First DSM- 1997 GS-T. Tons of problems. Im going to need help..

[Shftnthru5th]

wussup guys, picked up this 97 gst for $3500 with 96k miles about a year and a half agao when i was 17. its the first car i ever bought, and i been having problems with it eversince. now that i am financialy stable enough to fix it. so i just wanted to share the problems that i have with the car and maybe some knowledgeable people can help a newbie out and i can get this beast running .

lil back ground info on the car. i picked it up in 09 and a month after of having it, problem after problem kept popping up. so i just garaged it eversince due to me in high school and no moolah. i have a DD so i didnt worry about getting it fixed at the time. i cant take any credit (good or bad) for any work done on the car. here is a list of the problems so far that i have found. any advice to give a new DSMer will be greatly appreciated. some problems i kno can be easily fixed and some...i have no idea where to start or what to do . thats why im here

1. missing 3 studs on right front right tire, and 2 on left front

2. the brake light is staying on when the car is off. i pulled the fuse out. it just happend randomly...

3. when the radiator fans are supposed to turn on the passenger side fan does not turn on.

4. the car stalled one day when i was pulling in the garage and i tried to start up the car and the battery died... so i charged the battery and now it clicks whenever i try to turn it over. i bought a new starter and installed it. clicks still. so my grandfather put in a pushbutton, so i turn the key and push the button in and the car turnsover now

5. there is white smoke coming from the exhaust / underneath the hood around where the turbo is, whenever i let off or shift gears. *( the car was low on oil so my grandfather put like 2-3 quarts of castrol 20 50 in it one day then i came back from school and took it for a spin and shifted to 2 second and then the smoke started happening ...

6. when the car is idleing, the tach is reading like 4k and the speedo says im doing 30mph.. but the car has a apexi avcr and a apexi safc. the avcr is reading like 1000-1100 when idleing. the safc is not hooked up, but i have a harness the previous owner gave me.


yeh, i just dont kno where to start... any help?

some pics are in the gallery i uploaded.

 

[ktgurl87]

1. get some new studs
2. check your brake light switch underneath your brake pedal... i bet something is broke.
3. temp. switch i think
4. check all connections from battery to starter and check grounds also. if there's not a good connection of power to the starter, guess what you hear?
5. sounds like your turbo might be saying bye bye.

good luck and welcome to the DSM world

and p.s. find a BOV you can recirculate. please and thanks. and also... cam cover, asap

 

[Tyeler18]

3 studs- just fix them. You can get new studs at any auto place.

Brake light- under the brake pedal there is a switch that activates the lights, when the switch goes bad or the pedal is misadjusted it will rest on that switch and turn it off/on. When the brake lights are on, have a friend watch the lights as you pull the pedal up, if the lights turn off with the pedal all the way up you need to figure out if the switch is bad or the pedal is misadjusted. Had the same problem with my GF's old neon, almost got me a ticket.

Fans- does the car get up to operating temperature?

No start- check your ignition fuse/relay. One of them is bad or you shorted a wire (more than likely the fuse/relay).

Smoke- start with a compression test and give us the results. Or change the oil properly and see if the smoke goes away (but also do the compression test).

I wouldn't drive the car at all until you do all the maitenence on it.- Timing belt, head gasket, plugs, wires, fluids, etc.

1. get some new studs
2. check your brake light switch underneath your brake pedal... i bet something is broke.
3. temp. switch i think
4. check all connections from battery to starter and check grounds also. if there's not a good connection of power to the starter, guess what you hear? 5. sounds like your turbo might be saying bye bye.

good luck and welcome to the DSM world

and p.s. find a BOV you can recirculate. please and thanks. and also... cam cover, asap

If it was a ground, jumpering a hot wire to the solenoid wouldn't start the car.

 

[GrattinoDSM]

3. only one fan is supposed to go on for cooling i thought? the other comes on with AC?

 

[ktgurl87]

If it was a ground, jumpering a hot wire to the solenoid wouldn't start the car.

shhhhhh

 

[BLINKY619]

recirculate that bov or get a 1g bov....

 

[AllWheelRS]

3. only one fan is supposed to go on for cooling i thought? the other comes on with AC?

Correct. On the 1g cars the passenger side comes on when the thermostat opens (engine reaches operating temp) and the driver side comes on when the a/c compressor is on.

If you are saying your pass side fan is the one that does not work, start the car and turn on the a/c, it should kick on wether the car is hot or not.

 

[dsmbooster]

I have read your list of problems with intentions of loaning a helping hand as I am a tech and have been for many years. However after hearing about the install of a pushbutton bypass type switch. I think I would rather refer you to a mechanic to get this stuff handled correctly. I can tell you none of this stuff is really very serious and you would be less headache and money out of pocket in my opinion.
Get them to get it running right, enjoy it for a bit, then fix things as they pop up, one here, one there. In my opinion, you will not get frustrated with the car and give up on it before it ever had a chance. These cars are great fun and offer much potential but can turn into a complete p.o.s if you are in over your head "trying to run before learning to walk".

