Hey everyone, just brought home my first car. 1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS N/T. First of all, the kid put a custom exhaust on it so there is no cat. Just a muffler on the end. Loud and obnoxious, but that's ok. Couple problems. First of all, the clutch was slipping pretty bad last night. It wouldn't really happen in first or second, but accelerating in 5th from 50-60 was a pain as the clutch would just slip. I think the kid I bought it from dogged it on the 1.5hour drive to meet us so maybe it was just hot? Also, it smells like a damned two-stroke so I'm guessing it's burning oil. Oil is pretty black so an oil change is due, along with a new filter. Going to do new plugs while I'm at it. If this doesn't fix it, I could have a blown head gasket... or worse?

Any ideas guys? I'm wanting to get this thing reliable before I start going backwards there.

Congrats on the new ride.

The plugs and oil change are a good idea no matter what. So start there and let us know what you find. While your in there check for leaks. Check the PCV valve is working, etc.

Thanks. I'm definitely happy/proud to own a 1G DSM. I read that the tube (eh?) that comes through the gromet to the clutch, if it is oily that my slave cylinder might be shot. (He replaced master, not slave...) so maybe that could be it. Basically, I need to check everything in the car. Clutch is grabbing better today so it may have just been really hot, since the kid prolly beat it to death on the way there.

Threw my subs and head unit in today... I thought they were loud in the 2003 Cavalier LS Sport they were in... but damn. These Alpine Type-R's (12") may be too much for this car. :]


Going to go over EVERYTHING tomorrow under the hood. Belts, fluid levels, clutch adjustment, plugs, etc.

What does the PCV valve do? Like I said, 15 years old and pretty new to this stuff...

The PCV will vent any excess pressure in the crankcase of the motor. It's cheap and usually overlooked when doing maintenance. Congrats on the car. You probably got a decently reliable model (read: nonturbo...lol).

I had a 1g and had 2 10" Orion XTRs and a JL 500/1 in mine. I pumped 138 on a decent day. For music you have a ringer car.

On the turbo 2.0s the valve covers typically leak around the spark plugs. So some burnt oil could be from there, too.

Congrats on the DSM, dude. Welcome to a world that will teach you so freakin' much about cars.

Also, if you believe the PCV valve to be clogged (remove it and see if it rattles nicely when you shake it, and if it does, it's good) ONLY replace it with an OEM unit from Mitsu. Folks have had a lot of bad experience with those from Autozone and Advance.

Congrats on your Mistu..... hope you like turning wrenches.

*edit: Realized you have a 420a in that thing. Unsure of the reliablilty of those PCV valves being a chrysler product, so diregard the advice.

it's a 1993 GS, shouldn't it have the 4G63 N/A motor???
I thought that the 420A only came in a 2G RS

*Firmly pulls head out of ass and heads to the corner in shame*

Yeah it's a 4g63na...


Congrats on the car! My first car was a 1992 eclipse gs n/a same color lol... They are pretty decent cars to start on. Where are you from btw?

You're actually both wrong. It has the 4G37 in it... yuck! Going to drop in a 4G63T in when I get the funds and whatnot. Did a "tuneup" tonight in about 45 minutes. Jacked her up, pulled the valve cover and started on putting in a new valve cover gasket while the oil drained. Put the gasket in, valve cover on, Mobil1 Oil Filter, Bosch Platinum plugs. Started her up and wow. My mom has to do routine checks on her bus (she drives for my middle school I went to) and she said that they oil in her diesel didn't even look this bad... insane. No more lifter tick. Idles with a nice purrr. Sounds better to boot. No more burning oil smell! At least not from the exhaust. I think it was burning off the block. Figured out where the slave cylinder was when I was under the car (First time ever working on a car, by the way. ) so I'm going to bleed the clutch finally tomorrow. Clutch seems to be grabbing better every day so it might need to be refaced (flywheel anyways.)

Like I said, I love tinkering. Eventually I will have a DD and then this will be a project car. Like I said, going to find a 2.0L 4G63T and strip it down and build it up. I'm going to build my suspension and drivetrain first though. I just need to get some better tools.

I'm from Washington, between East Peoria and Eureka if that helps.

Sorry, my avatar isn't what I got. That was a 93 Talon I was looking at in Pekin but it had a possibly spun rod bearing for $1500 so I got this Eclipse for $100 more plus $30 to fill the tank from 1/4.

