Mitsubishi 4G13: Everything You Need To Know

Mitsubishi’s 4G13 is an inline-4 engine and has four modifications or variants, which are discussed below. This engine belongs to the Orion family that was introduced by Mitsubishi around the late 1970s, having OHVs, SOHCs, and DOHCs.

Orion engines debuted in Mitsubishi Colt and Colt-derived car models. Alongside Astron, Sirius, and Saturn, Orion joins the inline-4 club of the 70s that has a 1.2 L to 1.6 L displacement range.

What are 4G13 Engines?

4G13 engine, or sometimes addressed as 4G1, is an engine that was produced more than two decades ago but still, and will, catches bodies among its competitors today, no question about that.

Emerged from the 80s, 4G13s are made for smaller cars, actually. But some enthusiasts decided to explore heights for this engine, putting it on different chassis, tuning it up, chucking it with some turbos, and bringing whatever quench their curiosity.

So, today we will discuss the 4G13 engine and its design, nature, and impact on the automotive industry as an engine.

We will also tackle some problems and issues that might occur, prematurely or lately, in our 4G13 engines, followed by some friendly advice regarding maintenance and how to take care of the engine for prolonged useful life.

Let’s get right to it!

Here are some information and an overview of the 4G13 engine:

Engine Specifications and Design

• Production Run: 1983 – 2007
• Cylinder Head Material: Aluminum
• Cylinder Block Material: Cast-iron
• Configuration: Inline-4
• Bore: 71 mm
• Stroke: 82 mm
• Valvetrain: SOHC 3 valves per cylinder
• Displacement: 1.3 L
• Compression Ratio: 9.5
• Weight: 249 lbs.
• Max HP: 93 hp at 6,000 RPM
• Max Torque: 83 lb-ft at 4,500 RPM

Mitsubishi 4G13 Engine is a naturally-aspirated 1.3 Liter petrol engine.

Mitsubishi created 4G13s to power cars such as Mitsubishi Colt, Carisma, Lancer, Mirage, and many more. Since its release, it has four configurations, and all are inline fours, namely: The 4G13 12-SOHC Valve-Carburetor, 4G13 SOHC 12-Valve-MPI, 4G13 SOHC 16-Valve-Carburetor, and 4G13 SOHC 16-Valve-MPI.

Common 4G13 we see today are the 12-valve ones MPIs and the 16-valves MPIs, which can be spotted on some older EVO models but before, 4G13 used carburetors since the arrival of the fuel injector system.

Under the hood, the 4G13 engine has a cast-iron cylinder block covered by an Aluminum SOHC cylinder head varying from 12-16 valves, depending on the model. It has a 71 mm bore, 82 mm stroke length, and a uniform 9.5 compression across all modifications.

The camshaft is belt-driven, and the heads do not have hydraulic lifters. Hence the clearances must be 0.15 mm for intake and 0.25 mm for the exhaust for a hot engine, and 0.07 mm for intake, and 0.17 mm for exhaust on cold occasions.

4G13s in its stock form can produce 75 – 85 hp at 6,000 RPM and 83 lb-ft of torque. In gulf countries, 90 hp was achieved at 6,000 RPM.

Applications:

• Mitsubishi Carisma
• Mitsubishi Colt/ Mirage (1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2000)
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
• Mitsubishi Dingo
• Great Wall Florid
• Great Wall Voleex C30a
• Hyundai Excel
• Mitsubishi Space Star
• CMC Veryca 1.3
• Proton Saga (C20)
• Proton Wira / Persona (C90)
• Proton Satria / Persona Compact (C90)
• Zotye 2008 / Nomad
• Emgrand GL
• Brilliance BS2
• Heyue Tongue / JAC A13 / JAC J3
• 2014 -2017 Emgrand EC7

4G13 engine is related to the 1.6 L 4G18 and the 1.5 L 4G15. However, 4G13s were by MMC in 2007 to install the newer 4A90 engine. But still, many use this engine for a long time due to its reliability and power.

