New car, new member.

[One Equals Two]

I am 8 hours old to DSM's. Okay, not true, I had a turbo Lebaron and an Evo VIII a while back, but I picked up a GST for $1900 yesterday and am anxious to get rolling. Just saying hi, and dropping by, I'll probably be here lots. Thanks!

 

[420aNEWB]

pictures please....welcome to dsmtuners!!

 

[ratatack]

yes pictures please and welcome to the site what are your plans for it?

 

[One Equals Two]

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You guys may or may not recognize this car. The guy or girl before me did a lot of work on it and seemed pretty serious about tuning it, so I think he may have been on a forum or something. If any of you guys remember this car, let me know the history please. I bought it from a dealer auction, but since no one but me in the dealer departments likes to tune, I felt that I had to save this car from the hands of a retarded used car dealership. I know it was someone's baby.

I personally am going to take a few things off and raise it 3/4 of an inch or so to make it a more bearable daily driver. I'm putting the stock bov on it so it doesn't run so rich and rough, and then I'll add my own very expensive stereo system, even though this one is rather nice.

I am swapping the rims today for some cheapy's and then buying the 3G eclipse wheels and tires for it. I am also taking the 3 1/2 inch exhaust off and putting something quieter on, but not stock. Kevlar timing belt is also on the wish list.

I'll update later.

 

[ratatack]

looks like you got a good deal im new on here so i dont recognize it what all is wrong with it?

 

[nyTalonTsi]

Welcome!! Nice purchase.

 

[One Equals Two]

looks like you got a good deal im new on here so i dont recognize it what all is wrong with it?

Well, nothing was wrong with it until today. Typical Mitsu I guess eh? It's my third Mitsubishi, and my 3 problematic one, but I still love Mitsubishis, just something about them that I like.

(It didn't have problems when I bought it)
The Eclipse is having severe overheating problems now. What gets me is that I ran it for 30 minutes with the A/C on at idle in 95 degree weather the day I was at the auction to make sure it was okay, and it didn't overheat in the least bit. Then the day I drove it off the lot though, the coolant temp shot up next to the "H" (I know they aren't accurate, but H means bad, I know that much) and wouldn't cool down for anything. Heater full blast did nothing. All the antifreeze boiled out and I got stranded until I located a bunch of water and filled it up. This time the temp gauge read normal until it ran out of coolant again. Head gasket is fine, block is fine, no issues there (already checked), it's just boiling until it mostly leaks out the reservoir, and then gets hot because of the lack of coolant. It's rather annoying.

(Stumped)
I can't figure out is why it's running so hot now when 2 days ago it was perfect. My suspicious point me towards the radiator cap, as it may have failed and wont hold pressure and let the coolant boil and leak out.

(What I tried)
I changed the coolant, flushed it, and added Water wetter to 25/75 antifreeze/water and it ran a lot cooler until I turned the A/C on. Then the temp shot up in a matter of 5 minutes, and it wouldn't cool down, even with the heater on full blast again, but this time the hose exploded sending a plume of smoke and steam coming from the hood. I got a ride from a friend, but am GST-less until I get the hose replaced and filled up so I can drive it home. I'd like to see some ideas here, as I am just annoyed with the car right now.

(My speculation)
I think it's either the massive intercooler blocking too much airflow (but that doesn't explain the boiling coolant at idle with the both radiator fans and the heater going), or the radiator cap is bad (not enough pressure, and the coolant boils and leaks out the reservoir until it's low). But, if there are any tricks to these cars to run them cooler, or better, please let me know. Also if there are parts typically associate with overheating, please help me solve it. Thanks everyone~

 

[One Equals Two]

More newbie questions...

So, it looks like a combination of problems. First off, the IC on the car is huge, and it blocks 100% of the airflow to the radiator, so I assume the A/C just overloads it with too much heat. But, I think the radiator cap is bad too. Coolant temp gauge reads in the 220 degree area when it heats up, but the coolant still boils like crazy and leaks out.

Then, my BOV vents into the atmosphere and has no reciruclation line. I want to get rid of it, but the car is already set up for 22 psi, so I'm pushing too much for the stock BOV. Any good aftermarket ones for this kind of boost that have recirculation lines?

 

[paultheninja]

The first thing I noticed was the bov. You should defiently recirculate it. Any bov should work, and check the manufacturer for recirculation lines. You might want to consider some upgraded fans as far as the radiator goes. Do a pressure test to make sure you dont have a bloackage as well.

 

[mysticstylez]

just a quick note here...my dsm did the same thing when i first got it. drove perfect for about 30 mins. then i left it running while i went into the gas station and came out to it smoking like crazy and the overflow was boiled out. It turned out to be the connector on the fan unit. i replugged it in and the fan kicked on. it's worth checking out. Also maybe check all your hoses to make sure they are not dry rotted. i've had to replace a few myself. if that doesnt work, it could be your water pump, but hope not. goodluck!

 

[No_Skillz]

Whilst you are waiting to recirculate, I hope that intake port is capped off. That BOV is . It looks like it's flanged already for a 1g or Greddy, both of which are good replacements.

A new 13lb radiator cap ought to do nicely as your first part. While you're at it, might as well get a 170* thermostat. Once you've made sure your fans are coming on, make sure your waterpump is working. Fill up your coolant system just so you can see the water, then keep the cap off and run the car. After warming up, you should see water being drawn through.

Be very careful about overheating. 240*F is enough to warp the head, and that's only about 3/4s the way up the stock temp gauge. If I saw anything near that I would pull over and shut the car off for a while.

Try to locate some timing covers. You are missing at least the middle and the top. Timing belt isn't something you wanna take chances with.

Is that dipstick being held down by the EGT wire? If that's necessary you'll want to find out why. Crankcase pressure can be due to something harmless (PCV failure) or it can be a sign of motor wear (bad rings).

Get a sealed catchcan on that line going from the valve cover to the intake pipe. Right now it's just dumping oil in your intake tract (and your nice FMIC).

 

[One Equals Two]

Intake port is capped off (thanks to me). It wasn't before.

I just replaced the thermostat with a Fail Safe 180 degree one, but the radiator cap has slipped my mind, and I paid for it. Blew the radiator hose (again), but this time on the freeway. Luckily I always watch my gauges and pull over when I see something amiss, so I still have a fine engine, it's just very prone to heating up. I'm pulling the FMIC and getting rid of it. It's just too much heat for this car, fan switch is in, and the fans kick on all the time (programmed by the computer unit).

I'm annoyed that the girl (previous owner) had the timing covers taken off. They are nowhere to be found, so I am going to swap the belt for a Kevlar one, and then cover it up.

Dipstick isn't held in by anything, and I haven't had it blowing out like a couple of cars do. Some because of too much oil pressure or what not, but mine's fine.

I agree so far with everything you all have said, so thanks to that. Hopefully the removal of the FMIC and a new radiator cap should do the trick. The car has about 330 whp right now (22 psi, higher flow injectors and a few other things), but I am not sure how built the engine is because this car seems kind of half assed. So, I'm going to pull the exhaust, FMIC, bov, drop the boost, and a couple other things and hopefully drop the power down to 250-60 to save the internals. I'm not what you'd call, getting on it all the time. In fact, I rarely race, I just want a quick daily driver. And, something more than 18 mpg would be nice too.

 

[One Equals Two]

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Also swapped the wheels for some free BBS ones from my friend. He had a black 240 SX, and my wheels made his car look much better.

 

[TastyTalon]

Welcome