Hi folks. Been a while since I've been on here snoopin around. Hope everyone is doing well. I have a question for my newly created problem. I just put a 2 inch lift on my 1991 Mitsu mini cab 4x4. Now, it has developed a "clicking" soundin the rear axle. Coming from the pinion area, where the drive shaft goes intothe rear end. It never did this before. Also, it doesnt push as well when out of gear. Before the lift, you could take it out of gear and push it with one hand with little or no effort. There seems to be a "flat spot" in it when pushing it around. Any suggestions as to what the H××× this could be? Thanks much
Now, after messing with it and pushing it back and forth in the garage, its turned ito a "clunking" sound. It didnt donthis before the lift.
Seems as if you have a bad "U"joint or are starting to lose the pinion bearing. Sometimes one has to change the pinion angle a bit in order to eliminate quick wearing "U" joints due to operating outside their design limits. Fred
Thanks Fred. So, the angle of pinion to drive shaft is likely greater than it really should be. And i should probably remove the lift in order to not prematurely wear out parts. Makes sense to me. Thanks Fred Joe
Just had a brain storm. Simce i didnt have any noises or trouble before i installed the lift. I did notice the emergency brake cables goimg to the rear drums are now much tighter than the were before the install. Is it possible the wxtra twnsion on the brake cables is prematurely engaging the e-brake? Not all the way on, just enough to push the shoes slightly against the drum. Thus possibly causing it to be a bit of a "drag" when moving the truck around when out of gear. Just a thought.
You can change the pinion angle using angle shims where the springs mount to the saddles welded on the axle tube. As a guess, I would only use a 1 degree shim to start and see if that would eliminate the problem in the long run. As to the brakes partially applied - the outer sheath on the e brake cable assy should prevent what you are thinking, however it wouldn't hurt to investigate a bit further and at least jack it up to check if they spin freely enough. Fred
Wasnt aware i could shim it. Hell, i can make degree shims. Im gonna mess with it this evening. I have to find different shocks too. The stock shocks are too short. Not enough travel and they are all the way extended with only a 2 inch lift. Which is strange, because when I took the shocks off, i compressed and extended them fully, and there was 5-1/4 inches of travel. Im also going to take the front cover off the rear axel to see if the angle has the pinion rubbing against the housing. Ill let you know what i find. Thanks Fred. Joe
Can you modify either the dead end or the moving end mount for the shocks to compensate? You might take a very close look at the point where the U joint trunion nests in the companion flange to see if it is binding beyond the operating range, which would indicate the need for a angle shim. Please don't take what I am suggesting as absolutes. I am merely guessing based on some of what I have been involved with in my years of turning wrenches since the mid 50s. I am not an expert in any way on these little gems and only became somewhat familiar with them when I moved to the Philippines a few years ago and bought the one I own. The reason I joined this forum was to learn what I could about the Kei Class vehicles and to offer any help I can. Mine is a 2002 Suzuki/Mazda CarryVan/Scrum which is the next generation newer than yours and is a passenger Van body. A bit longer wheelbase as the front wheels are at the front of the body and the the engine is located at the driver seat position. There is one of the little pickups like yours in the area where I live that seems to have been neglected & sitting for a very long time and I have been thinking about trying to buy it just to have something to learn on. I'll turn 78 in March so I might just get it as a Bday present for me to play with. Fred
I question everything Fred. Its my nature. Every suggestion or tip i get from anyone gets looked at pretty deep. The wife says i over think things too much. Haha! But if its worth doin, its worth doin right, i says. I spoke with a fella at G&R Imports in Jackson Missouri, (about 200 miles south of me). I told him what i did, and what the result was. He told me that "blocks", instead of a shackle lift, can sometimes cause problems with the angle of the driveshaft/yoke relationship. I looked at a few pictures of different lift kits, and to my surprise, the shackle type are only for the rear of the leaf spring. After a lot of staring at the picture, and overthinking, i have come to the conclusion that the shackle type is the way to go. By lifting only the rear of the leaf spring, one can get the wanted lift, and, as a bonus, it will tilt the rear axle enough to compensate without the use of shims. Its getting cold here in the states, and laying in the concrete aint as warm as it was a month ago, hahaha!!! Since the blocks are alreay made, and only cost me the time to scrounge theough a friends acrap pile, im going to make a set of rear shackles and see how that goes. As far as the front lift goes, i have a appointment for a front end alignment on Monday. Again, after staring at the front end for about an hour, im curious to know if there is enough thread on the tie rod to straighten out the camber. Just by looking, ill bet the camber is out by at least 2 and a half inches. I may end up having to remove the lift altogether. Unless of course if insit out here and stare at it for a couple hours. Hahaha!! As far as taking yours, or anyones word for gospel, i dont. And i dont mean that rudely. I very much appreciate the 2 cents of anyone. It opens up avenues that may have not been thought of. 2 heads are better than one. Happy earlybirthday Fred. Ill be 46 in March. Ifnits worth tinkering with, treat yourself to a project. Dont let thenpoor little feller rot intonthe ground. Ya never know. It might not need too much to get it rolling. I bought mine from.my father in law. And he is NOTORIOUS for neglecting equipment. It ran when i got it, but it was in poor shape. Poor little truck looked like a beat down dog. I got offered 3500 for it a couple weeks ago. It was all i could do to tell the guy to go to he×× . Haha!! I love my little rig. Ill be in touch. Ill post what comes of the shackle lift. I appreciate your words Fred. Take care. We'll talk soon.
