2G How far can this rabbit hole go?

[Spungo]

Alright so i just purchased a 98’ GST Spyder last week. Test drive was great everything was nice. They said the put in all new coolant lines, new intercooler, brand new brakes and motors and said all it needed was a fuel pump and it was golden and was selling for 3k. in my head thats a steal. i bought them a 255 walboro and gave them deposit before i went to go see the car.

After i purchase and start driving away, i notice the boost gauge doesnt like to go above 10psi which i thought could be just getting used to fuel pump. it starts acting like its going to stall. i feel the boost build up inside.

4 hours later that 10 psi turns into 0 and it starts acting the same way like its going to stall. i notice the radiator is leaking.

I purchased a new radiator it comes wednesday. i hope the heat hasnt blown the headgasket/warped my cylinder heads. do you think there could be any other possible maintenance outcomes other then those two major ones?

 

[9 T GSX]

Few things to check/look into:
How does it idle
Any strange noise coming from engine/turbo
Does the car have a MAF sensor or speed density
Have you done a boost leak test
Condition of Spark plugs/wires
Stock Fuel pressure regulator of aftermarket

 

[Spungo]

Ill tell my mechanic when i go in for the radiator. i went to him on thursday he said he couldnt tell if the head gasket was f***ed because of how bad the radiator is. what could be worse and best case scenario once i replace it? worse being a new engine best being… worn out engine?

 

[pauleyman]

Ill tell my mechanic when i go in for the radiator. i went to him on thursday he said he couldnt tell if the head gasket was f***ed because of how bad the radiator is. what could be worse and best case scenario once i replace it? worse being a new engine best being… worn out engine?

We don't have near enough info to make a diagnosis.
Did you overheat the car?
Stock or aftermarket boost gauge?
Did you do any maintenance or checking?
Had a leakdown or compression check been performed?
When you say coolant leak you mean something small or you dumped all the coolant?

 

[Spungo]

Dumped coolant. but doesnt seem to be leaking it just doesnt flow as well. yes ive driven on HOT maybe twice. other then that its been max above half. i think aftermarket gauge? i really dont know i just got the car and all the previous owner told me was what i listed above

 

[pauleyman]

If you overheated the car it's going to need a compression and/or leakdown test. There could be multiple problems. Were you looking at a boost gauge on the dash cluster or one somewhere else? The factory boost gauge functions very differently from a real boost pressure gauge. Please fill out a vehicle profile so we can tell what all you have.

 

[danl]

To answer op’s question, this rabbit hole goes to mars. You bought a 25 year old turbo car. Within a year your dog will hate you, your family will stop speaking with you, and strangers will spit on you. Random French soldiers in mid-evil battle gear will fart in your general direction.

 

[99dsmer4g63]

Yeah as said above it can go deep. Deep into your wallet especially since you are paying someone to do it.

Most times in this case the shop doing the work has no clue what they are doing and only make things worse after they rape you for your money.

I suggest doing the work yourself. Any question you have is documented in this forum and with a simple search on here or google will take you to the information you seek.

Also good rule of thumb is to not a believe a thing you were told. If they said the motor is “built” chances are it’s not. If they say it just needs a “tune” chances are it does after you fix all the stuff wrong with it first. Hard to trust anyone nowadays with anything.

-Daniel

 

[dwb]

About the only way to reliably keep a DSM on the road is to learn to wrench yourself. Otherwise you better have, or do, a lot of something your mechanic really wants in return.

Unless you overheated it to the point of no return, general maintenance should get you back running. If everything is unknown at this point, you need to start from the beginning and go over everything. Most importantly replace the timing belt, because these cars tend to sit for long periods. An old timing belt is just as dangerous as a 100k mile belt.

If you're lucky, you just blew an intake coupler and the PO recently did ALL the maintenance

 

[SixBolt_16G]

i bought them a 255 walboro and.....

...do you think there could be any other possible maintenance outcomes other then those two major ones?

