New (to me) '95 Eagle Talon TSi MT (Madrox)

[90EclipseGSX420]

So I recently acquired a '95 Eagle Talon with a rebuilt JDM engine, and it has been quite temperamental so far. It also has a small 16g turbo in it so i was told and has MSR rims and sport tires. Since I've had it, I had to put the timing belt on. I made sure I did it properly. I replaced the old spark plugs which were black. replaced the spark plug wires which seemed like they had seen better days. I started it up and ran it for a while. I found some exhaust leaks and found the oil pan had not been secured properly and was leaking. I fixed it and stared it again. Drove it to the gas station and filled it with a full tank of 91 octane. When I got back in, long story short, it cost me a tow truck and being over an hour late to work and quite a headache. Once I got off work, I got in the car, put the key in, and it fired up no problem. The next day, yesterday, I started it in the morning, drove it around the block, parked it, turned it off, waited about 10 minutes, started it again, and let it run for about 30 minutes and turned it off. Then last night, I got in to see if i could take it for a little drive, and it would not start again. I tried for a while and it sounded like it wanted to start up, but just wouldn't. This morning, I tried to start it again and it did not even sound like it was trying to stay started this time. Since then, there she has sat. I did however find out that my air box has no filter or ANYTHING in it. Also, before anyone comments on this, I did make sure I have fuel and spark as soon as I had problems. But anyway, here she is:

 

[1sick_gst]

Are you throwing any CELS?

 

[spyderdrifter]

Does it have a 6 bolt or 7 bolt? I only ask because you said "JDM" engine. Mine has a 6 bolt and my CAS turned out to be bad. Had the same kind of starting issues. Replaced the CAS and has been running fine ever since (was back last Sept when I replaced it). You should post some engine pics as well so we can see without needing to ask

If you don't know which engine it has, a pic will let us all know.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So after I posted this I realized I left out some important things, but I wanted to make sure I had SOME attention at least. I forgot a picture of the engine (7 bolt, by the way) which would also show that whoever had it before me replaced the radiator with a 1G, but just cut and bent the hose to fit. Also, I don't have a very good job so my income is limited. And to answer the other question: I don't know if its throwing any codes because I dont own a reader or know anyone that does.

 

[1sick_gst]

Does the check engine light stay on while the car is/was running?

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Once. But it clicked off after I drove. Now when I try and start it, it just stays on the dash

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Ok. Correction. No check engine light anymore. Sorry about that. Haha

Just real quick I thought I'd add a picture of my engine so you all could see what I have to work with.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Well I also figured I should put my other DSM on here as well since I will be working on both of the at the same time. A little history on this car, it is a 1990 Eclipse GSX that i picked up for a grand. It was a barn find that had been sitting for a while. Drained the fluids and put some new in it. Drove it for a while and then one night i was driving it and when I hit the gas, it didn't seem to want to go any faster. When I slowed down to turn, it died on me. twice. So I got it garaged and have been tearing into the engine since. The pictures of the engine are old and I have since done a few things to it. Once I get it running again< I'll get some more info and pics on it. But for now, here she is: Monoxide

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[90EclipseGSX420]

Well as of yesterday, I got the GSX running. It seems to be pretty smoky though. I'm going to take her for a test drive today and see how it goes. But since I got it running, I snapped an updated picture of the engine. One thing I really wanna do is delete the cruise control, since it is very in the way and is cluttering up my engine compartment. Any suggestions on how to do said delete? In the mean time, here's that pic:

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So I got the GSX going pretty good now. I did have an issue where I accelerated pretty quickly, and after, when i hit the gas, it did nothing. I just let it coast until it died. I tried to start it and nothing. pumped the gas a few times, tried again, and it started just fine. I drove it home just fine and parked it in the garage. My buddy has been looking into buying it and so I started it up for him just fine and took him for a little spin just fine. Since I was having such good luck with the GSX, I decided to try working on the Talon. I tried starting it a few times and realized that the engine had WAY too much oil. Hoping I hadn't damaged the engine, I drained the oil to the proper level and tried again. Nothing. On a hunch because of the over-full engine oil, I pulled out the spark plugs and saw they were pretty oil fouled. I had just bought some new spark plug wires and spark plugs for the Talon, and had already installed the wires. So then I installed the new spark plugs and tried again. I heard the engine trying to turn over, so I kept trying a few times and it finally fired up...but it had a super high idle (around 3500 RPM) and was blowin out some pretty dark smoke from the exhaust, so I turned it off immediately. I was a bit worried, but tried it again and it fired up again, but still at very high idle (still about 3500 RPM). I just let it run for a while and the smoke cleared up and the idle went down quite a bit (down to about 1500 RPM). The accelerator pedal doesn't seem to be very sensitive, with acceleration being pretty laggy. I can shift gears without pressing down the clutch pedal. I found out that the coil packs were installed backwards (i.e. When I installed the new spark plug wires, I had to install them in left-to-right order: 2,3,4,1 instead of the stock 4,1,2,3). There is also a clicking sound in the engine compartment near the driver door when I turn the ignition to ON. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I would appreciate it. Until then, I will just continue on with how I think I should progress and update as necessary. Also, the Talon will not start again. It sounds like it wants to, but it won't again.

