I have a 2005 Mitsu Lancer ES. Previous owner was a kid, daddy bought the car off the lot, i still have original paper work. Kid watched Fast and Furious too many times and decided to attempt to trick out his car. Put a drop kit on it, changed exhaust, etc. and now i find out my gearshift assembly is “missing a part” according to my mechanic. The thing that caused me to find this out is the entire shifter lifted up. Yes UP and even i know it’s not supposed to do that! He secured that, but when he did, he said it’s missing something, but not sure what. Could the kid have changed something to make it shift faster/better?
Yes, there are many parts that he could have changed, and much damage that he could have done with that type of driving style. Truthfully, its history does not bode well for either its longevity or for how mucvh it will cost to keep it running. Knowing the history of this car, why would you have bought such a vehicle?
Could the kid have changed something to make it shift faster/better?
More likely installed a ‘short’ shifter, which involves removing the shift mechanism, disassembling it to replace the original shift rod with a shorter one, then re-assembling it and re-installing it in the car. During this conversion, short-cuts were probably used to get the job done quicker/easier with some parts or securing bolts left off or not re-installed. A classic ‘hack’ job.
I’m with VDC on this one. Why buy a car that has obviously been highly ‘modified’ and tampered with? And probably very abused!?!
I am a single mom, didn’t have a lot of choices when i bought this car (financially) and aside from this problem, i have been fortunate in that there haven’t been many issues at all. He didn’t do any regular maintenance, but after 18 mos, most of that has been rectified. i think he probably ran out of money before he could do a LOT of damage to the vehicle. It won’t be my car forever, but it has to be for now. I have some knowledge of cars, so i can tell when some things just aren’t right. I also have an honest, trustworthy mechanic that explains things and works with me. Thanks for responding!
Thanks for responding and i do appreciate the possible answer. Not sure if you can see my response to VDC above, but i’m a single mom and didn’t have a lot of choices when i got this car. I do have an honest, trustworthy mechanic who helps me with the car, i have some “car sense” so i can tell when things aren’t working the way they should. The kid didn’t do any regular maintenance, but most of that has been corrected over the last 18 mos. I’m glad i came on this site!! I’m sure i will have more questions in the future…have a great weekend!!!