POLL: what should i do in my case?

[marsh63]

ok i just bought a 1990 eagle talon Tsi awd. since day one Oct 20th i have had problems with it. just alot of little stuff that kills ## wallet. i have done everything and at most after i fix one problem i will have a new one the next day.

so i was woundering if i should
1. ditch the car and buy something else
2. keep chasing problems till i die.
3. withdraw $3000 from my bank acount and pull motor and tranny. rebuild motor with nicer parts and rebuild the tranny. i get wholesale on everything i buy so i think 3000 will do.

please dont just say #3. i really want to know if it would be better to just start over. i love my car when it is working but im sick of chasin problems. give honest advise please!!!

i think if i did #3 i could have it done in a week or 2.

thanks marshall.

 

[Infinity03]

I have done the same thing - had my car for the last 7 years and it has been garaged for at least 4 of them. these cars are cool toys if you have the money to support it. Buying parts is easy, installing them without other things breaking or going wrong is the tricky part. Paying labor costs are a *****!, to have it done " right" - Sorry venting

 

[marsh63]

well my mom is gettin pissed at me cause she thinks im doin somethin wrong and she wants me to be drivin it but i cant keep it goin for more than a day. then some randome part breaks.

 

[hopwoodp]

What problems are you having? What may seem as impossible to fix may only require alittle more attention to detail and patience and your car will be fine. Figure out and list what problems your having. Take each problem head on, one by one. Don't cut any corners. Think things through. Once you pinpoint your problem, then figure out what options your have.

Until you have done all that, there is no reason to give up.

 

[marsh63]

1. idle surge i think its my isc.
2. transmission is hard to get into 2nd, 4th, revese and 1st.
3.cuts in and out.
4. harmonic pulley broke which means timing belt soon.
5. sooo many little electrical problems.
6. alot of vibration.
7. power steering pump is goin out.
8. water pump is dieing on me
9. after i fix each problem some other thing breaks. its done this for all the other problems ive been chasing.

so i figured since i have to do water pump and timing belt why not rebuild the whole motor and tranny. or ditch the car.

 

[marsh63]

i mean i know this car is 17years old and stuff goin to break but i already have over 80 hours into just doing maintinance into it in the last week. i have done all the thing on the things on maintinance cept for the timing belt.

 

[d_money1]

my vote goes for fix it. When you do get all these little things done, you'll know that everything has been gone through, everything is working properly, and you'll be VERY familiar with your car, which is always confidence inspiring. I think you'd be much more satisfied by fixing it, then giving up and letting it go.

 

[95 'clipse RS]

i agree with d money here. ive been pretty much through all of this too, with both cars, and when everything is taken care of, you'll be so much more familiar with the car. you'll know it like you know yourself. and you'll know whats been done, and what hasnt. and after everything is done, you should be pretty confident that it wont be breaking again anytime soon, since the powertrain would be basically new. just my opinion though. hope this helps man

 

[absolute_DSM]

I gaurantee if you pull the $3000 for the engine tranny you will not have it done in 1-2 weeks and you will probably even need more money. However long you THINK its going to take more than triple that. How much money you THINK it will take, double it.

I would say be responsible here. If youre living with your parents and the car is in the way, get a more reliable car and sell that. Save the DSM game for when you have more money to fiddle with.

 

[1LE]

then some randome part breaks.

Get used to it, they do that I've had that on and off for the last 6 years that I've owned the car. Everytime I think there's nothing original left to break, some other really bizarre thing happens...

Feeling good about my car again though. Started the year fine, but then it cascaded into a series of really strange failures (several thousand dollars worth, and was only able to drive it about 1000 miles this whole year). Finally got it down to just one problem left on the list (O2 voltage which sometimes quits working normally and goes to -.2v, causing the car to run very rich)!

Don't get frustrated, just take it a day at a time and use it as a learning experience!

 

[marsh63]

yeah its a real good learning expirence. i just cant wait till the 15th when all my new parts come in. ill keep you guys posted on how it goes from here.

 

[compression]

What problems are you having? What may seem as impossible to fix may only require alittle more attention to detail and patience and your car will be fine. Figure out and list what problems your having. Take each problem head on, one by one. Don't cut any corners. Think things through. Once you pinpoint your problem, then figure out what options your have.

Until you have done all that, there is no reason to give up.

thats the most important thing, you cut a corner thinking itll be fine, then the next thing you know it breaks or something goes wrong and your kicking yourself in the head.

