2G 95 Eclipse GSX questions

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 19, 2026

INTRO
This is the very first time I've signed up on a car forum, and I'm very new to the automotive world. I have schooling in brakes, suspension, electrical, and general automotive practices. I purchased my dream car, which I've wanted since I was very young, a 2G Eclipse GSX, and plan to create a tribute and possibly a replica of the Fast and the Furious Eclipse. It has 144k miles, and most of the work I've done up to this point has been cleaning and cosmetic touchups.

Now I've removed the cylinder head and machined it (they said it was good). I'm about to reassemble it; however, there is this strange gasket inside the coolant housing that has a key shape. I've not been able to find this type of gasket anywhere. Can anyone help?

I'll also list various questions and Hurdles I've come across down below. If anyone is willing to be my "sensei" on my journey of learning more about this car LMK I'm extremely eager to learn more. Thank you for reading, and best of luck on your builds as well.

QUESTIONS
Weird coolant housing gasket that looks like a key? Can't find anywhere.
Anything I should tackle now that the cylinder head is off?
Any must checks on the 4G63 T engine?
Have Sparco R100 seats but need reupholstering, any locations in California?
Oil filter housing orientation? What direction are those tubes supposed to face?
How do I approach putting the belts back on? timing, cam, and AC belts. (new belts)
How do I use the belt tension pulley I bought on Amazon?
Cams look scorched. Buy new ones or take it to a machine shop for inspection/repair?

Replacement parts so far (not put on yet)
Alternator
AC compressor
Timing belt kit
Water pump

New parts (Put on)
AC condenser
Intercooler
Coldair intake
Exhaust manifold
Turbo
Power steering reservoir
Spark plugs
Ignition coils
MAF sensor

PS: Most of my questions are engine, electrical, and cosmetic related because I haven't taken an engine class yet. Currently in an autobody class.

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pauleyman · Apr 19, 2026

AgustinGSXTribute said:
INTRO
This is the very first time I've signed up on a car form, and I'm very new to the automotive world. I have schooling in brakes, suspension, electrical, and general automotive practices. I purchased my dream car, which I've wanted since I was very young, a 2G Eclipse GSX, and plan to create a tribute and possibly a replica of the Fast and the Furious Eclipse. It has 144k miles, and most of the work I've done up to this point has been cleaning and cosmetic touchups. Now I've removed the cylinder head and machined it (they said it was good). I'm about to reassemble it; however, there is this strange gasket inside the coolant housing that has a key shape. I've not been able to find this type of gasket anywhere. Can anyone help? I'll also list various questions and Hurdles I've come across down below. If anyone is willing to be my "sensei" on my journey of learning more about this car lmk I'm extremely eager to learn more. Thank you for reading, and best of luck on your builds as well.

QUESTIONS
Weird coolant housing gasket that looks like a key? Can't find anywhere.

It isn't a gasket. OEM is to use RTV here.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
Anything I should tackle now that the cylinder head is off?

Replace lifters, cam seals and any other gaskets.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
Any must checks on the 4G63 T engine?lots.

Too many to list in one reply.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
Have Sparco R100 seats but need rehorstering, any locations in California?
Oil filter housing orientation?? What direction are those tubes supposed to face?

They are coolant hoses. How did yiu get them out of orientation when the housing bolts onto the oil pump. Did you remove the cooler? The pic looks good as far as I can remember.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
How do I approach putting the belts back on? timing, cam, and AC belts. (new belts)

Many tutorials online and on this forum. Most important part is the tension. If you've done other timing belts this isnt any different for the most part.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
How do I use the belt tension pulley I bought on Amazon?

The pin tool? Again many tutorials available.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
cams look scorched. Buy new ones or take it to a machine shop for inspection/repair?

Elaborate. Pics?

What is your mechanical experience? These cars are not tolerant of mistakes. Do stuff wrong and its gets very costly fast. Timing belt is a good example. You've found likely the most co.plete resource on the net regarding these cars. Read. Learn. Ask questions.
Welcome to the fold.

19Eclipse90 · Apr 19, 2026

For your first question, at least: 97 Thermostat Housing Gasket Part #

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 19, 2026

pauleyman said:
What is your mechanical experience?
Welcome to the fold.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll be sure to look up how the belts and tensioner work.

Attached are the pics of the cams. They seem to be in pretty rough shape.

Besides working on my own VW and GSX and a few of my relatives' cars, I've done no automotive work on a professional level. I have attended college and received a Level 1 certificate in automotive technology, and will receive an AS in automotive technology this year after taking an engines class and A/C class.

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pauleyman · Apr 20, 2026

Those cams are bad. The head may be also as the journals are integral. Your machinist shouldve caught that if that's the case. If those cams were on that car I question other things about the motor. Debris, damage etc. Do you have any history?