You didnt mention adding an afpr when installing the 255. Did it already have one? Possibly/inevitably overrunning the stock fpr. Does the car have a wideband you can look at? Smell raw fuel? Might be a current problem or become one soon.

 

[Spungo]

You didnt mention adding an afpr when installing the 255

The PO installed it, the set that i bought shouldve had it ill post the link to it
No wideband, and i dont believe i smell raw oil. that being said when everything started i dropped like 4 bottles of oil into the car, and the oil level still showing low, both on dip stick and the oil gauge.

And for what the other person said i would love to post a car info but i genuinely dont really know whats been done/added to it other then what they told me and thats like trying to sort out the Ws in M&Ms

WALBRO 255LPH HP Fuel Pump Kit 1995-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo DSM 4G63 420A | eBay

Walbro / TI Automotive 255LPH HP Fuel Pump & Vehicle Specific Install Kit. Authentic Walbro, made in the USA! The Walbro fuel pump is the staple fuel pump for the performance market! This is not a knock off.

www.ebay.com

 

[pauleyman]

A fuel pump kit does not Include a pressure regulator.
At least post some pics of the engine and tell is about your mechanical skills. If you had to add 4 qts of oil that motor may already be done. The gauge on the dash shows oil pressure not oil level. If it's low also that's a problem. Bring us up to speed here.

 

[Spungo]

A fuel pump kit does not Include a pressure regulator.
At least post some pics of the engine and tell is about your mechanical skills. If you had to add 4 qts of oil that motor may already be done. The gauge on the dash shows oil pressure not oil level. If it's low also that's a problem. Bring us up to speed here.

my mechanical skills are really intermediate. i dont know much but i know enough. however everything going on right now is far from my own knowledge. i was already planning on literally replacing/upgrading everything in the car.

The oil pressure is low. it goes up to about the first notch for maybe 2 mins off startup and then drops down completely. There is an aftermarket boost gauge that shows me the psi from -10 ~ 15 maybe 20 i havent been paying attention to the full gauge since it cant even go more then 0.

Would i be able to rebuild the engine or am i going to have to replace it completely?

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EDIT: Sorry if im not making sense that’s most of the issues i know of. if theres more you can think of that i probably missed i can check it out and let you know

 

[dwb]

I circled a few questionable things. Two loose wires, one loose plug, missing battery tie-down, and missing the upper timing belt cover. I also do not see an AFPR unless it's hiding down below the intake manifold.

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[CrackedDSM]

At least the blowoff is recirculated. It shows promise the OP took time to do that properly.

 

[Spungo]

Yeah the PO said he did most of the wiring himself, so idk if he left me with something that has promise to it. or he couldnt find the issue and decided to give the issue to someone else

That being said im not going to give up on this car my plans for it is already wallet breaking, just knowing this is gonna have to be earlier then expected wasnt part of the plan.

For engine swaps i dont have to put another l4 in it right? it can be swapped to v6-8?

 

[SixBolt_16G]

my mechanical skills are really intermediate. i dont know much but i know enough. however everything going on right now is far from my own knowledge. i was already planning on literally replacing/upgrading everything in the car.

1. That is okay. Everyone has to start somewhere. We're not all mechanics on this forum, but we pretty much all have to work on our own car. If you choose to keep this car, you will be no different. IVe used shops and mechanics in the past due to lack of time, however, you need to work on increasing your knowledge. A lot of things about these cars are not straight forward, even for seasoned mechanics and the more you know yourself, the better off youll be because there have been plenty of times where Ive received a phone call or had to stop in at a shop to direct them with information.

2. It is very important to do 1 of 2 things. Either you go back to the previous owner and ask him to write down a list of parts that the car has or the other option is to find someone locally who has owned a DSM or EVO, who can evaluate this car for you. Some questions that we need to know would be does the car have aftermarket injectors and ECMlink or equivalent to be able to control the injectors, larger turbo than stock?. Might not be relevant for the issues youre facing now, but that information will help out sooner or later. After you have that information, you should fill out your vehicle profile. That will make it easier to see if the combination of parts is going to cause an issue. The reason I asked about the 255 is that it will overrun the stock fuel pressure regulator. You will most likely need an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator to stop that from happening.

