420A 2gNT Timing belt or worse?

[redondoaveb]

Hi Guys,

I have a 99 GS (420A). I took off from my house today and heard a squealing noise. I thought maybe it was the accessory belt. Wasn't making any other noise so I wasn't too concerned.

Well, all of a sudden it just died. I was close to home and was able to coast back. After I parked it I tried to start it again. It cranked over but wouldn't start.

Do you all think it is the timing belt or something worse?

Thanks in advance for all your input.

 

[kleenf4i]

well you were in the top 70% of not putting a hole in the pistons then. I would say for the repacement work they are doing thats a fair price. For me, at $1,300
Im swapping in some mean performance parts. However I do all of my own work. Half of what your paying(if not more, probably more) is going to labor. So yeah thats about right for a price tag of all that work, as long as theres no shortcuts being taken.

 

[redondoaveb]

well you were in the top 70% of not putting a hole in the pistons then. I would say for the repacement work they are doing thats a fair price. For me, at $1,300
Im swapping in some mean performance parts. However I do all of my own work. Half of what your paying(if not more, probably more) is going to labor. So yeah thats about right for a price tag of all that work, as long as theres no shortcuts being taken.

I'm really happy they didn't find any other damage. I was kind of expecting it to cost more so I'm pretty happy with the price. Should get it back on Wednesday of next week.

Curious, what performance upgrades are you doing? I had it in the back of my mind some time ago to do a turbo kit (Hahn) but with the smog laws in California I decided it probably wasn't a smart thing to do.

 

[kleenf4i]

I have a 4g63 motor. I would never pass smog inspection though. some of my upgrades are in my sig. Im not going to go too wild with this car though. im aiming for about 300 hp. I still have a way to go , the motor was built when i bought it so that saved me alot of time.. If you can find a clean gst , it will pass smog as long as it is STOCK or the performance mods have been compensated to pass smog.

 

[redondoaveb]

I have a 4g63 motor. I would never pass smog inspection though. some of my upgrades are in my sig. Im not going to go too wild with this car though. im aiming for about 300 hp. I still have a way to go , the motor was built when i bought it so that saved me alot of time.. If you can find a clean gst , it will pass smog as long as it is STOCK or the performance mods have been compensated to pass smog.

I see you've done turbo mods, do you have any internal mods or will the internals handle the mods you've done? Knowing what I know now, I would have gone with a GST or GSX. I can't complain though, besides this timing belt issue I'm having, my GS has been a really good car.

I did do Tokiko 5 way adjustable struts and shocks, springs, sway bars, and 17" black powder coated 5 Zeigen wheels and tires.

 

[kleenf4i]

those are good mods. Yeah the motor hass dual valve springs and the block has weisco pistons and hbeam rods,total seal piston rings, balance shaft elimination and other than that , stock internals. The next thing im going to tackle is the struts, theyre shot. its lowered 2" on neuspeed springs but they never put in struts to keep the stock ones from being destroyed. I also need to hit the fuel next. Im stuck at 14psi until i get a bigger pump and injectors and a computer. Overall Im very happy with the car. like i said im just trying to hit around the 300 hp mark and im good. right now once boost hits this car pulls like a champ. but just not as hard as i would like.

 

[redondoaveb]

those are good mods. Yeah the motor hass dual valve springs and the block has weisco pistons and hbeam rods,total seal piston rings, balance shaft elimination and other than that , stock internals. The next thing im going to tackle is the struts, theyre shot. its lowered 2" on neuspeed springs but they never put in struts to keep the stock ones from being destroyed. I also need to hit the fuel next. Im stuck at 14psi until i get a bigger pump and injectors and a computer. Overall Im very happy with the car. like i said im just trying to hit around the 300 hp mark and im good. right now once boost hits this car pulls like a champ. but just not as hard as i would like.

Sounds like you're on the right track, bottom end is pretty stout too. Staying at around 300 hp seems that it would still a nice daily driver and remain reliable. Do they ever pull as hard as we would like?

 

[grothe3297venge]

I still think you could save a good chunk of money if you do some of the work yourself.. Just me though!

 

[kleenf4i]

I still think you could save a good chunk of money if you do some of the work yourself.. Just me though!

^ with you on this+1, please just keep in mind that for some people, its not time appropriate for them to do the work on their own. Thats whay I say that most of that money is labor. if he were to do it himself, even with taking the hed to a shop, it would be more like 600$ to fix the car.

Sounds like you're on the right track, bottom end is pretty stout too. Staying at around 300 hp seems that it would still a nice daily driver and remain reliable. Do they ever pull as hard as we would like?

, yeah my prelude b20 and h22 did. They were beast on boost. My h-22 2001 prelude was at 12 psi and would snap so hard in boost because of the v-tec.
My b20 prelude snapped hard at 7psi with a great tune and long gears. This b20 would hit boost at about 2,500 rmp. it was a t-25 , but it was sick in that motor.

Still my h22 build has trumped any build i have done yet. Thats why im giving dsm a shot. I had friends pushing 20-30 psi on built motors and those cars were sick.They would kill my ludes hands down.

 

[grothe3297venge]

Exactly Kleen, that's $700 he could put toward ANYTHING else he could want on his car! Plus doing your own work is a good thing, makes you a little less dependent on the repair shops.

 

[kleenf4i]

agreed, thats a large chunk of change to keep in the wallet. +1 with not being dependant, but also, unless you pay a pretty penny for any motor building, you never know what SHORTCUTS they take. Ive worked in a dealship as an ase mechanic, and you would not believe the things they had us do.You also know what is or isnt done. for me thats = to no headache unless I mess something up.

