1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST

[ZubUchiha]

This is the Build Thread for 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST. Reply below.

 

[ZubUchiha]

Hello everyone, this is my new project.

Mods list:
- 20G Turbo (ebay)
- 650cc Injectors
- Intercooler kit + BOV
- Manual Boost Controller
- 3 Inch CX Racing Downpipe
- 2.7 Inch Exhaust (Not sure of brand)

Mods-EMS & Logging
- ECMLink v3

Going to be doing a lot of maintenance and service to get it up to standards, then going to tune it so I can take advantage of the goodies it has. Later down the road, I will be swapping out the ebay turbo for an OEM 16g.

I welcome you all to give me recommendations and suggestions on what I should do.

The current mission:
Maintenance:
- Oil change, transmission oil change, coolant flush
- Spark plugs and wires
- Leaks of any kind
- Redo the Grounds

Service:
- Full Timing Belt job + water pump + oil pump
- Replace most gaskets and seals
- Valve cover gasket and bolts.

Other:
- Exterior + Interior Detail/Clean
- Trunk Hatch Lift Supports

Join me for the ride!

 

[curt-s]

We need some closer photos with that colour!

 

[ZubUchiha]

We need some closer photos with that colour!

Here you go brother. Unfortunately up and close, the paint job is terrible haha, but I will be redoing the paint after my mission! Thanks for the kind words!

 

[curt-s]

That colour with a metal flake or slight pearlescence -- nothing crazy -- and a high gloss would be quite epic.

 

[ZubUchiha]

That colour with a metal flake or slight pearlescence -- nothing crazy -- and a high gloss would be quite epic.

Oooh yeaaa I bet it would!

 

[ZubUchiha]

Update #1: 2/12/2024

I changed the oil using Castrol 10W-40 Synthetic Blend. My reasoning was, I was unsure of what oil was in the car before and I know there is a small leak on the turbo drain pipe that connects to the oil pan. As well as another small leak on the water pump. Synthetic oil would leak a lot more. I also purchased an oil filter (Wix #) and installed it. The car did not have a cone filter. I am very surprised by the fact nothing has been sucked up into the air intake yet because the previous owner cut out the metal part right underneath where the filter is. A rock or leaf could have easily been sucked up into the air intake, but thankfully there has not been. I decided to buy a generic blue cone filter from AutoZone as this will temporarily prevent a massive issue and can be upgraded later.

I connected my laptop to the ecu through the ECMLink cable and ran a live capture of my data. I decided to take the car for a test drive to data log information. While the car is in idle, it has an AFRatioEst of 12.1 which later after warming up went to 13.7. While driving and cruising with foot off the gas, the AFRatioEst is 14.7. If I slightly press the gas to maintain speed, it would go down to 14.0-14.1. During wide open throttle, the AFRatioEst dropped as low as 8.0 which is a bit concerning as I thought it would be dropped down to at most 10.0. Based on these AFRatioEst's, I decided to give a few pulls to see how the car reacts under boost. Surprisingly, the car hit up to 32 lbs of boost. One instance show a KnockRet at 12.7 which is pretty concerning too. The engine did not blow, no overheating, and everything still worked fine. However, the boost was turned up, so I turned down the boost all the way. The car did have some lean spikes while letting go of the gas, but I am assuming that occurs because there is still air being spooled up by the turbo and less gas, so it gets lean. Not sure if this is a normal thing or not, but logically, I would think it is normal. I relayed this information to a good buddy of mine (Today's Project Guide on YouTube) and he insisted I check the AEM Wideband and make sure the gauge is installed and spliced correctly. He suspects something is wrong there and that it isn't connected to the ECU at all causing two different types of fuel trims. Therefore, my next goal is to check and rewire the AEM Wideband gauge correctly this weekend.

Next mission: Check and rewire the AEM Wideband gauge correctly.

Maintenance/Service Completed:
- Oil change (Castrol 10W-40 Synthetic Blend)
- Oil filter (Wix #)
- Air Intake Cone Filter (Spectre)

Please provide any suggestions and recommendations upon reading this. Thank you!

 

[curt-s]

A knockoff 16g, or even a regular one, should not be pushed to 32lbs but you know that already.
Unless you're using the WB as your front narrowband O2, it's not affecting your trims at all. Fuel trims affect closed loop anyway. Your tune is way out.

What type of gas are you feeding through it?

Post that log

 

[ZubUchiha]

A knockoff 16g, or even a regular one, should not be pushed to 32lbs but you know that already.
Unless you're using the WB as your front narrowband O2, it's not affecting your trims at all. Fuel trims affect closed loop anyway. Your tune is way out.

What type of gas are you feeding through it?

Post that log

Definitely, 32lbs of boost should not be pushed into the car especially with the condition it's in right now, but the boost was turned up and so I have turned it down to the lowest it can go.

The issue with my wideband is that the sensor isn't being read. The previous owner connected the AFR gauge to pin 75 which is rear O2 sensor, so I corrected it and connected the gauge to the front O2 sensor where the Bosch LSU4.9 sensor is connected and verified everything was connected correctly. I took out the sensor and cleaned it and put it back in. I connected the white wire of the AFR AEM gauge to the pin 76 on the ECU which is the second white wire from the left on the far most right connector. I connected the black wire to a bolt and tightened it. And I connected the red wire to the small fuse box under the car in the gauges fuse (10A fuse) and connected the fuse back. There is supposed to be cycling of the O2 sensor between 0.2v and 0.8v, but it is just flatlined at .2v. I need to figure this out, but not sure what the cause is. I am also sure this issue is what's causing a P0135 code.