I'll put up a new pic for my avatar.

4G37? Someone will have to educate me on this....pretty sure there were only 2 engine options on the 1st gens. But as we all witnessed above, I have the potential to talk out of my ass.

You have ass breath!

4g37 is the single cam 1.8

Yes. Anemic as hell. Good reliable motor hopefully, until I put a 4g63t in it.

Bled the clutch today and there was a big difference on the jack stands so I imagine it helped. Played with the intake and removed the silencer and snorkel for some more throttle response.

I had a 4g37. Just remember it's a stepping stone. There is NO performance coming from that motor. If you feel like doing something to it, make it handle better, and get a better feel for the chassis of the car. You've also done one kick ass thing: get a loud stereo.

Everyone will tell you, and I'll be no different, it's cheaper to buy a turbo model rather than trying to swap motors.

But you're on the right path to proper DSM ownership: tons of maintenance

Yeah. The goal is to make it fast through handling. I don't much care for straight line prowess, just pounding the corners.

EDIT: I found a cable that runs to the front of the car. Looks a lot like a serial port on the end. What would this be for?

Double Post... ehh

Found out what the cable was for! Looks exactly like the PocketLogger cable, and it runs to somewhere in the engine bay. Haven't looked. I assume to the ECU.

Also, disconnected the clutch-cut switch so I can start without the clutch pedal. Starts a little better and a good peace of mind for the throwout bearing.

Found the linkage for the clutch adjustment... fun fun. Going to tackle that tomorrow if I can get a wrench up in there. The seal around the shaft going through has fluid on it. Does this mean my slave cylinder might be bad? Any way I can confirm this?

Topped off my brakes and clutch today. Clutch reservoir was below minimum so I'm going to adjust the linkage tomorrow and do a rebleed for good measure. Having something to do made my Spring Break fly by... but the parties were good so it's all good.

EDIT: Ok, so I adjusted the linkage and rebled. Much less pedal travel, and it engages about an inch off the floor. No gear grinding. Perfection. Replaced the bulbs I had out in the rear. Got a rear wiper blade and also a Haynes manual. I need to figure out how to get the front headlight covers off since the headlights need reaimed and the covers need cleaned.

Yeah the 4g37 is a reliable little thing and can handle a beating...



Well your not to far then... Do you know Darrin or Micah? They are both from Washington and have 2g Eclipse's


Btw I have a nice little project car for you... $1500 and shes yours

I know Darrin. I might know Micah. Does he drive a primered or flat black Eclipse?

Tall, lanky kid?


And yeah, I would hope a little 1.8L could take a beating. My cousin's Ford Probe gets bounced off its redline a lot each day.

Yeah that's Micah... He also has a blue srt4 but not for long


You should come to one of the meets with them... We meet up almost every other weekend...

I might just do that. Hell, if I hear about the meet I might convince my dad to let me drive down in my Eclipse with him. You guys meeting this weekend?

What do you guys do at these meets? Shoot the bird and cruise or what?

Yeah I know who he is now. He supposedly has a loud stereo in that SRT4 but I think I have him beat. Gotta love the tiny hatch of a 1G DSM. :]

Right now I'm trying to get plates and door speakers and an amp for them. Highs are good and loud but mids are just lackluster as hell. CDT Components, SAVE ME!

Also, my passenger side window won't roll down since the night we brought it home. :/ Need to pull the panel off and look around. This Haynes manual is the bee's knees.

Don't underestimate the POWER of the 1.8 liter SOHC Mitsubishi!!!

Behold1.8 Liter DSM fun

A repost, but Oh so appropriate and funny.

Thanks for the memories, ODT!

Yeah the Srt4 just sits in the drive way... I can't wait to pick her up... But I think it just has the stock sub...


And yeah most of the time we meet then hang out for a bit then go get something to eat and then go on a cruise... Nothing to crazy just trying to have a little fun in boring ass central Illinois lol. And then once in a while I try and organize a somewhat big meet. Witch I had planed on doing something with this month but there is a lot going this month so I think I will wait until may...

Also there are no plans for this weekend... yet...

That car looked familiar. that jbone/my old car?

btw jbone car lasted 185k on that tranny i stuck in it, gave it to my sis when i had my turbo model, and she sold it a few months back to someone that blew the tranny or rear seal out of it 2 days later. in case u were curious. got 70k out of a car that i paid $600 bucks for, and all i did was put tires and engine tune up.