 

[Shftnthru5th]

sorry guys, but your ganna have to break it down step by step on what to do im kinda mechanically inclined.

the studs i can do. il go up to the autozone.

does anybody have a pic of what the switch looks like?

the car temp got up to 3/4 the way up on the cluster and the fans never kicked on. except for driver side. but the reading is the same.

my bad, the passenger does turn on and the *driver side does not*


for the car to turn over with the key. i have no idea where to start. idk what a fuse relay is


im ganna do a oil change and il get back to you guys if its still smokeing. and idk how to do a compression test.


recirculate that bov or get a 1g bov. what does that mean, and whats wrong with the one on there?


im thinkin the same as you dsmbooster. just drop it off at a shop. how much do you guys think a shop would charge to fix the problems.


i really cant wait to drive it .

 

[AK Maniak]

I have read your list of problems with intentions of loaning a helping hand as I am a tech and have been for many years. However after hearing about the install of a pushbutton bypass type switch. I think I would rather refer you to a mechanic to get this stuff handled correctly. I can tell you none of this stuff is really very serious and you would be less headache and money out of pocket in my opinion.
Get them to get it running right, enjoy it for a bit, then fix things as they pop up, one here, one there. In my opinion, you will not get frustrated with the car and give up on it before it ever had a chance. These cars are great fun and offer much potential but can turn into a complete p.o.s if you are in over your head "trying to run before learning to walk".

They are fairly simple issues so I would suggest not wasting your money by bringing it to a mechanic. There are more than enough people on this site that know how and can help you fix all your problems. Just focus on one thing at a time.

 

[BLINKY619]

ok a bov that is no recirculated back into the intake will loose metered air... meaning it will run like crap.... now theres nothing wrong with that bov, its just that its not recirculated.. if you can find a way to route it back into the intake then you should be good... now an upgrade to a 1g bov means to get a first generation bov they are pretty strong and can hold a good amount of boost, its also easy to recirculate....

 

[Tyeler18]

sorry guys, but your ganna have to break it down step by step on what to do im kinda mechanically inclined.

the studs i can do. il go up to the autozone.

does anybody have a pic of what the switch looks like?

Look under your brake pedal, it's a little black (I believe) push button switch. If you push the pedal down you'll see the button that the pedal pushes.

the car temp got up to 3/4 the way up on the cluster and the fans never kicked on. except for driver side. but the reading is the same.

my bad, the passenger does turn on and the *driver side does not*

I'll let someone else chime in on this one, could be a number of things, but I don't have the knowledge on this to answer.

for the car to turn over with the key. i have no idea where to start. idk what a fuse relay is

It's a fuse or a relay. Search for the "ignition fuse" on here, or have your grandpa (since he seems fairly knowledgeable, help you out). Under the hood there is your fuse panel (passenger side directly in front of the suspension). It's a big black panel with a cover on it, take the cover off. There's your fuses/relays. Now you'll have to figure out which fuse is the ignition fuse, and which relay is the ignition relay and find out if either are bad.

im ganna do a oil change and il get back to you guys if its still smokeing. and idk how to do a compression test.

Search the site for "how to do a compression test" and you'll get a how to on it. It's very easy and you can rent a compression tester from an auto store. If you can pull your spark plugs, you can do a compression test.

recirculate that bov or get a 1g bov. what does that mean, and whats wrong with the one on there?

You know what your blow off valve is correct? It's the metal piece in between the throttle body and the intercooler. It needs to have the air that it "blows off" drawn back into the intake before the turbo. Your BOV doesn't do this and it will make the car run very rich.

im thinkin the same as you dsmbooster. just drop it off at a shop. how much do you guys think a shop would charge to fix the problems.


i really cant wait to drive it :hellyeah

Honestly, all this stuff is very easy. Do some research on here and you'll be very glad that you've done it yourself. It's also a great oppurtunity for you to get familiar with the car- which is something you're going to need since you bought a DSM.

Here's a pic of your engine bay to help describe:

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Yellow, top is BOV, bottom is intake pipe. That big nipple on the intake pipe needs to have a hose running from it to the opening on the bov (which your BOV isn't made for that, that's why the 1g bov was suggested to be used).

Green- fuse panel. Your ignition fuse and your ignition relay are both in that.

 

[gabureiru]

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What engine is that, I mine is like a mirror image.

 

[Tyeler18]

What engine is that, I mine is like a mirror image.

That would be the OP's engine bay.

 

[blkgst97]

Turn on your AC then check to see if the driver's side fan kicks on. It is the Ac fan but I believe still kicks on if the car reaches a certain temp.