Hello all, I'm 16 and looking to buy an FD. I found a seemingly flawless 5 speed 93' FD. So I called the guy, haggled, did some number crunching and got back up with him. So about 4 days after first contacting him he calls me and tells me something is wrong with the car. He said it was losing power in the high range rpm. So automatically I assume it's the secondary turbo (correct me if I'm wrong, please) so he contacts some supposed in-the-know friends of his and basically confirm my theory. So far I have found two options. 1) I could replace the stock twins with a 99 spec turbo (basically simple task, right?) or 2) I found a GT35R turbo kit online for the same price as the 99 spec twins. The kit includes essentials for a single turbo conversion (exhaust manifold, filter, downpipe, wastegate, & all hardware & gaskets) Now my main question about the second option is, would I need anything else for the single turbo? NOTE: I know to run high boost other things are required i.e. fuel system, stronger clutch, intercooler, etc. I just want to run stock boost for now. I just figure since I hope to upgrade to a high hp set up in the future, there is no sense in buying a 99 spec twin for the same price as a single, so long as I can run it at stock specs. Sorry for such a long question. Any answers are much appreciated!

 

The likelihood is that it's "simply" a vacuum line that is part of the switching mechanism. Diagnosing a system like this is not something that can really be done over the internet, as there are many things other than a bad turbo that will cause secondary boost problems.

 

Sounds like you're in a fortunate position if the seller is ready to assume that it's the worst case scenario. As stated above, it could be a lot of things in the control systems but if you're getting the car priced for needing a turbo replacement that's the worst case by far.

 

Thanks for the replies. Yesterday it occurred to me that maybe the engine's compression is bad (supposedly a common problem for rotorary engines). So I found a dealership in the sellers town and scheduled a compression test. Turns out it was about 40-50 psi lower than it should be. So I looked online at jdm engine prices and crunched more numbers and hope he will accept my now lower offer. But I just wanted to update those who replied. Thanks again for your help.