A friend of mine just bought a '97 eclipse gst w/ 75,000 miles and an aftermarket clutch. Unfortunately the car broke down on the way home. Turns out that he broke a piston. And due to the "buyer beware" part of Massachusets lemon laws, he cant sew. So he has to spend 3k to repair the engine.

So we were figuring since that hes already taking the engine apart, why not build it up to make more power? He doesnt want too much power, just around 300 or so at the crank, since its fwd. So how should he get the engine built for some good reliable power? Hes in a really tight situation now, so your advice is greatly appreciated.

 

hey man from what i understand you can get easy power out of those engines. a nice TBE exhaust, fuel pump, injectors and good engine management would easily put him there.. if he wants some good pull get some cams as well... thats from my understanding.. i had a friend who had one and thats what he did and he got close to 350 at the crank. but with that he should get wider rims and wider tires. ... thats just my opinion

 

True. The original plan was to replace the piston that broke, but I dont trust the rest to run w/o any problems. So either replace all the pistons and rods w/ stock parts or some stronger aftermarket ones. But if he does this he's going to need engine management correct? And then of course, suspension work, otherwise he will have wicked axle hop. He has a 7g loan out for this car, so I'm not sure what he's gonna do.

 

I would rebuild the engine. Unfortunately it will cost more, but it's better to be safe than sorry in the future. You could make 300 horse power or close to it easily with a complete exhaust, air filter, boost controller, and UIP. A small or large 16G turbo upgrade would definitely get you there. Front Wheel Drive will limit your launches due to wheel spin. I had a 94 Talon AWD that ran high 12's with the mods I've mentioned, a small 16G, and the stock 450 CC injectors.

 

Thats what I was thinkin. I gotta find out what exactly is wrong with the engine and what all needs to replaced to get it run...and go from there. All I know is that its going to cost 3k to fix the engine, so he might as well build the engine up. I doubt he's gonna take the car to the strip, but who knows after all the work is done he just might. Seems like he just wants to be able to hold his own against my Evo, and my friends S2K. Its definitely the perfect opportunity to upgrade, so i hope it all works out.

 

i would actually suggest getting a 6-bolt motor for the 90-early 92 1st gens. if he wants, jdm 6 bolt motor. best thing if he wants to build a motor is get the 1g big rod/2g piston set up, great for daily driving.

 

Know any site where I can find the jdm 6 bolt motors, and the other stock parts you mentioned aswell?

 

I have a 2g also and I agree with EVO best bang for the buck just get a stock 90-91 6bolt no crankwalk and they have larger internals bigger turbo and they respond to mods like crazy like the evo and for 3k you could find a low miles engine toand if you cant I will find one for you. the jdm blocks are called cyclone engines

 

your best bet would be to do a 1st gen head onto the 2nd gen bottom. slap on a hahn racecraft 20G, frankenstein stage 3, or a large 16G (w/evo 3 turbo outlet) get some pistons from a junkyard that aren't burnt up, stonger conrods, fmic, fuel & ecu, then you're done. i had a 98 Talon tsi (FWD) & i ran 13.06's on 16 lbs.

 

also i would run nitto or hoosier drag radials up front. Outstanding 60 foot success with either tire on FWD's

 

I don't know if it's worth the trouble to do a 1G motor setup of any kind. The pistons on the 2G blocks are pretty good. The rods kinda suck, though...may want to upgrade those, but not necessary. But the goal of 300 hp is easily doable on the stock head and lightly upgraded 2G bottom end.

Unfortunately, because of the suck-a$$ turbo on that car (T-25) and horrible intake air cooling (side-mount IC), I wouldn't expect any more than about 240 hp without turbo and intercooler upgrades. The turbo is the biggest air restriction on that car, so changing out to a 1G motor will probably do little good anyway.

So I'd say you'd need a turbo upgrade and supporting mods (intake, exhaust, boost/fuel control, upper I/C pipe, BOV--stock one leaks at 11-12 psi , pump and injectors, and front-mount IC). And probably a clutch within a few thousand miles.

Check out Buschur Racing. Good info and parts. Good luck.

 

i guess the goal would be to have 300 reliable whp. that would require beefing up just for the sake of peace of mind. maintain it & it'll get 200k miles.

 

Forgot about crankwalk...'97s are prone to it.

I'd still stick with the 2G bottom end. Call Buschur or your local dealer (last resort). I believe that when the dealer fixes an engine that crank-walked they just replace it with a '98/'99 bottom end. And i think the only difference is crankshaft and bearings. Even if you get the better 1G bottom end, there's still the issue of fitment--it doesn't just drop in. Motor mounts are different. Seems far easier to upgrade a couple of parts on an engine that's already taken apart. It really is a very strong engine. My .02.

 

Well, I no longer have my DSM but a friend of mine swapped in a complete JDM cyclone motor and it pulls great. You can get the motor for 2K or less, get a few extra ponies over the USDM, and just have to change some wiring. If that's less than fixing the current motor, it may be an option.

 

I can't remember if the gs-ts had the 420a engine or 4g63. But if it has the 4g63 I would get a first generation BOV, the ones that came with the 2nd generation leaked after like 12 psi.