Discouraged owner, should i sell SY?

[cvcsmkr]

well i dont know what to do. i have had the sy for about 5 months now and i have had quite a few problems. And i am getting real discouraged. I dont have a ton of time/money to spend on truck. I work full time got to college at night, been married for a year and have a house. I dont want the luck i have been having with the sy to continue.

List of things broke/fixed:
1. full tune-up do to 12*KR
2. replaced a few AC switches and AC blower motor
3. tightend loose IC connection then came the overboost, so then installed mini-gate on to crossover to fix overboost prob.
4. hot-shot relay due to intermittent starting

Things broke right now
1. AC is Low on refrigerant.
2. Low/High Idle RPM Problem, i beileve due to f*cked up IAC

not including things that needed to be fixed from when i bought it:
new tires
new fuel press sending unit
new 02 sensor
fuel level gauge(still broke)



Is this normal or is the sy kicking my a$$? is this the typical experience of a sy/ty 6 month life?

I hope you understand i am coming from owning a 99 impreza which didn't give me a single problem once in 60K miles, except for tranny but i was expecting that to break from the 6K clutch dumps. Don't get me wrong i absolutely love the sy and i have wanted one for years, i just didn't know how much attention they require. I guess i am just looking for some advice good/bad.

 

[JustBeachin]

Sounds somewhat normal, depending on how well things were taken care of throughout it's life.

The idle fluctuation sounds to me like an O2 sensor, not IAC.....btdt.

Good luck.

 

[turbodog]

Sounds like typical stuff to have to clean up when buying from a somewhat neglectful previous owner. I'd say if you didn't budget $200 - $300 to fix 'this and that' after buying the truck (not needed if buying from a mainenence fanatic) - not including tires, then you probably cut it a little too close, budget-wise.

These are 13 year old trucks. Mine has over 100k mi. Many have been driven very hard. Random stuff IS going to start to break. I would budget $25 per month for random component wear-out, AFTER fixing the stuff you know is wrong now.

As for the idle, the ECM does NOT look at O2 at idle. It only computes cross-counts and adjusts BLM offsets based on O2 output during steady-state cruising. At idle, ECM is operating open-loop. If the O2 sensor is bad, look for BLM values way off from 128 'nominal' value. Or, the cheap way is to pull the ECMB fuse for 30 sec, plug it back in, and fire her up. Pulling fuse will reset BLM to 128. So, if it BLM was way off due to bad O2, this will re-center it and fix the erratic idle (then you know to replace the O2 sensor). But, don't count on it. I agree with your assessment, check IAC first.


I suggest you also budget $30-40 (Iforget the exact cost) for Opie's CDROM, so you can go thru the troubleshooting for erratic idle systematically.

HTH, feel free to vent your frustration. Hope you can find a way to keep the truck.

 

[J_SULLIVAN]

Join the club! Thats one of the few reasons I'm putting mine away until sometime between now and late fall or early winter. Just can't get nickel and dimed by it and try to keep the rest of my life going. If you don't have the option to not drive it then you might be better off selling it or just get a cheap beater to drive, which is something I gotta do, until you can get your money in order the way you like it. Good luck on your choice and do whats best for YOU and not the Sy! :wink:

 

[Seankanzig]

Sounds like general maintance to me.

They don't seem to be horrible problems that you are having its just going to take time to chase down the "little demons" that are left over from the previous owner's use/abuse.

But I do understand the going to school fulltime and working fulltime situation. Feels like you never have enough time in the day to do what needs to be done, and I really understand that if the Sy is your only/daily driver. I'm fortunate enough to own two vehicles (95 Ranger beater) and my 86 SVO (that my "toy" car, and its been a PITA). When the SVO breaks I still have a way to get from point A. to B. it may set a few weeks, before it gets fixed, but in the end I have the ability to wait until the I have time to work on it.

Good luck with the Syclone. If you do decide to sell it, I may be interested when my SVO is gone.

