97 GSX bad turbo?

[tweek814]

Hey guys, im going to look at a car this weekend. Its a 97 GSX auto. 153k. He only wants $1800 for it.


The guy says that the only problem with it is it has a bad turbo. I have never owned a boosted car but am slightly familiar with the concept, thats about it. So what im asking of you guys is, How do i check to see for sure that the turbo is bad? Besides smoking, no boost pressure, and checking for left/right play in the turbine? And could a bad turbo cause any other problems in the motor?

If the turbo does in fact need replaced, should i replace it with a stock turbo, or are upgraded turbos available that bolt right up with the stock manifolds/lines?

Also, anything else i should look for in a 4G63T, or 2g in general?



Oh yeah, the car is a good hour and a half away, would i be ok driving it home if it is in fact a bad turbo.

thanks in advance.

 

[1993eclipseGS]

If the turbo is bad, You will know so when you check for shaft play. If there just is no boost, It could be a bad wastegate, a bad or incorrect vac connection, a bad boost leak, ETC.

Thanks alot,
Rob!

 

[untouchablecc]

Excessive in and out or side to side shaft play will tell you if its bad and the smoking is a definite cause. Not to much damage can happen if you let the turbo go completely bad but some metal might come from the turbine housing into the oil pan. And if you have to replace it your best bet is to upgrade if you plan to make more then stock hp. Most people like to start with a 16g.

 

[inneed4dsm]

^^^ if you go with a 16g make sure you dont get an ebay one you get what you pay for i recommend this one


Forced Performance Turbochargers: Mitsubishi EVO III Big 16g Turbo

 

[JusMX141]

The car is an automatic and otherwise stock. I'd replace it with another stock turbo for the time being- anything bigger will add more lag than it will benefit you at this point.

The stock turbo is a Garrett T25, and it looks like this:

 

[sketzshane]

Hey guys, im going to look at a car this weekend. Its a 97 GSX auto. 153k. He only wants $1800 for it.


The guy says that the only problem with it is it has a bad turbo. I have never owned a boosted car but am slightly familiar with the concept, thats about it. So what im asking of you guys is, How do i check to see for sure that the turbo is bad? Besides smoking, no boost pressure, and checking for left/right play in the turbine? And could a bad turbo cause any other problems in the motor?

If the turbo does in fact need replaced, should i replace it with a stock turbo, or are upgraded turbos available that bolt right up with the stock manifolds/lines?

Also, anything else i should look for in a 4G63T, or 2g in general?



Oh yeah, the car is a good hour and a half away, would i be ok driving it home if it is in fact a bad turbo.

thanks in advance.

For that price i would tell you to check for previous accidents, look under the carpet inside/check flooring, check trunk, chassis legs, check undercarriage etc... just to make sure this car in good driving order because that price sounds cheap. Otherwise you can check how the car breathes by tappet cover, listen for any unusual sounds(not talking about lifters in the head since those normally get loud after awhile) and rev it and check whats coming out the muffler pan.

 

[tweek814]

thanks for all the replies.

im going to look at the car tomorrow. Ill let you know how it goes.


If i upgraded to the 16g, would it be a direct bolt up?

Would it be ok to drive home if it does in fact have a bad turbo?

Its a good hour and a half drive, mostly highway 65mph etc.

Im looking forward to become a regular dsm tuner!

and if not ill let you know 93eclipsegs

 

[KevinRR]

thanks for all the replies.

im going to look at the car tomorrow. Ill let you know how it goes.


If i upgraded to the 16g, would it be a direct bolt up?

Would it be ok to drive home if it does in fact have a bad turbo?

Its a good hour and a half drive, mostly highway 65mph etc.

Im looking forward to become a regular dsm tuner!

and if not ill let you know 98eclipsegs

The 16g would bolt up fine but you would need a j-pipe and an oil feed line. Or you can just buy the install kit from the place your getting the turbo from and if you was to put the 14b in you would also need a j-pipe and oil line. It should be fine to drive the car home.

 

[96pos dsm]

check the waste gate arm clip.....seen that more then once

 

[tweek814]

alright well that was a fail.

drove an hour and a half out there to look at it, and the kid had it sitting for a while, and when he went to start it up, the battery had died. i had no jumper cables and believe it or not, he had none at his house at all.

so anyway... dont know if hes acting a little fishy, or if he honestly forgot to make sure the car ran before telling me i could come take it for a test drive. *rolls eyes*


but i did get a little more info on the car, he says that you can hear the turbo spooling up but the boost gauge only goes up a few psi. he also said that i would not be able to drive the car home because it has a hard time going over 45mph? like i said, didnt even get to HEAR the car run so i cant even make any judgments on my own at this point.

there is some major rust going on near the drivers side strut under the hood. other than that, its not too beat up.



but anyway, he was pretty persistent in believing i couldn't drive this car an hour and a half home. if it is a bad turbo/bad boost leak/ broken wastegate/ etc. etc. i should be able to drive it home doing 60 - 65 right?? i know the 4g63's are strong motors without a turbo.


thanks for all the help guys. and ill keep you posted rob.. no decision yet tho

 

[1993eclipseGS]

Sorry, I did not even see that you replied to this thread until I just came in now, To ask for updates.


