Mitsubishi Eclpise

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C

civicspeed

Senior Member
I am looking to buy a 95 --> Eclipse Gs-t, and I have heard that the engines in eclipses tend to go bad, I was just wondering if anyone on here (and yes i realize this is a HONDA forum) knows anything about this?

Also i was wondering how much boost a stock Eclpise engine can handle before it goes boom?

thanks

--Aidan
 
i had a 95 turbo talon awd. piece of shit! yes it was fast and fun but the motor just couldnt handle it, the motor was stock too. turbo went bad and had to be replaced , the motor melted a rod, i could go on. luckily when we got the car we got the extended warranty if we hadnt we would have been stuck with about 15k worth of bs. its funny over the 4yrs we had it, it had 30k in warranty work from the dealership, got 5 grand trade in and the car was 25k when we first got it. unless u have a lot of cash for misc. then i dont think its a good idea, i have learned to love hondas for their reliability and ease to work on and of course performance.
 
I have heard really bad stuff about the tranny's not as much the engines, but I would believe it. Also heard the same bad tranny news about the new EVO. Both the EVO and the talons are hot as shit though, to bad.
 
Im not that big of a fan of Mitsubishis, but ive heard the 4G63 motors are built like a rock. However, my friend used to have a 93 Talon TSi and he went through 3 motors and 2 turbos. But the parts he bought seemed to be in bad conditions anyway. I believe with proper tuning, 20psi is said be to attainable in stock trim since its running 14 right off the bat. Like the others said, Mitsubishis are notorious with glass trannies. I think you should on to a DSM site because I, as well as the others, are only speculating.
 
That's a 2nd gen car...

The second gen's had a teensy little t-25 turbo. 15 PSI will be all it'll muster without upgrading a few things, namely the notorious leaky BOV.

I wouldn't turn the boost up over 15-16 without getting some more toys... namely a tuned ECU, better injectors, an FMIC, better boost piping, and for GOD'S SAKE, a bigger turbo. :)

The motors are notorious for crankwalk (wearing out the thrust bearings in the bottom end) when using too heavy of a clutch. The transmissions are not very race friendly from the factory, but no where near as bad as the WRX's have been.

Overall, I'd buy one. Fo Sho. But only a GS-X 5 speed model.
 
My mom had a 99 Eclipse and the transmission tore up twice before she even got 30k miles on it. Mitsubishi's have weak trannies. As far as the motor goes, the early 4g63 engines had a problem known as crankwalk that caused many engines to go bad. I'm not sure, but I believe Mitsubishi even had a recall because of this. I think it was Turbo Magazine that recently did a write up on the Mitsubishi 4G63, but don't quote me on the publication.
 
Don't waste your time with a GS-T, keep looking, and find a GSX in good condition. FWD SUCKS.
the trannise aren't weak, the syncros just might as well not even be there.
the 4g63t is fairly reliable, as long as you're not beating the piss out of it. What other car can you put into the 12's with less than 700 dollars in modifications, when you can buy 1 of the cars for under 5 grand. Not to mention insurance won't try to rape you(like an fbody)
A stock 4g63 is good to almost 400 whp with proper tuning/fuel.

Crankwalk was only a problem with the 2nd gen AWD tsi's and eclipses, and can be fixed/avoided without too much cash/headaches.

As far as boost.... the stock 2nd gen motors(higher CR than the first gen) can take up to 20 psi, but the stock t-25 will never be able to push anything usefull past 16 lbs. There are so many upgrades as far as turbo's go, that you don't have to change manifolds(not that ditching the internal gate would be a bad idea)

Keep looking, don't buy a GS-T, buy a GSX. If you buy a gs-t, you're only going to want to sell it later on, to buy a GSX.
And no... it's not at all possible to swap the rears out for less than it would be to just buy a GSX now.
 
If you can find one, I'd say go with a Celica AllTrac. Aside from being partial to them because I have one, they don't have driveline issues that Subee and Mitsu have. Swap the clutch and you'll be fine to at least 800 HP. Crank walk isn't a problem, either. The engines can go for 200K miles slightly modded. Stock specs for the 3S-GTE engine are 200 HP/ TQ and curb weight is 3350 lbs. with every option you can get. Stock engines, from what I hear, are good for 600 HP with just a head gasket change (and of course fuel, turbo, IC, exhaust upgrades), and Toyota was getting something like 980 HP out of a version of the motor in their Pikes Peak hill climb cars. They also have a 50/50 weight bias and power split, making them very neutrally handling cars.

