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1997 Eclipse RS- moonroof leak, airbag protrusion, cold air intake

Hi I am considering buying a 1997 Eclipse RS for my son. The car generally looks OK- no major accident damage, 91K miles generally confirmed by Carfax, etc, and I have the price down to $2800, which I think is reasonable. However there are a couple of things which concern me. I don't think they concern me enough not to buy the car, but I wanted some knowledgeable opinions.

The passenger airbag cover protrudes from the dash by perhaps 1/4". I have no idea why. Any ideas?

The moonroof leaks. It looks like the last owner tried very hard to seal it, including coating everything on the outside with RTV, but I still got a lapfull of water on the test drive. Is this a common problem? Are there any basic solutions? Should there be a drain system which might be clogged or disconnected?

The car has an aftermarket cold air intake system which apparently picks up air from below the car. This looks to me like an invitation to hydraulic lock and a blown engine at the first deep puddle. Do people really use these for cars driven regularly in rainy weather? Is the claimed 8-10 HP gain anywhere near realistic (i.e. do I give up much if I just go back to a stock air cleaner)? If going back to a stock air cleaner is a good plan, does anybody have one laying around that they might have removed to add a trick intake system? Alternately, are there inexpensive aftermarket systems which pick up the air high?

Thanks in advance, Frank

Reply to
Frank Kerfoot
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As a '97 GS owner myself, I can offer the following observations:

The factory electric moonroof has drain tubes to carry the water away. The moveable part doesn't really 'seal' to the metal roof, rather the water simply seeps around the edges into the channel that surrounds it, then down the drain tubes. If the roof is aftermarket, however, you have a very different situation where the removeable glass panel must seal via gasket to the metal roof. In my area, factory moonroofs are not so common on RS models and fairly standard on GS models. If it's electric, it's factory - if removeable, it's aftermarket.

The passenger airbag cover being raised is common, particularly around the edges. I think this is in part due to summer dashboard heat causing the adhesive on the padding to fail. Also, even a perfect one will seem to be slightly raised (not flush).

The air intake, probably with a K&N filter, is controversial, and at the risk of starting a long heated thread, I have to say I don't care for it myself. But all you need to do is Google K&N and you'll find arguments on both sides of the fence. My rationale - I know of several 420A engines running the stock setup that have nearly 200K miles and still deliver nearly 32-34mpg on the highway. A salvage yard could probably provide the stock arrangement for little money.

$2800 seems like a fair price for a clean example. If it hasn't had the timing belt replaced, or if you can't determine that, I'd do it right away. Do the water pump while you're in there. You might also want to put the car on a lift and check the back of the engine for oil seepage around the head gasket. I had to replace my head gasket at around 100K, and it seems like it was around $600 to do all of the above.

Geary

Reply to
Geary Morton

I do enjoy my 97 GSX but generally reserve the recomendation of this vehicle to someone who is intent on modding the car for sport or racing. The Eclipse is pretty but is worse than average in terms of reliability. You can pick up an OE intake on Ebay or in the classifieds at

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The K&N is a good filter but the "cold air" versions that are routed low do represent a hydro-lock hazard as you have suspected. On the turbo equipped cars, the K&N is good for 15 hp on an otherwise stock car. The OE intake is really restrictive. What most folks don't realize is that stock intakes are designed as much for noise reduction as they are for engine performance and therfore are very compromised . The motor in this model, 420A, is one that's been supplied by Chrysler and is common to the Neon.

Reply to
Simpleton

On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 22:52:17 -0500, against all advice, something compelled "Frank Kerfoot" , to say:

Take into consideration these two facts. One, the previous owner could not afford to have the roof fixed properly, and Two, modified the engine in an attempt to get more power.

This would tell me that the car has been driven hard and maintained poorly. I wouldn't touch it with a stick.

Reply to
Steve Daniels

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