Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I'd buy it up if I were you. They can be lots of fun, but as previously mentioned don't slack on maintenance. My 92 sees a lot of changes when winter rolls around. Best bet would have someone look at the car with previous experience. I could take mine to any shop in town right now and they would probably add up a huge bill of things that probably don't need to be changed. If you can take it to DP performance and let them look it over.

Just a few things to look at, but I'm sure I've missed a lot.
timing belt/tensioners, mite as well do a water pump while your there also.
balance shaft belt
carrier bearings on the driveshaft
change rear diff/t-case, tranny fluid
also the obvious if there are leaks try to fix them haha. I swear mine will always leak a little, but that's alright.

Best of luck!

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I am going to test out the car on Saturday if i still like it i will try to bring it to a shop and have it looked at. I will be broke for a little bit when i buy the car but I will sell my mirage and then have some money to do stuff to it.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I would keep the mirage around until you know the DSM is running reliably. But that is just me...

Also if possible, when at the mechanic shop ask them if you can look at the car with them. I don't know if shops do that or not but when it is on the lift, it is easy to see the condition of underneath the car. Then you can see where the transmission plugs, transfer case plugs, and rear oil plug.

I swear the person who owned my car before me didn't know that there was a transfer case and it needed oil.

where did you find this car? was it a car from here? I kind of question any DSM when it hasn't been owned by a Mitsubishi fan

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I am not sure if it is from here.
It is an automatic and i am wondering if it is hard or expensive to switch the auto awd to a manual fwd?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Buy my 1G, everything is new so no probs as long as u maintain it.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I live in Shoreview too!

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Kevin,
How much would you sell your 1g for? This one is 1800 and the guy is willing to take 1 payment of 1000 and 2 payments of 400 but if you are willing to sell yours for 1800 or less i will save up for one single payment unless you sell it before I get the money.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

The manual swap isn't terrible, you need to change the rear end, t-case and tranny. Then put in the pedals, run the cables and hydraulics. You would be better off upgrading to a MT later and selling that car. The autos can be pretty damn quick though.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Like everyone , i agree with what they said. I have owned Two dsm so far and its a good car to have. Yea true their might be problems here and there but theres people on this site that will HELP you and also lots of shops thats does DSMs. Don't worry. It's also a really good winter car. I have never had any problem with the tranny on a Awd but i heard that tranny on the Fwd have lots of problem, so if i was you get it. Yea Automatic to a manual is a hard work to do, i heard lots of storys about the auto to manual swap and shop people hate doing it. Just find a manual one.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I love driving manual but the main reason i would do the swap is so that I would not look like a wimp.

Would you guys just take the auto and run if i like the car or just wait for a manual to come along?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Unless you are good at swaps and have the cash to source parts I would suggest starting with a good base with the options YOU want instead of selling or swapping. That would free up more money for repairs and mods. If you like auto then great. If you want AWD & MT then I would suggest keep looking.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I would just get a manual, the AT to MT swap always ends up being more work and money than you originally plan. One of my buddies did the swap and for what it cost him he could have just sold his AT, purchased a MT, and had some money leftover to buy mods.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

AWD auto to FWD Manual?!

no no no no no!!!!

Think about this
First the FWD Manual transmission has different engine mounts then the AWD transmission. Also you would be downgrading the car...

Then the autos have a 13G turbo on them (manuals have 14b turbos) You will want to swap turbos eventually

And you want to do this with being kind of new to the car. You are going to hate the car before you know it. Plus being strapped for cash.

If you are already strapped for cash, save up the money!!! Not just for the car itself but like an extra $500 for other things like belts, alts, insurance, tabs, title transfer, plates or whatever the car needs. I tell this not only to people who are buying a dsm but ALL used cars. There is always some odd reason for the original owner to get rid of it.

Look through the classifieds here and see who is selling their car...(well I am not sure if new people actually have access to the classifieds put post around till you do)

People here often will sell real reliable cars or they will just part the cars out.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Ok, Thanks for the Tip