Neglected 95 Eclipse GSX nostalgia build

[jesse12345]

So tonight I got a wild hair (like I always do) and decided to rip the fuel level sending unit out. Of course it was absolutely nasty and fully spunked. I cleaned it as best as I could for now. The only reason I actually pulled it was because my gas gauge showed empty even when it was full. The float was 100 percent seized but I got it nice and free. I'm still going to be on the hunt for a better one.

Aside from the filter being non existent I did manage to clean it all up and it should actually work but how important is that filter? I've been running it like that because I had no idea it was actually missing.

 

[jesse12345]

So today I had a little time to install the new yoke and transfercase seal. In theory this transfercase shouldn't leak at all. I also installed a brand new breather while I was at it.

I'm just waiting on some exhaust items to arrive so I can get this thing back on the road and enjoy it some more. I'm super pumped! The nice weather is dang near here.

 

[jesse12345]

Well my transfercase leak is now fixed, but I have a nasty oil leak only when I really get on it. I'm hoping it's an easy one to find. It's sort of spraying all over underneath. I live for leaks.

 

[miliman13]

Well my transfercase leak is now fixed, but I have a nasty oil leak only when I really get on it. I'm hoping it's an easy one to find. It's sort of spraying all over underneath. I live for leaks.

How did you fix it ?

 

[jesse12345]

A new seal and yoke did the trick.

 

[jesse12345]

I'm almost 99 percent sure my oil pan is to blame for this nasty leak. It's the same color as the transfercase fluid but it doesn't smell like it, so I'm almost certain it's the pan. Well I guess I'll rip down the transfercase and exhaust again.

I did take the car out for a bit today to give the family some rides. It ripped flawlessly. I just wanted to have a little fun before I wrenched on it again.

 

[jesse12345]

My oil leak has been fixed, it was a bolt on the back side of the block that was missing. I did the pan last night which it needed a gasket to so I wasn't to mad about that. I should hopefully have zero leaks now.

 

[jesse12345]

It's getting really nice around here so I decided to bring my car to the shop and align it. While I had it in the air I double checked for leaks and finally I have zero leaks of any kind.
I'm just really enjoying the car. The last time I drove this much was in my talon, but it wasn't nearly this fun. I'm beyond happy with this turbo and I might actually switch to e85 soon. I'm just a little worried what the next broken part may be.

 

[jesse12345]

So I was ripping and having an absolute blast yesterday until I read one of the forums on here. Now here we are with the transmission out, I forgot to use a pilot bushing, which I didn't know existed for the autos. I've only ever either had to pop a manual one out for an auto or put one in for a manual. This was all new to me so I'm back to wrenching and making sure everything is done right. I do really dislike having to try and man these autos, they are no light. I made a little cradle deal to make it a little easier.

 

[CrackedDSM]

So I was ripping and having an absolute blast yesterday until I read one of the forums on here. Now here we are with the transmission out, I forgot to use a pilot bushing, which I didn't know existed for the autos. I've only ever either had to pop a manual one out for an auto or put one in for a manual. This was all new to me so I'm back to wrenching and making sure everything is done right. I do really dislike having to try and man these autos, they are no light. I made a little cradle deal to make it a little easier.

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Sucks to do, and anyone who hasn't actually had to drop/mess with these DSM AWD Auto transmission do not have any understanding how freakin' heavy they are. Crown Vic auto transmissions are lighter.

BUT, it's worth it. I think you caught it perfectly, because if it's not having shifting issues or anything now, probably dodged a bullet. Drop the fluid and check the pan just in case though(save the fluid, just in case it isn't dirty). If there's no metal sand or tons of metal on the magnets, call it good. Ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

 

[jesse12345]

I'm so used to slapping manual fwd ones in, which a guy can literally list in by himself. These awd autos are a big chunk. I had to build some sort of a deal for this beast. I used a engine hoist the last time to get it in and it was still a pain.

