What to look for in a 95 gsr?

[ethan169]

Ok so heres the deal.....

Im going to look at a 1995 Integra GSR tommorow, I wanted to know basically a few things of what i should look for

- The car right now has 150k miles on it. Im not looking to really do anything to this car just use it as a commuter. My DD right now is an 03 Evo VIII with some goodies under the hood.

I have run a car fax on it and it seems to be ok... it doesnt realy tell me much about the car though except that they "guarentee" it blah blah blah...

What enginer did these GSR's have under the hood and how can i tell if that is actually what is still in it etc. looking at the head somwhere for a specific number or somthing specific like that.

Also what are common problems that i want to look for in this car and possibly stear clear away from? Tranny problems or somthing like that.

He said that the timing belt and water pump were changed at just over 100k. Is there a way to varify this without pulling the head of course or anything crazy. can you pop the timing cover off and see the belt itself?

Let me know what you guys think.. The guy is asking $3000 for it, i would like to get it for somthing closer to 2500 2700 maybe...

For aftermarket stuff i think hes got some altezas on there and aem cold air or ram air not sure what it is. ill find out when i see it. And some neuspeed strut tower bars front and rear. Wasnt aware that they made stuff for Honda though. I may be mistaken....

Does this car have ODI or OBDII?

Let me know what you guy think!

Thanks in adavance

-Ethan

p.s. Ill have to do a search, but if anyone wants to throw in a line or two im curious what kind of engine managment options are there for this car?

 

[heykosal]

Welcome to CI

Carfax is crap its only going to show information that was reported, any unreported incidents won't show on Carfax(previous owner wrecks, but doesn't go through insurance).

GSR Integras, chassis code DC2, came with the DOHC VTEC B18C1. There should be a stamping on the tranny and on the head. Also, VIN should begin with JH4DC2..and its OBDI

Neuspeed makes a good amount of parts for Hondas/Acuras, GSRs came from the factory with a front upper shock tower bar, its probably gone if the previous owner put on Neuspeed bars.

There are others who can better answer what to look for in a used teg but I just want to add check for the common "honda cancer" on the rear quarter panels near the wheel well. Also, check the passenger side floorboards for dampness, the sunroof drain tubes become plugged, draining the water onto the passenger floorboard. Simple fix, but time consuming. Same with underneath the spare in the hatch, if theres water back there most likely the tail light seals are leaking.

As for engine management, there are a lot of options. Ranging from piggybacks like air/fuel controllers, all the way upto full management like AEM EMS. Best route to go with is probably Hondata, Neptune, Uberdata, and the like.

My:twocents:

 

[ethan169]

Thanks for the reply....

I am aware of the honda cancer above the rear quarters but i feel like most cars i look at will have this. This car is going to be used as a cummuter vehicle so i dont need it to be super clean on the outside just decent. soo that being said if there is a little rust there how concerned should i be? especially if the car has 150k miles already.

Also a few other people on acuraworld have said that they think the price is pretty low for a gsr $3000 what are your thoughts on that? as i felt the price was a little high..... the car kelley blue booked at 3100 and change in excellent condition. so i feel it may even be overpriced depending on the condition of this vehicle. I mean again it has 150k miles so i will have to see.

Thanks again!

Let me know what you think

-Ethan

 

[JimmyRos.]

whoever told you it was too low is retareded. no offense. i got my GSR for 3000 flat with 104K. and this is in MA where everyone is all over DC2's.

 

[99sil-teg]

3000 I think sounds like a good deal. If its in decent shape (like the interior isn't all tore up and body is decent) then I would buy it. I have had many different types of cars ranging from trucks, muscle cars, luxury cars, and imports. I think I counted up like 20 cars and I'm only 22. Having said this for just a DD hondas and acuras are great for this. Just a helpful hint... ask when it had a timing belt done... if he doesn't know change it... a month after I bought mine, mine broke... not fun.

P.S. I don't go off Kelly Blue Book. Just look at the market in your area. Hondas and acuras bring a ton more in the midwest just bc there are so few of them.... if you can't find anything close to this car in your area than this would be a good deal.

Theres my :twocents:

 

[ethan169]

whoever told you it was too low is retareded. no offense. i got my GSR for 3000 flat with 104K. and this is in MA where everyone is all over DC2's.

I agree with that. no offense taken. it was someone on another forum. It seems like an ok deal, im just not completely sure on the condition yet. I guess i will find out when i see it tomorrow.

