Buying my first DSM....help?

[Sinstar]

Hey so I was looking to get some advice on a car im looking at buying its a 95 eagle talon. The ad said:

F/T 36k on the motor 60 k on the body. Tan leather. 99 full eclipse conversion. Turbo high-rise wing . Aem wideband. Safc . Fic 680 injectors. Intake. 50trim turbo. Custom downpipe. 3in exhaust. 264 cams. Greedy type s blow off valve . Fmic all hard piping. Smooth transmission no grinds or pop outs. Gsxrims. Hids. Slim fan. Ported evo 3 manifold. Tial 44mm wastegate external dump . 5k on the timing belt. Kyb agxadjustable struts tokico springs. Tubular exhaust manifold not installed apexi downpipe not installed and a bunch of extra parts that go along with it....

After talking to the seller I found out the engine swap was for a 7 bolt to 6 bolt swap. And he also mentioned the turbo seals were leaking but the car still drives and boosts just leaks and burns oil. I've never owned a turbo engine before but this sounds bad to me. He said it would be a 200 dollar fix and took that money off my offer but im worried there are other issues causing this rather than just the turbo. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[isantop]

I'm not a huge expert on Turbo engines, but if a seal is leaking, then swapping the seal should fix it. Have a local mechanic take a look at it; he should be able to tell you if that's the only problem, and if not, what else is wrong.

How much is on the table here? Turbo issues aside, that looks like a relatively desirable car. I know the Tan interior is particularly coveted. If it's a good price, it would definitely be worth taking, since turbo DSMs seem to be rare.

 

[Spanky_DSM]

Why do you wanna buy someone else's project. Find yourself a stock one and you'll learn as u go. That's just me tho.

 

[fonzi90Tsi]

Sounds like a good find.

Do a compression and leakdown test to verify its not the rings or valve seals or anything major like that, that would be the problem. If its just the Turbo seals then that's an easy fix. Either change the seals or swap out the Turbo.

Oh and normally 650cc are the highest people run on a.Safc. So if it has a wideband see what your a/f ratios are at. Also 6bolt swaps are highly desireable in most second gens if done right. (Less fear of crankwalking)

 

[Alan11]

What's the price on the car?
60k on the body? I would jump on that asap especially if its awd. I can careless about the engine or the mods! If the price is right of course.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

Most times, a 6 bolt swap means a bunch of small problems. Unless it was done by someone who really knows what they are doing, and it doesn't really sound like he is does. I would pass.

 

[Sinstar]

The swap was done by the previous owner and he says he had it done at a shop but doesent have receipts, just a few sketchy things imo. Thank you all for advice its greatly appreciated. Id be getting a great deal in terms of price, he is looking for a practical car so I would be trading my boring 96 Mazda 626 plus about $750 cash which is negotiable. Im definatepy bringing Otto a mechanic before buying it and having him tun a compression and leakdown. Im not sure what a/f ratios are though or how to check them .

 

[toppertopper]

for that kind of deal , you better jump all over that ..

 

[fonzi90Tsi]

There is a thing called a wideband that measures your air to fuel ratios of the car. Which I am hoping he has with all those mods.

Ask if he has it and if he does test drive the car aand and record the cruise ratio and a few wot pull ratios and post them here or do a search as to what they should be around.

This will tell you how goods the car is running on those injectors and the safc.
But yeah definitely take a knowledgeable Dsm mechanic with you.