How reliable has your DSM been?

[DSM IN MN]

Is that true you have to take the engine out to change the plug wires? I wouldn't mind doing that (I would LOVE to do it).

Here is a video I shot of the car running, tell me what you can. I don't expect you to know, have any ideas opinions, (BTW the car runs ).

YouTube - 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T The NEW interest!

Keep in mind this car HAS been sitting in the well...... cold, hot Minnesota weather. Cold then hot then cold then hot, IDK that may not affect it at all but it sounds like it......

 

[buryurfear14]

ya man, if you have two years to put money into this car, I'd definitely say go for it. But like everyone else has said, only if your dedicated to working on this car. I wish i could spend my whole day under the hood!

 

[diggerzmound]

Pull the plastic cover on the top of the valve cover and it will become blatantly obvious how to change the plugs. I don't think you will have to pull the engine to get that little plastic cover off.

 

[greg90gs]

i think he meant you haft to pull the motor on the nissan to pull the plugs

 

[Jeff99GS]

Sum up a DSM = Fastest 4 Cylinder Cars On the Planet Earth




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[DSM IN MN]

Sum up a DSM = Fastest 4 Cylinder Cars On the Planet Earth




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I love that car .

 

[DSM IN MN]

Pull the plastic cover on the top of the valve cover and it will become blatantly obvious how to change the plugs. I don't think you will have to pull the engine to get that little plastic cover off.

Change the spark wires................. he said. IDK about having to take the WHOLE engien for plug wires but maybe. I was just wondering if that is 100% true and 100% of the time done.........

 

[mindset]

Piece of shit.

Don't buy if:
1. It's your first car
2. You are looking for a reliable daily driver
3. You are not a car enthusiast
4. You don't plan on throwing more money at it
5. You are not willing to learn

Do buy if:
1. You're ####ing crazy
2. You want to go fast for cheap
3. You're technically minded
4. You're patient
5. You find lying on a slab of cardboard after a day's working relaxing
6. You like bruised knuckles
7. You have a steady supply of disposable income
8. You pay attention to detail
9. You get immense satisfaction from turning a POS into a semi-reliable, fast, great looking car & great driving car that will get compliments on a regular basis.

Exactly. I tell you what, these cars are ridiculous for their price. But not reliable whatsoever.
I have a list of maintenance to do before any modding. Not to mention as soon as I get my new tranny it will add to the amount of money I've put in the car, which will soar over the $1800 I dropped on the car.

 

[Boot92]

do it buy it, by the time you get it working your way you will have your license., I built a 200whp Honda Civic with LSD before I even had my license. I don't see why you cant build a DSM, Of course I had more knowledge then you do right now (No Offense)

(1990 Honda Civic EF Hatch 1 of a kind LS\Vtec motor...RIP)

IMO if you don't know a whole lot about working on cars a DSM can be good to learn on, but at the same time bad.

GOOD: because you will get tons of hours of work in on it.

BAD: because you will always be wondering whats wrong with it if your inexperienced, and you'll be somewhat clueless how to fix it.

and Insurance wise, do what i did.

Buy a 1.8L DSM, then swap out the motor with 2.0L 4G63 but register it as a 1.8L that way you'll only be paying like 100$ a month instead of 150, 200 a month. insurance for me is 110$ a month on my DSM and I'm only 16 almost 17, I've been in 1 Accident (not my fault), have bad Grades, 2 speeding tickets, I've been locked up twice, and I've had my License suspended. it would probably be 250$ for me if I registered it as having a 4G63 in it.


DSM: DSM's are the Definition of Work, you will be constantly sweating and working your ass off (to an extant) Your hands will become Stained Black from all the Oil and Grease, you will get mad Blisters and Calais on your hands, Expect to cut your knuckle open on something every time you stick your hand in the Engine bay. DSM's at the same time are Great cars, they are amazing to own and Drive, and can be Reliable, Expect to put money into them if you buy one with more then 50k miles on it even if its just a minor miss.

That miss may not be just the Spark plugs + Wires, it could be Coil pack, or valves, or loss of compression, or many other things.

Prepare yourself. MAKE SURE you get a Repair manual. there like 20-40$

BTW: you wont have to take the engine out to change the spark plugs.....

I've Rebuilt my WHOLE engine with it still in the car.

 

[crimsondragon]

Piece of shit.

Don't buy if:
1. It's your first car Check.
2. You are looking for a reliable daily driver Check. Well it runs fine for me.
3. You are not a car enthusiast Check. (well wasn't originally)
4. You don't plan on throwing more money at it
5. You are not willing to learn

Do buy if:
1. You're ####ing crazy Oh yeah Check.
2. You want to go fast for cheap Definitely check
3. You're technically minded I am now. Check.
4. You're patient I actually was patient now I'm not.
5. You find lying on a slab of cardboard after a day's working relaxing I prefer extra carpet.
6. You like bruised knuckles I have wounds from 2 months prior that haven't healed yet.
7. You have a steady supply of disposable income Check. Though it's not much.
8. You pay attention to detail Not at all.
9. You get immense satisfaction from turning a POS into a semi-reliable, fast, great looking car & great driving car that will get compliments on a regular basis. #### YEAH CHECK

Looks like I'm a DSMer.

To sum up DSMs: Fix, break, repeat.

