Doc Wong’s ‘94 L400 Mods

[DocWong]

(Note: more to come as I have time to post)

Hi, I thought I’d post a series of the mods I’ve dove to my Delica. This has been an ongoing project and has been such a fun vehicle for me.

A bit of background, it’s my daily driver on my short 10 mile, daily commute. It’s used mainly for my daily, going to the beach, mountain bike transport and ski mobile. Camping occasionally a few times a year going off road.




List of mods to come:
-New Stock Air Filter
-Thermostat & Coolant Flush
-Fluid Service: Oil, Transmission, Transfer Case, -Differentials
-New Fuel filter
-2 new batteries
-New Toyo rims and tires,
-Front fender modifications for larger wheels
-New SS brake lines and bleed
New Alternator
EGR delete plates
-Dash/Backup 4K camera install
-Volt meter
Guage I stall-Boost/EGT, Oil Press/Temp
-New Inclinometer
Painted white guards Aluminum color
All new rear and interior LEDs
Windows: all are now tinted
Rear 3rd row seats delete/stored
-Front locking hubs installed
Alarm installed-Compustar 2way auto start
New alternator ans AC belts Alt 7390 and AC 9370 in Gates Belts
Tow Hitch installed
Diesel Kaleen fuel additive
Hi Fidelity audio system installed: complete sound deadening, upgraded head unit and speakers.
New triple core aluminum radiator
Full coolant flush
Repair of coolant line to turbo
Low coolant alarm system
Stock battery boxes re installed
Mishimoto Catch Can Installed
Hot water heater shutoff valve
Replaced GlowShift oil temp/ pressure gauge with RPC oil pressure gauge.
600 Amp 5Channel Skar Audio amp installed.
Subwoofer installed
shakers and amp installed
Custom hand pulls
Guage replacement
Installed back Door release hole
Installed 2 off road LED center lights
Installed under hood light
Dash guage modification
Fog Lights replacement

 

[DocWong]

First: Basic Maintenance done by Norman of Rank One Industries who imported Delica for me. He has an inventory of over 100 imported JDM vehicles. I was able to text drive several vehicles before settling on my L400:

New Stock Air Filter
Thermostat & Coolant Flush
Fluid Service: Oil, Transmission, Transfer Case, Differentials
New Fuel filter

Then I got 2 new batteries
Then replaced the stock 90 amp alternator with a 120 amp alternator.

 

[kenleung98]

Hey Doc, Looking good!

We need another local get together!!!

 

[bikerjosh]

@DocWong , How does your L400 do with respect to EGT's and pulling grades? A lot of people mention the 4m40 equipped L400 vans cruising at 70-75mph, but are up hills still something to be concerned in relation to high exhaust readings? thanks

 

[kenleung98]

@DocWong , How does your L400 do with respect to EGT's and pulling grades? A lot of people mention the 4m40 equipped L400 vans cruising at 70-75mph, but are up hills still something to be concerned in relation to high exhaust readings? thanks

I haven't installed an EGT gauge yet, but I never cruise pass 110 kph (68 mph) at around 2500 rpm...97 S2 electronic injection. It has power to go to 115-120+ kph, but why?

 

[DocWong]

My L400 with the larger wheels will easily cruise 83mph at 3,000 rpm. I know, I got a speeding ticket at 85 mph ;-0

Anyway, since we’re talking wheels, I put these on and absolutely love them:

Wheels: Rota Grid Off-road: 16” #1680
Bolt Pattern: 6 x 139
Center ring: 110mm
0 offset

Tire: 265/70 R16 30.6”

They fit perfectly with minor modification to the front wheel wells.

I know most will consider a thinner wheel width, but I love this setup because:

-worked extremely well off road on Blue graded off road trails.
-improved mileage with the larger diameter wheels
-looks really cool
-did not need to lift it
- corners amazingly well-this is a BIG plus for me as I live up in the mountains where twisty roads are the norm.

 

[bikerjosh]

@DocWong, thanks for the response. How does your L400 do with up hills at hwy speeds in relation to EGTs?
thanks

 

[DocWong]

@DocWong , How does your L400 do with respect to EGT's and pulling grades? A lot of people mention the 4m40 equipped L400 vans cruising at 70-75mph, but are up hills still something to be concerned in relation to high exhaust readings? thanks

Mine stays below 1400˚F (760 C). Highest I’ve seen was 700 C. I do have the larger three core aluminum radiator though.

 

[SouthTabor]

I haven't installed an EGT gauge yet, but I never cruise pass 110 kph (68 mph) at around 2500 rpm...97 S2 electronic injection. It has power to go to 115-120+ kph, but why?

Nice Mods DocWong!
bikerjosh,
My L400 LWB with 4M40 and EGT installed "cruses" up steep grades at about 70kph (~43mph) in 4th gear (manual trans) and the EGT reads about 700 to 800 degrees F. If I push it in 5th gear it will go over 1,000 degrees F and I will need to downshift and slow down to 70 kph to cool down. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so I commonly come across some steep grades on mountain passes.

 

[bikerjosh]

I haven't installed an EGT gauge yet, but I never cruise pass 110 kph (68 mph) at around 2500 rpm...97 S2 electronic injection. It has power to go to 115-120+ kph, but why?

Yeah, my reason for asking wasn't so much for setting a land speed record on the flats. I was more concerned with how high egt temps get and slow you go when going climbing. My L300 has several mods for EGT reduction sake, but still builds up temps very quickly requiring very slow going up passes.
@SouthTabor , thanks this is was the info I was looking for.

