Repair? Rebuild? Or Replace 1988/89 2.6 L Power Ram 50 4X4 MT

[SubGothius]

It's annoying that some Mitsubishi second gen engines suffered from crankwalk, so going back to a 1G will make it tough

I have found a few online articles about 2G crank failure and some have gone into depth about what is eating thrust bearings in them. This one is a good write up on theory and diagnosis -

https://magnusmotorsports.com/crankwalk-theory/

The Mitsu crank walk issue was all about 2nd-gen DSM coupes (Eclipse/Talon), no relation to 2nd-gen trucks, and the affected engines were 7-bolt 4G63Ts never fitted to any trucks as factory equipment. Granted, any engine can develop crank walk, and doubtless some other Mitsu engines have, but the notoriously prevalent issue affected that particular engine built at the US DSM factory.

[geezer101]

The Mitsu crank walk issue was all about 2nd-gen DSM coupes (Eclipse/Talon), no relation to 2nd-gen trucks, and the affected engines were 7-bolt 4G63Ts never fitted to any trucks as factory equipment. Granted, any engine can develop crank walk, and doubtless some other Mitsu engines have, but the notoriously prevalent issue affected that particular engine built at the US DSM factory.

Yeah, I know it was directly in relation to DSM engines (but not limited to). That's why guys get confused about 1G/2G - Gen 1/Gen 2 references. It would be more accurate to use 6 bolt/7 bolt references but 7 bolt cranks weren't in the equation on US market Mitsubishi trucks. As far as I can figure out, the Mitsubishi 4G6X engines don't just 'crank walk' and fail - the crank walk is the result of excessive thrust bearing wear which is a symptom of another problem (random oil pressure drops). It could be from crap maintenance, mixing mineral and synthetic oils without flushing between oil type changes, debris and junk jamming oil squirters open - the 'crank walk' isn't a predetermined design flaw.

[SubGothius]

That's why guys get confused about 1G/2G - Gen 1/Gen 2 references. It would be more accurate to use 6 bolt/7 bolt references but 7 bolt cranks weren't in the equation on US market Mitsubishi trucks.

Which is why I wanted to clarify, lest anyone get the mistaken impression that the stock engines in Gen 2 trucks were any more susceptible to crank walk than any other engine.