Engine Upgrades and Modifications

First, you have to do when tuning up is to adjust the intake and exhaust valves then install performance parts. Along with that, you have to buy new individual throttle bodies, do some head porting and polishing.

Change the stock cam to Piper cams, adjustable cam pulley, high-compression pistons, larger fuel injectors, fuel pump, new exhaust system, 4-2-1 headers, exhaust system, and ECU tuning chip.

However, this setup might be pricey for little gain, which may be due to its low displacement.

So you may opt to boost it via aftermarkets, forced induction, and turbo installation, the latter being one of the best ways to put in some additional power. You will have to buy a turbocharger, preferably the smaller ones, to fit inside the bay.

You can use the Mitsubishi TD04 or TD03 for this matter. However, for TD04s, you have to get to the mid-level RPMs for it to start working, kicking some 250 hp at maximum, while the smaller TD03s have a smaller increase with 200 horsepower but it engages earlier.

Problems Surrounding 4G13 Engines

4G13s are almost identical to 4G15, just a little bit smaller in terms of capacity. With this, they also the same problems and issues. Though some of these may not occur right away, it will be an excellent heads-up for those who are planning to buy 4G13s or 4G15s and the likes.

First is the rough idling. There’s nothing to worry much about this issue as it typically occurs for 4G1 engines. High idle or rough idle happens when you have a worn-out throttle body case or the throttle body itself.

You can solve this by just replacing what needs to be replaced.

Next is unnecessary vibrations. The same goes with rough idling. These vibrations occur and are common to 4G1s. The reason might be the status of engine mounts.

Make it a habit to regularly check the state of the engine mount on both sides, and a slight increase in idle might help too, don’t make it too rough in idling just enough to feel it.

The third is high oil consumption. This is prevalent among aging engines, especially those who already logged six digits on them, for they are subjected to harsh wear and tear due to the mileage under their belt and years of service.

Some valves in the intake and exhaust may get loose and need to be tightened, readjusted or the piston rings start to degenerate along with the cylinder walls resulting in less efficient combustion due to bad engine oil quality and inefficient combustion.

Oil is vital for the engine, and poor engine quality or too much consumption is detrimental to your engine.

Fourth is the engine that won’t start. This is common for those living in colder and snowy areas, whereas ambient temperatures in such regions do not fit really well with the construction and design of the engine.

Hence, making it harder to start it up. The problem might be coming from the fuel pump, so try checking it regularly or, if the fuel pumps are good, try the sparks plugs for this engine does have little to no resistance in frosting.

I am not saying that hotter regions or tropics are exempted from this, but they are less likely to experience this since they have a higher ambient temperature.

To add to the mentioned above, since 4G13 engine camshafts are belt-driven, which will eventually deteriorate and needs to be replaced. Timing belts usually last for 55,000 – 60,000 miles.

If there is any chance you weren’t able to change the timing belt in the recommended time, your valves are at high risk of being bent.

Summary

4G13 engine is a good and reliable engine that can give you serious service life for at least 180,000 miles. With the proper maintenance, regular engine checks, and preventing issues before they even occur, like scheduled replacements or habitual observation, those little efforts can go a really long way for your engine.

Though some doubters might say that it may have some problems, it does not account for a major decider, and there are no perfect engines. So go ahead and experience an engine that paved the way for modern Mitsubishi cars.

It thrived even before, so it will be in the remaining years and generations to come, and the people will continue to appreciate its longevity. I like the way Mitsubishi improved the 4G13s throughout the years from using carburetor switching to MPIs and GDIs.

It’s not easy to trust the process like that, and it really goes to show that they are patient and willing to learn through time.

I hope that we find this informative and may help to clear some clouds going in your head regarding Mitsubishi 4G13 engines. Most especially its composition, specifications, issues, and maintenance. So stay tuned for others!