StL

First off, I have no experience with fd's other than reading every freakin' FAQ I could find and this board as much as I can over the past few weeks. I found an fd that I like, but my wife and I have some reservations. I completely understand that they need to be babied and I have no problem with that, there seems to be plenty of resources to help me there. I just want to make sure she's in good enough shape to be babied. I've met with the owner once and just talked and asked questions for about an hour. I'll do a test drive soon following the suggest procedures on that Lightning site. Here's what I've found so far:

'93 touring model with 71000 miles. He has autox'd it. Paint was great, interior was almost new looking. Only a few of the reliability mods had been done. It was never run hot or overheated. There was an anti sway bar for autox, but it has been removed. Current mods include a DP, Bonez High-Flow cat and stainless catback. The intake is stock with a K&N drop in. No ECU changes have been made. The AST has been replaced, but with a stock AST. No turbo timer, but he always let it cool down. Upgraded FPR and R1 suspension. All recalls have been done and 90% of the hoses have been replaced with silicone. Slight 5th gear synchro problem, but only when you slam it from 3 to 5. Brakes are new, tires have about 75% left. He said he has been religious with fluid changes. Now the bad stuff, it did not pass emissions testing recently, it didn't miss by much. He thinks it's running rich. There was a definite gas odor and the exhaust was poping, not loud, but at least a couple times per minute. Some dark, not black, but dark smoke came out when he started it and when he gunned the gas. Very faint, but there. He tried pulling codes but nothing came up. Guess it could be as simple as a water temp or O2 senor, don't know.

From what I've been reading, I would be very happy with just the mods that have been done. I just want it reliable. I will get the ECU re-mapped if I buy it, rule of 3 right? I will perform the reliability mods that have not been done yet. I will also get a compression test done before I buy and I've got an extra boost gauge for the test drive.

So, tell me if this is right, the boost gauge will tell me the condition of the turbos and the compression test will tell me the condition of the engine. How do I determine the condition of the rest? Clutch? Any other major components I should check?

I want a reliable car. I'll have fun with it and give it a workout, but I don't want to be fixing something every week. Maintaining and fixing are totally different. The emissions thing and the 71000 miles have my wife worried. I've read of fd's going well past 100,000 miles before a rebuild if cared for. That's what I'm looking for.

Sorry this is so long, but if this is the level of "****-ness" required to care for these beauties, then I guess I'm off to the right start.

StL

Anyone?? I really need some insight here!

rynberg

First of all, with all of those mods and no ecu, it's amazing he hasn't blown the engine. or has he.... There is no way he should be running rich, that might be caused by a bad 02 sensor, but it could be more serious. How much is he asking?

StL

$13,500, that includes 4 extra stock wheels.

Toadman

Get a compression check as part of the deal.

SanJoRX7

Well, if you can find a reputable rotary mechanic in your area I'd recommend getting it checked out. This way you can have someone with mechanical knowledge of the car inspect it for tell-tale signs of abuse, etc. Compression testing is an absolute must, as this can help determine the health of the engine (and I believe whether the apex seals are intact).

Also, you'd need to really do a thorough going-over to make sure there's no rust (that's a deal breaker right there), and if you can get the car on a lift (or jacked up so you can slide under it) you can check out the underside components to see how everything's doing (make sure the exhaust doesn't have any rust, the cat isn't rusted, I think you might also be able to check up on the PPF to see if it's cracked...guys, check me here).

Hmm, also, check the FAQ's for the #'s for boost patterns and if the car has a boost gauge make sure that it's meeting that (and not over or underboosting by more than say 1-2 psi), and try to run the 40-70 test to see if the car is in line there.

There's a ton of crap to look for, but a mechanic is your best bet.

Nathan Kwok

Actually if he is controlling the boost somehow he may indeed be running rich. Wade Lanham recently challenged the whole 3-mod rule by running modded cars with stock ecus on a dyno with a wideband:
http://www.wvinter.net/~flanham/wlan.../3modrule.html
However the problem with such a wide-open exhaust is overboosting, with 15psi spikes, you'll definitely be running lean. You should be able to pass smog with just a high-flow cat, but its pushing it a little, he may just need new plugs and wires and a clean air filter, or maybe there is a problem with the airpump. Since the ecu is stock it can't be a tuning problem. Definitely get a compression check, if that checks out, the car seems pretty good.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

*If* the compression and boost checks out, that sounds like an amazing deal. He's already done many of the reliability mods for you, and 71k miles on a 9 yr old car isn't much. If the paint and interior are as good as you say, and everything checks out (preferably by a rotary shop), I say go for it.

martini

If the compression test comes out good, and there isn't any rust or anything, then looks like a winner. The black smoke is probably something easy, running rich is my guess. An ECU will probably be able to fix it for you. Good call on the boost gauge. You can hook it up, and hold it against the windshield with the wipers, or run it through the window. You're looking for 10-8-10.

r1owner

The will smoke a little on startup. That is normal, but if it is smoking once warm, then there is some sort of problem.