Hey guys im going to look at a 1994 integra GSR tonite. its a 4 door with 100k on it. Just wondering what you guys think i should look out for? anything that usualy goes out at this time (besides timing belt/water pump ect) thankyou guys

 

It is best to have some sort of written agreement that you can have the car checked out by a qualified mechanic first before the deal is final. It may cost you $75 or so, but it could save you so much more. Also see if they will provide a Carfax report, something like $20. Ask for maintenance records too. Take someone who knows a lot about cars, not just a buddy who says he does.

Just a few things to watch out for:

Over spray - could have been crashed
Hacked wires - ghetto rigging
Wet areas under the hood - leaks
Smooth quiet idle - worn parts
Drives straight on the road and handles nice - again, crash or poor maintenance
May sound dumb but look at the engine code on the block B18C1 and P72 on the head - if.this is different, it has had an engine swap

Good luck.

 

1) Clean title
2) # of previous owners
3) Mods if any
4) make sure no ODO rollback
5) Maintenance records (i.e. oil change, brakes, timing belt/water pump)

that's all I could think of at the moment.

 

make sure it has tires

 

bring a compression gauge along with you and have the owners check the compression for you... he'll do it if he stands by his product.

 

What everyone said, but are you looking at it when its going to be dark outside? If so wait till tommorrow.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It is best to have some sort of written agreement that you can have the car checked out by a qualified mechanic first before the deal is final. It may cost you $75 or so, but it could save you so much more. Also see if they will provide a Carfax report, something like $20. Ask for maintenance records too. Take someone who knows a lot about cars, not just a buddy who says he does.

Just a few things to watch out for:

Over spray - could have been crashed
Hacked wires - ghetto rigging
Wet areas under the hood - leaks
Smooth quiet idle - worn parts
Drives straight on the road and handles nice - again, crash or poor maintenance
May sound dumb but look at the engine code on the block B18C1 and P72 on the head - if.this is different, it has had an engine swap

Good luck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So um, if I go out to buy a car and find one that is hell to keep on the road and idles like **** does that mean I've found a keeper? I don't mean to be a smartass but could you please explain your logic?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vestalfootball72 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hey guys im going to look at a 1994 integra GSR tonite. its a 4 door with 100k on it. Just wondering what you guys think i should look out for? anything that usualy goes out at this time (besides timing belt/water pump ect) thankyou guys</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ok, what you need to do is pop the hood. You should see an engine. If theres a big gaping hole through which you can see the pavement, or if the car fails to start, it has no engine.

Just kidding man. When you're checking it out, rub your finger firmly inside the muffler. If thick soot comes off very easily, or if there is soot on the bumper, theres a possibility that its burning oil. Take the spark plugs out and make sure they look alright. Check the radiator fluid for oil or foam, either means bad headgasket. Do a compression test if possible. Now, for the body inspection. Bring a magnet with you, use it to check for possible body work. Place it gently on the body panels. If any kind of plastic body filler was used, the magnet won't stick. Body work normally=car got crashed. Ripples in the body panels also may indicate body work, also look for welds on the frame.Check and make sure the tires are wearing out evenly. Check for leaks under the car, and also check for paint overspray under the hood or inside doors, if you see some, the car has been repainted. Inside the car, look at the odometer. If the miles are low but the rubber covers on the pedals are very worn, this could be an indication of odometer fraud. Test drive it. Pump the brake pedal a few times, then push down hard. If it slowly goes to the floor, your master cylinder is bad or somethings wrong with the lines. Drive straight and have a friend who is standing outside the car make sure the car looks like its driving in a straight line. If it looks like its driving on a slight angle, you have a problem. Don't be afraid to take the car to the redline when testing it, if theres nothing wrong with the car theres no reason why this would cause a problem.

Other then that, I don't know what else you should be looking for. Good luck man.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Smooth quiet idle - worn parts
Drives straight on the road and handles nice - again, crash or poor maintenance
</TD></TR></TABLE>

wtf, looks like i must be driving a piece of ****. But hey, ya learn something everyday.

 

also with what everyone else said, the infamous 3rd gear grind

 

hey guys thankyou for the input...
a great family friend of mine is a acura district manager and told me to do the compression test and to take of the head and ask about 15k valve adjustment altho he said 30k is fine
the motor sounded like it had no adjustment and heres the compression i got-
1- 170
2- 180
3- 160
4- 150

so looks to me like the motor is pretty tired...
im not completely sure i want it now
hes down to 2600$ and the body is pretty shot
any suggestions?
knowing the acura district manager he told me i can get any honda/acura oem part at cost of honda plus 10% so im considering a rebuild

 

oh by the way... im not worried about the body all to much as it has a salvage title and its appears to have been hit in front and it has some minor rust and pretty creased panels so im just looking into it for a swap?

 

i never knew they make 4 door gsrs.... hmmm but good luck anywayz!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dvs gsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i never knew they make 4 door gsrs.... hmmm but good luck anywayz!</TD></TR></TABLE>

They do. They also make four-door ITR's, but they don't make those in America.