If the turbo is bad, You should still be able to drive the car an hour home, Or any distance for that matter. You just will not have boost.

If it's a bad boost leak on the other hand, It would need to be fixed before driving, Being the car would not want to even idle, let alone drive.

For some reason it sounds either like he does not know much about the car, Or he is keeping something from you. You can always do a compression test on the engine, It takes 5 minutes! That will at least tell you something about the engine. If he refuses and says no, That's a HUGE red flag and I would tell him you are sorry but you cannot purchase it then. Other then that, Did you check for shaft play, ETC?

 

[tweek814]

Yeah i thought about a compression test.. but i dont have a kit. It would be worth my while to get one tho so i might pick one up and make another trip down.

he told me he was going to put a new turbo in it sometime in december, so i might just give him another week or so. also i didnt get a chance to check for shaft play because by the time i got there it was dark, raining, and i was pretty pissed off that it didnt start.

I was thinking about getting a buddy to tow it home for me but if your sure it will make the trip with a bad turbo (i dont see why it wouldnt) then that would save me a lot of hassle.

I just google mapped directions and it said your about 2.5 hrs from me and 3.5 hrs from the car . thanks for the offer though. yeah you were right about the price thing as well. i was looking for a car around 2 grand for a dd/winter car when i stumbled upon this. just couldnt pass it up.

ill keep you posted in this thread though. thanks for all the help.

 

[blaster1812]

Yeah with a blow turbo the car would still be drivable. When I picked up a 90 Laser with a blown turbo the thing had no balls but she still ran fine and made it the 2.5hr drive home...

 

[tweek814]

thinking about going to get it this weekend. still gonna try to get someone to tow it for me but if not im just gonna drive it.

still unsure of what turbo im going to get to replace it. leaning towards stock t25 for the time being. as the rest of the car seems completely stock as well. anymore suggestions?

 

[2gmummy]

The evo III turbo is a great upgrade if your going to build it or even keep it a dd. They bolt right up and are only like 500 or 600 bucks

 

[mannyssj13]

evo 3 turbos r good i just upgraded to one n its not tuned yet n it pulls alot harder then the stock T25 but its def going to cost alil to upgrade the turbo if u dont have money to do so just go with a stock one for now n get a feel for the car since its ## first dsm then upgrade later on

 

[BustedTsi]

i like the 16g i love the spool. go for that if your looking for a relitivaly cheap B.A turbo

 

[tweek814]

yeah money is kind of an issue actually. i pmed some guys with t25s on the classifieds for like $50-$100. i dont even know if its definitely the turbo yet . but from the descriptions its most likely turbo, or less likely bad boost leak. either way its a STEAL

i think the t25 should be good enough to get me going for now. gonna do some small stuff to it at first, mainly a tune up and maybe a front mount while im in there pissing with the turbo. maybe some other little stuff until i can get some more cash.

thanks everybody

 

[Niteninja01]

I would make sure the car runs good and has good compression before you go and buy it.

Did you check all the fluids and check for any sort of leaks? Check the coolant to see if there is any oil in there.

 

[c_k06]

if you can pull the ic hose to the throttle body and see if there is any signs of oil in the hose. that would be a way to tell u if the turbo is leaking oil or anything. mine is doing that right now but im rebuilding it this weekend. it will make the car run crappy at highway speeds because it will push oil into the intake and mess with the A.F. ratio... other than that id get a 16g if you decide to get something else i have one and i love it.

 

[tweek814]

but if it was leaking oil and tossing it into the intake wouldnt it burn off and make it smoke? its not smoking at all.

 

[c_k06]

but if it was leaking oil and tossing it into the intake wouldnt it burn off and make it smoke? its not smoking at all.

yes but it might be miniscule enough that you wont see it. i cant see mine but i know its doing it. casue my friend drove behind me and told me. u wont notice it when ## in it

 

[purptalon97]

Is it smoking? Because if it is; Then it needs turbo seals.

 

[snowborder714]

Please keep all buying/selling opportunities to PM's. If anyone is looking to purchase a car/part or sell one, or know someone who is selling something, take it out of this thread. There's no need to clutter a thread with all of that.

 

[rEclipserGST]

but if it was leaking oil and tossing it into the intake wouldnt it burn off and make it smoke? its not smoking at all.

I thought you said the car didn't start? Won't go over 45mph? Sounds like a boost leak. I would bet on it.