Mitsubishi Repair: My son has a 1992 Mitsubishi..., mitsubishi eclipse, mitsubishi dealers

Question
My son has a 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS Automatic- I believe it is a 4 cylinder- 1.8 liter?  It is the smallest engine they made for that make/model- that I have been told.  Anyhow, while driving it home one evening- it suddenly started to run rough- as if there was a break in the exhaust. After a tow, trip to the local mechanic, and diagnostic tests, all they could tell me was that it was running on only three of the four cylinders and that to diagnose the problen I had to take it to the dealer.  The dealer and what they charge per hour is not an option. A family friend who is a mechanic, and happened to be visiting from out of town, took a look at it.  He check the fuel injectors by replacing them one at a time with a new one- with no luck.  He told me that it was either a sensor or possibily the timing belt. When the first well equiped/ well known local mechanics ran their diagnostic tests on it, they told me everything checked out fine except the fact that it was running on three cylinders.  Wouldn't timing belt problems have been detectable with their equipment and does only Mitsubishi dealers have the equipment to detect a sensor problem?  Any suggestions about obtaining local affordale help out side of the dealer?

Answer
Catherine,
There is no special equipment that a dealership would have to checking the timing that a local mechanic wouldn't.  But if it really was a timing issue, none of the cylinders would be firing, and you'd probably see the check engine light come on.  

If each cylinder is getting the proper amount of fuel, the problem could be an ignition issue.  The spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and the ignition distributor should have all been checked by your local mechanic.  If they didn't check them, or didn't know how to check them, don't visit that mechanic again.  This could also be caused by low compression in the engine; which could a many number of things.  The problem may also be related the car's computer itself.  Many Mitusbishis built between 89-94 have been known to have computer issues.

Unfortunately, the only thing that local mechanic did right was suggesting taking the car the dealership.  I rarely recommend using the dealership mechanic myself, but if it is indeed a timing issue, I wouldn't trust anyone else to get the timing correct other than the dealership.  It's not that it's difficult to set the timing, but local mechanics usually do not have the experience or technical know-how to do it for most cars.  

Look at it this way: Your local mechanic may be charging $55/hour (which is relatively inexpensive).  A dealership may charge you $80/hour.  Now this may seem like a no-brainer to take your car to the local mechanic because you'll save about 50% in labor costs.  But what might take a local mechanic 5 hours to diagnosis and fix your problem, may only take a dealership mechanic 2 hours because of all the experience and training knowledge. [local mechanic = $275 in labor, dealership = $160 in labor].  Plus, the dealership requires to give a one year warranty on all new parts and labor.  

But you can call around to other local mechanics and ask if they have experience with older Eclipses, and ask what they charge per hour.  Also, it can't hurt to call the service department at your dealership and describe your problem.  Also ask what they charge per hour.  You may find the price difference in labor rights are not far off.
Good luck!