Mitsubishi Triton Gearbox & Transmission Problems

Like anything mechanical, the gear-shifting mechanism in a car can become slack, or sloppy, over time and kilometres. Play can develop in the linkages and levers that select each gear, or in the part where the gear-shift itself is joined to those selectors. Also, the actual selectors that disappear into the gearbox and physically shift the gears can also develop excess movement or play.

You can probably remove the shifter boot and centre console inside the cabin and check for looseness in the upper part of the shifter mechanism, but to check the whole thing, you’ll need to climb under the car and feel for play and look for broken clips, missing springs and worn out bushes. The good news is that it’s probably an external wear issue and not something inside the gearbox itself.

There are a lot of possibilities here. Either there’s a problem with the actual shifter for the transfer-case (that selects two or four-wheel-drive) or there might be something amiss inside the transfer-case itself. But before you try anything else, make sure that the transmission is in Neutral. Many vehicles will not shift into or out of four-wheel-drive while the transmission is in Drive or Reverse. So stick it in Neutral and see what happens.

From memory, the 4WD selector in your ute is a mechanical lever, not one of those newer rotary knobs. So at least you won’t be trying to overcome an electronic selection problem that occurs in these later versions.

If you had a loss of drive in every gear, the suspicion would be that the transmission is low on fluid or the torque converter is not working properly. But if it’s only reverse gear that is playing up, the chances are that the bands or clutch pack that locks the transmission into Reverse is allowing the gears inside the transmission to spin without actually transferring torque to the output shaft (and thence to the wheels).

That said, there could be other internal problems that could cause this, so a visit to a transmission specialist is the best advice. Don’t delay it either, as continuing to drive the vehicle in its current state could do more damage to the transmission.

The cable that drives the speedometer is a likely candidate for this in some cars, Aaron, but mainly older ones than your Triton. The cable will eventually run out of lubricant, at which point it can bind up and won’t turn smoothly (the cause of the hyperactive needle) while also making a dry squawking noise (the budgies). But, from memory, your car has an electronically-driven speedo, so the cause is more likely that the speedometer itself is worn out and causing internal friction (for the same set of symptoms).

There are three (generally speaking) things that can be causing this problem, Mark. You could have a problem with the clutch, the gear selectors or something internal in the gearbox itself. A worn or collapsed bearing or mangled gear cluster could cause this, but I’d expect other symptoms like horrendous noises and the refusal to select some gears at all, not just randomly. If you’re lucky, the cause could a simple mal-adjustment of the selector mechanism.

Meanwhile, you’ve told me you don’t think there’s anything wrong with the clutch but, to be honest, I’ve seen these same symptoms before on cars with worn out clutches. Sometimes the actuating fingers of the clutch break, other times there’s just too much wear for the clutch to function properly. Sometimes it’s as simple as a leak from the clutch’s hydraulic system or a stretched clutch cable. But either way, clutch problems can certainly cause this sort of grief.

Reverse can be hard to select because the clutch is not disengaging fully, so try this experiment: Turn the engine off and try to engage reverse. If it goes in easily every time and only baulks when the engine is running, that’s a classic case of a dying clutch.

It could be a number of things, and the only way to establish the cause of the light flashing is to have a mechanic check it.

It could be a worn synchro, but I would suspect it’s more likely to be a worn clutch. Have a mechanic check it for you.

Without knowing more about the vibration you report it's hard to diagnose a cause, but we note that other Triton owners complain about a vibration on takeoff, which I suspect could be what you experienced. If it is I understand the problem has been referred to Mitsubishi in Japan for a fix, and that it could be a result of the changes made to the rear suspension on that model. We can't say it will get worse with age or when towing, but if you are concerned about it then you perhaps you shouldn't buy the car.

Sorry. Clutches, like brakes and tyres, are always regarded as wear-and-tear items. It's the same for new cars. Without doubting your driving, many people are very hard on their cars.

It does sound like it could be a problem with the differential. At this stage you should continue to seek a solution with the dealer and Mitsubishi. We will contact Mitsubishi on your behalf and see if we can enlist higher up help.