My 2005 69k mile Evo let me down recently. The T Stat stuck closed and engine overheated which warped the head. This was all diagnosed and "repaired" by a Mitsu dealer in TX but something is still not right and I'm hoping you all may be able to point me in the right direction. I had the shop replace the timing belt and water pump as well. The full work was having my head planed, replaced gaskets, timing belt, water pump, airbag recall and some type of support arm rust recall.

I have two problems that I am now trying to diagnose and decide what to do about.
1. (least noticeable) The car might have slightly more vibration felt by the steering wheel and I had a section of the exhaust heat shield rattling against the pipe than it did before. I had removed a previous section of heat shield that had rusted at the bolts in the past so I didn't think too much of it at the time I was leaving the dealership and I have since tore out the rattling piece.
2. (very noticeable) The car sounds WAY louder from the cab. It is a deep roar that is mostly noticeable over 2.5k RPM. It is a hard noise to describe. In the past, my car sounded like vroom, vroom and now it is like roar roar. At interstate speeds my cab has -94dbm of noise. It not as loud as having the exhaust pipe removed but it is a loud, smooth roar and it is in line with the overall RPM of the engine.

I checked everywhere I could for air leaks on the intake and I don't hear any suction. I checked the exhaust areas and I can't seem to find anything odd. It does seem to be louder from the intake area but it is hard to tell when reving a car in my garage...it is all loud. In my inspection I found a the lower exhaust header nut nearly falling off it's threads. I tightened it as best I could guess for torque (hand tight then some wacks with mallet), I also had to re-tighten the other two under nuts. I found a wire bracket bolt on the right of the engine that fell out and was laying in the engine so I reinstalled it. From under the air intake manifold, I can see 1 bolt missing out of 2 that holds some type of bracket. There could be more items missing or things not connected correctly that I cannot see or get to.

I am starting to wonder if they got the front balancer set incorrectly. I would have thought if the balance was off I would see or feel it more but with this many bolts having come loose and the heat shield rattle that I didn't notice before, that seems to make sense, thoughts? Is there any way I can check this in my garage without having to take parts or stuff off my car? Would this be the cause of the loud engine sound as well or does anyone have any other thoughts on that?

I'm really disappointed that I am still dealing with this after spending $1,800 at the dealer. They are 3.5 hours from me so it is costly for me to take days off of work to deal with getting it there and back. I may have to find someone else local to do work on my car again.

 

That would be my thought as well that the front balance shaft may not be set correct. Do you know if the shop commonly does 4g63 timing belts? Its easy to mess up. I know you said Mutsi dealer, so you would think they would know??

to quote different user from a recent thread:
maybe barneyb will chime in here. Even though he was just removing the rear shaft belt, i would think it could have a similar affect as having the front set wrong.

 

I actually bought the timing belt kit for my Evo and provided it to them. It is was the OEM kit that I bought off of Amazon. They didn't indicate any problem with it. The check engine light isn't on so I suspect the timing is good also.

 

I bet they didn't like that...

The timing can be set right but that doesn't me balance shaft set correctly.

 

Did you have the rear balance shaft belt changed at the same time? If not, you should consider that while they correct the front balance shaft/oil pump timing.

 

Obviously, the OP got flat rated. To make that much noise at that low of rpm I'd suggest an exhaust leak. The first thing I would do is put a wrench on everything connected to the head and torque it to spec with special attention to the exhaust.

And, yeah, it could be a balance shaft timing problem.

 

Good video. You left out my favorite part...your sponsors disclosure!!

 

To check, rotate cylinder 1 to TDC and find a way to insert screw driver in hole next to turbo. Forward video above to 30 seconds and follow that.

 

Thanks guys. After contacting the dealer with the details on what I have found, they are working on setting up a driver to come get my car and bring it to them and for them to address it.

2006EvoIXer:
The kit came with the following so I think the Balance Belt is what you are referring to. If so, it should have been replaced as well.

• Idler Pulley
• Tensioner Pulley
• Balancer Pulley
• Tensioner
• Balance Belt
• Timing Belt
• Water Pump, Gasket & O-Ring