cdkelly91
10+ Year Contributor
- 57
- 0
- Dec 5, 2011
-
Tallahassee,
Florida
Since I couldn't find a more specific forum to post this in I suppose I'll throw it up here.
I've managed to come across a decent '98 (split thrust bearing motor) GST, and it has its fair share of problems. Basically I'm going to list everything I know about the car. I'd like some opinions on whether or not I should even bother buying it.
(Some things are "fishy" about the car, you may see what I mean)
To start, it has a fairly new "cheap" paint job with plenty of overspray, but not terrible. Mostly wheel wells, but it's red so it's noticeable.
As far as mods, its pretty much stock with auto transmission. However, he said that he bought the car at the end of April and had the automatic transmission flushed, then immediately parked it. He says that it has 15 miles on it since the flush. *fishy* It has the stock chrome GST wheels with decent tires. The interior is what I'd expect from a car this age and this many miles ( 165k by the way ). It does have aftermarket gauges, and an A-Pillar pod. There are obvious visual oil leaks all over, as well as a pretty good exhaust leak judging by the black soot all over the top of the turbo.
Now the major issue.. He says that the turbo is bad. It smokes, A LOT. It does this on startup, and after its been running. Lots and lots of white smoke. So we decided to check the oil. The dipstick was dry, so we put a quart in, still barely touched the dipstick. At this point I know the turbo is contributing, but my buddy also mentioned the possibility of bad rings, which makes a lot of sense. The owner also says that it needs lifters, which I couldn't tell if the lifters were ticking or not. There seemed to be slight knock but it could have been from the lack of oil.
Plans for the car: Probably an HX35 or HYxx turbo as well as a few supporting mods to make around 350whp. I plan to keep the auto and upgrade it but I expect to have to replace the end clutches and upgrade it a bit, mostly because he flushed it and parked it. Leading me to believe the trans isn't doing very well. The steering was a little rough but not real bad, so I also expect to have to replace bushings but hopefully not the rack.
My opinion: It's gonna need at least a new bottom end. Maybe some transmission parts or a whole trans. Bushing kit as well as other misc parts. I'd either swap the interior from my current 2g or try to clean up the black/gray cloth interior.
The guy was asking 2800 originally, which definitely wasn't going to happen. I managed to get him down to 1900 before even seeing the car, just from what he told me. I got there, and basically decided 1900 was out the door and got him down to 1400 with a struggle. Personally I don't want to even pay that much. I'd have to spend about $350 just to get it from where it is all the way to my place.
What do you guys think?
I've managed to come across a decent '98 (split thrust bearing motor) GST, and it has its fair share of problems. Basically I'm going to list everything I know about the car. I'd like some opinions on whether or not I should even bother buying it.
(Some things are "fishy" about the car, you may see what I mean)
To start, it has a fairly new "cheap" paint job with plenty of overspray, but not terrible. Mostly wheel wells, but it's red so it's noticeable.
As far as mods, its pretty much stock with auto transmission. However, he said that he bought the car at the end of April and had the automatic transmission flushed, then immediately parked it. He says that it has 15 miles on it since the flush. *fishy* It has the stock chrome GST wheels with decent tires. The interior is what I'd expect from a car this age and this many miles ( 165k by the way ). It does have aftermarket gauges, and an A-Pillar pod. There are obvious visual oil leaks all over, as well as a pretty good exhaust leak judging by the black soot all over the top of the turbo.
Now the major issue.. He says that the turbo is bad. It smokes, A LOT. It does this on startup, and after its been running. Lots and lots of white smoke. So we decided to check the oil. The dipstick was dry, so we put a quart in, still barely touched the dipstick. At this point I know the turbo is contributing, but my buddy also mentioned the possibility of bad rings, which makes a lot of sense. The owner also says that it needs lifters, which I couldn't tell if the lifters were ticking or not. There seemed to be slight knock but it could have been from the lack of oil.
Plans for the car: Probably an HX35 or HYxx turbo as well as a few supporting mods to make around 350whp. I plan to keep the auto and upgrade it but I expect to have to replace the end clutches and upgrade it a bit, mostly because he flushed it and parked it. Leading me to believe the trans isn't doing very well. The steering was a little rough but not real bad, so I also expect to have to replace bushings but hopefully not the rack.
My opinion: It's gonna need at least a new bottom end. Maybe some transmission parts or a whole trans. Bushing kit as well as other misc parts. I'd either swap the interior from my current 2g or try to clean up the black/gray cloth interior.
The guy was asking 2800 originally, which definitely wasn't going to happen. I managed to get him down to 1900 before even seeing the car, just from what he told me. I got there, and basically decided 1900 was out the door and got him down to 1400 with a struggle. Personally I don't want to even pay that much. I'd have to spend about $350 just to get it from where it is all the way to my place.
What do you guys think?
