1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS

[19MitsuEclipse90]

This is the Build Thread for 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS. Reply below.

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

Car drives awesome. It’s a fun daily driver and it definitely gets a lot of attention around town. It does vibrate a bit when idle. It might be the motor mounts. I’ve ruled out spark plugs because I had a tune up done on it. A/C doesn’t work due to a leak. I’m hoping it’s just a hose.

 

[Spleen8urLSX]

I wouldn’t say it about many things, but when it comes to AC it’s worth trying a can of refrigerant with stop leak in it then charging the system the rest of the way with the regular stuff. Have a 94 Ranger that would lose its charge parked for the winter while it was in storage while Ohio is a salty wonderland, charged it last June with a can of the Walmart house brand stuff with stop leak in it and topped it off with the regular stuff, still blows ice cold today over a year later. I have an 06 crown Vic that would lose its charge in a few weeks, did the same thing 3 years ago and still blows as cold as it should. If it’s not a massive noticeable leak definitely worth trying.

As far as the vibration at idle I’d take a look at the rubber bushings in the motor mounts. I’d also suspect someone could have gotten the balance shaft orientation wrong if the timing belt and balance shaft belt have been serviced and I’ve seen balance shaft belts laying under the cover broken over the years, but I’d think you’d get vibrations elsewhere as well. Good starting point though.

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

I wouldn’t say it about many things, but when it comes to AC it’s worth trying a can of refrigerant with stop leak in it then charging the system the rest of the way with the regular stuff. Have a 94 Ranger that would lose its charge parked for the winter while it was in storage while Ohio is a salty wonderland, charged it last June with a can of the Walmart house brand stuff with stop leak in it and topped it off with the regular stuff, still blows ice cold today over a year later. I have an 06 crown Vic that would lose its charge in a few weeks, did the same thing 3 years ago and still blows as cold as it should. If it’s not a massive noticeable leak definitely worth trying.

As far as the vibration at idle I’d take a look at the rubber bushings in the motor mounts. I’d also suspect someone could have gotten the balance shaft orientation wrong if the timing belt and balance shaft belt have been serviced and I’ve seen balance shaft belts laying under the cover broken over the years, but I’d think you’d get vibrations elsewhere as well. Good starting point though.

I’ll definitely try out the stop leak and take a look at the rubber bushings. I appreciate the feedback, thank you!

 

[dwb]

I've used the 134a cans with stop leak in my DSM and it didn't help. It kept slowly leaking, but your mileage may vary. If it's completely empty right now, it's best to take that opportunity to find the leak(s) (should be caked with oil residue) replace the o-ring, or line, or schrader valve, or whatever is leaking. Use a loaner tool program from your local parts store to borrow a manifold/gauge set and a vacuum pump (don't forget the vacuum pump oil, yes that's a real thing). Check the seals on the manifold gauge set before you leave the store as they tend to get abused or lost. Then lookup a YouTube on recharging. It's possible it may need some PAG oil if you have to replace a larger component like the condenser, just be careful not to overfill with oil (or refrigerant).

 

[Dericsh]

Welcome to the site! Car looks pretty good, nice find. When you say “full maintenance”, did they do the timing belt replacement as well?

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

Welcome to the site! Car looks pretty good, nice find. When you say “full maintenance”, did they do the timing belt replacement as well?

Off the top of my head I remember the previous owner mentioning that they had done the timing belt, water pump, and alternator. The timing belt looks visibly new. I mean as far as what i had done to it: new spark plugs, spark plug wires, head gasket, oil change/oil filter.

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

I've used the 134a cans with stop leak in my DSM and it didn't help. It kept slowly leaking, but your mileage may vary. If it's completely empty right now, it's best to take that opportunity to find the leak(s) (should be caked with oil residue) replace the o-ring, or line, or schrader valve, or whatever is leaking. Use a loaner tool program from your local parts store to borrow a manifold/gauge set and a vacuum pump (don't forget the vacuum pump oil, yes that's a real thing). Check the seals on the manifold gauge set before you leave the store as they tend to get abused or lost. Then lookup a YouTube on recharging. It's possible it may need some PAG oil if you have to replace a larger component like the condenser, just be careful not to overfill with oil (or refrigerant).

The car is at 117,556 miles as of now. I’ll for sure take this into consideration as well. Thanks!

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

Alright, happy Friday. I couldn’t take the heat anymore so I decided to take initiative into fixing the A/C problem. I went ahead and gave stop leak a try and then put some a/c recharge. It’s working for now, but I’ll keep an eye on it. I went ahead and checked my fluids while I was at it. My power steering fluid was really low and it turns out the power steering fluid pump is leaking. That’s another thing to fix on the list. Update on the motor mounts. It looks like the previous owner only replaced the one in the front but not the rest. Will have to see if replacing the other mounts will finally put an end to the rough idle.

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

Little update:
To nobody’s surprise the stop leak didn’t work. I actually need to buy a bunch of car parts. I gotta convert the a/c system from R-12 to R-134a. I’m gonna go ahead and replace all 3 motor mounts as well. Oh and then there’s the new power steering pump. Lots of funnn

 

[19MitsuEclipse90]

Update: Two weeks ago I ran into some trouble with my transmission and maybe some power related issues. The car was slipping and came to a complete stop. I had to leave it parked at a relative’s house about 3-4 hours away from home. Didn’t have the time to work on it due to getting swamped at work but Friday the 8th I drove back to check it out. I found the issue, the transmission fluid was atrocious. Not sure how I could have missed that but it was long due for a change. I changed the transmission fluid, gasket, and filter. Drove it back home on the 9th and today I changed the fluid again to flush out any bad residual fluid that was still cycling. Transmission feels so much healthier, doesn’t slip, and shifts perfectly. Real soon I’m going to swap out the power steering pump as well as the alternator and belts. My current psp has a leak and drips right onto the alternator and that’s what’s been making it act up too. WE ARE SO BACK BABYYY

 

[petrosian]

Good to hear you got it working!

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/transmission-went-out.544628/