Yeah. Got plates today so I got to drive her for a little while.

Seems like I have a few "Problems that need addressing"

First of all, I get some pretty sad grinding into 1st and Reverse sometimes... inconsistently audible though.

Also, temperature drops considerably at speeds above 45mph (New thermostat maybe?)

Since it's getting warm outside, I'm going to be putting a heavier oil in (10W30)

Also, I killed it up by Micheal's in Washington because the kid behind me was on my bumper. Pissed, I started it and dumped the clutch at 3500 and ran it straight through 1st to 6k RPM and shifted. Then my CEL came on... what gives? When I restarted the car, it goes away for a split second and comes back.

Between the loudest stereo and loudest exhaust in town, it was definitely a head turner. Lol.

CEL sounds like maybe and o2 sensor. hook a logger up to it and check it

I was curious to see how far the l"o"ser went. But, I don't feel too great knowing how much of a loss I took on it. Oh well. Glad it did it's job for someone. I had my fun. Sounds like you did, too.

And to that... I give

I found a ethernet port. I assume this is for DSMLink?

What about the black cable with the serial-looking port in the hatch?

Wow. My tires were all at 19psi warm but looked like they had a normal contact patch....


Oh well, got a digital gauge at Advanced and put 40 in back and 43 in front and it's quicker and much more responsive. I really need a reasonator. Easily the loudest car in town in all aspects.

Also found out that DSMLink isn't available on the N/T's... so I don't know what the ethernet cable was for. I assume it just has PocketLogger and that the kid still has it.

Even though tires show a max pressure in the 40psi range it is common and recommended to run your tires between 28-32 psi. 32 psi will keep the tires fully inflated which will help reduce rolling resistance. 40 psi will cause an un-needed harsh ride and may wear the center of the tires more.

To be honest I have never seen a pocket logger on a non turbo car, but I suppose that it is possible. The pocket logger hooks into the diagnostic plug on the side of the fuse box under the driver side of the dash in a turbo car. There are many other factory plugs left loose in DSM's for whatever reason.

As far as loud, I wouldn't mind making my DSM quieter if I could. It just happens to be the result of having a free flowing exhaust for performance. Personally I feel that overly loud street cars do not reflect an appearance of power or speed except for a rare few. Then again, I'm getting old and have a different perspective than I did when I was 15 or 16. To each his or her own.

Keep up the good work!

Did the car have stereo in it before you got it? I know some amps have bass controller that use a ethernet looking cable.

He did but it was taken out. There isn't a cable that runs to the back either. I will run 34psi in back and 32 in front. It needs alligned pretty bad but I need new tires too. I think I am going to rotate the tires eventually.

Too much wear on the inside part of the tires means: Too much camber... but can I adjust that? What about toe? Steering wheel isn't straight either so I know the toe is off in front.

Off to look for a vfaq or tutorial on how to allign my car.

Usually toe will have more effect on wearing the inside of the tires prematurely. That is easily adjustable, but getting it set just right may be a trick. I've never tried it myself.

Yeah. My Haynes manual wasn't real helpful but I understand the concept from my days of Nitro RC.

Really? I've been putting 35psi in my vehicles' tires for over 10 years and they still seem to wear on the edges more than the center. For the last couple of years I've bumped that up to 40psi to see if if it makes a difference. So far, none of them are wearing down the center.

Hmmm driving style maybe?!

No, seriously I have been using 30-32psi for EVAR and I rarely get edge wear except from Auto-x or the previously mention 'toe' mis-alignment. I've even had excessive amounts of negative camber on the Talon in previous years that did little to the inner edges of the tires.

You can set the toe-in with a tape measure.

Roll the car back and forth a couple of times to set the suspension if you've had it jacked up in the air. Make sure to roll it forward before taking a measurement.

Pick a point on the front and back of each tire to take your measurements from (I mark them with a Sharpie), first groove on the tread pattern will work. Get as high on the front tires as possible without the tape hitting the frame.

I usally set my toe for 1/8 in. So the measurement at the back of the tire should be larger than the front. Subtract the front from the rear=toe

Then go to the alignment shop! You can set camber with the right tools. I set the toe enough so it doesn't cause drivability problems on the way there. Of corse I've had to do it this way to get it to a race after a last minute fix...

I start working at NAPA in Washington sometime soon so it'll definitely be done professionally.