NEED ADVICE! Should I buy this GSR!?

[CamaroSpeedRace]

Hello, I just signed up here today in hopes of getting some information from you regulars. My name is Scott and I know nothing about integras besides I hear they are great, reliable moddable machines. I have driven camaros for the past 4 years, but cannot afford the gas and repairs anymore, so I'm moving onto an integra!

Today I just test drove a 1994 Integra GSR. Its a 5 speed with 126000 miles on it. It also has a sunroof, power everything, cloth seats, bald tires (of course), check engine light on, short ram intake, dc headers, upgraded clutch, and a 3 inch exhaust with huge fart can muffler. The owner is asking $4700 for this car.

The questions I have are regarding the check engine light, exhaust, and some oil I found in the engine. First - the check engine light is on and the owner claims that it is because one of the O2 sensor wires was cut when they put the exhaust on and it triggered the light. He also said that he could fix it by this Friday when I would purchase the car. Second - the car has a 3" exhaust and personally I think it sounds like crap. Would I have to change the entire exhaust to make it quieter, or could I just buy a new muffler and attach it to the 3" piping to quiet it down? If so, any recommendations for low, but not loud tone? Third - I noticed there is some oil around the engine where the head covers the engine. It might be a gasket leaking?

I guess I'm really just coming here for some advice on what to look for on GSR's and those specific questions.... does this sound like a fair deal? I appreciate ANY and ALL input!! thanks.

 

[ITRnarcotic]

Welcome to CI!

Well one mistake i made was the CEL (check engine light) was on when i bought my car. I was told the same exact thing about the O2 sensor. Well it turns out that the guy didnt even have a obd2 Cat on the car and the Sensor wasn't even hooked up. At the same time the exhaust on the car wasn't even for a 2 door integra. Anyways, also be weary about how he said he can "take care of it" He might just go get the codes cleared right before you come to check it out so the light is off. If it was me, i really really would not buy another car that has a CEL on. Mine has been hell for me and still is on

But you never really know, it could be that simple and he could acctually fix it for you.

Thats all the real input i can throw in.

Welcome again to CI

 

[powerneedy]

^^^ what he said. I would take to a dealer and have them check it out to see what needs to be done to fix the issues.

 

[CamaroSpeedRace]

thanks so far on the advice for the check engine light.

do you know what I could do about that exhaust? Right now there is a 3" pipe going to the cat and a huge straight through muffler. I really really hate the loud, tinny sound. Would I be able to put a chambered muffler on it or would you recommend me just putting on an entirely new catback system? If so, what is a cheap, yet quiet catback system that would give me some good low rpm performance?

I'm sorry for all the questions, but I am supposed to do this deal on Friday so I'm anxious to research all of my options. I guess the problem is that I can't find any other GSR's for that price so it kind of comes down to this.... however, I will probably take it to a shop to take a look at it before I purchase it. Thanks so far for the input and warm welcome!

 

[heykosal]

welcome scott!! are you looking at enhancing the performance of your teg? im assuming yes. in that case, you dont really want to attach a muffler with smaller diameter piping to your 3" exhaust. that will create a bottleneck and increase backpressure. there are multiple options on quieter performance exhausts. some popular examples are apexi ws2 and greddy sp2. there are also more expensive high end products like hytech or mugen catbacks that come with super sexy twin loop mufflers. do some research and you should have no problem finding the exhaust that you prefer and again welcome to the famil.y

 

[patrick4588]

the reason the car probably sounds terrible is the over sized exhaust. 3" on a naturally aspirated car is over kill and you are probably losing power because of it. exhaust comes out in pulses and properly sized piping determines the exhaust velocity. if you decide to take the 3" off, i may buy it from you depending what exhaust it is and if its properly welded/constructed. i suggest going for a 2.5" exhaust system. if you take some pics of where the oil is leaking, we may be able to help you figure out which gasket is leaking. before you buy the car, take it to a shop and have them do a compression and leakdown test on the motor to make sure its healthy. i would also remove the valve cover and take a look a the head to see how often the oil was changed. if changed at proper intervals, the head will be silver. if neglected it will be bronze. if really really super neglected it will even be a red bronze color.

 

[Blackassassin]

Welcome to CI

 

[JdmITRCinci]

agreed over sized exhuast will cause the crappy sound and tone. Get a 2.25-2.5in exhaust. Next the oil could be anything you will need pictures for us to help. And finally dont listen to anybody when they try to tell you what is wrong. Take it to autozone or something of that sorce and have them pull the check engine code. Because for all you know he could just be pulling the the check engine bulb light out.

 

[konerri]

i say pass on this one....personally.


you wanted a reliable car to start with. This seems like it will give some issues before even getting back to stock conditions of realiability

 

[DailyDB8]

x2

94 gsrs are cheap nowadays. i've seen clean titled ones with jspec front ends for nly 4.5k in cali. but yea... from the sound of it... this car might be a money pit just to get it running good w/o problems.

 

[samace_sg]

welcome to club... it sounds like the owner didn't treat his car right... prob raced it out and all that... be careful with this one... would take it to codes pulled and maybe a compression test to be on the safe side..