At 72,000 miles and nothing but oil changes I think its about time I start doing some maintainence.

One of the biggest issues to me is the transmission fluid (auto) and i'm not sure if I should do it myself, or have a shop run their cute little machine through it. I know it takes a long time to get all of the fluid through and i'm quite capable of doing it on my own, but i'm not sure which is the most cost effective way of going about it.

Next, brake fluid. Not sure if I should even bother touching it.

I already did the pads, and havent checked the shoes...but i'll bet they are fine.

Anyone have any ideas of what can be done?

 

Tranny fluid for sure. I'd take it in if you have even the slightest doubt about your ability, it can get a little messy. Other than that, plugs if you haven't done them. Belts.

And flush the cooling system. Take the resivoir out, it just pulls straight up. Rinse and clean that. There is a drain plug on the lower lefthand corner of the radiator on the engine side. Unscrew it and try to catch some of the fluid. If there are no chunks or nastiness I would put the plug back in, fill the radiator with the garden hose and drain it again then fill it back up with the pre-mixed coolant. If it looks good coming out of the radiator its fine in the block too. The new fluid in the resivoir and radiator will be more than enough. If it is nasty looking, pick up some coolant flush and follow the directions.

You don't need to mess with the brake fluid unless it looks like coffee.

 

^To add to what he said I would also change the spark plug wires and ignition coil boots.

 

brake pads. check the calipurs.

 

I recently did the plugs, forgot to mention that. I did not do the plug wires as I thought they were connected to the coil packs.

Did the brake pads, calipers looked good.

I will flush the coolant.

Do I NEED to use mitsubishi auto trans fluid?

 

You must use the Diamond ATF SPIII fluid. A neighbor of mine chose to use a local shop's recommendation, and heard grinding within a month. His car was still under warranty, but of course, Mistu just laughed at him.

Find a shop with a machine, and price the fluid out at various shops and dealers. I got mine done for $155 at a local Navy garage.

 

Unfortunately yes.

 

Muy Importante past 60k, check and replace the timing belt. Costly repairs await you if the belt snaps. Recommended after 60k....

 

Would it be okay to flush the trans with regular fluid but fill back up with Diamond ATF?

 

When you do a standard tranny fluid drain you don't get any of the fluid thats in the torque converter. So whats the point of a "flush"? Its a waste.

 

where do i get the timing belt and do i need it professionally installed.

i just hit 60k miles, so i was just wondering the cost? i may have a wait a few weeks till i get some cash.

 

I was looking into the fluid thing on google.

Quaker State Multi-ATF claims compatability with all Mitsubishi prior to 2004

AMSOil Synthetic says it exeeds the Mitsu requirements- AMSOil is alway big bucks

RedLine- Also big bucks

Kendall VersaTrans- claims compatibility also

Obviously Quaker State and Kendall are the more economic choices.

 

Any competant shop can do the timing belt install, or if youve got patience and a repair manual you can probably do it. I'm approaching 60k in another 8k miles so i'll be getting it done soon, i learned my lesson in my DSM even though the timing belt snapping was totally unrelated to age, had to do with an accident.

 

I would do the belts at the shop because it takes time and tools. Also, check your stabilizer links and cv boots as they might crack. I just replaced mine.

 

Don't forget to check your halogen fluid levels...