new to dsm cars

[redfred018]

well iam new to the dsm scene well cars in general iam a toyota rock crawler guy haha ...i just picked up a 90 talon tsi for 200 bucks the guy i got it from said the ecu was swap to a 91....so my question is why would someone do this? is there sumthing different bout the two? also the car idles rough and check engine light comes on...the car seems fine when ## driving no lack of power or anything is this just ### the ecu swap? if so is there a way to fix it? thanks for the help!

 

[erkitner]

This may sound kinda dickish. But welcome to the DSM world. I hope you have a lot of time to do research and a lot of tools. Youre gonna need them. DSMs are like women. They take your money, time, make you sad, frustrated, angry and the most happy you could ever be.

As for the CEL, get someone with a code scanner to check the code being thrown. Gonna need to be an OBDI not OBDII code scanner.

Get the code and start reading.

This is just the beginning....

 

[99ECLIPSEGSXDSM]

It's not uncommon for people to swap ecu's. Check out the code and go from there. Welcome to tuners man!

 

[2gprpletsi]

Check sensors o2, and iac are good starts be prepared for lots of trouble shooting there alotta work but the payoff is addicting

 

[ExtremeTurboSystems]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/425058-91-94-ecu-swap-90-talon.html

This might be a good place for you to start looking.

 

[Firsts tuner]

This may sound kinda dickish. But welcome to the DSM world. I hope you have a lot of time to do research and a lot of tools. Youre gonna need them. DSMs are like women. They take your money, time, make you sad, frustrated, angry and the most happy you could ever be.

As for the CEL, get someone with a code scanner to check the code being thrown. Gonna need to be an OBDI not OBDII code scanner.

Get the code and start reading.

This is just the beginning....

Yeah they are like women...... More specifically hateful vindictive ill tempered ex wives. Grab a 12 pack and join the club

 

[empie1]

Hope you got some cash and mechanical skills. Good luck!

 

[Rikolas]

Yeah you might be spending quite a bit of time working on your car. Pretty awesome that you got it for only $200 though. My first month or two of having my car I was constantly working on it. Just pick yourself up a scanner and go from there.

 

[hotrodssnova]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-tuning-ecu/319844-1g-code-reader-cel-code-reader.html

This is an easy quick way to pull the codes from the ecu. If you have worked on your rock crawlers, these little cars are all mechanical and electronic. You should have the tools and really all that's needed is a close attention to detail and a service manual. Google has helped me a ton, and I will always word it two different ways, just in case I missed something. Good luck and have fun.

 

[redfred018]

hahaha iam pretty good around a motor...iam a mechanic for a log truck company and have rebuilt a few a motors here and there but this is my first car so just lookin for sum no bs help! i think my buddy has a scanner ill call him up and get him over this weekend.

and 200 bucks was just to good of a deal to pass up its 132k on it and timing belt water pump the valves guides and valves were all done less a 500miles ago the guy parked it cus it failed smog and started to blow white out the tail pipe so i thought head gasket at first bout after a afternoon found the turbo is cracked and leaking water into the exhaust...so need to pick up a turbo for it and it has hella dmv back fees hopeing within 3 mo. be on the road and legal!

 

[93 gsx skidz]

definately see what code it is throwing and if you rule out the ecu then your best bet would be pull the motor and refresh it especially the water pump and oil pump. look over everything while the motor is out. the only difference with the swap is 2 pins. number 6 and 14 im pretty sure. if i were you i would pick up a 90 ecu and reverse the swap if that makes sense to you. i think what happened is someone who didnt know anything tried this swap and had problems and just got rid of it. good luck.

 

[AlwaysDTF]

welcome to the dsm world where you're gonna hate / love your car !

and i don't blame you for picking it up considering you could flip it easily for more if you decided you didn't like it. you shouldn't have any problem finding a replacement turbo for yours for pretty cheap.

enjoy.

 

[IrishBeatdown]

well iam new to the dsm scene well cars in general iam a toyota rock crawler guy haha ...i just picked up a 90 talon tsi for 200 bucks the guy i got it from said the ecu was swap to a 91....so my question is why would someone do this? is there sumthing different bout the two? also the car idles rough and check engine light comes on...the car seems fine when ## driving no lack of power or anything is this just ### the ecu swap? if so is there a way to fix it? thanks for the help!

Hey, I did about the same thing you did, im a 4x4 guy, I built big rockpounders before I fell into a dsm. I'm hooked now. These cars are little whores but I love them. I traded my 35's in for slicks, and i cant say im disappointed I did. These cars spend a lot more time parked than my jeeps ever did, though.