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 20, 2026

pauleyman said:
Those cams are bad. The head may be also as the journals are integral. Your machinist shouldve caught that if that's the case. If those cams were on that car I question other things about the motor. Debris, damage etc. Do you have any history?

Carfax states no accidents, but judging from the car's condition, which came with a body kit and a gutted trunk, I suspect it was the first owner's track car that they used/abused. The second owner is the one I bought it from, and when digging through the engine, I found a cracked power steering reservoir. It started, but ran rich, which led me to investigate the engine. I'm replacing the belts, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, tensioner B, and auto tensioner. Now I need to save for new cams. The short block surface/pistons/valves look fine, but I have yet to investigate the crankshaft. I handcranked the short block, and it was smooth.

pauleyman · Apr 20, 2026

AgustinGSXTribute said:
Carfax states no accidents, but judging from the car's condition, which came with a body kit and a gutted trunk, I suspect it was the first owner's track car that they used/abused. The second owner is the one I bought it from, and when digging through the engine, I found a cracked power steering reservoir. It started, but ran rich, which led me to investigate the engine. I'm replacing the belts, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, tensioner B, and auto tensioner. Now I need to save for new cams. The short block surface/pistons/valves look fine, but I have yet to investigate the crankshaft. I handcranked the short block, and it was smooth.

Get a set of stock cams. Look closely at the condition of the cam journals in the head.

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 23, 2026

pauleyman said:
Get a set of stock cams. Look closely at the condition of the cam journals in the head.

I found a set of stock cams, but I'm confused about my setup.

I have a '95 Eclipse with a 95-96 engine harness setup. However, I have a cylinder head with a cam sensor on the passenger side. Isn't that the setup with the 97-99 models? To make things more confusing for me, my cylinder head also has the 95-96 cam sensor drill holes and sensor attached to it, where it should be for the 95-96 model.

So if my cylinder head has what looks like 2 cam sensors, but I have a 95 engine harness, which one do I use? Should I get a different cylinder head? Which year cams do I need then?

19Eclipse90 · Apr 23, 2026

To use a CAS on the passenger side of the head with the 95-96 harness, an adapter harness or cutting into the original engine harness would be required. So, is the CAS on the passenger side connected to your harness or not?

If the engine harness is still in original state, it would be easiest to hook it back up to the original cam sensor underneath the intake cam gear.

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 23, 2026

19Eclipse90 said:
To use a CAS on the passenger side of the head with the 95-96 harness, an adapter harness or cutting into the original engine harness would be required. So, is the CAS on the passenger side connected to your harness or not?

If the engine harness is still in original state, it would be easiest to hook it back up to the original cam sensor underneath the intake cam gear.

My engine harness is set up to use the crank + cam sensor on the driver side. So why does it seem like I have 2 cam sensors? If I use the 95 cam sensor, does the one on my passenger side just sit there, or can I take it off? What year cams do I need then, the 95 or 97?

19Eclipse90 · Apr 23, 2026

So, you have an adapter harness between the engine harness and the passenger side CAS?

No idea why yours is setup this way if it’s still a 2G block and head. There’s no benefit versus using the original cam and crank sensors.

You’ll only be using one of the cam sensors so the fact that two are present is unimportant. Could easily chalk it up to laziness of a previous owner.

You need to know what version of cam sensor in installed on the passenger side of the head. The 1G CAS can provide both the cam and crank signals. The 2Gb sensor provides only the cam signal and would require the use of the original crank sensor as well. It sounds like you’re saying you have the 1G CAS. Confirm for us which version you have.

The cams are almost certainly fine for whichever CAS you are or are going to use. Only the 2Gb cam sensor requires anything “special” to use it and only the intake cam. If you don’t have that version of sensor, then it’s a moot point.

Pics of the engine bay would help tell the story for you.

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 23, 2026

Here's my engine bay and the cam sensor that I have. I have no idea how to tell if it's the 1G or 2G

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pauleyman · Apr 24, 2026

AgustinGSXTribute said:
Here's my engine bay and the cam sensor that I have. I have no idea how to tell if it's the 1G or 2G
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That is a 2gb CAS.

19Eclipse90 · Apr 24, 2026

Yes, 2Gb, which means the 2G crank sensor is still in play. And it’s completely up to you which CAS to use.

Has it ran before with the 2Gb CAS in place and connected to the harness?

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 27, 2026

19Eclipse90 said:
Yes, 2Gb, which means the 2G crank sensor is still in play. And it’s completely up to you which CAS to use.

Has it ran before with the 2Gb CAS in place and connected to the harness?

2g cam was never connected. The one on the driver's side of the cylinder head was plugged in and ran with that one, however the crank sensor was never connected, but it still started up and ran rich. Is it possible for the car to run without the crank sensor?

