Mitsubishi Magna Engine Problems

I FIND it astounding that the dealer would tell you not to worry about changing the oil at the 1500k service, if only to check for any metallic particles it might contain. Draining the oil is a way to check the internal health of your engine. I'd recommend you continue what you're doing.

MAYBE it doesn't like its new home . . . just joking. I am guessing the RACV is correct in its assessment, and I'm guessing the carburettor either wasn't serviced or wasn't serviced correctly when it was supposed to have been a year ago. It's not easy to set the auto choke carburettor correctly, and if you don't you can have all sorts of problems with the Magna. Take it to Des & Grays Automotive Services in Ferntree Gully. They're Mitsubishi-trained mechanics and will fix it for you.

I WOULD first check the temperature sender, which tells the computer to keep the fuel injectors open a little longer during the cold running phase. The sender could be faulty, though you would normally experience some stalling and poor running if that is the case. The other possibility is that the catalytic converter is partly blocked, which can affect performance, and it's more noticeable when the engine is cold.

Your Falcon would have tested about 13 litres/ 100km when new. For comparison purposes, the Commodore V6 would return about 11.5 litres/100km, the 3.5-litre V6 Magna about 10.5 and the Camry closer to 13. Clearly, on that basis the Magna is the car for you.

THE most likely place the leak is coming from is the valve-cover gasket, but having changed that, the next most likely source is the head gasket, as you suggest. It is not unknown for the head gasket to leak at the point where the oil supply for the overhead camshafts passes through the gasket.

MITSUBISHI has produced Magnas with dedicated LPG, and there has also been a factory-approved dealer-installed Impco dual-fuel option from TJ. Dual-fuel has been approved for the 380 and will be available in a few months.