First time DSM owner questions.

[TylerS13]

hey guys, i'm considering getting a 1g Talon Tsi i can find them for relatively cheap and i wouldn't mind having one but i've heard things like DSM's get "crank walk" and a few other things leading me to believe that they are unreliable. i am going to be using this as a daily and will be driving it hard at times and i wanted to get the opinions of you guys who actually own one first. can you guys tell me what some common problems with these cars are and what i should look for when buying one and test driving it.

 

[16g DSM]

since its a 1st gen don't worry about crankwalk. get in the car and use EVERYTHING!! go through all the gears flip all the switches and listen to anything that stands out. clunks, scrapes,ex plosions..... If you like it then buy it. What's the mileage?

 

[talonsteve25]

get an un modded one if anything

 

[TylerS13]

yeah the one i am looking at is a bone stock 93 tsi it has 135k miles i'm not sure how good or bad that is in DSM's but it looks clean. and does this have the 6 bolt motor, sorry to sound like a newb but well, i am haha, is this motor stronger? if so is that why crank walk shouldn't be an issue, which would also explain why 2g owners do this swap. but like i stated i'm going to be using it as a daily driver so i need something dead nuts reliable, not something i'll have to tear the motor apart to fix.

i'd also like to mention that it would be my first turbo car so that's another big selling point becuase i've always wanted something boosted and i've seen these cars built to be stupid fast.

 

[Xeiros]

Crankwalk can happen with any engine in any car. The early 2G's got a really bad rep with it because they were more prominent than 1G cars or later versions of the 2G. There are 6bolt engines that have crankwalked as well, but it's not near the "pandemic" levels that people make out the 2G problem to be. If it's got a 6bolt like you say, it's likely gonna be fine.

 

[Absit]

If it's stock, just treat it like any other 20 year old car..

 

[19Eclipse90]

If it's stock, just treat it like any other 20 year old car..

... and do the required maintenance as soon as possible.

Model year 1993 DSMs came with the 7-bolt engine, not the 6-bolt. This really shouldn't be a major concern, especially for a planned daily driver.

 

[95GSX_FTW]

yeah the one i am looking at is a bone stock 93 tsi it has 135k miles i'm not sure how good or bad that is in DSM's but it looks clean. and does this have the 6 bolt motor, sorry to sound like a newb but well, i am haha, is this motor stronger? if so is that why crank walk shouldn't be an issue, which would also explain why 2g owners do this swap. but like i stated i'm going to be using it as a daily driver so i need something dead nuts reliable, not something i'll have to tear the motor apart to fix.

i'd also like to mention that it would be my first turbo car so that's another big selling point becuase i've always wanted something boosted and i've seen these cars built to be stupid fast.

I thought 7bolts came out in late 92. So if the above text in bold was a question, then you might actually have a 1G 7bolt.

... and do the required maintenance as soon as possible.

Model year 1993 DSMs came with the 7-bolt engine, not the 6-bolt. This really shouldn't be a major concern, especially for a planned daily driver.

Edit: You beat me to it.

 

[luv2rallye]

Engines after April/May of 92 were 7 bolt. How to tell: How to quickly tell a 6bolt and 7bolt engine apart.
Also, here are the major engine differences of the different years: Dark Lightning.

 

[TylerS13]

yeah it was a question because i really didn't know whether it had a 6 or 7 bolt, but yeah my main concern is that like one member stated people make out the crank walk thing to be a pandemic and that is the impression i got from them which is why i wanted to talk to you guys, the people who actually own and modify DSM's, this is making my decision easier because i do want a DSM it's just that reliability is my major concern.

also once i get more mods on the car i'm going to want to get it tuned and idk if anyone here knows of any good shops in the upstate ny/tri-state area, i was looking at pruven performance/Dynoflash out of CT, because i watch their youtube videos and Big Al is awesome.

 

[talonted 1g]

to check to see if your car is 6 or 7 bolt just look at the side of the oil pan behind the crank pully. if it is flat it is 6 bolt and if it kind of sticks out it is a 7 bolt.

 

[Tanro]

Crankwalk is really really really rare. It did occure more commonly in the 95-96 7 bolt engines assembled in Normal Illinois. The engine was later changed to a split thrust bearing which reduced the side loading stress and reduced the chaneces of crank walk.

If you have anything but a 95 or 96 7 bolt, you have the same chances of crank walking as literally any other vehicle made with the exception of say a Mazda which may not even have a crank (RX-7,8).

The reason everyone is afraid of it is because people are like AMFG CRANKWALKED IT. Because they were beating the piss out of it, and the engine failed.

 

[goodbuds]

spend a little extra on a clean example it's worth it with these car unless its dirt cheap.