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Hello From Florida - First Project Car (95 GST)

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jmattern1

5+ Year Contributor
31
2
Mar 27, 2018
Orlando, Florida
Hello all, and thank you for having me on this forum.

I decided I couldn't resist the itch any more and I went out and bought my first project car, a 1995 Eclipse GST. I bought it from a friend for a reasonable price, the only problem is it's been sitting for a long time... not driven or started in about 9 years.

It already has quite a few go-faster parts so the bulk of this project will be resurrecting it back from the dead. I was told that before he stopped driving it the only problem it had was A/C went out, everything else worked beautifully.

I understand the basics of engine repair but I'm definitely a novice so this should be a good learning experience, and I'll definitely be combing the threads here for help. Thank you!
 
run basic tests to see where the motor really stands ie: compression test leak down test boost leak test. You will almost certainly have some leaks to fix. compression I'm not sure does much good if it won't run. timing belt and new components. then get back with results. that's a long time to sit. obviously change fluids as well. I know some Wisemen will chime in soon as well. happy your in the family friend and I hope u enjoy your dsm as I do mine!
 
If you have the ability I would consider dropping the gas tank and getting whatever fuel is in there out and start fresh. Definitely worth buying at least an upper gasket set replacing all the gaskets and timing components and going from there. Good luck. You're at the right place if you want to resurrect one of these things.
 
Thank you 802gst and Techboy!

The first item on the docket is definitely flush all fluids, then from there test compression, replace rubber and gaskets as needed, and get the rust machined off the brake discs. From there, who knows what's been ruined by the hand of time LOL.

It has a way to go but I'm very excited to start working on it and eventually make dsm whistle noises around town.
 
Oh yes, rust doesn't look like an issue. Thank you Chessmo, I'll look in to how I can test that.

I know this is an intro thread but could I ask you guys one question? Would you recommend certain sources for parts? Specifically gasket and timing sets? A friend told me to check out rock auto and while the prices seem good I don't want to cheap out on critical components like those if they're not up to par.
 
Try and get OEM parts as much as possible. A lot of times there really is a difference in quality. I most often use extremepsi, STM and JNZ for parts.

In general, don't cheap out on ANYTHING, put QUALITY parts into your car and you will get quality returns... Word of caution however, the addiction is real, think hard about what you want to do and shoot for an end goal, go +2 of what you think you want, otherwise you ill be spending MUCHOS DINERO and kicking yourself in the Cahones. ;)
 
Welcome to the DSM Mechanic club.

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https://shop.spreadshirt.com/dsmtuners/

:)

In all seriousness, read through the Maintenance page linked in the Resources navigation tab before you go any further. And then read through the upgrade paths and FAQs, then the Tech Articles. That will give you a good foundation to ask some clarification questions afterwards. And be sure to post a DSM Profile for the car so we can see what you're working with.

Welcome!
 
Thanks for the welcome Ludachris! If I can get this thing running maybe I'll have the credentials for the t-shirt ;)

Thank you! I read through the Maintenance Page and it looks like I definitely have a good bit to do before I can get to finding any supplementary problems caused by sitting for so long. I'm definitely thankful for all the information available here!
 
So I was finally able to get some pictures of the car in all its crusty glory, as well as some more information. It's a Jan 1995 model with 142,xxx miles, and seems to have quite a few mods including:

-EVOIII 16G, GReddy intercooler and piping, Blitz SBC boost controller, Turbo-back exhaust (brand unknown)
-Walbro fuel pump (model unknown), coil on plug conversion, injectors unknown, aftermarket radiator
-AEM front brake kit, Koni coilovers (I'm assuming, they're pink and yellow), aftermarket 17 inch wheels (brand and width unknown, but was running 235/40/R17 tires), the rear wheels are in the hatch
-AFR, Boost, and Pyrometer gauges on A-pillar, Seibon carbon-fiber hood

The previous owner also told me it had a lot of other stuff that he couldn't remember that I'll have to pick his brain about, especially the injectors and ECU/tune. Also, even though the clear coat is destroyed, the engine bay is crusty, and the rear hatch has some rust, the interior was largely saved by very dark tint. Everything also looked nice and clean under the oil filler cap.

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Thank you Shinzon and Pignose! And yes, the hood isn't exactly in good taste. I'm going to be scouring local junkyards for decent hatches and maybe a GS-T hood while I'm at it.

For an update, I'm finally getting some time to work on this thing (college was pretty time-consuming last semester) and so far I've found that I can hand crank the engine with ease, so that's good! Next step is fluid flush, pull the plugs, and spray some lubricant into the cylinders. After that I think she'll be ready for a test start, and I can move on to getting it road worthy.
 
