99 gsx sputtering and bogging. Any Suggestiong?

[theross12]

First off i have owned 2 dsm's both 98 n/t's but im new to the turbo scene. I am acually doing some research on turboing my n/t.. but thats not the problem i have....

Yesterday i went to check out a 99 gsx a dealer got on a trade, price 8500, 95xxx miles, its very clean inside and out but when i took it out for a run a bunch of crazy sh** happened.. everything was fine the first 5 mins of driving. i went to turn around and head back to the dealership but when i pulled onto the road i gave it some go... the car took off, spooled up nice and hit about 5k then (the gauges, both rpms and speedometor did around the world then rolled back to normal, the battery and some other lights flashed on and off) i shifted into second and the car felt like it was going to shut down and did nothing but bogging and sputtering the rest of the way home... when i would step on the gas it would spool up shortly then bog and sputter. after that when trying to accelerate the guages continued to float up to 80mph + when i was barely going 30 (same with the rpms were going off the chart) basically this happened every time i press the gas and at the same time the lights would come on very dim and get brighter with the more gas i gave it. oh and dont forget the bogging and sputtering the whole way back...

I asked the salesman if it did that before and he said no but really had no response or explination for what happened.. and i know it was not an error on my part because i let the car warm up all the way and babied it until i decided to hit about 5k rpm to see how the turbo spooled.

The salesman really didnt know much about the car, he just told me it had a 16g on it and some other aftermarket parts.. lowering springs, bov (which sounded great btw) , headers, exhaust (was way too loud and rattling and also scraping at every dip), boost guage ect...


this is the actual car im looking at getting..

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...999&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=5

but what i want to know from the dsm experts out there is:


1. any ideas on what the hell happened when i was driving that damn thing?

2. what am i looking at in terms of a possible problems with the car?

3. is there any way of finding out how much boost the car is running? (the salesman obviously didnt know)

4. how can i tell what mods have been done seeing that i dont know very much about the turbo dsm?

5. is it worth 8500? (should i take it or try to talk him down?)


..i told the guy to figure out what the problem was then give me a call.. but i dont want someone else to pick up the car before me if it just turns out to be a simple fix.


any input would be greatly appreciated!! thanks!

 

[PieEyedPiper]

I have no idea what the electrical issues may be but I'm 99% sure you can solve the sputtering/bogging with:
-boost leak test
-spark plug wires
-spark plugs

I would bring a compression tester next time and check it out (obviously do it correctly).
I would also bring a multimeter and look up the specs for the sensors such as the TPS, ISC, CAS and coils just to further trouble shoot.

If you think you can handle the job of fixing the car (and ditching those ugly tails) you should make him an offer of around 6g's and go from there.
Thats my input.

 

[casperfast]

first of all.....$8500 hell no. i paid $2000 for my 95 TSI 85 is wayyyyyy too much. and especially if it ran like $hit like that i would take a scanner and check its codes out. sounds like a couple of sensors. i wouldnt buy a car that somebody else modified, they sold it for a reason, probly a bunch of $hit wrong with it. i woulndt buy it if i were you, hell ill serll mine running 15psi and running good for $7000 fu(k $8500 tell him to knock it down to $3500 and then talk to him

 

[mjstruck]

Does the car have an aftermarket boost guage? I had a bogging/sputtering problem last week and it was from the vacuum line that goes from the boost guage to the fps. The t fitting came loose and once I plugged it back the car was running fine. When you figure out the problem and it's minor, don't tell him you know what's wrong and lower the price. Take the car home, fix the problem and save yourself some money

 

[theross12]

I am def ready to take on fixing the car and DEF ditching those beat tail lights. but as for the tests, im going to have to find someone to go with me, i have no clue how to test for those things. but my original thought was it might have been the wires or plugs but i wasnt 100% seeing that so many things can go wrong when having a turbo dsm. and about the gauges going apeshit, i know that sometimes electrical problems are the worst and sometimes its just a fuse.. could it maybe have something to do with the after market boost gauge? (on which i couldnt really tell how much boost it was running because the needle was too jumpy) i also noticed that there were a pod of guages removed. (maybe some wire needs re-connected?)

im going to call him today to take the car out again and try to talk him down, i know someone previously offered him 6000 for it but he wasnt going for it. so we'll see how the second run goes.. hopefully they didnt figure out what the problem is and i can get it at a good price. either way im not paying 8500....and not 6000 (i did only pay 2800 for my gs) and if he doesnt take it, oh well, its not the last gsx on earth and i can just get started on boosting my n/t until i find a decent awd.

