15th Nov 2005, 15:55
I have 94 eclipse... right now I am trying to get my new alternator on properly instead of it being cockeyed. My old alternator had oil all over it and I couldn't drive at night with out my belt squeaking and breaking. I still have no idea where the oil is coming from. I have replaced the water pump, new CV shafts, and of course a new alternator. Rather then that I love the car. My boyfriend and I painted it purple and black. And I've done a bunch of other things to it, but if it keeps breaking down I'm gonna have to sale it. I need a vehicle I can drive daily to get to work and back. If anyone has any ideas or knows anything about why my alternator is doing this please email me at Kayjob_04@hotmail.com. Its been to the shop twice now and every time I go it gets more expensive. So if you could help me out I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Kaylee Bridges
Bedford, Indiana.
5th Jul 2008, 18:34
I have been driving the 1st generation Eclipse non turbo, and the 1st generation Turbo Talon TSI from 1994-2008. I can say that these are great cars when you take care of them. They can be horrible cars if you don't.
I like to say that even a non-mechanic like I was before owning an Eclipse, can become a very good mechanic like I have become with a repair manual (available at Auto Zone or Advance Auto) and a small amount of tools.
If you are not interested in learning about how these cars work, you can spend a HUGE amount of money watching other mechanics poke around at a problem without being able to really fix them. It was after several of these experiences that I bought my own repair manual, and realized that even mechanically "dumb" people like I was, could be guided through every problem these cars have, step by step.
So far I have replaced or repaired (myself) the following with my trusty repair manual:
- Every brake rotor and pad on both of my cars at least twice (easy).
- Every CV joint and drive shaft on both cars at least once (easy).
- The Throttle Position Sensor on both cars (easy).
- The temperature sensor on both cars (easy).
- The EGR valve on one car (easy).
- The entire suspension on one car (not so easy - but doable).
- The entire engine on one car (super hard-but I managed it with a friend).
- The fuel pump on one car (not so easy - but doable).
- The stereo on both cars (a bit annoying).
- The speakers on one car (a real pain removing interior panels).
- The exhaust on one car (had another guy weld it in).
- The timing belts on one car (a super difficult job because of the space limitations under the hood. I would have someone else do this one if they KNEW HOW to do it. If you get this one wrong, you can destroy the head of your engine).
- The rims and tires on both cars (easy).
- The headliners on both cars (can be a pain).
- The oxygen sensors on both cars (easy).
- The valve cover gasket on one car (pretty easy).
- Spark plugs and wires on both cars, many times (easy).
- Adjusted the engine timing on both cars many times (pretty easy).
- Adjusted the parking brake on one car (moderately easy).
- Replaced every bulb in both cars (easy, except when you have to get into the dash).
- The alternator in one car (pretty easy).
- The transmission fluid several times on both cars (kind of a pain).
- The oil on both cars (kind of a pain).
- The engine control module on one car (kind of a pain).
- The blow off valve on one car (easy).
- A bunch of other hacks and alterations not needed unless you want to really push your cars horsepower. I recommend http://www.machv.com/ for a lot of these procedures.
These are almost all the things that I have done. When I say something is easy, that means you probably could do it with a repair manual, some tools and some patience. Also, understand that I LOVE these cars! They are great to drive, and perform very well when they are maintained. The turbo model is shocking when you step up from the non-turbo! Honestly, I wouldn't still be driving one now if I didn't feel they were.
21st Jun 2004, 03:26
I purchased a 1994 model with a 1.8 L. It was spotless and seems to look like the former owner kept up pretty well. racing stripes, wing, and other mods were added to this car. After I bought it I failed to notice that the rear right passenger side caliper was seized and was not repairable. This cost total 106.00 dollars for one caliper!!
Luckily it was easy to repair. I also did all the brakes. These cost only 10.00 a pair. After struggling with bolts I realized that it only takes one bolt to slide the calipers and replace the brake pads. But watch out. Those bleeder screws will break on you. After trying to bleed the other caliper it broke.
I paid 3000.00 for this car with 83.0000 miles on it. This car seems to make people want to race and I still drive it like a grand papa.
I made sure if I paid that much that the engine trans and all were looked over well. Constant monitoring fluids and other items will help remain it a great running car.