3. Add some more pictures of your car. The things that @dwb are important and shouldnt be overlooked. That battery needs to be tied down especially with that strut tower bar going right over the top of the battery. THis is a safety hazard.

4. Follow this pipe and look to see if any of the other blue couplers have become separated from the pipe.

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if it has, that would allow a ton of air into the system and cause lots of stumbling and inability to build any boost (boost gauge not going past 0). One of the first things youre gonna need to do is learn to do a boost leak test.

5. Read Read Read. Its important to be able to convey what the issues youre facing by using proper terminology. This will help narrow down the "shot in the dark" solutions so that we and you have a shared understanding of the issues youre facing.

Would i be able to rebuild the engine or am i going to have to replace it completely?

For engine swaps i dont have to put another l4 in it right? it can be swapped to v6-8?

Lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. I dont think we really have a consensus of what youre dealing with yet to be going down this road.

 

[Spungo]

Follow this pipe and look to see if any of the other blue couplers have become separated from the pipe

Ill look into that thank you.

We're not all mechanics on this forum, but we pretty much all have to work on our own car

This is my plan, i just wanted to go to my known local mechanic my familys used for years to make sure it can run properly first so im not just fixing random bullshit that may make it worse for the vehicle. There a TON of information on this site and once i find out everything ill keep everything updated.

Lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.

This wasnt for right now this is just my project idea for her. I dont really know what engines could fit in the bay or whether or not it could be upgraded to double the amount of cylinders

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Ill look into that thank you.

This is my plan, i just wanted to go to my known local mechanic my familys used for years to make sure it can run properly first so im not just fixing random bullshit that may make it worse for the vehicle. There a TON of information on this site and once i find out everything ill keep everything updated.

This is one of the most comprehensive sites youll find for ANY car. Mitsubishi itself was never known to be of any help leaving a lot of the owners to find their own solutions. A lot of other car forums that i read have problem threads that lead to nowhere. No resolution after reading through 50 posts. Made me realize how spoiled I am here because looking for solutions for other cars like my wife's Prelude is beyond frustrating sometimes due to unresolved threads.

This wasnt for right now this is just my project idea for her. I dont really know what engines could fit in the bay or whether or not it could be upgraded to double the amount of cylinders

It can be done, but a lot of knowledge/fabrication skill is needed to make that happen. Whether its worth it is debatable, outside of having something unique. This engine puts out. The stock parts can take a lot of abuse. It can be reliable if you keep goals realistic and frequently get under the car to check things out. Doesnt make sense to go with another engine, but a lot of other cars can benefit from using a 4G63 to power it. This car isnt like an RX7 or a 240 tho, where you can just throw any engine into it.

 

[Spungo]

Either you go back to the previous owner and ask him to write down a list of parts that the car has or the other option is to find someone locally who has owned a DSM or EVO, who can evaluate this car for you.

Sadly i genuinely dont think the PO would know shit, or if he would even respond back to me i havent heard back from PO since the day i bought the vehicle. Do you know anyone in the houston area that can do a full evaluation on a dsm?

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Unfortunately, I dont. However, Texas use to be a DSM hotspot back in the day, so a lot of former DSMers probably still there, but have moved on to other platforms. Find out where the local car meets/facebook groups for car meets are and ask around.

 

[Spungo]

Unfortunately, I dont. However, Texas use to be a DSM hotspot back in the day, so a lot of former DSMers probably still there. Find out where the local car meets/facebook groups are and ask around.