 

[redondoaveb]

Unfortunately, I don't have the time, garage space or proper tools to do the work myself. If I was doing mods to my car I would try to get more involved. For me it's not worth it to buy all the tools that are required to do the job properly.

With the car being stock there really isn't that much maintenance needed. Well, except now

But I understand where you guys are coming from as I used to do my own wrenching on my built 240Z. Even tuning the bank of sidedraft Mikuni's. Sure was a lot easier to work on that car.

 

[kleenf4i]

yeah, tools are a must unless its a bad mechanic. You dont want that tool.
it is easy to work on a car once you get to know it. hope everything works out!

 

[redondoaveb]

yeah, tools are a must unless its a bad mechanic. You dont want that tool.
it is easy to work on a car once you get to know it. hope everything works out!

I hope these mechanics aren't tools. They've been good to me in the past and so far have been right on the money (comparing what they found to all you guys suggestions). That makes me feel pretty good.

I'm glad I got input from you guys, otherwise I would be a little skeptical as to their findings.

 

[Gaines12]

I'd say that price is very reasonable, and now you will be getting Max power and compression form your head with new seats, seals and valves. I'm glad we were able to help you out and your lucky to be getting it done so quick like that. You have a very good mechanic obviously. My talons under control arm mount finally rusted through. You getting yours done so quick makes me wish I had mine done already. Are you going back to stock everything?

 

[kleenf4i]

from a shop i would say its a fair price. Not cheap, not overly expensive either. but yeah you will be getting some noticable fuel mileage savings and some notable power. +1 with gaines on the compression. I wish i lived near people with these situations. I could make money,you could save money and learn some things, and cars get fixed. I have issues mainly with very odd problems, ( which my cars always seem to have).

 

[redondoaveb]

I'd say that price is very reasonable, and now you will be getting Max power and compression form your head with new seats, seals and valves. I'm glad we were able to help you out and your lucky to be getting it done so quick like that. You have a very good mechanic obviously. My talons under control arm mount finally rusted through. You getting yours done so quick makes me wish I had mine done already. Are you going back to stock everything?

I've been really happy with this shop in the past, hopefully this work will be just as good. All you guys have been so much help, I would have been lost if you didn't respond to my post. Hope you get your car on the road soon, sucks not having a running car. I'm keeping everything motor wise stock on my car, smog laws are too strict here in California. I'll have to post some pictures of it when I get it back. With 31,000 original miles on it, it still looks like it came off the showroom floor.

from a shop i would say its a fair price. Not cheap, not overly expensive either. but yeah you will be getting some noticable fuel mileage savings and some notable power. +1 with gaines on the compression. I wish i lived near people with these situations. I could make money,you could save money and learn some things, and cars get fixed. I have issues mainly with very odd problems, ( which my cars always seem to have).

I would have loved to pay someone like you to do the work. Someone that owns the same car and loves to work on it. Plus, like you said, I could learn some things also. Hate having to pay a shop, but you have to do what you have to do.

 

[Gaines12]

Wow, I bet your car is super clean, I've got 147,000 miles but I'm going to begin preparing to Turbo and run some light boost. I've been doing research for months now. And as far as helping you out, all you gotta do is ask. Someone will be more than happy to help you out. I'm still fairly new to the whole dam site but I've been working on cars for about 2 years now so I know a thing or two.

 

[kleenf4i]

With 31,000 original miles on it, it still looks like it came off the showroom floor.

.

wow. thats probably the cleanest car around!

 

[redondoaveb]

Wow, I bet your car is super clean, I've got 147,000 miles but I'm going to begin preparing to Turbo and run some light boost. I've been doing research for months now. And as far as helping you out, all you gotta do is ask. Someone will be more than happy to help you out. I'm still fairly new to the whole dam site but I've been working on cars for about 2 years now so I know a thing or two.

Are you going to do a Hahn system? If one of you guys would have been in So. Cal. I would have hit you up for some help. Of course, I could have flown you out here, probably would have been cheaper than taking it to the shop.

wow. thats probably the cleanest car around!

I get comments on it all the time. Always getting asked if I would like to sell it.

 

[Gaines12]

Am actually gunna buy a used setup from another dsm guy on here. I'm gunna run 7 or so psi on a stock rebuild I'm still trying to figure out the fuel system. Then next year when I go to tech school I'm going to try and build the loan 2.4 frankenstien motor with set 4 pistons and make some really power

 

[redondoaveb]

Am actually gunna buy a used setup from another dsm guy on here. I'm gunna run 7 or so psi on a stock rebuild I'm still trying to figure out the fuel system. Then next year when I go to tech school I'm going to try and build the loan 2.4 frankenstien motor with set 4 pistons and make some really power

How much boost and what kind of power are you looking to make with the 2.4?

 

[kleenf4i]

I have a good t-25 stock turbo. great condition for sale. SUPER CHEAP. talking dirt cheap. I just dont need it.

 

[Gaines12]

I'm not sure as to what boost I wanna run yet, maybe around 20, I haven't planned that far ahead yet I'm still working on fitment in the motor bay and parts interchangability such as the head and srt4 pistons

 

[redondoaveb]

I'd love to have a second Eclipse that I could build up and not have to worry about using it as a daily driver. Maybe if I quit breaking my existing one I can afford a second.

 

[kleenf4i]

+1 if the 1 i have would stop giving me issues, i could have a better one.