I Hate My DSM, or My DSM Hates Me [Merged 12-8]

[SkyLineGtR-R34]

Would a car running on 3 cylinders run like this? Thanks

take off one of the spark-plug cables and you'll find out

 

[RossY]

I've always liked dsms for just they way they looked and I have always wanted one. I started doing research on them to see what they could do performance wise. I found this site to be a wealth of knowledge that showed me that these cars can make a lot of power with very little modification. That just made me want one even more.

Finally i saw my chance to get one, it was at a local auction up in Canal Fulton. As i pulled into the lot to check the car out, I was excited to see that there was no damage done to the body. We parked and i hurried out of our car and towards the Talon. The body was in beautiful shape, everything SEEMED perfect. So i popped the hood and my heart dropped. There was nothing under the hood at all, completely gutted. The more i thought about it however, the more I was ok with it. I thought to myself, this way i can build the engine up the way i want it and get all new parts for it and blah blah.

So i ended up getting it and rollin it into the garage where i spent the next year, on and off piecing the car together. I had various problems of course along the way but that was expected. Finally the day came when she ran, and oh what a feeling it was. I enjoyed a happy boosted life for about a year. Then one day I went to start it up and it briefly started only to choke and die 5 seconds later. I jumped onto dsmtuners to try and diagnose the problem and found that the timing belt had skipped and bent all the valves. It was caused by the auto-tensioner going bad. I was pretty upset, but determined to get it running again. I ended up buying a used head off of ebay(stupid) since i didnt have money to rebuild the head. I Got all new parts to put the head back on and i was on my way.

Six months later I was coming home from Cedar Point when the car suddenly stalls on the highway while im doin about 70ish. I immediately thought timing belt. So i popped the hood and low and behold the timing belt had snapped and yippy i bent all my fricken valves again. I thought to myself, im going to do it right this time and rebuild it. So i took it to a local machine shop to get it cleaned and have new valves, etc put in it and they called me back and told the guy before me had cracked one of the valve seats and he advised me to get another head. This explained the blue smoke out the exaust.

Soooo, i called around and found another head that was just rebuilt and slapped it on my car. Once again the car was running great until yesterday. I went to start it up and it kept wanting to die and it sounded like little dwarves with jackhammers trying to get out of my engine. So i immediately turned the car off and got out my 1/2" drive socket and tried to turn the crank over by hand. I could tell valves were making contact with pistons so i took everything apart and once again i find that the friggin crank is out of time with the cams.

Now i just changed some seals due to an oil leak and put a new timing belt on and everything was perfectly lined up no problem at all and it ran great. Now Two days later I have for the 3rd Fricken time, had timing belt problems and this is all in less than 3 years. I really HATE to love this car. It still feels like there is compression in at least two cylinders and none of the retainers are loose at all, so im going to my friends to reset my auto tensioner so i can put the belt back on and see if it will run. I'll post an update in a couple hours probably. Sorry for the long post but i seriously am at my wits end working on this car.

btw, i really wish these cars had timing chains. The whole concept of relying the health of your engine on a rubber belt is dumb. Either that or I would like the engine to be non-interference (sp?).

 

[blcknspo0ln]

I didn't read any of that post, but yes, my talon hates me too

long live DSM

 

[BigRand]

Well somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but it would seem like you have been the victim of crankwalk. 3 times. Granted I don't know if you put a 1g 6bolt or 2g 7bolt in your car, but I have seen both of those walk. It would seem more prevalant in the 2g motors.


IF you stick with the talon, try a 2.4L bottom end, you should have some real power, and alot better luck with the crank. Good luck
Sorry to hear about the heads.

 

[RossY]

I did put a 6 bolt in it in hopes of avoiding crankwalk, and I have been thinking about a 2.4L as my next full rebuild. However, I don't seem to have symptoms of crankwalk, such as the clutch falling to the floor. I've not read much about crankwalk since i'm hoping that i'll be spared with my 6bolt and its jdm, if that even matters. I am curious how you think my problem means i have crankwalk though?

I put everything back in time (only the crank was out), and the stupid battery is dead due to my crappy alternator so i'll wait to tommorow to try and start it. Until then my fingers are crossed

 

[Phat95Talon]

I skimmed your vent. Sorry about your luck. Sounds pretty much like everyone's story though. I haven't driven my Talon i a year, pos.


Annnnnnd, I bought another Mitsubishi that doesn't run.

 

[Openoner]

my buddy bought a montero to pull my gsx to and fro the track...is that a disaster waiting to happen or what?

 

[BigRand]

Sorry I assumed it was crank walk when you said, something about ## crank being out, and your timing belt jumping. I just figured.

 

[Herbal Essences]

I read the whole thing. That sucks man, they're money pits.