The guy did say that the timing belt and water pump were replaced a little after 100k miles (its now at 150k) How often do you need to change the timing belts on these vehicles?

Whats your take on burning oil with these cars, i feel like all older higher millage hondas /acuras burn at least a little bit of oil. Is it something that you just deal with and constantly check and replace?

 

[JimmyRos.]

if everything is up to par you shouldnt have to be replacing anything yet. you'll burn oil engaging VTEC. but if its a DD im pretty sure you wouldnt be going up in that range anyways.

 

[ethan169]

if everything is up to par you shouldnt have to be replacing anything yet. you'll burn oil engaging VTEC. but if its a DD im pretty sure you wouldnt be going up in that range anyways.

Well i do plan on getting into vtec at least once in a while. I mean my evo is daily driven until i get this and it basically sees 23psi at least once every day......

 

[blitzillist]

id say look for rust on the quarter panels.... 3rd gear syncros are commonly bad so check for grinds at higher rpms, make sure vtec engages correctly at 6000 rpms you should definately be able to pick it up by just listening to that intake

 

[pepsilude]

^^^i thought vtec kicks in at 4400 and secondaries are 6000.

 

[ethan169]

Ok so I basically spent all of yesterday dealing with this car...

My father came down to CT from VT to help me bring the car back from where it was if i ended up taking it. Which i was planning on as long as everything was decent on it.

He gets here and we start driving down towards New Haven from Enfield CT. We get there and I get my first glimpse of the car. I immediately notice that the front right fender has been fixed with some body filler like bondo or something and then painted by an amateur with no clear coat it seems. But im not wasnt too worried about it because im not looking for a show car or anything and i could probably fix it and make it look a little better. I find another area where there was some fixed damage same quality as before. The front bumper was a little loose on the left front as well. Also i checked to see if there was rust on the wheel wells, there was on the passenger side and it had been painted over (not fixed) just painted over the rust. But i was willing to live with that.

The guy hands me the keys and mentions that there are two key, one for the ignition and one for the door. first of many red flags for me. I mean this means that the ignition was changed at one point......

I get in the car. Notice the millage... EXACTLY 149,000 not a mile more. Interesting.... Ive already has a feeling that the odometer was rolled back so this was very interesting to me that it had this exact millage on it, and considering the fact he told me it had 150k or 151k miles on it.

The ignition column was all loose and the under panels below that were missing. The car seemed pretty beat up, interior exterior etc.

There were many more things that i found wrong with the car but here's the one that basically confirmed me not buying this car....... I was looking under the hood at various things and was like let me check the engine code and see if i can find this B18C1 engraving...... I look at the head right under the valve cover and above the exhaust manifold and i saw a number but it definitely was not B18C1 it was something else and i wish i would have written it down. But i was under the impression that it wasn't a gsr motor or at least a gsr head.

Can anyone confirm to me where i would find this engraving of the engine code. I looked everywhere on the front of the head between the valve cover and exhaust manifold and didn't see it anywhere.


Needles to say i didn't end up buying this car. He said he was open to offers and i was like honestly dude i don't think i would take it unless it was really really cheap. so i said just for fun 1500 he originally asked for 3000 He said he wouldnt go below 2500 and there was no way i was paying that much for a previously stolen beat up somewhat gsr.

So i am still in the market and i think i have taken a liking into these integra's especially the GS-R... so are there any for sale that might be around the Hartford CT area?

thanks for the help guy and let me know what you think

-Ethan

 

[nicoalex2]

im pretty sure its on the left hand side half way down

 

[SLV_DB7]

It looks like this just under and to the left on the exhaust manifold, right next to the tranny

 

[ethan169]

It looks like this just under and to the left on the exhaust manifold, right next to the tranny

hmmm. thats definitely not what i saw but i may have not been looking at the right place, because the engraving wasnt really an engraving it more like raised out of the head like it was built into the cast.... I felt i was sort of not looking in the right place because what i saw didnt look like the normal honda/acura enginer code.

The car felt really slow to me though, im not sure if its just because im used to my evo or what. But i mean my father has a 97 civic ex that used to be mine before the evo and that felt similar. Im pretty certain that his isn't even equipped with vtec....

Also do the gsr's have a badge that says gsr on the back right? all i saw was a DOGC Vtec badge?

-Ethan

 

[SLV_DB7]

No, they just have a DOHC badge under the pass taillight, the valve cover should also say VTEC