Mitsubishi 3000 Pricing and Specs

The 2.5-litre turbo-diesel engine fitted to the 2010 Triton uses a toothed rubber timing-belt which requires periodic replacement. Most mechanics reckon the belt should be changed every 100,000km and because of the design of the engine, the belt that drives the engine’s balance shafts should also be replaced at the same time.

The 4A9 engine fitted to your Colt has a timing chain rather than a toothed, rubber timing belt. As such, the timing chain should be fine for the life of the car, provided the necessary servicing has been carried out.

Interestingly, the Colt Plus was never officially sold in Australia by Mitsubishi, so your car must be a private import from, say, Japan or even New Zealand.

Before you even start replacing bits and pieces on a hunch, have the car electronically scanned. That will often tell you precisely what’s wrong with the car, and you can go from there, replacing only the non-functioning parts rather than a heap of components that are still working fine.

Beyond that, start with the basics. The most likely cause of an intermittent miss like the one you’ve described is a problem with the ignition system. Sometimes, something as simple as a change of spark plugs will fix the problem, and that’s especially so because that electronic scan we were talking about often won’t detect a dead spark plug.

From there, work your way through to the ignition leads and coils (a coil with a small crack in its plastic body can lead to a miss like this one). If all that checks out, you then need to start looking at the fuel delivery in terms of filters and pump pressure. This is all first-principle stuff for mechanics, but a modern car’s onboard diagnostics are so good, that a scan is definitely the first place to start.