 

[Blkbomber]

Sorry to hear that. I'm havin problems too man.

 

[Mark S.]

just a couple things
1. Kevlar Timing Belt
2. manual timing belt tensioner mod http://www.ecanfix.com/~mdhamilton/tensioner.html
I've never tried the manual tensioner however i'm considering it... who knows though.

 

[T9S1i]

dont buy kragen/autozone/napa timing belts

USE MITSUBISHI OEM!!!!!
ive only used oem and never snapped a belt. Ive had a gang of other problems with my dsm, but never a timing belt problem..... Sorry about the bad luck bro, at least you are doing your own work and arent forking out the cash to a shop everytime!!!

 

[RossY]

Even though this is a couple of months old i might as well update. All the valves got bent, some worse than others. So i went ahead and pulled the head and took it to a machine shop and got it rebuilt. Now its up and running again, knock on wood.

 

[joshohatesuall]

Your talon hates you because DSMs were created to hate humanity.

Anyone who thinks they were made to be tuned and turned into racing machines is obviously delusional.

 

[paranoidTSi]

from my experience with my talon..its a neverending story..and you can't win either way you put it.

You can keep repairing it part after part and keep it on the road..and it will continue to break down month after month. Or you could let it sit and build up the money buy all the parts at once to fix it, but then when you go to run it again something else breaks.

So pretty much if you let the car sit it STILL breaks down just sitting there, and when you let it run it STILL breaks down. God DAMN D'ism curse.

 

[importboost]

Did you ever inspect the teeth on the belt? You didnt state weither or not when you got yoru heads redone if you used the same cam gears and such, but if the teeth on the cam gears are worn down it will slip. Just an idea of mine since it has happened numerous times to you. Sucks to hear though, i cant imagine what thats like. Knock on wood it hasnt happened to me. Oh, also i dont know where you got that motor from. But it is always a good idea to change the belts and other things if you dont want to worry bout them. Good luck to ya man.

 

[mattn]

This car is like a drug to me... it is so much fun to drive, but when things go wrong all hell breaks loose. I just put $2000 into this car. New clutch, flywheel, water pump, timing belt, accesory belts, brake pads, calipers, rotors, suspension... every damn thing!!! I mean you name it, I replaced it!!! And it just seems that when I may be getting back to a normal working semi-reliable car that something just has to go wrong!!! I just needed to vent about this BS... and I hope Im not the only one that feels this way, but I just cant help think that Im wasting so many hours on this car and tons of money for more problems to come up!!! Damn I am so f*cking sick of this car!!!

 

[majik2k5]

Welcome to the world of DSM's. Enjoy your stay.

 

[boostedinaz]

This car is like a drug to me... it is so much fun to drive, but when things go wrong all hell breaks loose. I just put $2000 into this car. New clutch, flywheel, water pump, timing belt, accesory belts, brake pads, calipers, rotors, suspension... every damn thing!!! I mean you name it, I replaced it!!! And it just seems that when I may be getting back to a normal working semi-reliable car that something just has to go wrong!!! I just needed to vent about this BS... and I hope Im not the only one that feels this way, but I just cant help think that Im wasting so many hours on this car and tons of money for more problems to come up!!! Damn I am so f*cking sick of this car!!!

Welcome to the world of used cars. If you are sick of it sell it it's that easy. Then you will probably pick another used car and have to do all the same thign again. Buying a used sports or sports type car will always involve this.

 

[Talesin]

Heh. More like 'Welcome to the world of DSMs. Here's your 10, 12, and 14mm wrenches, some band-aids, a tube of RTV, and some duct tape. Aim for something soft when you start throwing your tools.'

 

[mattn]

The way I see it is... If I sell it im just going to have to deal with this BS on another car. Just like you said.... of course if I bought a honda accord or a toyota camry I wouldnt have as many problems, but I also wouldnt have an awesome car in terms of looks and performance... I'm just getting frustrated because its been sitting for 10 months and Im anxious to get back on the road.

 

[spoold]

its all about finding a well maintained car.

My 1997 gsx has given me not one problem in over a year of ownership. Sure, i do maintenance, but it has never broken on me, nor gave me any problems short of modification problems i run into.

I <3 my gsx

 

[boostedinaz]

its all about finding a well maintained car.

or knowing what you are getting into from the beginning. I knew my car had a few problems from the get go.

 

[BeerBaron]

Heh. More like 'Welcome to the world of DSMs. Here's your 10, 12, and 14mm wrenches, some band-aids, a tube of RTV, and some duct tape. Aim for something soft when you start throwing your tools.'

that made me choke on my lunch

 

[Talesin]

Well it's true... if you hit concrete and your 12mm wrench loses a finger, or the box-end cracks, you're SOL and have to walk over to buy another one before you can do jack s**t to fix the car.