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This GXL has a transmission that is sticking in gears. The guy that owns it says that it is probably a rollpin. At any rate, I am getting a great deal on it, so getting a used transmission and swapping it in is cool too.

Most of the pictures are close to half a MB because I did not want to resize them. So, what do you guys think?

Also, these pictures were taken when the owner was not there so I could not get very good interior pictures, look in the engine bay, or check compression. Are there any specific things anyone can think of that I need to check other than the obvious? The guy says that the engine runs and idles great, so take that for what it is worth.

Any comments appreciated.

 

Oh yeah... I forgot to include something that the guy said. It struck me as kind of odd. When I first talked to him and he was telling me about the car, all of a sudden he says it has an LSD. I am like... okay, why did he say that. I had a funny feeling, so I looked it up here. Lo and behold, GXLs do not come with LSDs stock.

Is is possible that someone could have swapped a turbo or GTUs LSD into this GXL? If so, it would be a 4.33 ratio, right? I am not sure if this guy is yanking my chain or just does not know what he is talking about.

 

check for the tag on the check/refill hole. if it does have an LSD, it should have a tag...

am i right?

 

Well, I would have done that if it was not so nasty outside. Also, I really did not feel comfortable fooling around and jacking up the car in a surveilenced lot.

EDIT: I thought the S5 LSDs do not have a tag or if they do it is not attached very well. I am not sure that would be a good way to check.

 

hmm, well then have the owner elaborate as much as possible of where/how he got it and ask what kind it really is etc.

besides the tag, is there any other way to know?

 

Your/his description of the problem is not very thorough, could be anything from a bad clutch, pilot bearing, to bad slave or master, to a truly bad transmission. IN any case it wouldnt cost more than a couple hundred to fix yourself. I have plenty of spare NA trannies laying around I'll sell cheap. Used clutches in great shape too.

Other than that the car looks pretty good. Looks like about a $500-1000 car to me.

FWIW, s4 GXls came standard with LSD, s5's did not. It took me a long time to learn this myself.

 

Aren't S4 LSD's easily swapped into S5s?

 

Yeah, I know my description is not very good, but I have only talked to the guy on the phone once so far. And I have not even started it yet or attempted to drive it. As soon as I can start playing with it, I will know more, but I am just going off of what he has told me.

 

i have an lsd tag on the rear of my 90 gxl...ive heard that an lsd was available as an option for the gxl's but its a 4.10lsd and not a 4.33 like in my GTUs. but the 89gxl that i have doesnt have an lsd

 

UPDATE

Went to actually inspect the car and test compression today. Almost no rust on the undercarriage at all which surprised the hell out of me. Interior is a little worse than I expected, but I guess I should be happy considering it was a daily driver.

Compression testing yielded even bounces on both rotors at ~95 PSI. Kind of hard to tell since I had to prop it up in the engine bay then crank the engine. It was either 95 PSI or right below 100, however they were all even bounces. Cranked for about 15 seconds or more just to make sure.

Plugs were fouled moderately bad and smelled of oil and gasoline but not really strong. I started the car three times and it exhibited no signs of flooding. Started right up which is again surprising because the guy told me after I was done that it had been sitting for two years.

First time the car started there were clouds of blue smoke which eventually turned to white. I am not sure if it is burning coolant because it was also very cold at the time. The exhaust did not smell sweet, but it did smell like unburnt gasoline and oil. I attribute that to said fouled plugs. On subsequent times starting, less blue smoke and less white smoke. By the third time, it had warmed up and no smoke was visible even when revved.

Other things of note:
I believe that is a small vacuum leak somewhere. Idle was erractic at first, but then settled down. Transmission is stuck in reverse, but I can "shift" it into 2nd and 1st (if I play with it for a bit). By that I mean I can get the shifter to go into those gears, but the transmission seems locked in reverse.

So, after all this... think I am getting a good deal for $500?

 

Oh yeah, it has a massive exhaust leak too. Seems to be happening right after the main catalytic convertor, maybe the Y-pipe. <Shrug>