97 talon awd stopped running

[slow2g420]

ok so ive searched this a few times and couldnt find anything that seemed to resemble the problem. I found a 97 tsi awd that doesnt run for sale. it has a evo 3 16g ,HKS blow off valve,intercooler,exhaust, manual boost controler. the kid that has it for sale says the car just shut off while driving. upon further investigation he said he was reving it up and showing off and then it died and wont start.( no strange noise just straight up turned off)he says that the starter just clicks when he trys to start it but it wont turn over. im just trying to get some in sight from someone before i go up to look at it. the car is really clean and has the mods done that i would end up doing. he says their was a rebuild about 40,000 miles ago. i know your going to say do a compression test and that stuff but any thing else maybe sound fishy about it? timing belt snap? seized motor? bad charging system? any thoughts would be aprreciated. this car is about an hour from my house. THanks!

 

[Jiggalude]

Well you could check timing, and the timing belt and see if the motor is seized pretty much all in one shot. Any milky residue in the filler cap for the radiator? Those are my suggestions for diagnosing if the engine is bad. As far as electrical or anything that would just make the car shut off, I don't know that much about these cars, I'm still a newb myself.

 

[slow2g420]

yea i know a little about these cars but this is just strange. i think it could be maybe a bad starter or battery or something. the picture he sent of the engine bay still shows the timing belt clearly attached. if they are recent anyway. but yea all it does is click when he trys to start it.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

See if you can rotate the motor (crankshaft) by hand. You can stick a 1/2" drive/wrench into the crankshaft pulley bolt on the driver's side behind the wheel well. Make sure to go CLOCKWISE! If it spins freely, it sounds like a starter or batter issue. Try jumping it with another car. If you can't spin it, something major is stuck or seized and you're most likely looking at a rebuild.

 

[slow2g420]

do i have to take off the wheel and splash guard to get at the pully? and do i have to take the pully off? i would assume so if its like my 420a. anybody have a rough estimate on what rebuild would cost from a shop?

could it maybe have been a fuel pump going out on it? the car would either need a rewire kit or a walbro 255 on it for the 16g so maybe he could blew out the pump when he was messing with it

 

[TrystanGST]

This is why I don't like buying cars that were modded by a previous owner. You don't know what they did, or even if they knew what they were doing. The advice here is solid. Check the simple stuff, and hope it's not a shot motor. If it is, you would probably be better off passing unless you want to drop another couple thousand...

*edit* and yes, you'll have to pull the driver wheel, the splash guard, and(maybe) the lower timing belt cover.

 

[slow2g420]

yea ik what you mean. dropping a motor in isnt really a big deal if i can get one. i have the space and tools. rebuilding is another thing. ive never rebuilt a motor before. i hope it isnt blown because the car is pretty clean. heres the link if anyone wants to see it 1997 Eagle Talon TSI

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

You will NOT have to remove the crank pully. Just turn it clockwise with a 1/2" drive. I don't know how much more detailed I can be with that.

If the starter is just "clicking", that has nothing to do with fuel. If the motor was turning over with the starter but not firing, yea, I would say the fuel could be suspect. But the issue is that the motor is not moving. That is step 1. Either the starter is not getting enough juice to turn the flywheel, or the motor is seized. It should be pretty simple to figure that out.

So ultimately, here's what I would do....

Step1: Try jump starting the car with another car
Step2: If step 1 fails, try turning the crankshaft by hand. Jack up the car on the driver's side, take off the wheel. You can leave the splash guard on as there is room to get to the crank shaft pulley. Get a 1/2" ratchet wrench with a small extension. Try turning it CLOCKWISE.

If step 1 works, try replacing the battery and you should be fine

If step 2 fails, well then the motor is done. You can buy complete longblocks from various vendors on this site.

 

[slow2g420]

ok. what about bump starting it? bad idea? the car was at 20 psi daily before it shut off is what the owner told me

thanks that narrows it down for me. im going to check it out friday so ill see how it it

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

bump starting? you mean a rolling start? It COULD work, but I wouldn't recommend it when you could just jump start it from another car.

 

[delta448]

If the engine is indeed seized, bump starting could cause much more damage and not just to the engine. I seriously hope you reconsider that idea and just try jumper cables.

I'm pretty sure that you won't be able to turn it over with a breaker bar on the crank if the starter can't do it with the proper voltage. The most likely cause of that is internal engine damage.

That price isn't terrible, but if the engine block or crank is fubar, it's more than I'd be willing to pay. Ask the seller to pull the head.

 

[slow2g420]

well the bump start idea isnt mine, but i would rather use jumper cables. he said he might take a 1600for it instead of $2000