Might buy a DSM
 

I was thinking about buying a Talon TSI AWD but the shop that i bring my cars to said not to becuase the AWD system and the timing belts are kinda unreliable and if the timing belt breaks then the engine is shot.

Has anyone had to deal with this stuff and if you do own one have you put alot of money into repairs?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

1. I would recomend not using it as your only car.

2. A timing belt job should be one of the first things you do to it once you get the car, along with checking all the regular maintenance stuff

3. Hell yes get it!


What year?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

The timing belt usually doesnt break, it usually just skips teeth if not torqued correctly or is worn or loose. And usually when that happens you just bend some valves and need to get your head rebuilt or replaced.
The AWD transmission sometimes takes a shit on people, but thats just more of a reason to send it to Shep or some other shop to get a nice durable race build. The main thing you have to watch out for is crank walk. I usually like to tell people with 92.5 years and up to change their oil often around the 90,000 mark all the way up to the 120,000 mile mark, this way the oil squirters for the pistons and crank stay unclogged and will usually detur the crank walk. Magnus actually did a study on that and found that most likely the cause of crank walk is the oil squirters being clogged or loss of oil pressure.
I would definatly suggest getting the car, they are great cars, im on my third, some of the dsmstyle members are on over 7 of these cars.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

The AWD system is one of the strongest around, just make sure to take care of it and maintain like anything else.

If the timing belt snaps it will do some serious engine damage, it is an interference engine just like pretty much everything else being sold these days. Keep your timing belt replaced every 60k by a competent shop and you'll have nothing to worry about.

I have owned 5 or 6 DSM's now and not a single one has ever left me stranded, I also maintain my cars very well and take care of issues as they arrise.

Another good word of advice to you, don't go to just some shop down the street from you. Take a DSM to a shop that has experience working on and building these cars. Not only will you get better service and expertise, but generally the labor and parts are cheaper.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

QFT. When i moved to cali i decided i wouldnt take my car to any shop, mainly because i had heard bad things about pretty much every shop in the area. At least in MN you guys have awesome DSM Shops that are dependable and have been around the scene enough.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I completely agree with the above. Be willing to do the proper maintenance. I have had about 3 solid years of dependability with mine. Just make sure the one you buy is in good enough shape for the level you are willing to work on or invest into the car. Ask someone who knows these cars to look at it with you if you can. Good luck!

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Keep up on maintenance and you will be rewarded with one of the funnest and fastest cars on the road for the price. Drop some cash and you will be laughing at vipers and 911 turbos in no time! :D

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

DSM's are the best bang for your buck if you're looking for a fast car!

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

buy it they are great cars to have. I own 4 right now. It is the best car for the money for a awd turbo car

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Ok,
Thanks this helps out alot, the only thing that i am worried about is that the person who is selling it does not want me to bring it to the shop where i bring my cars but that may be because it is a 1/2 hour away.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Tell him to suck it up.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Rogers to Roseville is a 1/2 hour if there is on traffic whatsoever and also to someones post earlier this car would probably be my only car because i would have to sell my Mitsubishi Mirage to purchase it and to keep up with the maintenance.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

What year are you looking at? The 1g's are a little more solid than the 2g's, but the condition of the car can vary drastically with cars of this age. I don't know why someone wouldn't let you take the car to a shop to have it checked out, that doesn't sound right.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

The guy sounds really nice and he will let me test drive it and stuff but he doesn't want me driving it to Roseville to have it looked at because im guessing it is too far away maybe.

And it is a 1g, a 1991.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Take the car to DP Performance then, they are right in Rogers and I'm sure they'd be willing to give it a once over for a reasonable price. They are actually one of the board sponsors.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

do you have the phone number for DP Performance?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

They have their own section on this board, check there for all their contact info.

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Otherwise we can also do full service vehicle inspection but we are a bit out of the way (ramsey).

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

Does that stand for "Double Penetration" Performance?

Re: Might buy a DSM
 

I am with everyone else on go and buy it. It is a great car. Of course when you are asking a mitsu club about buying a mitsu, what kind of answer do you expect?

Like everyone else said, do the maintenance on the car! Don't buy this car with all of your money and then become broke. Have some money on the side so you can get some maintenance things done. Maybe have someone change the timing belt out so that you know it is properly done.

Check shaft play in turbo

is it stock or has it been modded? It is rare to find one without mods these days

Change all fluids to good quality (will fix a lot of tranny problems)

There is a big list on the net on what to look for.

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