Just Bought GS-T and need Help diagnosing

[alexcorcoz]

hey everyone. Im new to this forum. I just purchased a 1997 eclipse GS-T with 80,000 miles on it. It is stock except for intake and the solenoid restriction removed, it is stick shift (my first). I observed that scince ive had the car, ive driven approximately 3000 miles and ive had to replace 4 quarts of oil between my oil change. Ive never had an eclipse or a turbo car, but i dont think this is normal. There is no oil leaking on the floor. There is a bit of white smoke that comes out of the exhaust (not a whole lot) and when i look in the engine bay. There is some oil that will seap out of the engine on the left side around the gasket i think, and some around the screw that looks like you need an allen wrench to turn. Im not sure what to do, and i would go crazy if my cars engine dies on me now after i just bought it. Also there is a ticking noise coming from what seems to be the engine, when i rev the ticking goes faster, this usually goes away or somtimes just gets quieter as the engine warms up. Any suggestions on what is going on and what i should do about it? Another thing is that when i accelerate the boost doesnt seem exactly the same every time, somtimes more powerfull then others, does this usually vary, or should it be consistent always? I would appreciate help with these issues. thanks

[GotGrip666]

as for the ticking thats normal on the 4g63, if its very loud it might be the lifters or valves, as for the smoke it wich gasket are you talking about? the valve cover?

[MKIII87Turbo]

4 quarts in 3000 miles is alot. My sons GST (95) uses only 1/2 in 3000. As for the boost fluctuating, thats normal depending on load/rpm and a host of oter inputs. It shouldn't be fluctuating drastically tho. It could be your turbo using all of the oil (seals). Are you sure its not blue smoke?

[EclipseRST]

White smoke is coolant/water. Check your coolant for oil. You could have a blown headgasket and your leaking oil into the coolant. Hopefully you arent getting coolant into your oil.


Do you change the oil yourself? Sounds like the oil cooler either came loose or got crushed. Either that or your head gasket is bad. Check out the coolant then let us knok...

[alexcorcoz]

no i usually do not change my oil myself. Ill check the coolant today, do i look for a discoloration of the liquid in the radiator? Also i showed the car to my uncle who knows a lot more than i do, and he told me its definately not a messed up headgasket. He said somthing about the turbo, but is it possible for the turbo to consume THAT much oil? 4 quarts in 3000 miles? and if that is the case, can i remedy the problem easily or would i need to get another turbo to fix it? thanks

[TreeFrog]

turbos are not oil eater monsters, they have nothing to do with losing oil, bad seals do that. have someone check for leaks.

for the boost not being the same, check for boost leaks. check the clamps around the BOV and return, make sure you are recirculated (BOV flows into the intake) also the clamps on the intake seals and UICP. if you have a boost leak it might be small when warm and huge when cold. Turbos always need to warm up to be consistant. if you start your car cold (like been out in below freezing temps for hours) and floor it its not going to act right until its warmed up.

[alexcorcoz]

ok when you say i might have bad seals...do you mean in the engine or in the turbo....im really sorry if i sound stupid but i dont know a whole lot about cars..i am trying to learn though...so how would i check for these "bad seals." And if that is the case in my car, what would be the fix for it. Is it easy enough to do yourself bcuz if it is ill have my uncle help out...if not ill just take it to a shop (anyone know how much it would cost at a shop if this is the case?) Thanks for your patients everyone...and im sorry im such a newBie

[kjewer1]

Turbos can consume suprising amounts of oil. But usually it smokes like a bastard. I've had bad valve seals cost me one quart of oil per one tank of gas, with ZERO smoke. Good luck diagnosing this over the internet. And losing a few quarts per oil change is a far cry from losing a motor, don't panic yet

80k is a little soon to need valve seals, but well within the normal mileage when stock 2G turbos can eat shit. Check the compressor housing inlet for oil residue. A little film is ok, a puddle is not. If nothing is there, I would pull the turbo and look for oil in the turbine housing, though this tends to be the smokey version I mentioned above. Worth a look though, a turbo is an easy fix compared to the other possibilities.

I would check the compression too. That might have something to say about how hard the motor has been worked.

Clogged PCV valves are another common source of smoke and oil loss. And another extremely cheap and easy fix. I would replace it just for the sake of ruling that out.

[GUIDO3211]

--I have a 98 Gs-t with 87,000 miles on it. I have the same exact problems that you do. I go through an enormous amount of oil every month. It looks like a small amount of oil that just seeps out of the side of the valve cover and around the screws on the valve cover. I also get some oil in my spark plug wells. have you checked that?
--As for the ticking sound, i don't think i have heard of a 4g that doesn't do that. i wouldn't worry too much about it.
--Do you have an aftermarket boost gauge? the stock ones are crap. If you get one, it should help you determine a little better if your not boosting consistantly. My engine light came on one day and my boost was very spiky while i drove it. Came to find out that one of the clamps for the BOV was cracked and loose. I replaced it and everything was fine (boost wise) after that.

[alexcorcoz]

I sold my car for 2000$ more than what i got it for. I figured the next guy could deal with the problem whatever it might be. The main issue that freaked me out was the fact that ive been putting in quarts and quarts of oil into the car, this is the only car ive had to do taht with.It drove pretty fast and smooth most of the time, but the oil consumption cant be a good sighn. LoL. I loved the car sooo much but had to move on, besides the insurance was killing me.

[scottsee]

you might also want to see if there is any oil in your lower intercooler pipe by getting under your car and unclamping it from the turbo.

i second the compression check and pvc valve check that 95 gsxracer recomends.

your ticking "may" be caused buy the evaporation controle sylinoid on the firewall (connected upto the vacume lines from the Throttle body) mine does the same thing. i've seen a 97 gst thats had a noisy ECS before too. i think its preatty common and normal.

hope that helps a little