 

[jixaw]

kudos to you doc... this is a great example of a tastefully modified L400...and shes a looker too... would love a few more glamour shots...maybe even of the interior/dash area

great work

 

[geronimo.rei.marvin@gmail]

My L400 with the larger wheels will easily cruise 83mph at 3,000 rpm. I know, I got a speeding ticket at 85 mph ;-0

Anyway, since we’re talking wheels, I put these on and absolutely love them:

Wheels: Rota Grid Off-road: 16” #1680
Bolt Pattern: 6 x 139
Center ring: 110mm
0 offset

Tire: 265/70 R16 30.6”

They fit perfectly with minor modification to the front wheel wells.

I know most will consider a thinner wheel width, but I live this setup because:

-worked extremely well off road on Blue graded off road trails.
-improved mileage with the larger diameter wheels
-looks really cool
-did not need to lift it
- corners amazingly well
View attachment 19826

Doc... I'm amazed at your delica, just a question. Whats the use for that in the center? I just got mine 2 months ago and im very new to this, its actually my first car.

 

[DocWong]

Assuming you're referring to the center device of the wheels, those are Locking hubs.

Locking hubs, also known as free wheeling hubs are fitted to some (mainly older) four-wheel drive vehicles, allowing the front wheels to rotate freely when disconnected (unlocked) from the front axle. This is done to reduce the mechanical resistance of the front-portion of the drivetrain when four-wheel drive is not in use.[1] The hub, along with the wheel, is designed to engage (lock) onto the axle, to be powered by the drivetrain in four-wheel drive; or the hub can disengage (unlock) from the axle when four-wheel drive is not needed, thus allowing the front wheels to rotate freely within the hub. The hub is a component where the wheel is directly mounted to, and is outside the axle.

Here's a link for the install procedure, pretty straightforward:

I found this to be a very worthwhile mod. I definitely felt less drag on the drive train and less noise. It's an ASIN locking hub and works perfect.

 

[DocWong]

Next mod I highly recommend is to replace all of you rubber brake lines. Kbrown was on a trip when one of his lines sprung a leak. He did the ingenious trick of using a pair of channel lock pliers to crimp off the leaking brake line hose to get home. After all our Delicas are a few decades old.



I get my brake lines from B-Line who posts in this forum and glad I did! His stuff can be found here: https://blineperformance.com/product/mitsubishi-delica-l400-4wd-1994-2004-stainless-lines/

 

[geronimo.rei.marvin@gmail]

Assuming you're referring to the center device of the wheels, those are Locking hubs.

Locking hubs, also known as free wheeling hubs are fitted to some (mainly older) four-wheel drive vehicles, allowing the front wheels to rotate freely when disconnected (unlocked) from the front axle. This is done to reduce the mechanical resistance of the front-portion of the drivetrain when four-wheel drive is not in use.[1] The hub, along with the wheel, is designed to engage (lock) onto the axle, to be powered by the drivetrain in four-wheel drive; or the hub can disengage (unlock) from the axle when four-wheel drive is not needed, thus allowing the front wheels to rotate freely within the hub. The hub is a component where the wheel is directly mounted to, and is outside the axle.

I found this to be a very worthwhile mod. I definitely felt less drag on the drive train and less noise. It's an ASIN locking hub and works perfect.

Thank you very much for the explanation. Hopefully I can build mine to be as amazing as yours.

 

[DocWong]

Here's some fun interior items I'm fond of:

Rear view camera that doubles as a Rear View Mirror. I love it for backing up but it's my rear view mirror. I tried several units and I like this one because of it's size and great night time resolution. This was a bit of work to route the backup camera wires from the back of the van to under the dash. I think there are now wireless cameras available. I'd go with that, but definitedly get a camera unit that does good night vision, it's worth it.





Then, here's the simple volt meter I installed to make room for my gauges in the gauge pod. Easy to find on Amazon. Pretty easy to install, just find a wire to tap into that has 12v.



This is the best thing ever, a small hole installed so that I can open the back hatch from the inside!! It's best to remove the cover and verify where to make the hole. You can't see it but I put a simple rubber cap over the bolt that will unlatch the back door. The hole is about a 2" hole with a rubber grommet from my local hardware store.





Then there's the infamous Inclinometer. As far as I know, this fails on everyone. I found this guy that rebuild or makes new ones and replaced it for this fully functioning one! To my surprise it did come in handy on my last 4 x 4 trip. Went up in the Bear Valley area of California and did the Blue rated trails. I got up to 40 degrees without tipping over. :-0


Then I replaced my gauge face. It has the advantage of being a lot brighter and dimmable along with mph and km markings on my speedometer!

 

[DocWong]

Here's my dash face plate mod. Now with adjustable brightness I can see the dash clearly on a bright sunny day. And it has an MPH scale along with the KM scale for speed.

 

[Foundmine]

That's a nice rearview camera/mirror unit on a nice van. Do you have a separate dash cam for recording or does the rearview unit record? I am running 2x Rove 2-4K cameras, one front and one rear, and I am considering using the rear one for a back up cam because it has an TV out jack. Where did you place yours on the rear hatch?

 

[bikerjosh]

The dash face plate mod, looks pretty great. Nice job.

 

[DocWong]

The rear view mirror display records both the rear and front camera. So it functions as a dash camera also. I mounted the rear camera right above the license plate and ran the camera lead thru the license plate light.

That same camera operated as my backup camera also.