1G Rough Idle

TheBlizzard · 09-06-2006

I am thinking of getting back into the DSM game again but I want to know if there is something major with the car I am thinking of getting before I commit to it.

The car is a 92 Talon TSi FWD with about 100k miles on it. Its black and has absolutely no rust at all. There is some paint fade but other than that its mint.

Anyway the car is bone bone stock other than a catback exhaust and a boost gauge. The car starts and runs great but after its running for about 30 seconds it starts to stumble and idle a bit lumpy. Smoke starts coming out of the exhaust as well. If you rev it up a few times it will usually go away but then comes back here and there. I was thinking it may be the PCV valve opening prematurely but I am not sure.

The car has a rebuilt shortblock and head that only has 10k miles on it. Its basically a brand new motor and head, the brakes were totally redone about 1k miles ago as well.

It was brought into a shop that I know the owner of and had all the work done there, which totaled about 1900 dollars. But the guy never picked it up. So the owner wants to get rid of it, I am going to trade him one of my snowmobiles for it I think.

So anyway tell me what is the matter with this thing so I can decide if I want to get a DSM again.

TheBlizzard · 09-06-2006

And like I said, the car has no other problems than this. I wonder if it may be the ECU going to shit on it since it has sat for awhile. The guys said before it sat it ran totally mint. After it sat now it started acting up a bit, I am sure its not anything major but I have been away from these things for awhile so I am not sure what it is.

Shotgun! · 09-06-2006

I say get it (If you really want a FWD again) and trouble shoot. It can't be that big of a problem right? ECU, Coil, CAS-whatever. We are DSMer's we can fix anything.

Matt D. · 09-06-2006

What about the ISC motor being bad?

Elementality158 · 09-06-2006

Maybe some vacume leaks. But the smoke.. hmm. It is FWD though. So if your thinking about putting money into it. Dont bother.

**Halon** · 09-06-2006

Plenty of fun can be had with a FWD. I would let you borrow my ECU craig, but you'd need to find a stock EPROM chip, because I have a burnt one in mine and it probably wouldn't run right.

If it's for a good price, I'd go for it. If that's the only problem then that's not so bad. You will find the problem.

**Kracka** · 09-06-2006

FWD's can be a ton of fun as both Craig and I know first-hand. Less to break, better gas mileage, better handling, lighter weight, faster from a roll on the highway, etc.

If you want back in the game you may as well get it since non-molested ones are getting very tough to come by.

**Halon** · 09-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2kracka

FWD's can be a ton of fun as both Craig and I know first-hand. Less to break, better gas mileage, better handling, lighter weight, faster from a roll on the highway, etc.

If you want back in the game you may as well get it since non-molested ones are getting very tough to come by.

Yup. I had tons of fun with me FWD back in the day. I just switched over to AWD, and I love it. But FWD can be plenty fun, and does have a few advantages. Look at the FWD's that RRE soups up for road racing. They mop up the competition pretty damn well!

TheBlizzard · 09-07-2006

It is a awesome deal to say the least. I just wanted some ideas about what was happening with it before I got it. FWD doesn't bother me either.

x-pride · 09-07-2006

I say go for it. You can always turn around and sell it.

TheBlizzard · 09-09-2006

Yeah I am going to get it in a few weeks. I am actually trading one of my snowmobiles for it so I am not out any cash on the deal. He has a pile of receipts of work that he just did on it and the customer never came and got it. It has the normal paint fade on the hood and shit that 1Gs do but it doesn't have a spot of rust anywhere.

The whole motor is practically brand new OEM and it even has the stock air can on the damn thing. I haven't seen one of those in years. Brand new brake including rotors calipers pads lines ect. Brand new tires with only 500 miles on them. They were 140 each on the receipt.

I am not worried about the whole FWD thing either, I was pretty happy with my last Laser. Yeah AWD is nice in the winter in some cases but with good tires my FWD went just fine (just couldn't whip the awesome shitties). They run about 200-300 RPMs lower at cruising speeds on the highway so they get a bit more mileage as well. I am not going to mod the hell out of it, just do the basic shit and just drive it.

So yeah I am bake in the DSM game I guess. Never thought I would say it but I just stumbled across this thing when I was getting a blower resistor pack for my GTP. It was sitting there and I asked about it. Damn it.

Matt D. · 09-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlizzard

So yeah I am bake in the DSM game I guess. Never thought I would say it but I just stumbled across this thing when I was getting a blower resistor pack for my GTP. It was sitting there and I asked about it. Damn it.

Curiosity killed the cat.

TheBlizzard · 09-09-2006

Yeah no kidding. The first thing I am going to try is replacing the ECU then the coil pack. It seems like it is dropping a cylinder while its idling for 40 seconds or so. Then it will go away and idle perfect. Normal driving is fine, it just idling that it starts acting up. It never dies or anything just starts idling lumpy and puffing some black smoke like a cylinder is not firing.

Gravy · 09-10-2006

A little off topic, and a few days late, but i always look at the FWD and AWD like this. Either way, your able to burn one of two things with the different cars. Either your tires, or your clutch. Given, you can still fry a clutch in a FWD, you'll do it just as well, if not better, in an AWD.

Pushit2.0 · 09-11-2006

I would say ither a coil or the transistor pack or caps in the ecu or an ISC starting to go out. It does not sound like a big problem.

~John

TheBlizzard · 09-11-2006

Yeah I don't think it will be a big deal. Other than that it runs like a top. For now atleast.

s1ngletracker · 09-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2kracka

better handling

not a chance.

Pimpin Dsmstyle · 09-14-2006

Does the ISC kick in for the first little while the car is started? ( the whole warm up faster proccess) If it does, I don't think I'd blame the ISC. Plenty of people have stock ecu's and you and everyone else know that it takes 5 minutes to swap them out. If the caps are bad, I think LSE or other shops can do that work for very cheap. How much is your snowmobile worth? A car in the condition you describe, even being FWD could be sold for $3000. I do find it weird that the owner abandoned it though. Why would you just throw away a car like that? Maybe he died or something, you never know. Just make sure that doesn't come back to kick you in your face. Good luck on the transaction.