Very Clean 93. Need opinions.

[nimdivino]

Hey guys,
This past weekend I was able to check out 2 NSXs in my area. I really like one, its very clean, well maintained except the previous owner spraypainted the pillar and it came out horrible, no big deal I can fix that. I brought my friend and the only thing he doesn't like is the idle. It sounds like a misfire, but its not. He thinks there is a valve leak in the exhaust side. The car passed SMOG recently, and I looked at the numbers and they're good.

I can't really explain the sound, a minor misfire is the best way for me to describe it. He said, it can be fixed, but we need to pull the head-off, send it to the machine shop.

Has anybody done that at all? Will $1000 be enough to fix it with parts and machining (we will take the head-off ourselves).

First thing I will do is adjust the valves, as I can hear the "ticking" sound also.

Honestly he thinks I shouldn't buy the car, for 21K he said it has to run good. But I figured, its 1993, 150K miles, well maintained car, no accident, all stock.

What do you guys think?

thank you

oh last thing, he said that previous owner replaced the TB and WP, but NO documentation.

niM

 

[nis350]

Hey guys,
This past weekend I was able to check out 2 NSXs in my area. I really like one, its very clean, well maintained except the previous owner spraypainted the pillar and it came out horrible, no big deal I can fix that. I brought my friend and the only thing he doesn't like is the idle. It sounds like a misfire, but its not. He thinks there is a valve leak in the exhaust side. The car passed SMOG recently, and I looked at the numbers and they're good.

I can't really explain the sound, a minor misfire is the best way for me to describe it. He said, it can be fixed, but we need to pull the head-off, send it to the machine shop.

Has anybody done that at all? Will $1000 be enough to fix it with parts and machining (we will take the head-off ourselves).

First thing I will do is adjust the valves, as I can hear the "ticking" sound also.

Honestly he thinks I shouldn't buy the car, for 21K he said it has to run good. But I figured, its 1993, 150K miles, well maintained car, no accident, all stock.

What do you guys think?

thank you

oh last thing, he said that previous owner replaced the TB and WP, but NO documentation.

niM

Valve leak can be verified easily by any good mechanic. Why don't you do that first before making your decison.

Also keep in mind that the NSX engines are bit noisy and vibrate a bit below 2k RPM.

 

[Zishan]

I agree, have it looked at by an Acura NSX Tech/mechanic if possible. Also, the NSX engine is known to vibrate more so than normal during idle. This usually decreases when the car is warmed up. Mine has 27k miles and it still vibrates at idle.

 

[nimdivino]

Thank you very much for answering my question, and pointing out that vibration..

I will ask my other mechanic friend to take a look at it. Worst case scenario, I'm prepared to open the head and do some minor work.

thanks again

niM

 

[OLDMNSX]

Hey guys,
It sounds like a misfire, but its not. He thinks there is a valve leak in the exhaust side. The car passed SMOG recently, and I looked at the numbers and they're good.

Mine does this when it's cold. Does it go away when it is warmed up? Try removing the throttle body and clean it using some throttle body cleaner, not carb cleaner and see what happens.

I can't really explain the sound, a minor misfire is the best way for me to describe it. He said, it can be fixed, but we need to pull the head-off, send it to the machine shop.

Do a leak down compression test before you start pulling heads.

First thing I will do is adjust the valves, as I can hear the "ticking" sound also.

I agree with the previous replys. Be sure to look at the motor mounts you may have a broken engine/tranny mount. Look at my "Gallery" pictures and see mine. My drivers side tranny mount and forward engine mount was broken. Broken mounts makes the engine vibrate at idle and also makes a clunk when you quickly engage the clutch.

Honestly he thinks I shouldn't buy the car, for 21K he said it has to run good. But I figured, its 1993, 150K miles, well maintained car, no accident, all stock.

Any used NSX that you pay 21K for is going to require some maintenance once you get into it. Just expect it. Get a good PPI first. Part of the fun of getting one of these cars with high mileage is getting to go through it and bring it back up to snuff.

oh last thing, he said that previous owner replaced the TB and WP, but NO documentation.

So did mine, no documentation. I replaced both as soon as I got the car home. Aprox $300 for parts. Do it yourself, it's easy. Get the factory manual. The only special tools that you need is the crank pulley holding tool. An inpact wrench won't do the job.

Brad

 

[Diablo360]

Thank you very much for answering my question, and pointing out that vibration..

I will ask my other mechanic friend to take a look at it. Worst case scenario, I'm prepared to open the head and do some minor work.

thanks again

niM

Plan on forking out AT LEAST a couple thousand to make the car 100%
That means timing belt, water pump, brakes/tires (if needed), etc.....
$21k is a good deal, but remember what you're dealing with. 150k miles is a lot no matter how clean the car is, so just make sure you're able and willing to fork out some cash later on down the road when standard wear and tear items start needing to be replaced. On another note however, since the car is clean, it was most likely well taken care of. Get everything sorted out as soon as you pick up the car (that's what I did), then you won't have to worry about it later on........

 

[JAYS NSX]

IMHO, i would not buy this car. You are starting out at 21K with the guarantee of spending AT LEAST another 3-4K over the short term. I believe that you could get a far better example if you put that 3-4K into the front end of the expenditure. If you are doing the work yourself, obviously your outlay would be much less.

On another note, the owner spray painted the pillar?!?! What in the world could have possibly possessed a person to SPRAY PAINT a portion of their NSX??? An oddity like that would be a major red flag for me, but I have a very low threshold for issues that just make no sense, and this is certainly one of them.

As far as the engine issues go, I just hope that if you do pull the trigger that the issues are as small as you hope. NSX engine problems scare the heck out of me!

Don't mean to be so pessimistic, just my opinion!

Jay

 

[nimdivino]

Thank you guys for your very detailed inputs. Well appreciated..

JAYS NSX:
That's what I thought too, its retarded to spray paint it. But the seller said, the previous owner did it because of the panel fading. I'll actually going to respraycan the panel (I know I'm retarded too) but it'll be a looooot better, as I know how to actually prep, paint, and sand. And also I'll paint this car eventually, no point on paying someone to respray a panel.

Diablo360:
Glad you feel the same way about the 21K. Honestly, if something does happen like in a month (knock on wood), then I'll be screwed as I'm not prepared to work on it yet. But after 7 years of working with 86 corollas, fiddling with old engines, and after listening and driving it again yesterday when it was nice and warm, I know this engine will last me for a little bit. I just hope I'm right, I've seen used engine for 4K. yikes. Oh, it has 4 new tires, on crappy stock 15/16 rims though.

OLDMNSX:
Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely clean the throttle body. And thank you also for the tip on the tool, I didn't know it needs a special tool for the crank pulley.

So guys, congrulate me I will get the car. Maybe tomorrow if I don't head out to LA. Nothing special to look at, BONE stock but I'm so psyched.

 

[NimbleSexyXquisite]

Hey Nim,

I wont buy this ride, so no need to rush, Just wanted to say that, Just incase because you saw my post. If you need time, take it. Cus Im in LA and I wont have time to go up north these two weeks. So hopefully reading my post is not rushing you.

Oh yeah and you should get a PPI at a Acura Dealer.

Good Luck Nim. Hopefully we'll have both NSX's soon.:biggrin:

 

[nimdivino]

NimbleSexyXquisite,
LOL.. thank you man... You know what, I'm thinking about doing the PPI now. I'll call Acura tomorrow and ask how much for the inspection or bring my other friend and actually take a closer look with the engine.

Yeah, hope you find your NSX too man.. I waited for a while, a little bit over 6mos.

niM