 

[Locke]

1. idle surge i think its my isc.
2. transmission is hard to get into 2nd, 4th, revese and 1st.
3.cuts in and out.
4. harmonic pulley broke which means timing belt soon.
5. sooo many little electrical problems.
6. alot of vibration.
7. power steering pump is goin out.
8. water pump is dieing on me
9. after i fix each problem some other thing breaks. its done this for all the other problems ive been chasing.

so i figured since i have to do water pump and timing belt why not rebuild the whole motor and tranny. or ditch the car.

Nothing you listed is uncommon to older DSM's, and none are particularly difficult to repair - except for #5. You have a '90, the electrical system is a mess from the factory.

I say, continue tinkering with it. Follow the advise given so far.

 

[marsh63]

yeah i have all the electrical garbage figured out. i am very good with wires.

and the rest of those parts i have got comin or fixed.

 

[1LE]

#5 on the list is becoming more of a problem for many of the local 1g owners. Obviously, the '90 is the worst, being horrible from the factory. However, seems like a lot of local later year 1g (even those that keep them stock) owners are starting to get the electrical gremlins now. Take every opportunity to inspect wiring whenever you're doing something on the car. You might catch some developing problems.

Oh, my '95 had electrical issues too that are mostly solved now. Poor wiring design from the factory... Here's an example: The parking light wiring has a 15amp fuse, but is only 22 gauge wiring (and is more than 6 feet long)! A fire waiting to happen (and DID happen to me a couple years ago)! Really should to be 16 gauge given the length (18 is marginally acceptable, 22 is just stupid)...

 

[marsh63]

yeah i have all the other gremlins fixed as far as wiring goes cept for the short in my door so ill get to that asap.

as far as all the other problem i got one more left my parts got shipped to the wrong adress. so i now have to wait till the 17th to get them.

thanks for all the help and opinions

 

[dsm-onster]

On the 1990 electrical mess: I had to rewire my headlights at the mechanics yard to get her to pass inspection 2 years back. . . It's funny in hindsight.

You have an un-blown 6-bolt: count your blessings. Tinker with it in patience. And finally one day you'll have it reliable. Mine is (except for my 200K starter ).

 

[marsh63]

yeah when the car was runnin it ran real stong and i want to keep it that way. then this summer im pulling the motor to build power

 

[Defiant]

Ok well yeah.

 

[KiNg MaRtY]

Good to hear that you will be keeping it. I also bought mine to long ago and it needs some care. Little by little but it sure is putting a huge dent in my wallet.

 

[dsm-onster]

yeah when the car was runnin it ran real stong and i want to keep it that way. then this summer im pulling the motor to build power

How much power ?

 

[marsh63]

i want to build from the bottom up so it can handle about 600 ponies. as will farrel said in talladega nights "I WANNA Go Fast"

 

[dsm-onster]

i want to build from the bottom up so it can handle about 600 ponies. as will farrel said in talladega nights "I WANNA Go Fast"

Keep in mind that a stock 6-bolt can handle over 500whp and still be reliable. . . There are instances where they've blown. But, the 6-bolt rods have really proven themselves.

The 2g pistons seam to be cast stronger than 1g pistons.

 

[marsh63]

yeah i have been told that. well as far as how my car is goin now i had it running really good last night and then when i was fixing my power steering leak i was hand cranking my motor and my timing tensioner died on me so i jumped 3 teeth. luckly i was going slow when i was cranking it so i didnt bend any valves. so im now waiting on more parts.

heres the list of new stuff ive put on in the last month.
1. timing belt
2.tensioner
3.ballance belt
4.balance belt tensioner
5.O2 sensor
6.valve cover gasket
7.intake gasket
8.new fluids
9.new shifter skateboard bearings
10.new switches
11. new brakes
12.new rotors
13. new unortodox harmonic balencer
14.new power steering pump kit
15.new alternator
16. new master and slave cylinder
17.new water pump
18.soon to be new oil pan gasket
19.new wiper blades
20.new timing belt pulleys
21.new 2.5 inch turbo back exhaust
22.new fuel injector o rings and seals
23.new power steering belt
24.new waterpump/alternator belt.
25.new battery terminals

so after all this stuff why am i still havin problems?!!!!!!!

 

[Street_Killer]

Better question is, why get rid of a car after that much time and money has been put into it? Just keep going at it and fix the problems. Dont waste your money on rebuilds when you got other problems. Do that after its running good.