Quick Update: Before coming to work today, I decided to try out the Talon again. As soon as I turned over the engine, it fired up. But it started at about 2000 RPM and rose pretty quickly to about 4500 before I shut it off for fear of damaging the engine. I waited and started it again and the same thing happened. We will see what happens when I get home.

Well I actually got an air filter put in the Talon. Still high idle. Lined up the timing. Still high idle. Tried my NGK wires from my Eclipse. Still high idle. Can anyone help with this issue? The only thing I can think it's caused by is the coil packs being installed in the reverse order. Could this be my issue? Any help is greatly appreciate it.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So last night I messed with the Talon a bit on what I had researched could cause high idle. Every time I started it though, the RPMs would jump straight up to about 4500 and would even go to 5000 before I shut it off. Long story short, I found out the PO had not DELETED cruise control, just broken the box and said it was deleted. So it was holding my throttle pretty far open. So I adjusted it before I started the car and it started up around 2000 RPM and was steady. I adjusted the cables at the cruise control box until the engine was down to a nice low purr. I thought I was there and finally had my Talon. The engine was steady idling at about 950 or 1000 and the accelerator pedal was very responsive. I put it in reverse and it backed out of my driveway just fine. I have very bad luck and have learned to counter it by just not taking chances, so I drove it right back up the driveway just fine as well. Still idled right at 950-1000. So I turned it off to see if I could get it started again consistently, since that has been an issue in the past. Just as I thought, I tried turning over the engine and...nothing. It will just crank and crank but doesn't even seem to want to start. But I will put money on the fact that when I get home from work and try to start it, it'll fire right up...

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Well a little update here:
1G Eclipse: I found that a lot of the smoke in my 1G was coming from the crankcase breather. I had replaced the tube that goes to the intake with a small breather filter, but there was oil coming out of it and dripping onto the hot engine. So I put the tube back on and routed it down, away from the hot engine, and out under the car. It makes it much more bearable to work with while it's running. But I've been starting her everyday, keeping her warmed up for my buddy to buy.
2G Talon: So still having the same problem with her, but I made some discoveries. I found my coolant is very brown and dirty looking. I thought it was oil at first, but I do not see the rainbow effect that oil causes on the surface and there is no coolant in my oil. Also, I was pulling on some cords to see if anything was unplugged and I found a broken...something. I'm not entirely sure what the part is, but it is definitely broken and not attatched. I got a picture of it. It almost looks like the end of a spark plug wire, but its plugged into the engine harness. Any advice welcome.
Now for pictures.
Broken mystery piece

Broken cruise control.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So bit more of an update. Ive been tinkering around with the Talon, trying to figure out my problems. I don't have a problem with the high idle anymore. But I found a solution to a problem that has haunted me since I got the car. Said problem is that if I start the car and drive it for a little or let it sit and warm up and then turn it off, I couldn't get it started. But yesterday, I ran into that issue and unplugged the MAF and it started! It would idle incredibly low (around 250 RPM) and when I plugged back in the MAF, the idle would go up to normal for a bit, then it will die and I can't start it unless I unplug the MAF again. Also, after a bit of searching on the web, it seems my broken mystery piece is the vehicle speed sensor (VSS). I'll find out for sure today. The only thing is, my speedometer has been working fine...so what is the sensor for?

