2G Just a beginner

[oliversaturnino]

Hey, just starting to get into this DSM world. One of my friends got a 99 GSX and I have loved it ever since. Now I want to get one of my own. I’ve been doing tons or research about them and would love to get A GSX eventually but have been having a hard time finding a good one. Or even one in general. I want to learn more about the cars and I was wondering if there is any tips that anyone would like to give me for just starting?

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[AWD-Tony]

Welcome! Be patient and wait until you find a decent one. Save up in the meantime and Good luck!

What is up with the one in the pic? $1500 max as long as it runs.

 

[oliversaturnino]

That’s the car that my friend recently bought. Was fully built by the original owner and recommended if we were to get into DSM cars we should use this website for everything we needed to know. Car was sitting for 7 years after water pump went out, my friend got the car for $2000 with 70k miles on it. Just needs a good paint job and new water pump. And Thanks!

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Car was sitting for 7 years after water pump went out, my friend got the car for $2000 with 70k miles on it. Just needs a good paint job and new water pump. And Thanks!

Wow!! Good deal there!

 

[TheDude236]

I was a newbie when I bought my car as well, and unfortunately I didn't ask for the same info that you have. Ended up winning a bid on 95' Talon AWD, sight unseen with little information about the cars condition at ~200k miles, for 5900$. To be fair, it is a kinda rare trimmed car. The rare Pulsar Beige interior and no sunroof, and the first year of the 2g's.
I got my hands on the car finally and so far have spent around another 5-6k on issues. Anything from the clutch, to the transmission, to an engine rebuild.

Moral of the story is, do your research and actually visit a car you want to buy. Don't do what I did.
(Make no mistake, I still love my car and I'm super happy with my purchase, I could have just done a lot more with my money )

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Don't just change the water pump, change all of the timing components and most importantly ---THE TIMING BELT AND BALANCE SHAFT BELT (if it still has a balance shaft belt still).
The worst thing your friend could do is get the pump fixed and then start it just to have the timing belt break and BAM, you are into a bunch of $$$ for all of the bent valves. I deem that the most important thing on any new to you DSM, change the timing belt/balance shaft belt.
Best of luck and keep your eyes on our classifieds, the cars do come up there!
Marty

 

[pauleyman]

Don't just change the water pump, change all of the timing components and most importantly ---THE TIMING BELT AND BALANCE SHAFT BELT (if it still has a balance shaft belt still).
The worst thing your friend could do is get the pump fixed and then start it just to have the timing belt break and BAM, you are into a bunch of $$$ for all of the bent valves. I deem that the most important thing on any new to you DSM, change the timing belt/balance shaft belt.
Best of luck and keep your eyes on our classifieds, the cars do come up there!
Marty

No lie. My 97 was purchased in 2011...with the ORIGINAL belt still installed. Only had 52k was the owners answer. I was afraid to drive it home off the transporter. I parked it after 2 miles and didn't drive it until I changed the belt.

 

[oliversaturnino]

I was a newbie when I bought my car as well, and unfortunately I didn't ask for the same info that you have. Ended up winning a bid on 95' Talon AWD, sight unseen with little information about the cars condition at ~200k miles, for 5900$. To be fair, it is a kinda rare trimmed car. The rare Pulsar Beige interior and no sunroof, and the first year of the 2g's.
I got my hands on the car finally and so far have spent around another 5-6k on issues. Anything from the clutch, to the transmission, to an engine rebuild.

Moral of the story is, do your research and actually visit a car you want to buy. Don't do what I did.
(Make no mistake, I still love my car and I'm super happy with my purchase, I could have just done a lot more with my money )

Thank you for the advice. At first I just wanted to rush and get a car like any normal person does. I was going to look at cars with cash in hand almost every day but I finally realized I should just wait for the right deal. So now I’ve just been taking my time looking for the right one. I have no rush. I already have a car to drive that’s reliable (not a DSM car) so I really am just waiting for the right deal and have the cash ready.

No lie. My 97 was purchased in 2011...with the ORIGINAL belt still installed. Only had 52k was the owners answer. I was afraid to drive it home off the transporter. I parked it after 2 miles and didn't drive it until I changed the belt.

Don't just change the water pump, change all of the timing components and most importantly ---THE TIMING BELT AND BALANCE SHAFT BELT (if it still has a balance shaft belt still).
The worst thing your friend could do is get the pump fixed and then start it just to have the timing belt break and BAM, you are into a bunch of $$$ for all of the bent valves. I deem that the most important thing on any new to you DSM, change the timing belt/balance shaft belt.
Best of luck and keep your eyes on our classifieds, the cars do come up there!
Marty

Yeah he right now is doing the whole timing assembly. I did some more researching about it and that is one of the most common things i saw.