On ECMLink, my fuel typically shows open loop. I am not sure how to fix this as I am new to wiring and O2 sensors. I suspect that I need to get another O2 sensor. I also have a big vacuum leak by the big hole on the intake tube snorkel. I cannot find a replacement rubber recirculating tube, so I tried using the blue Home Depot Spa hose method, but the spa hose is 1.5 inch and it is too big for both the BOV and the intake tube snorkel, but the guide said that the spa hose is smaller which does not make any sense.

Here is the log from that day. Second log attached is a more recent log after fixing the wires.

 

[curt-s]

I'm assuming you have 30-0300 X UEGO gauge, does one need the brown wire connected to a ground as well for a sensor reference? I'm not familiar with AEMs but thought I'd throw it out there.

Although I'd be very cautious about connecting anything to the ECU sensor ground.

 

[ZubUchiha]

I'm assuming you have 30-0300 X UEGO gauge, does one need the brown wire connected to a ground as well for a sensor reference? I'm not familiar with AEMs but thought I'd throw it out there.

Although I'd be very cautious about connecting anything to the ECU sensor ground.

No it is a 30-4110

https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/avm-30-4110.pdf

I followed these instructions plus the video made by TPG.

 

[curt-s]

The first thing I'd try to see whether or not your sensor is busted is reconnect a narrowband to your front o2, stick it in the o2 housing, and revert the settings. It's hard to tell if a sensor is truly dead when you don't have something else acting as checks-and-balances.

It doesn't appear so, but do you have sensor in the o2 housing or is it capped? I'd put a normal narrowband in there, revert the settings, and leave the wideband in the downpipe with it wired to rear o2, if you're able to (California rules..?)

 

[ZubUchiha]

Update #2: 7/20/2024

I have done quite a lot of work on the DSM. I realized that messing with all those little things would not matter if the engine blows due to an old timing belt. I was unsure of the maintenance on the timing components on the engine so I got started:

I replaced:
- Main timing belt with an Evo 9 Kevlar belt
- Balance shaft belt with an Evo 9 Kevlar belt. (The old belt was actually torn and ripped up sitting in its compartment next to the main timing belt. I am surprised it did not get into contact with the main timing belt.
- All other timing components with OEM parts (tensioner, pulleys, etc.)
- Water pump with a Gates water pump
- OEM camshaft and oil pump seals.
- Accessory belts (My AC actually works and it's ice cold. The AC pulley is squeaky though possibly due to rust, so unsure of what to do about that besides WD40 or replace it.)
- Valve cover gaskets
- New BPR7ES plugs
- New NGK wires
- FP manifold
- CV axles
- Front and rear struts
- Foglights (I need to figure out why one of the lights is not turning on, I am not electrically inclined so that's my weakest point in automotive servicing.)
- Bosch LSU 4.9 O2 Wideband sensor (After replacing this sensor, my AFR's went to 14.7 at idle which was pretty good and I am happy to resolve that issue)
- Oil change (Castrol 10W40), transmission oil change (Redline MT90), coolant flush (Water Wetter + 50% Distilled water + 50% Coolant).

I also got my hands on a good deal of Evo 8 Brembo brakes, so I upgraded to the Evo 8 big brake kit. It looks amazing, but the wheels on the car are from the 3rd Gen Eclipse so the offset was a +46 and it did not clear the brakes. I got some 20mm, 67.1mm bore size, 5x114.3, spacers and it cleared the brakes perfectly as well as widened the stance making it look more aggressive and a new offset of +26.

During the time I was figuring out my brakes (which took a lot of time to fabricate due to the fact that I had never done anything like this and was afraid to mess something up), I got started on sanding down the car and focused on the details. I smoothed out a lot of the body and there are some areas that were difficult to smooth out so I left it as is, but it's not a show car, so I did not care about it being top quality, but rather something I can enjoy driving down the street. I finished sanding the car and now applied the Zinsser 1, 2, 3 Turbo Primer cans. I used three cans, but it was not enough so I will be going to the store tomorrow to get two more to finish the body as well as have some left over for the side skirts and wing that I took off. My next step is to finish the priming, wet sand with 400 grit, Rustoleum Black Turbo Spray Paint, wet sand 1500/2000/2500, Buff with a coarse compound, 2K clear coat, and Buff with a soft compound, then lastly wax the entire thing.

The only thing I truly struggle with right now is there is a slight white smoke that comes from the exhaust. I looked at the oil dip stick and it was over full, so I dumped some out to get to max, but now when I checked my oil dipstick again, it is still over the max line by a little bit, so I think that's from having the car sit for too long and all the oil made it's way down. I have not driven the car since I changed the oil back in my other post, and only took it out to primer it yesterday. I also am not sure if I filled up my coolant overflow tank to the max when I did a coolant flush, but it is empty so I filled it with distilled water. The engine doesn't overheat and stays just below half-way point which is perfect for my peace of mind.

The other thing I also struggle with is there is a slight power steering leak on one of the tubes, but not sure how to fix it. I think it's an o-ring thing, but I am unsure. The power steering dip stick shows it's always at full, but I can feel a bit of the fluid at the point I am talking about and the hose below it is also wet. My steering also makes a weird low-pitch screeching noise when it is fully turned to the left or right, but not anytime in between.

That is pretty much all I have for anyone keeping up with the build so far. It may seem like easy work, but it was tough for me considering my personal circumstances, but I persevered. I will be uploading pictures later when I get the chance. I made lots of changes and I like it a lot and want you all to see it too.

Thanks,
ZubUchiha