Makes Bad Decisions
Probationary Member
- 5
- 0
- Feb 16, 2018
-
Melbourne,
Florida
Hey all,
I am looking at a 99 GSX that's in somewhat rough condition, but I am new to DSM and turbos in general, so I can't gauge exactly how bad things are. For reference, I am well versed with vehicles in general, having rebuilt my Subaru transmission and done various engine rebuilds on Subarus and Hondas in the past. That being said, I have a new job and just moved 1000 miles from home, so I do not have much spare time or friends to do this work myself. I live on the East Coast in the middle of Florida and have not found many shops that specialize in DSMs, which is concerning because I was hoping to have a shop fix the car.
The car itself has some typical DSM rust, where the hatch and shock towers have little if any and the rockers are rotten. The chassis has 212k miles and obviously the entire suspension and bushings are shot.
My concern lies within the engine bay, mostly. The engine is built with what appears to be top shelf parts: forged internals, hot cams, sheet metal intake, massive Garrett turbo, DNP manifold, Tial BOV, Apexi exhaust, Mishimoto radiator, FP turbo inlet pipe, FMIC with hard pipes, and it's a 6 bolt swap from a 1990 model (supposedly had 600 awhp when running correctly, which I don't entirely doubt).
The big problem: It overheats within a mile and idles/runs very rough. I suspect the head gasket at a minimum because the oil felt very thin (as if it were mixing with coolant). As for running rough, the owner says it was tuned on an AEM standalone, but something happened with it and now it's back on the stock ecu, which obviously can't support the extensive mods. I can't tell if it idles poorly because the tune is that far off, or because of cam lope. The owner doesn't appear to be super car savvy and got in over his head with this particular car, but he seems like a good guy. I drove it around the block, before it overheated, and it seemed okay. Definitely rough, but clears up a bit around 3k rpms. It started overheating so quickly that I couldn't really gauge much, but it's throwing a P1105 and P0141 with ABS light as well. He is asking $4000, but I feel like this car will need a ton of work to get it right since it has had so many hands in it.
Am I missing something simple, or does this engine likely need completely rebuilt? Also, I am not familiar with DSM tuning, but this will need a DSMLink and professional tune as well, correct?
My experience tells me to run far away, but I have been hunting for a local-ish GSX for almost 2 years now, and this car has many high-end components that lead me to believe it could be a diamond in the rough. Is there a shop I can take this to that's local, or someone in the area that would be interested in inspecting or correcting it?
Thanks and sorry for the book.
I am looking at a 99 GSX that's in somewhat rough condition, but I am new to DSM and turbos in general, so I can't gauge exactly how bad things are. For reference, I am well versed with vehicles in general, having rebuilt my Subaru transmission and done various engine rebuilds on Subarus and Hondas in the past. That being said, I have a new job and just moved 1000 miles from home, so I do not have much spare time or friends to do this work myself. I live on the East Coast in the middle of Florida and have not found many shops that specialize in DSMs, which is concerning because I was hoping to have a shop fix the car.
The car itself has some typical DSM rust, where the hatch and shock towers have little if any and the rockers are rotten. The chassis has 212k miles and obviously the entire suspension and bushings are shot.
My concern lies within the engine bay, mostly. The engine is built with what appears to be top shelf parts: forged internals, hot cams, sheet metal intake, massive Garrett turbo, DNP manifold, Tial BOV, Apexi exhaust, Mishimoto radiator, FP turbo inlet pipe, FMIC with hard pipes, and it's a 6 bolt swap from a 1990 model (supposedly had 600 awhp when running correctly, which I don't entirely doubt).
The big problem: It overheats within a mile and idles/runs very rough. I suspect the head gasket at a minimum because the oil felt very thin (as if it were mixing with coolant). As for running rough, the owner says it was tuned on an AEM standalone, but something happened with it and now it's back on the stock ecu, which obviously can't support the extensive mods. I can't tell if it idles poorly because the tune is that far off, or because of cam lope. The owner doesn't appear to be super car savvy and got in over his head with this particular car, but he seems like a good guy. I drove it around the block, before it overheated, and it seemed okay. Definitely rough, but clears up a bit around 3k rpms. It started overheating so quickly that I couldn't really gauge much, but it's throwing a P1105 and P0141 with ABS light as well. He is asking $4000, but I feel like this car will need a ton of work to get it right since it has had so many hands in it.
Am I missing something simple, or does this engine likely need completely rebuilt? Also, I am not familiar with DSM tuning, but this will need a DSMLink and professional tune as well, correct?
My experience tells me to run far away, but I have been hunting for a local-ish GSX for almost 2 years now, and this car has many high-end components that lead me to believe it could be a diamond in the rough. Is there a shop I can take this to that's local, or someone in the area that would be interested in inspecting or correcting it?
Thanks and sorry for the book.