bwen90

Hi. I just wanted to know if the 2005 ralliart are reliable, is there any known issues with them that are worth considering when buying. It's for my girlfriend.

Can you guys tell me what is your experience with this car.

thank you

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

normal wear and tear things...for unmodded cars, I've seen very few failures due to defective, or specific problematic parts...except maybe the AC compressor, lol, and the infamous temperature selector knob...but those are not critical to safety...

obviously check the timing belts, and pulleys and tensioner.

my car has over 220,000km on it, and it's hard to tell what broke cause I modified and race it, and what would have broke anyway, but I've had to do timing belts, water pump, battery, brakes, both ball joints, 1 tie rod end, front and rear engine mounts, control arm bushings. I would say power steering but forward donuts in a FWD doesn't really count as "normal" wear and tear...

depends on the mileage and the previous owner(s)...I know of bone stock 04's that haven't had to do really anything, other than scheduled maintenance at quite high mileages...

rzrxn

iTrader: (1)

+1

i have the 04 and mine has been a starship trooper from day one and has 250,000km on him now. havent really done any major repairs and he's still running like a champ (except for my grinding 2nd gear lol). i will be checking the timing belt, pulleys and tensioner soon and ill be sure to post up more of what im doing with my RA in my thread (link to thread found in my signature below). if you DO get one, dont forget to post up a LOT of pics

take care man! hope you find that perfect RA for your girl *cough*get one for yourself too*cough*

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

like said above...
it'd be a good reliable, and fun car...
if you mod it even more fun...

the main issues i'd think about not from modding the car...
-brakes...make sure the rear calipers slide good, their slide pins like to seize up...
-check the a/c works...the a/c compressors like to take a dump...it'll work for about 5 mins and then stop working and blow hot air...and like crans said, the temperature knob likes to get all stiff(internal to the a/c case, IIRC one of the door pivots breaks off), not a safety issue, but depending how bad it is you can actually break off the knob stalk if it's too stiff(and then u'll need to fix inside the a/c case and get a new a/c control panel, or deal with it in whatever temp it's permanently set to)
-rear control arms....does the car look like its lowered in the rear only?...does it squeak and/or clunk going down the road?...likely the bushings are gone...you can do only the one set of arms(or just bushings if you wanna be cheap), but i would suggest doing the whole set of 3 arms on each side with new harware just to verify everything is in working order, and will stay that way...(like i did on mine.......then sold it...)
-struts, how many miles on the car?, if they're bad it may feel like boat driving around all bouncy...i suggest get monroe's if you wanna be cheap(once on a while monroe has buy 1 get 1 free or buy 3 get 1 free deals, so it saves you some $) and leave the car like it is, or get kyb(which is actually OE stuff) if you'd like to lower it later...
-timing belt/valve adjustment...for some reason mitsubishi made theese engines have a timing belt interval of 60kmi AND require valve adjustment every 30kmi...which kind of a good thing because you get to make sure the engine is running properly more often than in other cars/engines where you dont have that at all...make sure if you get new timing belts(there's 2), also get tensioner, pulleys(3 IIRC) and water pump...and i'd suggest a thermostat since you'll drain out the coolant anyway(and it takes all of an additional 15 mins)
-power steering...there's a power steering cooler(a little tube that runs in front of the radiator with a bracket), mine did this and ive read of a few other that had the same issue but not too often, the bracket likes tho make a hole in the tube and leak out all the steering fluid...just keep an eye on it so it doesn't...(if it does make a hole, you can patch it up by cutting the section of tube and clamping a hose in it's place...or you can replace the whole cooler)

it may seem like alot...
but almost all of it is liveable...you can not do it and it'll be fine anyway...
the only thing that is definelty required to do is the rear calipers(if seized, if not makes sure the lube the hell out of them to prevent seizing), power steering tube, timing belts and valve adjustment IMO...
the other stuff you can ignore and you shouldn't have any issues about it unless it just bothers you(or your gf in this case)
aside from that it's just normal maintenance...keep it up and she'll be a happy RA owner

BanditKing

I just got my 04 lancer in Feb and I've been having some motor mount/suspension issues. I got it at auction and I believe it's been modded to high hell and stripped at sale.

I did a full overhaul with KYB struts, strut mounts and new springs. Rides like a champ.

My AC compressor went out on me and the knob was bad.
Local electronics shop quoted me ~$600 to repair my center console for my temp knob.
I looked it up here and it was $30 in parts, fixed it myself and good as new!!

Seriously though, lancers are great. I love having a full sedan for the versatility and it rides way better than those tiny coupes.

OttRalliart05

My car is for sale and well....there is quite a bit done to it. The AC let go end of last summer. Car is is in great shape and it is pretty quick.

DirtyRalli

Why you selling it brent?

OttRalliart05

Time to move on really. With SPDI we are getting crazy results from VW Audi and EVOX, it seams that is the direction I am headed in. Prob not the best marketing strategy to show up at a VW Audi meet in a Mitsubishi...LOL. Love my lancer finally tuned and good to go. I have a buddy that will take it in the spring but if I get a matching offer, she is gone.

Dirty, I see your rocking the Sailun Attrezzo, I just got a set myself and for the price can't beat them, I am very impressed so far one half tack day on them and they did well.

DirtyRalli

Yeah i see what you mean, its always good to move onto bigger and better projects. Yeah im really happy with them too, i drove on them for 2 seasons now and they still perform great. Bext season i was thinking about grabbing another set and wrapping them around some enkei rpf1s

OttRalliart05

I would not say bigger or better just different, really. This had been a great experience, love my car now that it is finally tuned, first time in 4 years I am actually enjoying it. In other words no more R&D...LOL I may go to 10psi when its all said and done but who knows.

I have to make a trip to TO very soon if you and the rest of the Lancer/Eclipse Guys want to get together let me know.

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

i showed up at a local evo/wrx/sti meet last month in my jetta...lol(one of 2 vw's that showed up)
also theres a guy in this forum(local to my area...also went to the meet i mentioned above...i think) he works at a local toyota race/tuning shop...and from what i understand he drives a modded evo...
no reason why you can't do the same...

it'll definetly make you stand out from the crowd of other vw/audi cars and easy to recognize...
i understand if you're looking for another project tho...but no reason to drop

OttRalliart05

I get razzed but all in good fun when the VAG crowd sees my Lancer. I guess its just time to move on.