 

[waltah]

You're right to plan to take your time: Wife and I just spent six months looking seriously before buying a '95 GST a couple weeks back. We kissed a lot of frogs before finding this princess.

I think the most important issue now is rust-out. Everything else can be fixed or replaced but these cars didn't make good daily drivers on salted roads (Chrysler body design I think?) and the result can be strut towers that tear loose plus all the usual lower body rusty holes -- bottom of the trunk is another bad place. You can put a ton of money into trying to fix what's already failed but you can be certain there's still more rust that'll get you next year.

As others have pointed out be sure the timing belt is sound before driving the car more than around the block.

I also look at how much has been changed from original. The more change the more chance that something was done wrong or some weakness added that the guy who did it knew about but you don't. There might not be another box stock Eclipse out there but the closer you come the fewer expert-level questions you're going to have to answer.

Examples of questions I'm asking/issues I'm dealing with at 10 days with mine: That grinding noise with boost over 5# -- Is that a dying turbo? Why does the oil pressure gauge show zero -- the idiot light works fine and no other hint of low oil pressure. Some other warning lights don't work -- bulbs are now okay so maybe the instrument cluster isn't really right for this chassis?The reinstalled original radio doesn't fit squarely in the hole -- there's something wrong in the console structure. Driver's door could only be opened after unlocking from the inside -- fixed for now by generous lube of latch but the linkage between the outside handle and latch mechanism will have to be adjusted. Front bumper is 97 or later so there's not enough ground clearance for ramps -- must change that.

But notice that except for the turbo issue these points can be dealt with as money and time allow ... only that turbo one is 'better figure it out before putting on any miles.' That's a real good sort of car for me and probably most others without loads of money or experience.

If you plan to work on your car and know which generation you'll get, get a shop manual and start studying. They''re not intended as textbooks but you'll learn a lot anyway -- just knowing what's in there is valuable. There's a downloadable manual online linked from this site I think and if you want a paper one the Talon manuals have the same info at a fraction the price of the Eclipse. There's also a 'Technical Information Manual' for the Eclipse that's good reading as background.

Of course if most of your work will be done by someone else you don't need the books so much.

Good luck with it!

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I think the most important issue now is rust-out. Everything else can be fixed or replaced but these cars didn't make good daily drivers on salted roads (Chrysler body design I think?)

I'm yet to see a vehicle that holds up well to road salt. Sometimes cars come in the shop with holes in the body panels and frame but they're only 2 years old. I've told many customers to sell it while they can because of this. So it's not necessarily a Chrysler or Mitsu issue, just a common issue where the road salt and moisture eats through the coating and corrodes the metal.

That grinding noise with boost over 5# -- Is that a dying turbo?

Check your turbine shaft for play and spin it by hand with the engine off. If you hear any noises when spinning it or it moves back and forth a lot, time for a rebuild or replacement.

 

[waltah]

I'm yet to see a vehicle that holds up well to road salt. Sometimes cars come in the shop with holes in the body panels and frame but they're only 2 years old.

You are right of course. The strut tower thing seems particularly bad since on-the-road structural failures can spoil your whole day but other cars have that too.

As to the grinding noise another possibility is the auto transmission is slipping. Hardly anyone now seems to know that Mitsubishi A/T's need a fluid designed for them. The last two Expo LRVs I got in which someone else had changed fluid had terrible slippage and straightened right out when I changed it to SP III. Expensive problem in those cars even if you catch it before the clutches are ruined because short of disassembling the thing you can only get about half the fluid out so you have to change half several times, driving for a period in between. That seems to be fixed in the 2G -- Yesterday I dumped as much as I could and the refill took 6 qts: In a 7.1 qt. transmission that's pretty good.

The fluid was somewhat dirty but not terrible. The trans was said to have been recently rebuilt when P.O. got the car a year back and had been driven just a couple hundred miles but not all rebuilders know about fluid for Mitsubishi.

I didn't at first think of a wrong trans fluid issue because the Expo transmissions don't make a sound when you do that to them -- it's silent but 'shiftless.' I'm probably the only one here old enough to remember the Buick Dynaflow but that's what it's like. Progressing pretty soon to no end clutch.

Changing transmission fluid in a 'new' A/T car isn't a bad idea, regardless. Haven't had time to drive it yet to see if the noise is gone: If it's not I'll look at the turbo -- thanks for those comments. I've been working on our Expos with 4g64 and 4g93 engines for 20 years but this is my first turbo.