2g rs eclipse: fix and mod or sell?

[2gDSM1997]

97 eclipse rs 157,xxx miles, had it for almost 2 yrs now and been fixing its problems ever since including the fuel pump, tie rods, alternator, radiator, and even gave it a new paint job. ive always had faith in this car and recently been thinking about modding it for a little more performance, even though its a 420a, but lately ive been thinking its time to give up on it. reason being is that yet another problem has risen:

an oil leak somewhere in the block that's leaving gunk all over the engine and chassis. just a couple of weeks ago the car turned off on me while on the road right after the oil indicator light came on. it cranked right back up but its happened like 4 times since then. im afraid the damage done by this oil leak will be very costly i.e. replacing cams, lifters, pistons, etc. what the eff should I do?

help and opinions would be Greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Narish Do Urden]

Sounds like you're leaking from the valve cover or front main seal. I'd only really use for a gas saver anyways, modding it is a silly concept in my opinion. Sell it to someone who can fix it and use it and get yourself a 4g63t

 

[clipto]

Depends on what you wanna do. If you like go a little fast or have race car then switch to something else. I Would not dump money in a 420a I did it was never worth it even when I turbo it and built the motor would be 10x cheaper to get a turbo 4g63 dsm. I would even still minus all that just clean up the car you have now or sell it. Or if your just looking for a nice daily driver fix up the car you have now and drive it.

 

[codym]

what would be your power goals if you kept it ? It's a 420, so if your looking to go fast without dumping money into than I'd recommend selling it. I've owned a 420 before, & they aren't bad little cars if you take car of 'em.

But boost and all wheel drive is an addictive bug to be bit by.

 

[Narish Do Urden]

Depends on what you wanna do. If you like go a little fast or have race car then switch to something else. I Would not dump money in a 420a I did it was never worth it even when I turbo it and built the motor would be 10x cheaper to get a turbo 4g63 dsm. I would even still minus all that just clean up the car you have now or sell it. Or if your just looking for a nice daily driver fix up the car you have now and drive it.

+1 A Simple get around town with a sporty look is all 420a (i.e. RS GS) Mod a car you'll benefit from like a 97+ TSI or GSX, even a GST. I say 97 cause I'm against the 96 location of the CPS -.-.

 

[clipto]

+1 A Simple get around town with a sporty look is all 420a (i.e. RS GS) Mod a car you'll benefit from like a 97+ TSI or GSX, even a GST. I say 97 cause I'm against the 96 location of the CPS -.-.

Why the 95-96 cps is hidden under the cam gear so technicly its a cleaner look in the engine bay.

 

[maddadgsx]

If you're worried about any damage to the engine, do a compression test on it. After that, if your still worried, tear the head off and look inside. 420a's are great motors! I'm almost sure the heads were developed by Lotus(someone correct me here) and most of them develope oil leaks after 100k miles as with most other engines. I put 222k miles on my old 96 talon and she till got 3rd gear scratches! I did however have to put a quart of oil in it every week but nonetheless, still good engines. Some even say they are great boosted but I cannot confirm this...All I can tell you is if you take care of your car, your car will take care of you. Good Luck!!

 

[Narish Do Urden]

Why the 95-96 cps is hidden under the cam gear so technicly its a cleaner look in the engine bay.

Ugh , cleaner by like an inch and a half, in a different thread no idea how or why i confused myself on where the cps was for a 96, I like transformed a 7 bolt 4g63 to a 420a with cams on the same side ugh.
They're just too confusing, then you get the crank shaft sensor in the oil pan

Back to topic like I said, RS and GS are amazing gas savers, if you want to race whether it be street or drag, 1g 2g TSI GSX even GST.

Any yes AWD alone is addicting.

 

[ChrisBone]

I'm having a similar problem. I have a 1997 Eclipse RS (no mods) with 124k miles and I have a pretty bad leak coming from the head gasket. The mechanic said I'm looking at about a $1,200-$1,400 cost to have the head gasket replaced and if needed the head being resurfaced. But I am not sure if the head needs to be resurfaced. I might have to sell the car because I can't afford $1,400 being that I am a full time college student and only work part time.. sucks.

 

[2gDSM1997]

around 200 hp, so I would see the point of just selling it and buying a gst/gsx.

Thanks a lot for the insight and tips guys, its been very helpful. Honestly im leaning towards selling the car myself and luckily I already have people asking about it. my love for the 2g eclipse is too strong though so i'll be looking to just upgrade to a gst/gsx. theres just something about this car

I'm having a similar problem. I have a 1997 Eclipse RS (no mods) with 124k miles and I have a pretty bad leak coming from the head gasket. The mechanic said I'm looking at about a $1,200-$1,400 cost to have the head gasket replaced and if needed the head being resurfaced. But I am not sure if the head needs to be resurfaced. I might have to sell the car because I can't afford $1,400 being that I am a full time college student and only work part time.. sucks.

that does suck. me personally, if I had to spend $1200-$1400 for that fix, I would definitely sell. I wasn't thinking of spending more than $500 for mine but I was going to tackle the problem myself. i'd say if you have any friends with any automotive engineering experience, try to tackle the problem yourself. you could save a lot of money because mechanic shops are EXPENSIVE as F@#K. anyways good luck with everything!

 

[ChrisBone]

I'm hoping that there isn't any damage done to the head, so that it doesn't have to get sent to the machine shop. If it's just the head gasket itself I might have a friend to it with experience do it, a lot cheaper