95 3000GT smoking problem!!!

Hi I am thinking about buying a 95 3000gt with 135k miles for $6000. Everything is perfect except when I rev the engine it smokes. The seller says that it doesnt smoke when he drives it, but I know its cause its warmed up. I need to know if this is a big problem and if so what are the possibilities it could be. Also he says he uses one quart of oil every 1k miles he says thats its normal. Is this true? I just want to make sure before I lay down the cash that its not going to cost me a grand or more to fix. Also what would be a good way to modify my engine for boost performance, and info for customizing my interior and exterior of the 3000gt.

thank you for your time.

osok

Hi I am thinking about buying a 95 3000gt with 135k miles for $6000. Everything is perfect except when I rev the engine it smokes. The seller says that it doesnt smoke when he drives it, but I know its cause its warmed up. I need to know if this is a big problem and if so what are the possibilities it could be. Also he says he uses one quart of oil every 1k miles he says thats its normal. Is this true? I just want to make sure before I lay down the cash that its not going to cost me a grand or more to fix. Also what would be a good way to modify my engine for boost performance, and info for customizing my interior and exterior of the 3000gt.

thank you for your time.

osok


For the smoke problem, try http://www.team3s.com/FAQsmoke.htm If it stops after the car is warm then I THINK it's normal. About the quart of oil thing, I don't know....but that seems to be a lot of oil being used but don't quote me on that. Maybe there's a leak somewhere. Are you looking at a base model, SL, or VR4?

this is for a an sl base model. i went to a mechanic today and the valve rings are cracked and is leaking oil that is why it is smoking when it starts cold. i talked the guy down to 5500 and just want to know if this is too risky or a good deal.

HAHA, normal my ass! slade definantly point you in the right direction with that smoke color index.
If it is blue...its oil.. this is the most common. It could be quite a few things, and there's a wide range of severity.

Ash_94Sl posted this in another thread:
"At 127K miles I'd say the valve guides are well worn. These cars have a nasty reputation of buring oil because of valve guides blowing oil into the cylinders. I had mine rebuilt and it cost about 800 bucks.

To check if the guides are worn have a buddy drive behind you when you test drive the car. You will see blue smoke come out of the tail pipe when the engine is under load (you are accelerating). Mine never smoked when I simply reved the engine. BTW you will fail emissions if you have this valve guide issue."

It could also be your piston rings which would be a semi-expensive thing to fix if you didn't do it yourself. This would also produce blue smoke under acceleration when the engine is under load.

Also it could be as simple as the idiot didn't put his oil filter on correctly.

I would get under the car and see where the oil is leaking out. Also ask him how long he has been burning oil/refilling a quart every 1k is definantly not normal. I change my oil every 3500-4000 miles and barely lose any. Don't buy it until you determine the problem...have a mechanic look at it, if you can't

I guess we posted at the same time...but check with your mechanic to see how long/how much it will take to fix it. Then get the seller to take that off the price. Also check out www.kbb.com to see how much the car is worth in your area.

ok sounds good your description to the valve problem is exactly what the mechanic said. I took it there today it needs the timing belt replaced and cylinder heads fixed. Also the valves are cracked and leaking oil that is why it burnes oil when it starts up. The blook book is about 7100 but he asking 6000 he then lowered it to 5500 since there were problems, but I would end up spending 1300 for a used engine with 36000 miles on it and 900 for labor. Personally would you buy this car if the guy lowered it to 5k?

So this is a vr4? I would look for another one personally, but if you have good deals on the parts and feel like fixing it up...then go for it. But unless everything else was in really good condition, I would keep my eyes open for another one with lower miles and in better shape. With higher miles, I would make sure this tranny and turbos are in good shape. The vr4s are notorious for having problems with the synchros in the tranny.

As far as getting more performance, read through this forum, plenty of people have upgraded their cars. Also check out www.3sxperformance.com for well-priced aftermarket parts.

its a 3000gt sl not a vr4 i got 5000 cash from the bank today and will negotiate from 4500 i wont pay more then 5k for this since thats all its worth with the problems it has. If he agrees I will then guy the used engine and fix the rest of it. The body is in good condition with a few chips here and there everything else is fine.

I'll have to go with Igovert500 on this one. I don't see the point in buying a car to only have to spend a bunch of money fixing it. I'd probably look around for a bit longer... But then again, if he'll sell you the car for $4,500, that's a really good deal....

ok thanks i will ask for 4500 is 5000 too much?

7100-1300-900=4900, so no, 5000 isn't too much, but it's really up to you and how much you want the car. I think you could find ones with less work involved...but do what will make you happy.

yeah ok thanks the guy didnt go down to 5k so it a no deal thanks anyways.