Hey, welcome to the site and to the DSM community!

I've been out of the scene a few years since I sold my GST, which actually looked a lot like yours (profile pic). I recently got the itch to start another project and just picked up a 2G Talon TSI AWD. Nice to see a fellow Florida DSMer:hellyeah:
 
Thank you smoked! And congrats on getting back in the game! The more I see my car the happier I am to be a part of the club, even if it looks like it spent some time in a lake.
 
I'm not sure if this is really the place for updates... but I have updates!

Threw in a new battery, changed oil/filter and coolant today. Tried bleeding the clutch (pedal goes to the floor and stays there) but there was no pressure to speak of when I released the bleed valve so new master/slave cylinders are en route.

Opened up the fuel sending unit panel and boy was it orange and crusty in there so a cheapie tank, pump, and filter are on the way too. Still need to pull the plugs and get some upper cylinder lube in there, but once that's done and the fuel system is cleaned up I think it's ready to crank...
 
I do have a question if anyone wants to chime in.

The fuel pump I ordered is a Denso 950-0178 and I can't find the LPH number anywhere, but I'm guessing it's much lower than the Walbro 255 coming out. I found out that although this car has a 16G and an electronic boost controller it has stock-size injectors and no tune (it has an EPROM but previous owner didn't get it tuned). Do you guys think I'll run in to AFR issues with this pump?
 
I replaced the old fuel pump and gas tank today and figured it was time to try for a start, but start it did not. I should note that I did NOT change the fuel filter (although I do have a new one) because I could already foresee the rage it was going to induce, that's next on the list.

The aftermarket fuel pressure gauge at the end of the fuel rail was reading right at 40 psi and it seemed to hold decently, dropped to 30 psi about 30 mins after the last crank attempt.

Had time to pull 1 plug and check for spark before the rain came back, and it had spark and didn't look in too poor of condition. Going to check all 4 soon.

Finally, out of desperation I disconnected the line leading to the fuel rail and ran about a quart of gas into a Taco Bell cup hoping that it was just some bad gas left over in the filter/line. I will say that the first cup was more amber while the last was a light orange... (thus why the fuel filter is next)
 
I haven't tested compression, but it seems unlikely unless the rings really degraded over the time it's been sitting. I'll test that soon as well though.

I also wonder if I might have a massive vacuum leak due to a hose degrading, but when I was cleaning up the engine bay I didn't notice any hoses looking in THAT bad of shape.
 
Welcome to the dsm life. I have been in and out of it for the majority of my adult life. Just got back in it last year from being out of it for a few years. I seen a GSX that was not being taken care of so I decided to get it and bring it back to life. Good luck on the project there is a ton of knowledge to learn from all the great people on this forum.
 
I do have a question if anyone wants to chime in.

The fuel pump I ordered is a Denso 950-0178 and I can't find the LPH number anywhere, but I'm guessing it's much lower than the Walbro 255 coming out. I found out that although this car has a 16G and an electronic boost controller it has stock-size injectors and no tune (it has an EPROM but previous owner didn't get it tuned). Do you guys think I'll run in to AFR issues with this pump?

The stock 450's might get the job done depending on how much boost you're going to be setting the 16g at. I think most people who do a 16g setup run 550's - 750's. I'm not sure of your HP goals, but if you plan to go with bigger injectors than 550's, you'll definitely want to look into ECMLINK. You mentioned that your car came with the EPROM ECU, so half the battle is already fought for you. I bought my car without an ECU, and I just ordered an EPROM and am awaiting its arrival to send it off to ECM Tuning to get it socketed for link.

Had time to pull 1 plug and check for spark before the rain came back, and it had spark and didn't look in too poor of condition. Going to check all 4 soon.

I've been in the same boat, man. Trying to get some work done on the car between downpours. Florida weather. :rolleyes: If you do determine you need to replace the plugs after checking them all, I believe the most popular plug choice for DSMs are the NGK PBR6ES until you get up to higher HP, then consider the PBR7ES. I just pulled the plugs on the Talon yesterday when I doing a compression test and ran crying to the parts store to pick up some 7's :boring:

I haven't tested compression, but it seems unlikely unless the rings really degraded over the time it's been sitting. I'll test that soon as well though.

I also wonder if I might have a massive vacuum leak due to a hose degrading, but when I was cleaning up the engine bay I didn't notice any hoses looking in THAT bad of shape.

Any car that's been sitting for a long period of time could have damaged hosing. They aren't always obvious. I just did a boost leak test on my car and found a major hole on the underside of an intercooler coupler. Now, mine is holding air, but I still have a new vacuum line kit ordered and am going to replace the lot just to be safe.
 
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