New 1G owner in NOLA

[beegeezy]

Hi everyone,

I just picked up a '92 Talon TSi AWD auto last week. https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/purchase-advise-1992-talon-awd-automatic.522306/

I got the car home last Wednesday, and with the help of my wife, pushed it under our carport. So far, I've pulled the gas tank...it's getting cleaned and lined at a local radiator shop, I de-rusted the fuel pump hanger and level sensor, cleaned the rear brakes (they are all rusty), and sent off the fuel injectors to get cleaned/flowed. Oh, and I replaced the hatch struts yesterday...so nice not using a makeshift prop rod and waiting for the hatch to fall and decapitate me.

The plans for the car right now:
#1: get it running again
#2: figure out the transmission issues/get a shift box or working TCU
#3: eventually start doing some performance upgrades (after the car is sorted)

A little about me: I'm sort a DSM newbie. I say sort of because I bought a '98 GSX (one owner, 100% stock) that was traded in at the Carmax where I was working back in 2010. The car was for my brother, with what I thought was the understanding that I would get it if he didn't like it. Well, he didn't, and he sold it to buy a yellow ~2002 Mustang GT.

I also own a '92 3000gt VR4, and I'm active on the 3si forum. DonnieKak recently rebuilt my original short block, so I already know someone on here! I've had 40 something vehicles in my 41+ years, including a few fun ones, like an '04 STi, '67 Olds 442, '00 M5, '08 Mazdaspeed3, '98 Integra GSR, '71 Plymouth Roadrunner, '96 (mystic) Cobra, and a '91 Sentra SE-R. As you can tell, I like everything, foreign and domestic.

I'm a picky car owner and I try to get everything as close to perfect as I can. I'm looking forward to making this car into something really special.

 

[Ludachris]

Welcome! You have one of the more sought after years (1Gb has always been popular due to the stock options). Hope to see a nice build.

 

[Bo0sTeD 4G63]

Welcome!!! nice car and great find.

 

[beegeezy]

Update:

I got the fuel tank back from being cleaned and lined, installed the pump and a new battery, filled with 6 gallons of 93 octane, and got the car to fire up! It's idling a little rough and some or all of the mounts are torn. But it's alive!

I replaced the spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, and sent a spare EPROM ecu I had to ECMTuning to get new caps and socketed for running DSMLink in the future.

 

[beegeezy]

I pulled some stuff apart today to get a look at the timing belt to verify it's timed correctly (the mechanic/PO said he didn't like to do timing belts). Also, checking the records he gave me...all the "recent" services he did were back in 2006! Needless to say it needs some love. I'll replace the timing and balancer belts to be safe.

It looks to be timed correctly but something was off because the drive belts chewed up the timing cover. Was the cover just installed incorrectly? And my "new" from 2006 water pump looks nasty.

 

[beegeezy]

I think my cooling system may need to be flushed/cleaned. And my thermostat was missing.

And my stock turbo needs a new gasket.

I'll be replacing all the cooling hoses and cleaning or replacing the water neck and thermostat housing...then doing a thorough flush.

 

[beegeezy]

I flushed out the heater core and radiator yesterday. Today I removed my timing and balancer belts. The timing was correct but the balance shaft was 180 degrees out of phase, so that was probably a huge part of how rough the car was running.

 

[ThunderChild]

I'd do a vinegar boil/flush on the cooling system couple times, then back flush the rad and heater core (if hooked up) really good. Bit of a hassle but it should get most of the garbage out of there.

The car was probably running rough due to temperature readings being low and it not being able to warm up, sticking it in fuel enrichment mode constantly. The balance shaft being out of phase will definitely make it shake strangely, but it shouldn't make it run worse technically. I bet it felt odd tho!

 

[AWD-Tony]

I wish my hood was that clean.

I used this kit to replace all the coolant lines. The clamps are junk and some hose needs to be trimmed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JBHXX1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're documenting your build/progress, you should start a build thread.

 

[beegeezy]

I'd do a vinegar boil/flush on the cooling system couple times, then back flush the rad and heater core (if hooked up) really good. Bit of a hassle but it should get most of the garbage out of there.

The car was probably running rough due to temperature readings being low and it not being able to warm up, sticking it in fuel enrichment mode constantly. The balance shaft being out of phase will definitely make it shake strangely, but it shouldn't make it run worse technically. I bet it felt odd tho!

I back flushed the radiator and heater core with my garden hose. I used some of this in the heater core: https://www.amazon.com/Thermocure-C...adiator+flush&qid=1558441845&s=gateway&sr=8-7
I let it sit in the heater core overnight and lots of gray flakes came out. This stuff is supposed to dissolve rust and suspend it in the solution until it can be flushed. I have enough left over to flush the whole system once I have everything hooked up again.

I think you're right, the cooling system sensors were probably throwing off the ecu. Plus, ECUtuning said my ecu I sent them had a damaged idle circuit.

I wish my hood was that clean.

I used this kit to replace all the coolant lines. The clamps are junk and some hose needs to be trimmed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JBHXX1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're documenting your build/progress, you should start a build thread.

The hood and body is pretty clean, but there are little dings and dents. It's nice, but far from perfect.

That's the same hose kit I ordered. I'll try to use as many original clamps as possible.

Thanks, I will start a build thread and consolidate my posts.