A Few Questions... Clutch, Timing Belt, Windows?

[ProjektChrysali]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I've got a '96 Eclipse GS-T Spyder with ~150k miles, and am planning some maintenance but had a few questions. I would like to tune up the car a little (replace intake and boost management,) but nothing so severe as replacing the turbo. Reliability is my highest priority, the car is a daily driver, but cost effectiveness is a close second. I would consider myself to be generally mechanically competent, but my backgrounds skews more towards electronics. This is my first major car surgery.

First and foremost, the timing belt needs to be changed. The car was formerly my fathers and he neglected it a bit. I've got the Haynes manual and have been studying on here and think I understand the process, but was wondering what all I should replace, and if anyone had any relevant advice. If anyone had a recommendation for a belt manufacturer, it would be greatly appreciated. I need a timing belt and a balance shaft belt, but do I need a balance shaft tensioner or idler? Is there anything else I should replace while I'm at it?

The clutch recently began slipping, so that needs to be swapped too. My performance goals are pretty meager, and my budget pretty tight, so I was probably looking to just replace the clutch. I was looking at an OEM spec Exedy clutch. But, does the pressure plate need to be changed too? I was considering upgrading the clutch, but would that be necessary with little to no performance upgrades, or is the stock clutch adequate? And if I need an upgraded clutch, do I HAVE to resurface my flywheel?

Finally, my rear quarter window came off the track, and my father broke the little wheels/casters the window rolls on. I looked around but couldn't find any recent threads on the subject. Has anyone been able to find a source of the rollers short of Mitsu's ~800$ unit? And a walkthrough on working on that little windows would be great, I haven't been able to find anything online and my manual doesn't cover it. The only way I can figure to get at it even remotely is to entirely remove the top.

Thanks for reading, and any help you may have to offer.

-Will

 

[asrdave]

if you are doing the belts you should really do waterpump with it, and while u are at it the cam gear seals those are easy enough, as for the brand i would stick to using oem mitsu stuff, so what you are getting are tentioners, belts , water pump and seals

an oem spec exedy clutch will suffice, however why not do a act 2100 on a street disc just incase you decide to do a little morew with the car

 

[godfather75]

You can get a timing kit that will have both belts and the pulleys with it. Also might need a new tensioner. The excedy isn't a bad deal for a stock clutch you can find them cheap on ebay.

 

[ToughTalon]

I would defanitly get a factory timing belt, and probley the hydraulic tensioner, I know you can get good cam seals at NAPA or a place like that, but a timing belt kit would be great too, with how many miles you have a timing belt kit, water pump and cam seals would be a really good idea. Just make sure the belt kit comes with the main timing belt tensioner, not just the tensioner pulley.

If you want to check a pulley, the pulley should roll smoothly and there shouldnt be any real binding or "grittyness" in how the pulley feels when you rotate it. This stuff isnt very cheap but its very important so I would bite the bullit and at least make sure the belt and the main tensioner are from Mitsu.

As far as the clutch goes, you will probley be fine with a factory replacement like the exedy or a 2100 ACT like some other people mentioned, you wont be able to tell if the flywheel needs to be resurfaced until you remove the old clutch, its a safe bet that if the clutch has been slipping, the flywheel will have hotspots and need to be resurfaced.

As far as the rear window... without seeing exactly what your talking about its hard to help you, a junkyard would defanitly be your best bet to find a cheap replacement and the actual replacement will be something that you may have to talk to a Mitsu technician or search the forums some more. I have a factory manual for a 95 talon but they didnt have a convertible so I can find much more info for ya...

And when your looking for cheap prices, look on ebay motors, try Froogle.com searches, try dsmparts.com, try calling some DSM speed shops and always get as many different quotes as you can so you can make a smart decision when deciding who will offer the best deal. Goodluck man

 

[ProjektChrysali]

Wow, thanks for all the speedy replies! I'll definitely look into the the water pump and cam seals. I've read a lot of good things about the ACT 2100, but from what I've found it's at least 3x as much as the Exedy on eBay. And, just to clarify, If I did go that route I'd have to get my flywheel resurfaced with a step, right? I was looking into timing belt kits, they seem to be a better value than buying the parts separately, but have had some trouble finding Mitsu OEM parts. I'm still on the hunt, though.

So my shopping list is:
Water Pump
Cam Seals
Exedy Clutch
Mitsu OEM Timing Belt
Timing Belt Tensioner
Mitsu OEM Timing Belt Tensioner Pulley
Mitsu OEM Balance Belt
Balance Belt Tensioner Pulley
2x Idler Pulleys(?)

Have I forgotten anything? Is there anything else I should get?

As for the window, it's a small white plastic wheel about an inch and half in diameter, and about half an inch across. There are three of them on each window, and they ride along three little tracks. One of them is attached to a small arm attached to a radial gear and that lifts and lowers the window. If anyone knows anything about those that would be helpful, but I'll ask around at local junkyards.

Thanks for all the great help and advice, everyone!