Oh well. Just my $0.02. DSMs are easier to find and will be much cheaper. Depends on what you want to pay for- reliability or repairs. :p
 
Originally posted by boostdGS@Jun 30 2003, 07:32 AM
Crankwalk was only a problem with the 2nd gen AWD tsi's and eclipses, and can be fixed/avoided without too much cash/headaches.
Click to expand...

Wrong and wrong. Most everyone knows I was about to get a 95 GS-T and I did considerable research on them.
Crankwalk affects less than a quarter of 2nd gen DSM's and those that are affected are both the FWD and AWD. 1st gen DSM's had the same problem. The crankshaft was machined out of spec and there has NEVER been a recall on the crank. Mitsu has repeatedly blamed aftermarket clutch companies as the problem, which is a huge lie.
Talk to me on AIM and I can give you the details on how to check for crankwalk.
Stock PSI on 2nd gen's is ~11psi. The BOV leaks well before 15psi, so any boost upgrades are worthless unless you swap BOV's. What's most common is a 1st gen BOV swap and crushign them so they can handle ~22psi.
The T25 turbo is worthless to tune, and you will have to upgrade to get any respectable amount of boost. and the 4g63 is built like a rock if it doesn't have crankwalk problems. The blocks are built stronger than any B series honda block.
If the GS-T is good, go ahead and buy it. The power loss through the tranny is much less with the FWD. the GSX can have up to twice as much HP loss than the GS-T does. Get a good clutch and sticky tires and your launches will keep you up with a GSX.
 
Originally posted by Prowler@Jun 30 2003, 11:48 AM
there has NEVER been a recall on the crank.
Click to expand...

Well, I guess I was wrong about the recall. Just trying to remember what I'd read about it hence the "I'm not sure" part of my post.
 
Originally posted by boostdGS@Jun 30 2003, 08:32 AM
What other car can you put into the 12's with less than 700 dollars in modifications
Click to expand...

A new ls1 camaro... 13.2 or so stock.. less then 700 you can be into the 12's. And a better car, imo.
 
Originally posted by TypeRcivic+Jun 30 2003, 03:56 PM-->
TypeRcivic @ Jun 30 2003 said:
Originally posted by Domeskilla@Jun 30 2003, 12:11 PM
boostdGS
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
TypeRcivic @ Jun 30 2003 said:
@Jun 30 2003, 08:32 AM
What other car can you put into the 12's with less than 700 dollars in modifications
Click to expand...

A new ls1 camaro... 13.2 or so stock.. less then 700 you can be into the 12's. And a better car, imo.
Click to expand...

He said for UNDER 5 thousand.
Click to expand...

why dont you re-read it? ... he said he can buy a DSM for under 5k, and that is complete bullshit there. If you can find a gsx for 5k or less, then you are stupid for buying

but back to my point.. he said "What other car can you get into the 12's with less than 700 dollars in modificiations, when you can buy one for under 5k"

did he say it must be under 5K? No, he simply listed how much he can get the car for.
 
Ignore about 90% of the speculation you just heard above. Here is the double truth Ruth...

the 2G Eclipse Turbo 4G63 is a strong motor yet can be weak. They can hande aroudn 400wHP when tuned properly. The downfall of a 95+ car is that many have a manufacturing issue with proper oiling to the crank thrust bearing and the crank can go at any time. There is a known fix for it which relates to drilling an additional oiling hole in the crank journal. Heavy pressure plates putting extra strain on the crank have an effect on this.

btw: 1G's did NOT have the problem.
btw: 2G's were about 50-60% problematic.

People saying the motors are shit blah blah blah... my friend blew up three of them etc... is bullshit. They are a motor that needs maintance and care. You have to religously replace the timing belt, tbelt pulley, and hydraulic tensioner every 60K miles. You need to properly tune the car when turning the boost up. I've had about 6 Eclipse/Talons, and 3 Galant VR4's and none of them ever blew up. I went 12.5@109 with about $1500 in mods and 13.0 with about 600 in mods. 13.6 in my GVR4 with $1000 in mods.

The tranny are the weak point of the car but again this is 90% from abuse. It's from launching off the rev limiter, power shifting gears, and dropping the clutch. I've blown up 3 trannys in 8 years and every one was due to me being an ass. On the contrary I've had others for a long time with no problems when respecting them.

