When you hear DSM it’s usually associated with “Crankwalk”. Well what is “crank walk”? and is it going to happen to my car?
Well first, What is Crankwalk?
Crankwalk is essentially a crankshaft that has a lot of play in the engine block because the thrust bearing has a lot of movement.
A lot of DSM’s equipped with the 4g63 engine have experienced crank walk, it is said the the 6 bolt version of the 4g63 is less likely to have crank walk than the 7 bolt version of the 4g63. This however is false, there are reports of 6 bolts have issues with crankwalk the same as 7 bolts
Mitsubishi has developed many different version of bearings to try to correct this problem by matching the bearings to the crankshaft, however determining which bearings will fit the correct crankshaft is sometimes hard to do because it is difficult to find where the crankshaft was manufactured. you can determine this by color markings on the crankshaft
How do you know if you have crankwalk?
Well determining if you have the crankwalk issue can be difficult to diagnose, Like state both 6 bolt and 7 bolt versions of the 4g63 have been reported to have crankwalk, there is less cases reported in the 6 bolt version.
Since the clutch places pressure on the crankshaft, many owners have reported clutch or shifting problems associated with the walking crank. Having the clutch ‘stick’ down on left-hand turns is often a telltale sign of crankwalk. Other symptoms include inconsistent engagement height, poor or rough engagement, difficulty shifting, ticking noises and varying pedal height or pressure. Another possibility is having the engine RPM decrease significantly when the clutch pedal is down. Another problem found is the in some cases the crank can move so much that it can rub against and destroy the 2g (95-99 7 bolt) crankshaft angle sensor
Many misdiagnose this failure and replace the crank instead of replacing the crankshaft angle sensor. A recall to the Crankwalk problem has yet to surface.