Alright ill get on FB and see how much theyll charge me. thank you so much ill fill out a full vehicle background and will help me be able to locate/ be able to know where most parts are so ik what exactly im looking at. Im still 20 yrs old i got time to learn and im ready to get my hands dirty

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Alright ill get on FB and see how much theyll charge me. thank you so much ill fill out a full vehicle background and will help me be able to locate/ be able to know where most parts are so ik what exactly im looking at. Im still 20 yrs old i got time to learn and im ready to get my hands dirty

Your family mechanic should at least be able to tell you if there is any serious damage that has been done to the engine with it overheating.. But if it passes compression/leak down test and still not running right, they might struggle with understanding things like boost leaks or why it might be running rich and start making guesses. Thats when your car starts getting put on the backburner or given back to you because they dont have that understanding where as someone with a history with these cars might be able to tell you within a few minutes of poking around. it would also make me nervous if they had to start doing anything that has to do with the timing belt because ive heard too many stories of f***ing it up. This is the issue that Ive run into with regular mechanic shops rather than shops that deal with modified cars, but they have their own issues as well.

 

[Spungo]

Your family mechanic should at least be able to tell you if there is any serious damage that has been done to the engine with it overheating.. But if it passes compression/leak down test and still not running right, they might struggle with understanding things like boost leaks or why it might be running rich and start making guesses. Thats when your car starts getting put on the backburner or given back to you because they dont have that understanding where as someone with a history with these cars might be able to tell you within a few minutes of poking around. it would also make me nervous if they had to start doing anything that has to do with the timing belt because ive heard too many stories of f***ing it up. This is the issue that Ive run into with regular mechanic shops rather than shops that deal with modified cars, but they have their own issues as well.

Hell yeah when i saw the radiator bubbling and pissing out steam i thought my head gasket was blown. i told them and they said they dont fix head gaskets and sent me on my way
Theres a autobody shop in deep houston that specializes in Japanese cars i called about that he had already said i need a new engine

Either you go back to the previous owner and ask him to write down a list of parts that the car

Bring us up to speed here

I circled a few questionable things. Two loose wires, one loose plug, missing battery tie-down, and missing the upper timing belt cover. I also do not see an AFPR unless it's hiding down below the intake manifold.

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Alright so the PO just texted me what hes done
“1998 Mitsubishi eclipse GST spyder has 2.0L turbo 5 speed manual
Aftermarket bigger intercooler
Aftermarket blitz body kit
Street glow turquoise underglow
Megan racing wing
Brand new enkei wheel and sumitomo tires
New brakes and Rotors.
Aftermarket headlights and taillights
Aftermarket double din radio with backup camera
Cold air intake and new blow off valve and intercooler piping
Also new coolant lines and cloolant
new aftermarket exhaust
Fule pump replaced”

Im asking about wiring now because didnt say anything in the message but i know hes done some wiring jobs

EDIT: He said all he did was a kill switch (which could be why that wire sticking out) and added underglow

 

[pauleyman]

Alright so the PO just texted me what hes done
“1998 Mitsubishi eclipse GST spyder has 2.0L turbo 5 speed manual
Aftermarket bigger intercooler
Aftermarket blitz body kit
Street glow turquoise underglow
Megan racing wing
Brand new enkei wheel and sumitomo tires
New brakes and Rotors.
Aftermarket headlights and taillights
Aftermarket double din radio with backup camera
Cold air intake and new blow off valve and intercooler piping
Also new coolant lines and cloolant
new aftermarket exhaust
Fule pump replaced”

Im asking about wiring now because didnt say anything in the message but i know hes done some wiring jobs

EDIT: He said all he did was a kill switch (which could be why that wire sticking out) and added underglow

The largest problems I think you've mentioned so far are the fact that it blew coolant. You need to find out if any damage occurred. At this point you don't know if it was a coolant system failure or you blew something else up that also took out the coolant system/radiator. I would suggest the aforementioned compression check and/or leakdown test. A coolant system pressure check isn't a bad idea too. After that you said you had to add 4 qts of oil and it was still low? Was there any damage? Might need to drain oil and/or cut open a filter and see at least that far. You've also said you have no boost. So what does/did the stock gauge do? We need to find the problems and damage and go from there. DOes it even run right now? Have you checked anything?