 

[WHite97RS]

I think thats a descent price for a 99 GSX, am i crazy??? the KBB value is $9955, i wouldnt pay that for it if it isnt running correctly, but I would def see if i could talk him down mayb 1k more and justfiy it by saying it isnt running correctly.

 

[theross12]

i was willing to do 8500 at first but after driving it and the more i think about the mysteries of not knowing what mods are done and if they are done right makes me not want to pay for something thats going to break down 5 mins after i leave the lot (ahem... which it did). so if its an easy fix id work with him on the price. but i know hes not going to let it go dirt cheap on this one. but im still thinking that 6000, maybe 6500 is the most i will pay. seeing that he knows NOTHNG about the car. if the car was stock i and running like a champ id do 8500 but thats not the case here... and thats the thing with a modded car, you can drop 20 grand into your car and most of the time you will barely get more than half of your moneys worth when selling it.

 

[twicks69]

Personally, the car is definitely not worth $8500.

First off, has been repainted (no mitsubishi 2-tone emblem on the front bumper).
Second, it either is having ECU issues, or worse.
Third, it has been modified -- and those modifications are now showing that they were not done correctly since the car is having issues.

Finally, the car is not worth any more than $6000 (and that is with GOOD compression numbers) since they don't know anything about the car, and there damn well isn't going to be a warranty.

Do you really want to have the car break within 10 minutes of owning it, then having to pay for the one thing they were purposely unloading on you?


If you do purchase it, and have time to actually go and troubleshoot the problems with the car, Post up a thread. I would be more than happy to help you in the right direction with your problems.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

Sounds like the intercooler hose popped off. I would check that first.

 

[KingAWD]

yep, there is a definite boost leak somewhere... just check all the vaccum hoses and prob one came loose..which would be causing the stuttering.. as for the electrical problem, most likely causes are bad grounds or terminal corrision....Also, check the oil in the dip stick to see if the oil is even clean, that is always one thing you should do when shopping for a used car....

 

[redeclipse7782]

So a boost leak would cause the dash lights to flash, and the speedo and rpms gauges to go around the world then back to normal? Its either the battery, alternator, ecu, or a bad ground.
Secondly it has an aftermarket bov on it, who knows how that is hooked up, could be adding to the problems.
Third I would never buy an eclipse for 8500, why would u do that when u can buy an eclipse with a 6bolt plus other goodies for the same price if not less, and you are chasing a problem already.
Look in the dsmtuner classifieds and find a better eclipse.

 

[KingAWD]

hope that makes more sense redeclipse...^^

 

[theross12]

well i would love to check those things but its been out being serviced over the past week. when the dealer gets it back im taking one my friends with me check it out again and perform a few tests. hopefully they came accross the problems and fixed them that way i dont have to.. as for potential problems i pretty much know its hit or miss with any used car. all im asking is for a decent price at this point.

about finding a better dsm with all the goodies and less the price.. id like to put my own goodies on this one... plus i know i could find a highly modded dsm for around the same price as this one but the reason i can is because

thats the thing with a modded car, you can drop 20 grand into your car and most of the time you will barely get more than half of your moneys worth when selling it.

seeing that this one has minimal mods, im more inclined to get it... also i wouldnt be as satified with something someone else built. but BELIEVE ME i look in the classifieds everyday. and in my case im not willing to travel 500 miles to look at a car, get there and not buy it for some reason or another.

in all cases thanks for the info and ill be sure to check over everything i can as thouroughly as possible before purchasing this car or any other.

ill update when i check out the car or if/when i buy it.