 

[Boot92]

I'm a REAL DSM-er ###........

1: My repair manual is held together by duct Tape, and the Problem Diagnosis, and Engine Overhaul Sections are covered with black fingerprints and are torn to hell
2: My Bed Room floor is coverd with DSM parts (Cylinder heads, TB's, Intake Manifolds, Sensors, Wires, and a Exhaust Manifold)
3: I drove 45 mins on the interstate with a 4G63 hanging out the back of my moms Jetta's Trunk from the junkyard held in there with nothing but gravity, and some rope.
4: Every pay check I get is spend the same night on DSM parts.
5: I realized Cursing at your DSM makes it brake more.
6: I've voluntarily slept in your DSM

 

[DSM IN MN]

do it buy it, by the time you get it working your way you will have your license., I built a 200whp Honda Civic with LSD before I even had my license. I don't see why you cant build a DSM, Of course I had more knowledge then you do right now (No Offense)

(1990 Honda Civic EF Hatch 1 of a kind LS\Vtec motor...RIP)

IMO if you don't know a whole lot about working on cars a DSM can be good to learn on, but at the same time bad.

GOOD: because you will get tons of hours of work in on it.

BAD: because you will always be wondering whats wrong with it if your inexperienced, and you'll be somewhat clueless how to fix it.

and Insurance wise, do what i did.

Buy a 1.8L DSM, then swap out the motor with 2.0L 4G63 but register it as a 1.8L that way you'll only be paying like 100$ a month instead of 150, 200 a month. insurance for me is 110$ a month on my DSM and I'm only 16 almost 17, I've been in 1 Accident (not my fault), have bad Grades, 2 speeding tickets, I've been locked up twice, and I've had my License suspended. it would probably be 250$ for me if I registered it as having a 4G63 in it.


DSM: DSM's are the Definition of Work, you will be constantly sweating and working your ass off (to an extant) Your hands will become Stained Black from all the Oil and Grease, you will get mad Blisters and Calais on your hands, Expect to cut your knuckle open on something every time you stick your hand in the Engine bay. DSM's at the same time are Great cars, they are amazing to own and Drive, and can be Reliable, Expect to put money into them if you buy one with more then 50k miles on it even if its just a minor miss.

That miss may not be just the Spark plugs + Wires, it could be Coil pack, or valves, or loss of compression, or many other things.

Prepare yourself. MAKE SURE you get a Repair manual. there like 20-40$

BTW: you wont have to take the engine out to change the spark plugs.....

I've Rebuilt my WHOLE engine with it still in the car.

What would you guys recamend? I like Haynes (being I have their 1990 - 1994 Eclipse Talon repair manual), or Chilton?

IDK. Once again, looking for the best...

 

[Sp1kE]

go buy a compression tester.
Test the motor to see if you have a solid motor to work with.
178 is perfect I beleive.

IF that works out, buy it and fix it up. by the time you have your licence, you can have a nice reliable car with some balls.

Oh and before you start doing any work, jump on here and READ.

 

[Boot92]

IMO i say Haynes, its a little more Simple and Easier to figure out where things are in the manual.

Chilton is more detailed but harder to get use to, and little more difficult to read if you have a short attention span such as my self. XD

 

[DSM IN MN]

go buy a compression tester.
Test the motor to see if you have a solid motor to work with.
178 is perfect I beleive.

IF that works out, buy it and fix it up. by the time you have your licence, you can have a nice reliable car with some balls.

Oh and before you start doing any work, jump on here and READ.

I will get right on that as soon as...... I can get a ride.......

 

[laser92DSM]

Just learn and go on forums and read that's what a dsm'er told me when I bought my first dsm my 92 laser na and this was when i was 13 i miss that thing but ever since then ive been all about these cars ever since my laser ive had a 90 Eclipse GSX (Which i sold to buy current project car my now beloved 93 TSi AWD) and my DD a 95 3000gt SL and now im 18 and going to build up my talon. Hopefully Ill have the talon on the road by the time the big Tri-State meet thats going on august 8th.


Oh and BTW for the repair manuels i have both Chilton and Haynes they are both good enough for me.

 

[Boot92]

+1 Laser.

50% or more of what I know about cars (particularity DSM's) is from talking to other people on forums, and reading stuff on the internet.

50% or Less of what i know about cars came from High School Auto Class, (I would suggest taking one even if its just the basics if your high school has one), Self Teaching (figuring out how crap works on your own) and using Repair Manuals.

 

[greg90gs]

haha i think what we are all trying to say is welcome to the neighborhood.




once your feel that turbo pull for the first time you will have the itch.




once you find your self broke and in debt kicking yourself for buying that last performance part, you have the fever

 

[Boot92]

trust me it doesn't take a Turbo DSM to get the Itch.

I started with a 92hp, 1.8L


I would say a turbo DSM would make you get a very bad itch tho (which is a good thing)

 

[greg90gs]

i very bad itch indeed like crabs after that one night you cant remember

 

[Boot92]

rofl

 

[greg90gs]

and once you have the itch you cant get rid of it just remember its not herpies if its everywhere

 

[Boot92]

True Dat.

DSM's are piratically a Cult.

Once your in...

You cant get out.

 

[greg90gs]

very true very true

 

[Boot92]

Get started on that DSM.

Were here if you have any questions or need some help or parts or anything