I'm hoping your right! The fluid still looked brand new, but I'll replace it anyways. There was definitely some fun in the pan, which I did drop last night to verify. It didn't look to concerning to me and the trans still shifted just fine. I'll call it a win for now. I seriously would have screwed myself because of that mess up. I'm so happy I saw that forum otherwise I probably would have went through some transmissions and started pulling hair out.

 

[CrackedDSM]

I'm so used to slapping manual fwd ones in, which a guy can literally list in by himself. These awd autos are a big chunk. I had to build some sort of a deal for this beast. I used a engine hoist the last time to get it in and it was still a pain.

I'm hoping your right! The fluid still looked brand new, but I'll replace it anyways. There was definitely some fun in the pan, which I did drop last night to verify. It didn't look to concerning to me and the trans still shifted just fine. I'll call it a win for now. I seriously would have screwed myself because of that mess up. I'm so happy I saw that forum otherwise I probably would have went through some transmissions and started pulling hair out.

If you’re super concerned just pull the torque converter off and shine a bright light in there. You can see the pump and the bearings in there and if they look like Pac-Man then it’s cooked. If they’re round with no marks, good to go.

I’ll edit this post later with pictures of how my old bad fluid pumped looked. Stay tuned.

 

[jesse12345]

Alright I'll check it out. Thanks for filling me in I'm super new with the auto. I do have a fwd auto that came with a parts car if anything is bad maybe I can swap some stuff.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Alright I'll check it out. Thanks for filling me in I'm super new with the auto. I do have a fwd auto that came with a parts car if anything is bad maybe I can swap some stuff.

The pump should be the same, worst case scenario. It bolts and pulls out, there are a few seals around the inside that you may need to replace if they break, but yeah. It's not hard to swap.

I couldn't find pictures of my bad pump, but here's a youtube short I made from like 2015 of a good pump I sold. The side I show with the sunken ball bearings is the side that faces the TC/engine. If you look inside with a flash-light and see any more wear than what is shown, or if it's eaten down into these bearings and they're like pac-man, it's bad and the trans itself is gonna need a full flush as metal is gonna be everywhere. My bad one was eaten so far down by the TC that half of the ball bearing was actually exposed, and half of what was exposed was worn perfectly down the middle.

 

[jesse12345]

So what your saying is to unbolt the pump off the front? Will it just slide out or what do i have to do to pop it off? It looked pretty glittery in the torque converter itself.

 

[jesse12345]

There wasn't hardly anything in the pan but dang it was all in the torque converter.

 

[CrackedDSM]

There wasn't hardly anything in the pan but dang it was all in the torque converter.

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The TC is already out, just shine a light onto the input shaft and look deep down. Should be a wall where you can juuuust make out the pump gears or the bottom of the shaft. Take a picture of that for me. Don't unbolt the pump yet unless it looks bad in there.

 

[jesse12345]

I hope these can say something. I can't get a very good picture.

 

[CrackedDSM]

I hope these can say something. I can't get a very good picture.

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Looks great to me. Attached a picture of what I’m looking at. Circled in red are the ball bearings and yellow are where the TC will eat into the pump. If you ever take a pump out and apart it’s the area around what I highlighted you look for wear on the surface.

It looks great to me though.

 

[jesse12345]

Well that is a biggggg releif! I'm just a little worried about alot of those shavings in the torque converter. Should I just use my fwd converter?

 

[CrackedDSM]

Well that is a biggggg releif! I'm just a little worried about alot of those shavings in the torque converter. Should I just use my fwd converter?

You can, yeah. FWD and AWD 2Gs share the same converter. Supposedly. Certainly wouldn't hurt anything.



Edit - God I miss my auto DSMs, man. This is my bread and butter. Manuals are fun and all, but yeah. I'm living vicariously through you right now.

 

[jesse12345]

If you think I'd maybe benefit from it because of all the funk in mine right now ill swap it.

I'm glad you know how these autos work because I'm very new to them. I will say they absolutely go hard when I hit 4k and the thing rolls out I'm gone. It's not as fun as a manual of course but I definitely don't hate it at all. I guess your the go to for the autos because it sounds like you've been there before. I'll have to start digging into them more.

