could just be a one-off, but if you install this rack, don't pull your hair out like I did lol
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Aug 21, 2021
    Brandon McMurray and punimog like this.
  2. punimog

    punimog Member

    Great info, truck's looking good. I've been considering one of those tongue boxes myself, but was thinking about using rivnuts to install to allow for easy removal when needing the whole bed.
     
  3. TonyD

    TonyD New Member

    Then think about latches. Concept:
    Buy 1 or 2 latch kits - just like your engine cover/seats use. Rivet the latch receiver (loops) to your bed, mount the hooks/lips to the front lower portion of your box (laying flat when open on the bottom of your box). You could do it with 1 set of latches if the back of your box is against the back wall (cab). Just an idea...

    Just do what I did but with latches. To remove any properly installed rivet requires drilling. Not always fast or easy brother.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2021
  4. Arty

    Arty Active Member

    Thanks for the specs Tony. That list will come in handy.
     
  5. TonyD

    TonyD New Member

    Yw brother
     

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