GSX issues?

I am looking at a 98 eclipse gsx this weekend. Anything I should know? Or should I runaway. I don't have any Dsm experience. So I am putting this out to learn.

Few things come to mind, but its been a while since I played DSM so I might be missing stuff.

Crankwalk- that's the big one. The 2g cars were the worst of them, but i'd heard rumor it was a lot better after 96. Mine was a 95 and walked at 127k. YMMV.

Strut tower tops- they like to RUST in these cars. I was getting ready to drop a hot 6 bolt setup in mine, when I discovered cancer had eaten it too far for me to consider repair/rebuild. It was crushed.

You've got the more desireable rear end, it's a lot stronger than the early 1g cars.

That's all I got for now. Need more caffeine to be of use.

Crankwalk will be a non-issue on a 98.

I think the biggest thing to look for on an AWD DSM is drivetrain noises/issues, and bad worksmanship on any mods or repairs. Even though 2g AWD are still worth several thousand dollars, they can still be not worth fixing if it has major issues so you definitely hope to find one thats not about to chunk out parts of the AWD system or the shortblock is in bad shape.

Swank Force One wrote: Crankwalk will be a non-issue on a 98.

You rang?? Also not necessarily. I have seen late 2gb cars do it and 1g 6 bolt cars.

2600lb pressure plates and hard launches for 20 years....yeah just about any crank can do it. Also a lot of people (myself included) like to disengage the clutch lock switch for starting the car. The theory is, these super heavy clutches pressed in when starting the car can cause a lot of wear.

Make sure the transfer case has fluid. The joints in the driveshaft can wear out and start giving you the "wub wubs"

DSMs - making normal people mechanics since 1989.

That being said I have had 2 1g DSMs, and a Galant VR4 for many years and when they are running right....nothing like them.

I had a '97 GSX I bought as a demo in '97. At 76,000 miles I discovered chunks in the clutch reservoir. I don't know what they were, but I traded it in soon thereafter(mostly because I'd severed my right wrist and wasn't going to be able to drive a stick for months, which wouldn't work driving ~100 miles/day at the time, and we needed a 2nd vehicle for my (then) wife and baby daughter).

The DSMs had been a dream-car of mine since they were first released. However I generally found it to be a bit of a letdown. Not in any specific way, it was just "ok". It wasn't a horrible car by any means, but I have no desire for another one. YMMV.

Oh, one more problem, they're RIDICULOUSLY easy to make power in. Like, there's an entire subculture of them dedicated to FREE mods to make it go faster.

Why is this a problem you ask? Because you're only going to want to go faster, and before you know it, you have some stripped out monster that is BARELY livable on the drive to the trailer from the garage, when all you really wanted was a nice DD and a few extra ponies. Every DSM'er I've ever met (myself included) has gone down that rabbit hole. It's DEEEEEEEP.

Timing belt tensioner oil leaks. The tensioners are fed with oil pressure and they like to leak which causes massive damage if it skips a couple teeth (interference engine).

Its a deep rabbit hole (as mndsm mentioned) and don't expect any shop to echo your enthusiasm. To a DSM owner, they are the greatest thing on the planet. To a shop, they are the biggest pile of crap they've ever known and they'll charge accordingly.

I have owned DSMs and I have also owned shops. Make sure you are a DIY kinda person.

i get the impression that y'all aren't talking about the real GSX...

novaderrik wrote: i get the impression that y'all aren't talking about the real GSX...

1998 not 1970.

The theory is, these super heavy clutches pressed in when starting the car can cause a lot of wear.

I dont think it's a theory, just cold hard reality. You DEFINITELY want to defeat the clutch switch and start in neutral in any car that is remotely known to have 'crankwalk' / thrust bearing / endplay problems.