I also have some more questions
1. Does it matter if my new auto tensioner doesn't look the same as my old one?
2. Is this the correct orientation for my pulleys?
3. So, since my cam sensor is 2g on my cylinder head, do I need 97 cams, or can I just remove the 2g cam sensor entirely without any difficulty with my cylinder head that's made for a 2g
cam sensor?

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19Eclipse90 · Apr 27, 2026

AgustinGSXTribute said:
2g cam was never connected. The one on the driver's side of the cylinder head was plugged in and ran with that one, however the crank sensor was never connected, but it still started up and ran rich. Is it possible for the car to run without the crank sensor?

No. The ECU requires both cam and crank sensor signals to run the engine.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
1. Does it matter if my new auto tensioner doesn't look the same as my old one?

Not from a functional standpoint. It may mean you need to change other parts to accommodate the “different” hydraulic tensioner.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
2. Is this the correct orientation for my pulleys?

No. The pulley on the left should have two small holes near the bolt head visible. They would allow you to use the timing belt wrench tool you show in your first post to tension the belt correctly. The pulley is either backwards or wrong. Remove it and check the opposite side for the holes and reinstall with holes to the outside.

AgustinGSXTribute said:
3. So, since my cam sensor is 2g on my cylinder head, do I need 97 cams, or can I just remove the 2g cam sensor entirely without any difficulty with my cylinder head that's made for a 2g cam sensor?

You started your post saying the 2Ga cam sensor, behind the cam gear on the driver’s side, is connected. That makes the 2Gb sensor on the passenger side nothing more than a glorified plug to block off what would otherwise be a hole.

This is what should be there but is discontinued: MD184946.

Here’s an available option if you don’t want to simply leave the 2Gb sensor housing there to do the job: Rix Racing Cam Plug.

pauleyman · Apr 27, 2026

The different tensioner works but the timing covers are different. You can modify a 95 cover slightly.
This post will clarify.

2G - "early 95" timing tensioner, build date Dec 94

i am going to order a timing tensioner soon, i have all the other parts for the timing belt job except thatmy build date is Dec 94, so that makes me a "early" 95 right? so i do need the early 95 tensioner correct?i just dont want to order the wrong one

www.dsmtuners.com

AgustinGSXTribute · Apr 28, 2026

19Eclipse90 said:
No. The ECU requires both cam and crank sensor signals to run the engine.

Not from a functional standpoint. It may mean you need to change other parts to accommodate the “different” hydraulic tensioner.

No. The pulley on the left should have two small holes near the bolt head visible. They would allow you to use the timing belt wrench tool you show in your first post to tension the belt correctly. The pulley is either backwards or wrong. Remove it and check the opposite side for the holes and reinstall with holes to the outside.

You started your post saying the 2Ga cam sensor, behind the cam gear on the driver’s side, is connected. That makes the 2Gb sensor on the passenger side nothing more than a glorified plug to block off what would otherwise be a hole.

This is what should be there but is discontinued: MD184946.

Here’s an available option if you don’t want to simply leave the 2Gb sensor housing there to do the job: Rix Racing Cam Plug.

Okay, so just triple-checking, I'm good to use 95-96 cams that don't have the bolt hole for the 2gb IF I intend to use the 2ga cam sensor? And the only modification I need to do is cap off that big hole that's left, which I can get via the Rix Racing cam plug.

19Eclipse90 · Apr 28, 2026

Correct on both accounts.

pauleyman · Apr 28, 2026

Alternately you can just leave that cam sensor in. Not hurting anything. The plug is a cleaner look.

AgustinGSXTribute · May 25, 2026

pauleyman said:
Alternately you can just leave that cam sensor in. Not hurting anything. The plug is a cleaner look.

I'm reattaching my cylinder head and wanted to know if this is the correct sequence for tightening, and if it's okay to use shop towels and brake cleaner to clean the surface of the short block?

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19Eclipse90 · May 25, 2026

Here’s the cylinder head bolt installation sequence snippet from the service manual for 7-bolts:

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Do note #1 is on the exhaust side (top of illustration).

Yes, shop towels and brake cleaner are okay for the block surface. You want to make sure the old gasket material is completely removed, brake cleaner and shop towels may not get everything off. Also, you want to make sure the head bolt holes are clean.

pauleyman · May 25, 2026

If you haven't had the deck surfaced shop towels won't get it. Yes it will degrease it but it won't touch the old gasket and there is likely a lot more there than you realize.

If your deck doesn't look similar to this, it isn't clean.

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AgustinGSXTribute · May 27, 2026

pauleyman said:
If you haven't had the deck surfaced shop towels won't get it. Yes it will degrease it but it won't touch the old gasket and there is likely a lot more there than you realize.

If your deck doesn't look similar to this, it isn't clean.

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pauleyman · May 27, 2026

Lots of stuff around cylinder 1 and 2 will come off. what are you using?

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