92 Mu ..in Canada

[garyincanada]

I bought an Japan import 1992, 2.8 MU, 100,000 k, 5 speed manual here in Vancouver. It was love at first sight - I returned my 2006 Honda CRV, I wanted a serious offroad vehicle that I can rely on all the way down to Panama (towed behind a small motorhome).

Anyways - the problem I am having is that the gearbox is sometimes reluctant to shift into first. Its like there a mechanical lock. I thought I had figured it out that you had to have the clutch down AND the brake on hard for it to go in. That seemed to work - but I think what happened is that it just shifted something, because now I can shift into first without the brake.

Not a big problem in the city - enough torque to start in second. I'll need first offroad or on a big hill. Has anyone else had this 'first' problem?

[geeves]

2 easy possibilities and one hard one
Check the clutch adjustment and that there is no air in the system. The master cylinders on these can suck in air if the seals are worn
change the oil in the gearbox. Use the same grade as the engine but lowest quality you can get. If the gearbox has been filled with mobil one or similar grade oils the synchros cant work properly
The hard one is a problem in the gearbox. Best left to the experts but luckily the Amigos did sometimes have the same box so you shouldnt have problems with parts

[garyincanada]

Wow - thanks for the speedy reply!

I thought about getting a replacement gearbox - but after careful research on these forums, I found the five speed was never sold in North America. Would have to air freight it - still, it couldn't be that much.

I'll definitely follow your recommendations. I bought some premium gear oil, but it sounds like it will be too sticky. Will get a Japanese experienced mechanic to check the clutch too.

Everything else on the vehicle is absolutely cherry - it turns a lot of heads, especially those driving those new Toyota SUV's that have similar (but inferior - he- he) design lines to the MU.

Thanks! I hope to pass on some interesting adventures over the years. Here's a secret beach 1 1/2 hours from where I am moving to. It is five miles long, deserted, and up to three years ago the locals didn't even know you could fish from shore. Look how excited the kiddies are in some of the videos - they have never seen surf fishing before surfishmexico.pbwiki.com/

[geeves]

my understanding is that some troopers 88 and later and some amigos with the 2.6 petrol engine also have the MUA gearbox. The whole box might not fit as mounts etc will be different but you can still use these for a source of parts.
I have been told that 75/90 gear oil is ok but not hypoid oil. IE Valvolene duramax or Castrol VMX but have not tryed myself. Also quite a few people use ATF. These might be options. I currently have Mobil 30/40 supermarket special in mine and its ok but even that has hard gear changes first thing on a cold morning. (in Wellington NZ a real cold morning might be -2C a real hot day might reach 30C tops) In Canada you have a bigger temp range to deal with so might have to experiment for the best oil

[mudgrip4]

I use ATF which operates box very smoothly but isuzu dealer I spoke with said they use mobil 75w90 semi synthetic when servicing trucks.

[garyincanada]

Here's the oil I bought to add to the gearbox
www.lucasoil.com/products/display_products.sd?iid=29&catid=2&loc=show
Its quite expensive($20 cdn)

I'm hoping a good mechanic will solve the problems - the problem is that I live an hour away from the mechanics that are used to the "direct from Japan" imports. A lot of the standard mechanics here don't want to work on the imports, for some reason - I don't know what difference having the steering wheel on the right side should make! Just a form of ignorance I guess - some people like to have a strong opinion than no opinion at all.

A lot of right hand drive vehicles in Vancouver now - they have to be at least 15 years old for import, but they have extraordinarily low kms and strong diesels. This MU looks like it was just used on weekends in some sort of family orientated "4x4" club in Japan. Out here in the country I still get some strange looks - one old guy last week in big old U.S. gas guzzler looked at me like I was from Mars - you could see him thinking "Why on God's earth would anyone want to change their steering wheel to the other side!?!?" I guess he had never been outside of Canada or the U.S.A.

I forgot to mention there is a "Coleman" sticker on the back bumper, Coleman is large manufacturer of camping gear. I tried to remove it but its is 'domed' onto the bumper - this MU must have been a "Coleman" special edition in Japan - sold with a bunch of camping gear.

[geeves]

lucas oil make good stuff. The web page refers to an additive not a complete oil change.Its worth a try
Never heard of a Coleman special edition Mu before butr you never know. Theres a huge number of after market badges and accessories available in Japan and they have a desire to badge there cars with common western decals etc. Coleman is good stuff as well I have a colection of camp stoves that has 2 coleman stoves.