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Not sure if anyone is following along, but it's still nice to get my progress down.
Well, I'm down to only one DSM. I watched my coworker drive away with what was previously my '90 GSX. Sad sight, but I need the money, and I will find another. I ordered a few parts for the Talon today, just to get ti running a bit better and getting it up to daily driving standards. My list of ordered parts are as follows:

From RockAuto:
Passenger Side window regulator and motor
OEM Vehicle Speed Sensor

From ExtremePSI:
OEM Non-Cruise Control Cable
MAF adapter and cone filter
'90-'94 OEM Upper Radiator Hose (Since my radiator is a 1G, and the current hose is bent and kinked to fit)

Hopefully in a few days I will be receiving these items and I will update appropriately. I also freed up one of my garage spaces, so if I can get the Talon in gear long enough to get it in, I may be able to work on the Talon more often.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Pretty big, to me, update today. I figured out why my clutch pedal would just fall to the floor and would not engage...I did not have ANY fluid in my reservoir...I slack. But I got my girlfriend to work the clutch for me and my roommate to watch the fluid level in the reservoir. We got it dialed in and it feels great. I got it into the space where my other car was, which is inside so I can work on it. Since the PO had started converting it to a street-stripped race car, I decided to continue the work and removed the spare tire and mouting hardware, paneling and catpet from the trunk, rear seats, and rear seat belts. I'm eventually going to relocate the battery to the back and until I do that, I'll probably leave it stripped out. I also started getting into the passenger side door to replace the regulator and motor (received today! ) as well as the engine compartment to prepare it for the parts I'm receiving soon. I pulled the old VSS out of the engine (pain in the ass), and removed the stock airbox and prepared the MAF for the adapter. I'm going to drain the cooling system when I get home and give it a good flush. Also disassembled the cruise control box. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Spooled420a]

Keep up the good work! It's coming along nice. Keep us updated.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So pretty big update today. I got most of my packages, the only one I need is the one I REALLY need, which is my new VSS. All the other parts I ordered, I received today. I spent most of the day with the lady, then went out to work on the Talon after she left. I started off easy with the air filter and adapter, which proved as easy as I thought. Then I drained my cooling system and put on the new upper radiator hose. Unfortunately, the new hose did not fit as well as I was hoping, but it is a 100x improvement over the old hose. The pain in the ass came from converting the Talon from cruise control to non-cruise control. I wanted to do it right and make it look perfect, so it took me quite a while. But the Talon is now down from about 3 cables to just one. Got the tension on it dialed in and it is quite nice. I can not wait to get the VSS so I can get this beast going. Now for the interesting part: the pictures:

Old and Busted




New Hotness

 

[Spooled420a]

nice update but i would pull that upper coolant hose and trim it down some. it looks kinked.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So the good news is I got my new VSS in the mail. Bad news is I failed to realize that the sensor did not include the gear needed for the sensor to properly function. I tried fitting the old gear in to see if it would work, but the top of my old gear is broken, so I can not get an actual connection. I ordered a new gear from ExtremePSI and hopefully it will be here early next week. Just as a side note here: from the little bit of experience I've had with DSMs (<1yr) I have ordered parts from a few different places, and ExtremePSI is very prompt as well as helpful. But that story is for another post. I hope I can get my new gear soon. There is a big snow storm where I live, and an AWD car sounds real fun right about now...
Also, thank you for the advice. I was thinking about that, but of course that was already after I'd filled back up my system. I'll do a drain and trim it down a bit, because it is kinked a little. Compared to the other one though, this is great. Do you know if not having a Vehicle Speed Sensor would cause any of the issues I have? Because after I got it in the garage and pulled the old VSS, I can not get her started again. She'll crank and crank but won't turn over. I'm not too worried yet though, since I still need to get the proper gear installed.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

Well just in case anyone has been paying attention, I will do a quick update here. I ended up getting a speed gear and Madrox started again, but with the same problems as last time. I needed a car, so I decided to take a break on the Talon until the weather warms up. I've got some ideas on what to replace now, seeing as how I found my IAC broken. I don't think the PO took very good care getting the engine back into the car. But for now, I'm drivin around my $700 1993 Mitsu Mirage and on the side, driving my $1000 Nissan 300ZX.

 

[90EclipseGSX420]

So I finally was able to get my hands on a fancy diagnostic tool and did some readings on the Talon. I let it run till it turned off and the computer threw a code. For the throttle position sensor. So if someone has one, that'd be great. I don't really feel like spending a whole lot of money on one little sensor.

 

[zedicus]

pm me an address, ive got one that i think is good that you can have.