so i am feeling the lancer is gettin a little sluggish,
at about 40k.
i have a cold air, and an underdrive (which were on when i bought the car)
so automatically thought of some of the things that could be causing this low performance.

spark plugs and air filter were first on my mind.
second was maybe the tranny fluid needed to be checked and or changed.

so basic **** right?
I look in the manual, says i need the NGK plugs, (LZFR6AI).
so far so good.
air filter, was just gonna take it out and wash it if it was still good, or order one off RRM. still good.
Went to look for the tranny fluid dipstick... and i swear to god its hidden... was mitsubishi playing a trick on me? i let it slide and i figure ill worry about the other two first.

i cant find an auto part store that carries these spark plugs... car quest said they could overnight them to their store, but 14$ shipping and 18$ a pop i was very hesitant. anyone wanna clue me in on the spark plug situation?

as for the cold air... i tried to think of a way to get it out, but i totally dont wanna mess anything up without directions... if anyone would be kind enough to help a novice at best when it comes to mechanics, its the RRM cold air, maybe you could send me some directions? thanks!

and lastly... i seriously looked for an hour... where is the dipstick (aside me... i sense a joke or two otw) for the tranny? (its a 5 speed btw)

thanks a lot!

 

Stock spark plugs are good for 90,000 miles, you really don't need to change them. Also, manual transmissions don't have dipsticks. Fluid should be changed every 30k miles. To get the air filter off the intake, you need to get under the car and remove the splash guard at the driver's front corner of the car. Then you should be able to remove the filter and get it out.

If you insist on buying new spark plugs, I would recommend getting them from www.mitsubishiparts.com Don't expect them to be cheap, though. NGK iridiums are spendy, but the benefit is that they last so long.

 

well since the tranny fluid hasnt been changed,
and the air filter is probably nastified,
that could explain the sluggish output.

Ill take care of those two before i take the money risk with the plugs.
oh yeah,
fyi,
otter > all.
thanks bud.

 

Did your car get a 30,000 mile service? If not, your valve lash probably needs adjusting, too.

 

im a bad car owner...
no, i dont blame mitsu,
but vw was always good at sending me mail when it was coming up...
my job has me driving a lot, so it kinda came faster than i expected.

so you can laugh about this,
i dont even know what a valve lash is...
let alone adjusting it...
and its only been this week that i noticed a decline in power...
but i drive it daily... so i know when it smells different...

 

Most people don't know what valve lash is, so no worries. It's a very likely culprit in your lack of power. Clean your filter, then schedule your car for the service. The trans fluid is part of the service, too.

Valve lash = the gap between the top of the valve stem and the bottom of the rocker. As time goes, the parts wear, and the gap increases. This reduces the duration that the valve is held open.

 

...yeah,
isnt that service like 350$?
(my account has like 20$ in it til friday)
ahem... next friday... damn bi-weekly crap.

 

I work at a Carquest in California. Our part # for the stock plugs are NGK 3656. For a standard walk-in price is $8.27 a plug. I dont see why they are trying to sell you the plugs for $18 a plug? Sounds to me like they are just bs'ing you. At my store we can use an outside source called WORLDPAC. Im not sure if that program is available on the east coast yet. Anyways, WORLDPAC sells the plugs for $5.29 a plug.

 

thats what they said too... world pac
3635 is what the guy at the counter said they were too...
go fig.
well im gonna change the filter in about 10 mins...
wish me luck

 

so ive got the bolts off,
ive got the filter off, but i feel like its not that bad...
not enough for any hp loss though...
pics are attatched...
should i clean this with soap water and put oil on it, or just throw it back on?








any help would be phenomenal.

 

did i mention that intake has been on for at LEAST 20k?
yeah, so im not sure whats up.

and this was my winter car, cause the golf died...
figured that it would be disgusting and well... its not.

 

That looks a little bit dirty.....but not awful. Personally I would clean it.

 

Yep. If you already pulled it out clean it. Makes no sense to put it back because it wasn't dirty enough lol

 

so soap, water and then re-oil it?
exactly how is this done right,
i dont wanna half *** job on this.

i tried just using an air compressor just to clean it a bit, didnt do as much as i had hoped to say the least.

also
i was curious to see if there would be a performance gain if i left the splash guard closest to the wheel off.
here are some pix.




feedback?

 

No it has to be an AEM/K&N Filter kit. I wouldn't recommend using regular soap and water. The filters are made from cotton and are not very durable. As for the splash guard, I dont think it would really matter.