New DSM, some boost leak and other problems

[Raymos210]

Hey I'm fairly new to the DSM forum and I'm interested in this 1997 Eclipse GST that they are selling around my area. The Eclipse is a 5-speed and has the following mods:
NEW MOTOR HAS 87K
16G TURBO
ACT 2100 CLUTCH (3 MONTHS OLD)
STRAIGHT 3IN APEXI EXHAUST
CROSSDRILLED & SLOTTED ROTORS W/ CERAMIC PADS
GREDDY FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLER W/ ALL GREDDY HARD PIPES & GREDDY TYPE-S BLOW OFF VALVE
GREDDY TURBO TIMER
GREDDY ELECTRONIC BOOST CONTROLLER
AUTOMETER UTRALITE GAUGES (VOLT, BOOST & AIR/FUEL)
B&M SHORT THROW SHIFTER
17” WHEELS (ALSO HAVE STOCK 16” W/ NO RUBBER)
TIEN FLEX COILOVER KIT FULLY ADJUSTABLE
FRONT AND REAR CAMBER KIT
CUSTOM SUB BOX (ONE 12” SUB)

Just to make things clear, the custom box is only the box with no sub or amp included. The car also lacks a radio but it does have the wires and the mount (i guess) to place an aftermarket radio in. Also the car has a very small boost leak which he says doesn't always leak. Finally he tells me that he did all the work himself and that he needs to find the receipt for the engine proving that it only has 87,000 miles because the body has 140,000. Supposedly he got the engine out of a junkyard he used to work at. The car is prestine on the inside and the out. He also says the car is pushing around 250 horses and he has the sheets to prove it. The car also comes with many extras such as two 16G turbos which need to be maintenanced and random engine parts and the stock 16' rims. He was asking 5,800 for it and I've worked it down to 5,200. Any help in apparasing the deal would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot for reading the long post and helping me out.

[Thor06]

I would do $5200 if he could prove it was an 87k motor.

[Shpyder]

$5,200 would certainly be nice, but his asking price doe not look too outlandish, given the mod-list, and especially if youre saying the vehicle is pristine. Also, it was refreshing to hear some non-bullshit power numbers...most people with those mods would say "350 horsepower!" without the sheets to back it up, so it looks like the guy knows what he's talking about.

[Raymos210]

Thanks for the help guys...Im gonna try to hassle a little more and get it a little lower but if I can't, I know that its at least a decent deal. The only thing that scares me is the "little" boost leak.

[l_eclipse_l]

If your really serious about getting it, spend the $100 or whatever it takes to have a dealer or reputable shop give it a once-over to make sure there isn't anything drastically wrong somewhere that he isn't telling you about. It would be money well spent since your already getting a decent deal on the car and you would have that peace of mind that you didn't get screwed.

[Shpyder]

Originally Posted by Raymos210

The only thing that scares me is the "little" boost leak.

Uh...it's a DSM bro. You're lucky if that's the only thing that's leaking!

[Raymos210]

Well I finished talking to the guy today and he told me he was unable to find the receipt for the engine but that he got it installed and everything from the junkyard he used to work at. I also found out the "little" boost leak is in the gasket. He says it isnt that much to fix. So learning about the lack of receipt I brought the price down to 5000 and he says he will not budge any lower. Is it still a good buy even without the proof of the engine. BTW I'm going up there on Thursday with a mechanic.

[l_eclipse_l]

Have the mechanic run a compression test. If the numbers turn up good, I would maybe trust him on the motor situation. Pretty sure they should come out somewhere around 180 across the board. Still a good buy IMO.

[LouieAWDTSi]

I wonder what gasket is leaking. Could be a easy fix or a pain in the ass fix.

[Raymos210]

I'll definitely have my mechanic run the compression test. Thanks for all your help. Hopefully I'll have the car by this weekend

[Raymos210]

I think he said it was the turbo gasket...but not sure. I remember it was close to the manifold towards the left of the manifold.

[Raymos210]

Hey guys, I ended up buying the car because the compression test came put good. Now I have the car and I have a couple questions. First the guy told me that the boost leak causes the exhaust to backfire when you drive it at high rpms sometimes and then try to put your foot into it. This is a picture of where the boost leak seems to be:

( This is just a picture of the engine bay I took off the internet to show you guys). Do you think to fix this boost leak will cost alot?. Also when I have the car in neutral and accelerate, sometimes I smell gas. Is that a big problem. Thanks alot for your help.

[defiancy]

Originally Posted by Raymos210

Hey guys, I ended up buying the car because the compression test came put good. Now I have the car and I have a couple questions. First the guy told me that the boost leak causes the exhaust to backfire when you drive it at high rpms sometimes and then try to put your foot into it. This is a picture of where the boost leak seems to be:

( This is just a picture of the engine bay I took off the internet to show you guys). Do you think to fix this boost leak will cost alot?. Also when I have the car in neutral and accelerate, sometimes I smell gas. Is that a big problem. Thanks alot for your help.

That's just a j-pipe gasket. I think maybe 5-10 dollars.

I don't know if that would cause you to backfire, you may be running a bit rich.

What does it have for fuel mods?

[steviek]

yea you can get that pipe off with an allan wrench. DO it yourself! It takes maybe 10 minutes. Slip under the new gasket and your good to go. you don't even need to take the pipe right off just unscrew the bolts and there will be enough clearence for you to slide the gasket under without touching the rest of your intercooling piping.

[Raymos210]

Originally Posted by defiancy

That's just a j-pipe gasket. I think maybe 5-10 dollars.

I don't know if that would cause you to backfire, you may be running a bit rich.

What does it have for fuel mods?

Thanks for your help...I dont really think I have any fuel mods on the car. The only mods I know about are in my original post. Do you know any other reaons why the engine would backfire. It usuallly does it around 4000 rpm. Then after a couple backfires, it drives normal. Im going to try to figure out if it has any fuel mods but I dont think it does. What are some examples of fuel mods? ( I know it doesnt have any upgraded injectors or fuel pump).