You are thinking right, I didn't even consider that you had done blocks to lift as the standard with these is to use longer shackles. I don't have any thoughts on your front end as I haven't even looked close at the pickups to see what's what under there. If I do decide to buy the one down the street as a "toy" I will get all over and under it as I always do with anything I buy. I've just glanced at it while driving by and I will need to do a better look-see before I do decide. I usually let my Asawa (Wife) do the dealing for me as I have a hard time with these people and she (being a Filipina) understands the lingo and how to badger them down in price. She normally won't give up till she gets her price. Just have to see how it goes as so far it is only a thought that I might feel like doing as I miss not having something to tinker with. Fred
Well, that was a bust. There must be more to a lift kit than what i found. I took it to the local Chevrolet dealer to have the front end aligned. I worked there many years ago and still know many of the techs there. He cant do the alignment on it. Not enough adjustment. I dont get it. The only thing different about what i built versus what one would buy, is the rear lift. Either blocks or shackles. The front extensions are exactly the same as store bought. Oh well. Lesson learned I guess. Ill call the mini truck parts guy again and see what the difference is in what i made and what they offer. When i spoke to him last, he said the only difference was the rear lift. Back to the grind stone. Joe
As I said, I have yet to study what is under the pickups. The VW Rabbits used a cam bolt type of setup to be able to adjust the camber and I would expect to find something on that order under all the Kei vehicles too. Sorry, not any help on this. Fred
Just took the lift kit off. Cant do a body lift either. Ill have the same trouble with the front end. So much for making a monster truck out of it. Hahaha!!! Probably just as well. Lift kits on anything tend to create abnormal wear and tare on equipment anyway. And as easy as it is to find parts for this thing (sarcasm), probably should just leave well enough alone. Sometimes thats best.
I made my own lift, did a spring over in the rear, + longer shackles. lowered the front transaxle (blocked up?) 1 1/2" changed the struts to Honda civic strut/spring. I have 195 70 14 Mud tires on it (Ford Ranger) have put around 30,000 miles in the years I've owned it.
Tooth and nail, that's a sick truck! I really like the newer body style. Did you put the whole civic strut assembly on? I did civic coils on mine but I assume you're talking of MacPherson type struts from a post 2000 civic
Yes Honda civic Nearly complete strut - made my own control arm mount/clamp for ride height adjustability, springs are a bit stiff with one person , with 2 they are pretty good. We tried the factory springs but they just about bottomed out(less than 2" travel) sitting still with 1 person, 2 and you were on the rubber bump stop pretty hard.
I'm looking for a more robust strut option and would like to know more about your conversion. Are you still active?
Oof, all these issue posts sure out weight the mods and upgrades posts on this forum for minicab. My importer suggested I go with one of these over a hijet but now with the lifting issues alone I'm thinking the hijet is the better option and I'll just loose out on the mitsu's nice acceleration package engine. Thanks for posting I hope you guys get some better options for lifting and mods this year. Has anyone looked into compatible cv or drive lines? Maybe something longer fixes the issues?
Your going to have problems lifting any of the minitrucks, if you don’t know what your doing. The one that toothandnails posted pictures of points out how to do it right, and also highlights the benefit of the MiniCab. It’s forward placed front axle gives greater length to the front drive shaft, and the forward axle lets you trim metal away on the front fenders to allow larger tires/wheels. If you really want a lifted truck, look at the newer trucks which aren’t unibody and will let you install a lift between the body and the frame. This lets you get a higher lift, while doing minimal suspension modifications. But remember, these engines are tiny, and going up in wheel diameter can adversely effect the top end speed.
I made my lift kit myself. Found a picture on the internet, and went from there. The only real problem I had, if you can call it a problem, is, I put ATV tires on the factory 12 inch rims, and the front wheels are toed in at the bottom. HOWEVER, when I get in to drive it, it drives straight as a string, and the wheels straighten out as they should. Even if its only my fat body in the cab. I have a 1991 Mitsi minicab 4x4.
Sounds to me like you've engineered it on the money, even if there was some luck involved! Heck, I'd rather be lucky than good! Drive it and see how you like it. If it works fine leave it, if not you can always make adjustments! Limestone
The only real trouble with my home made lift kit, if you can call it that, is the front tires are toed in at the bottom. But when I'm in it, they straighten out, and it drives straight as a string. NOTE!!..... On my particular model (1991 Mitsubishi Mincab 4x4) Do not use lift blocks on the rear springs to get your desired height. You have to make longer rear shackles. If one were to use lift blocks, it puts the drive shift and rear diff yoke in a bind. By making longer rear shackles, it will tilt the rear axle, so the drive shaftt stays in line with the yoke on the axle. I have had no trouble at the transmission with the angle. I did a 2 inch lift. No noise. No leaks. Seems to be working pretty well.