There is a saying that many of you Honda guys NEED to learn.... "If you're not breaking things you're not making enough power".

Honda tranny's blow up with 400HP, Honda motors blow up with 400HP. Any little 4 cylinder import that came with 150-200hp breaks and or blows up when you double or more the power.

BTW: ALso the power loss differential from fwd to awd is very small. Dan from Pruven Peformance went from his fwd dyno to awd and only dynoed a slight loss before and after on his old black eclipse. It was about 5% loss. IF you're gonna do an eclipse do an AWD. It's a no brainer. You'll never hook up a fwd'er without spending mad money on an LSD diff, stickies, AWD halfshaft and driver side axle and stickies.

The best car you can do is a 93-94 Talon AWD or Eclipse GSX. THe motor is only second to the 90-91 Big Rod 6 bolt crank motor and it has the better transmission, 4 bolt strong rear end, and bigger dual piston calipers in front.

Here is a pc of my little sled...

frtqtr3.jpg
 
Actually my friend did blow up 3 motors, but i never said it was shit. I also added that they were in bad condition anyways. To further my statement, i said i was speculating and not stating, seemlying that i kno next to just about nothing, about the DSMs. Anyway, i think DSMs are good buys, just that about 80% of the owners are hot heads and think they are the fastest compacts, including the shatty RSs. And God knows what the percentage now after the FnF movies.
 
Yea I hear ya about the hot head remarks. Unfortunately next to a supra MKIV TT mod for mod they are the fastest imports. I know a guy with $800 in mods running 12.0@110 on stock turbo. Must be nice.
 
Yeah no doubt you can make a dsm quick with little money, but then again i would have to say that to a lot of the factory turbos. imo, any factory turbocharged *sports car* you can make fairly fast without deep pockets. 300zx, supra, fd3s, lancer evo, etc... its just that the dsm is cheap, turbocharged, and avaible that makes it so appealing.. also the growing aftermarket community embracedt.. before you couldnt really find parts for it.. now its almost as easy as a honda... anyway, just my opinions.. :sleep:
 
Eclipse Tranny>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Me

I dropped the tranny out of my eclipse, then i bought a honda with 170k miles on it. it still purrs like it is new, gotta loves hondas.
 
New guy here, couldn't resist saying something to defend my poor little DSMs here. I've had my 1G AWD for almost 5 years now and am on exactly my 3rd motor. 1st one was original and the prev owner beat the hell out of it. Had 80K and burned almost a quart every other weak. Thats why I got the car for $600. Drove it for six months and yanked that one out. Went to a local shop that's out of business now and ordered the great "cyclone motor" big mistake....hey I was only 16 and at that time didn't know my head from my ass about cars either. Paid $5k for motor, labor, port work that never got done, exhaust, '95 clutch and free mods. Got the car back and it would only run abour 7 psi at wot. Clutch slave kept leaking and going out, check engine light would come every 1000 miles or so. Had a few works with the owner of the shop...long story he got his in the end. Figured it was time to learn a little bit for myself. Made freinds with a few important ppl, LISTENED to ppl who actually made a living by building these cars, learned how to drive and I picked up a few things. Needless to say I was 17 and working as a bagger part time while still in high school so money was a problem. Ended up at the track with a best time of 13.2 at 4800 ft on 2nd motor with around a 1K in mods. Not bad for mostly stock. After a year and a half of running FLAWLESSLY the clutch was about dead. I was surprised it lasted that long. Went to drop in an ACT 2100 but to my surprise one of the mounts on the block for the tranny had cracked off, but still had the nut and bolt attached. Didn't even bother wondering how I had missed that or if it had been put together at the shop like that and that was the reason for the early clutch problems. Pulled it and started building and motor. I pulled the 2nd engine apart after 20k miles of 5K launches, countless passes at the track, a dozen autocross events and a few road races as well. It looked brand freaken new as I pulled the bottom end apart, no signs of wear, NONE. I ran anywhere form 12psi daily to 18 psi at the track on the stock 14b with no ported housing, even the cracked shitty 1G exhaust manifold. Anyways, moral of the story DSMs are reliable. Most of the problems are from abuse, stupidity and just ignorance. It's the same with every car out there. as for the tranny, I still have the stock one that came with the car when I bought it, now has about 130K total miles but I am on my 2nd transfer case. As for crankwalk, that is a 2G problem and everything i've read about it boils down Mitsu's fault. If you buy a DSM get an AWD don't waist you time with a FWD, just don't.
 
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