DSM-GVR4 Motor and Tranny Searching

For guys looking for clean used Japanese engines and transmissions here is a list of the So Cal companies and some additional nation wide locations that import them. Prices vary a lot between them, for the most part you get what you pay for. Between them all, usually two or three will have turbo motors and trannies in stock. 

4G63 Motors typically go from $900 to $1400 including manifolds and turbo. Most will be 89-91 GVR-4 motors with a TDO5-14B turbo. You have a 20% chance of getting 91-93 motor with a 16G turbo. You have a 5% chance of getting a 91-93 RS version motor with the yellow bodied 510cc injectors and a Big 16G. It is very hard to tell for sure exactly what motor you will be getting. The best way to try to ascertain which it might be is to ask them to look at the turbo and the color of the injectors. 

TDO4 (written on the compressor housing) Tiny turbo from an Auto Tranny car. Same motor, tiny turbo and manifold.

TDO5-14B: All the vanes on the compressor wheel will be the same size. Injectors will be blue (450cc).

TDO5-16G: The vanes on the turbo will be alternating big/small/big/small. Injector color is still blue (450cc)

Big 16G: The vanes on the turbo will be alternating big/small/big/small. Injector color is yellow (510cc)

Still, you will probably be stuck with what is available. Try not to be too picky with which turbo, the condition of the motor is more important. Most will be steam cleaned somewhat, I would rather get one before they clean it up so I can better see what it's real condition was. But by looking inside the oil cap you can get a better idea of how the motor was maintained. A yellowed tint to the inner workings of the cylinder head means less oil changes. A nice clean aluminum color means more oil changes. By taking off the oil filter and cutting it open, you can gain a little knowledge of the motor condition too. Not that you can do this by phone before you buy it but if you are assertive enough when it gets dropped off you might be able to check these things before you take delivery of it.

There is no "Cyclone Motor" The long blocks from Japan are the same year for year as the US motors. They will usually have the Cyclone intake manifolds on them. This is just a dual runner (similar to Toyota's TVIS system) intake manifold that gave a little better bottom end power IF you have all the electronics to properly actuate the butterfly valves.  Also there are clearance issues between the Cyclone manifold and the larger US A/C compressor. Yes you can use it, but not really worth the hassle. Some manifolds will say "Cyclone" on them but not have the dual runner butterfly system. The timing belt upper covers sometimes can be slightly damaged from shipping, also the igniter or coil pack may be damaged. This usually happens in the shipping container on the boat ride from Japan. 

Valve covers: Most will have red valve covers, these are from a GVR-4. There are many other Mitsubishis that also used a 1G style turbo 4G63, they can have silver valve covers. As far as we have seen in person and from digging around in the CAPS parts CD, all the long blocks are the same regardless of what turbo or car they came from. They are the same as A US DSM 1G 4G63 from the same year. You still need to be aware of the differences between the early 89-92 6 Bolt Crank motors and the later 93-94 US 7 Bolt crank motors.

EVO Motors: The valve covers of the EVO 1-3 motors will be a kind of titanium color. They are the same as a US 2G motor with nothing fancy. They have the smaller 2G style intake ports, a small runner intake manifold with a larger plenum and a larger throttle body than a 2G motor. Still they are hard to find. Many are from other 4G63 powered cars and can have small 13G sized turbos. They will not bolt into a 1G because there are no provisions for the front roll stopper motor mounts that bolt to the block. Everything in Japan from 94 and up has the front and rear roll stopper motor mounts on the transmission 2G Eclipse style. Many people are running around yapping about how they have an EVO motor in their car. If it bolts into a 1G, it isn't an EVO motor.

When calling these guys you may have to deal with some heavy accents. We ask for "four by four" on the transmissions. "Four wheel drive" can be confused with "front wheel drive" sometimes. AWD trans go from $450-700 including transfer cases.  Feel free to to try to cut a better deal if they have the motor and tranny still in one piece. They will often discount it a bit if you buy both. Be careful about what trannies you buy. In Japan they have several different final drive ratios. Anything with close ratio gears or a LSD front diff will most likely have the wrong final drive ratio. Any tranny with a strange vacuum actuator hanging off the front will be very old and has the wrong gear ratios also. 

There is no way to determine the mileage on these. They will always quote 40,000-60,000 but there is no way to really know. Most are very clean. They guarantee the motors and trans for 6 months and usually 6,000 miles, but just the parts and not the labor or shipping. In Japan they have very strict licensing laws and regulations which get older cars off the street at a young age. Do you really think there are 12 year old GVR4s getting scrapped with only 40,000-60,000 miles on the odometer? I don't.