Montero®
Pop
No, it's not a new
frozen treat. In this case, it's a problematic symptom you may encounter
with some Mitsubishi® Monteros®. Because of our close proximity
to the mountains, most of my customers have four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Our shop almost exclusively caters to four-wheel-drive (4WD) trucks and
sport utility vehicles.
I remember awhile
back, one of my best customers brought his 1995 Montero® 4WD into
the shop sporting an annoying "popping" noise from under the
front floorboards. He couldn't figure it out and was afraid something
really dangerous could be happening. After checking for applicable technical
service bulletins (TSBs) in our ALLDATA automotive information system,
I was able to put his mind at ease. There was a detailed bulletin describing
the problem he was hearing.
Customers may hear
a "popping" noise during low-speed braking when backing up (such
as when slowly backing out of a parking space), on 1992-96 Mitsubishi®
Monteros® produced before January of 1996. The noise is caused by
the torsion bar shifting against the body frame. Installing resin collars
over the anchor arm will eliminate this noise. The TSB contained the following
instructions for installing the resin collars.
| Procedure |
|
| 1.
With the vehicle parked on a flat, level surface, measure and record
the ride height (distance from the ground to the top of the fender)
at the right and left front fenders. |
| 2.
Raise the vehicle on a lift. |
| NOTE:
Perform Steps 3 through 13 for both torsion bars. |
| 3.
Clean all grease and dirt from the torsion bar adjusting bolt. |
| 4.
Remove the anchor arm lock nut. |
| 5.
Measure and record the distance from the end of the anchor arm bolt
to the top of the adjusting nut. |
| 6.
Remove the anchor arm bolt and adjusting nut. |
| 7.
Pull back the dust cover (rubber boot) and note the white reference
marks on the torsion bar and anchor arm. These marks will be used
during reassembly for aligning these parts. |
| 8.
Remove the anchor arm assembly. |
| 9.
Clean all grease and dirt from the anchor arm. Be careful not to remove
the white reference mark. |
| 10.
Install a resin collar (Manufacturer part # MR234417) onto both sides
of the anchor arm positioning the collars so that the slit opening
faces downward. |
 |
| 11.
Slide the anchor arm back onto the torsion bar, aligning the reference
mark on the anchor arm with the reference mark on the torsion bar.
Also be sure that the anchor arm is centered with the hole in the
cross member. |
| 12.
Reinstall the anchor arm bolt. Tighten the bolt just until you reach
the measurement (distance from the end of the anchor arm bolt to the
top of the adjusting nut) that was taken in Step 5. |
| 13.
Reinstall the lock nut and torque to 33ft. lbs. (44 Nm). |
| 14.
Lower the vehicle. |
We test drove the
vehicle to check for torsion bar noise and to allow the suspension parts
to "settle" into place. Then we rechecked the ride height and
alignment specifications to see if there were any differences from the
measurement taken in Step 1. Everything was right on the money. I love
it when a job comes together so easily and, at the same time, helps maintain
a long-lasting customer.