 

Dude, use your head. I think you understood just fine. He asked what to look out for, well if you are not interested in a "fix-r-up-r" then you may not want a car with a rough idle.

D-CeReaL#4- Yea, I was talking about your car exactly..... If you are shopping for a reliable used car, then you might want one that drives straight and has not been crashed up. Think about what the person asked and not your own personal interests.

 

oh and i forgot to mention... the stock radiator for a 94 gsr.. is it supposed to be a showa aluminum or is this an aftermarket radiator?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dude, use your head. I think you understood just fine. He asked what to look out for, well if you are not interested in a "fix-r-up-r" then you may not want a car with a rough idle.

D-CeReaL#4- Yea, I was talking about your car exactly..... If you are shopping for a reliable used car, then you might want one that drives straight and has not been crashed up. Think about what the person asked and not your own personal interests.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I'm using my head, maybe you should read your post. You said a smooth quiet idle means worn out parts, and you said a car that drives straight and handles nice means it was probably crashed or maintenenced poorly. Maybe you meant it differently or something and I misunderstood, but if you would explain please it would be alot easier to get what you mean.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Smooth quiet idle - worn parts
Drives straight on the road and handles nice - again, crash or poor maintenance
May sound dumb but look at the engine code on the block B18C1 and P72 on the head - if.this is different, it has had an engine swap

</TD></TR></TABLE>

What??

 

Perhaps it could be spelled out more, but I felt it was self explanitory.

If it doesn't have a smooth quiet idle you could be looking at worn parts or worse. Could be simple, could be major, you don't know until you get it checked out.

If it does not drive straight down the road it could need suspension work, and may be a sign that it was crashed or not well maintained.

Happy?

 

any suggestiosn on the motor? its pretty tired am i correct? what shoudl the PSI tests show?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Perhaps it could be spelled out more, but I felt it was self explanitory.

If it doesn't have a smooth quiet idle you could be looking at worn parts or worse. Could be simple, could be major, you don't know until you get it checked out.

If it does not drive straight down the road it could need suspension work, and may be a sign that it was crashed or not well maintained.

Happy?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats what I thought you meant, but after reading it at first I thought you were doing some kind of effect-cause list.

 

vestalfootball72 - about the radiator.... it should just look flat black. If it looks like polished alum, then they probably got an aftermarket one when you said it was wrecked in the front.

From the looks of your comp test it is pretty tired. If you are buying this just for the swap then you already know it should be rebuilt. Low compression in 2 cyl next to each other can mean a blown headgasket. Anyway, it is hard to get the value of this car since it is "salvage", if it was the same condition without the "salvage" title then it may be worth $3k - $3.5k at the most. See if he will take $2k for it.

If you don't already know it, you can get full swaps that are much healthier for not much more than what he is asking for the car. If there are enough good parts on the car, then part it out to get some $$$ back if that is the way you go.


Modified by Wraith_G2IC at 4:42 PM 7/20/2005

 

make sure the electrical isnt messed up. 2 of the 3 gs-r's i have owned had terrible electrical problems

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wraith_G2IC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">vestalfootball72 - about the radiator.... it should just look flat black. If it looks like polished alum, then they probably got an aftermarket one when you said it was wrecked in the front.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is not true, showa is stock and from what I know you cannot get showa aftermarket in the US. It looks alum without polish and with plastic tank, no flat black. (I had one so I knew). Integra has unreliable radiator, an aftermarket one doesn't mean it has been wrecked, just it was worn and replaced, typically from 90k to 130k, mine lasted 160k.

 

I didn't see the brand name. I thought he was talking about a polished aluminum rad when I was reading several posts up, which would be only aftermarket. He is the one that said it looks like it was hit in the front. Maybe because he saw front end damage????? We haven't seen it since there are no pics.

Otherwise, yea. The plastic on aluminum radiator design is


Modified by Wraith_G2IC at 7:53 PM 7/20/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vestalfootball72 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">any suggestiosn on the motor? its pretty tired am i correct? what shoudl the PSI tests show?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Those compression #'s look fine. What you're basically looking for are numbers that don't vary very much from each other. The crummier quality the guage, the lower # reading you're going to get. On a GOOD compression guage, such as Snap On, you'll probably read in the 200s.

As for the motor, take a good look around the valve cover/cam seal area for oil leaks. Hell, check the motor for oil leaks, including the gaskets around the oil pan and tranny. Also look at the condition of the CV joints.

Personally, I'd just take it to a mechanic and pay 80-100 dollars for a good, thorough inspection, with written result findings. It'll take a mechanic a lot less time than it would you, and with him jacking up the car, he can look underneath for tell tale signs of wear and tear that someone looking from up top cannot normally see.

Carfax is a wonderful tool. If it qualifies for buyback (most should), if the vehicle is salvaged or has something wrong with it, carfax will BUY the car from you, knowing they lead you to believe something false.

Good luck! The GS-R is a great vehicle.