What all failed on your autos in the past? Is there anything I should look out for? I just purchased an end clutch kit from ipt to hopefully eliminate some slug up top.

 

[CrackedDSM]

If you think I'd maybe benefit from it because of all the funk in mine right now ill swap it.

I'm glad you know how these autos work because I'm very new to them. I will say they absolutely go hard when I hit 4k and the thing rolls out I'm gone. It's not as fun as a manual of course but I definitely don't hate it at all. I guess your the go to for the autos because it sounds like you've been there before. I'll have to start digging into them more.

What all failed on your autos in the past? Is there anything I should look out for? I just purchased an end clutch kit from ipt to hopefully eliminate some slug up top.

I’m not like the end all be all expert like Kiggly and Jeff Bush, but I will say I have been tinkering with the dsm auto trans since way back in the day where everyone thought they couldn’t handle 250hp or anything more than stock and you could score an almost brand new auto AWD trans for like $150. With that said, my experience is below.

Even with upgraded end clutches don’t do 4th gear/OD pulls. It’ll smoke them every time.


Most of the failures of mine outside of user error have been tcu/electronics.

Get a solid bar/plate style transcooler and throw it up front where it gets lots of airflow. Invest in the trans lab shift kit for the VB and follow IPT/transdude’s YouTube install videos step by step and dial in your pressures by following said videos.


Get a good trans temp gauge too and anything over 215* or even close get out of it and let the trans cool off. Heat absolutely kills these things.

If you’re going full race car and planning 9’s or greater you’ll need to start looking into straight cut transfer gears and all the other key terms but up until that point what I mentioned will have you 100% ironed out.

I’d honestly suggest ditching your TCU and doing the kiggly shifter mod too. It makes it so much more fun to drive and gives you full line pressure to help the trans last nice and long. Just makes all the world of difference in driving fun and smiles per gallon.

Other than that, they are super simple. Also recommend John Deere Hygard for the tranny fluid. It’s amazing stuff.

 

[jesse12345]

Well maybe thats why I haven't grenaded it yet I have everything you mentioned so far. The only added bonus I did was I bought bigger 10mm fittings for the transmissions feed and return lines and used 5/8s hose to the cooler. The trans I think has only ever got to 140 degrees and that was ripping it hard.

What is the kiggly shifter mod? I've read up about it a hair, but didn't quite understand it. I'm not ready to go absolute full blown race car yet so if I can I'd like to try and keep the shifter stock and what not.

About the the fluid, I've been using atf+4 and it seems to be working good. Should I still change it? I don't know If ill be able to flush all the old stuff out. I'm just trying to keep this thing alive and well.

Thanks so far for all the insight and tips. We will have to place bets on how long it'll survive. I'll probably have to do a flush on the whole trans anyways.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Well maybe thats why I haven't grenaded it yet I have everything you mentioned so far. The only added bonus I did was I bought bigger 10mm fittings for the transmissions feed and return lines and used 5/8s hose to the cooler. The trans I think has only ever got to 140 degrees and that was ripping it hard.

What is the kiggly shifter mod? I've read up about it a hair, but didn't quite understand it. I'm not ready to go absolute full blown race car yet so if I can I'd like to try and keep the shifter stock and what not.

About the the fluid, I've been using atf+4 and it seems to be working good. Should I still change it? I don't know If ill be able to flush all the old stuff out. I'm just trying to keep this thing alive and well.

Thanks so far for all the insight and tips. We will have to place bets on how long it'll survive. I'll probably have to do a flush on the whole trans anyways.

ATF +4 is fine.

Kiggly shifter mod wires the interior shifter directly into the solenoids and the shift selector on the transmission side. You wire in resistors and basically from then on your shifter is now the only way the car shifts. It makes it essentially like a manual without a clutch. It’s not racecar stuff though, at least not to me. It makes the car infinitely more enjoyable on the street. When you click it into 2nd or 3rd there’s a very nice, firm shift immediately. No hesitation. You can hold it as long as you want or shift it super early.


You can grab a spare shift selector and make it reversible if you don’t like it.