Just my .02

Sean

 

[nick041881]

if the things that you are experiencing were the worst of my problems i would buy two syclones so i had more to fix!!

 

[cvcsmkr]

the money is not a big deal, its mostly the time.
i did set aside money to fix the things that needed to be.

its not my daily either. i have a company work van and the wife has a catera. that does help so it can sit there in between problems. i cant imagine this being a daily driver for someone.

i would rather spend more time driving the sy than fixing it. and that certainly hasn't been the case since i have owned it. It makes it worst that i am just jumping into this vehicle and know nothing about them. i spend the better half of my day on this site looking up stuff. I have no problem learning new stuff and doing troubleshooting. Its just not what i expected.
i have never before heard of a iac, egr, or all the other old crap that breaks on these things.

speaking of iac, were is it? i know somewhere by TB but where exactly?

i dont know, maybe i just need to vent.

nick: then good thing i am not in your shoes, i probably would have poured gas all over it and lit it up.

 

[AlaskaTy]

the money is not a big deal, its mostly the time.
i did set aside money to fix the things that needed to be.

its not my daily either. i have a company work van and the wife has a catera. that does help so it can sit there in between problems. i cant imagine this being a daily driver for someone.

i would rather spend more time driving the sy than fixing it. and that certainly hasn't been the case since i have owned it. It makes it worst that i am just jumping into this vehicle and know nothing about them. i spend the better half of my day on this site looking up stuff. I have no problem learning new stuff and doing troubleshooting. Its just not what i expected.
i have never before heard of a iac, egr, or all the other old crap that breaks on these things.

speaking of iac, were is it? i know somewhere by TB but where exactly?

i dont know, maybe i just need to vent.

nick: then good thing i am not in your shoes, i probably would have poured gas all over it and lit it up.

The IAC is connected by a weatherpac connector and it's at the bottom and firewall side of the TB. My ty's my dd, and it breaks down all the time...I'm thinking about buying me a $700 civic for a dd until I can get the ty running 100%.

 

[elipsekid]

i know exactly how you feel i havent had my sy that long either
whenever something happens im always discouraged as well
my sy has been nothing but problems
when i bought my sy i had no clue where to begin but im slowly learning its just taking alot of time
when the problem gets fixed, about 2-4 weeks later another problem begins
its just annoying but from what ive been through and read these trucks are very high maintnence
just my .02
hope everything works out for the best
chris

 

[J_SULLIVAN]

There should be a love/hate venting section for these trucks and their money giving owners... :evil:

 

[cvcsmkr]

i second that sy697!

elipsekid: i am suprised youre up to 2-4 weeks. i think i am getting a new problems faster than i can get the old ones solved. well i think were going to have to stick together. maybe both of our brains can keep our sy's puttin.

 

[ItsMyTy]

As for the idle, the ECM does NOT look at O2 at idle. It only computes cross-counts and adjusts BLM offsets based on O2 output during steady-state cruising. At idle, ECM is operating open-loop..

don't know where you got this info, but it's not correct. idle at operating temperature is closed loop.

 

[elipsekid]

i second that sy697!

elipsekid: i am suprised youre up to 2-4 weeks. i think i am getting a new problems faster than i can get the old ones solved. well i think were going to have to stick together. maybe both of our brains can keep our sy's puttin.

that happens too but lately its been that long
so i kinda have the roller coaster effect goin on its running and then its not
but it is fun when it does run even if it is for a few days

 

[SY2932]

I have no problem learning new stuff and doing troubleshooting. Its just not what i expected.
i have never before heard of a iac, egr, or all the other old crap that breaks on these things.

Heh when I got my syclone five years ago, I never even changed the oil in a vehicle or even waxed one :-? . Syclone ownership changed all that :wink: . I feel for you as the first two years of ownership were relatively trouble free for me. Dunno if I would have the same feelings towards my truck if it was always breaking when I first bought it. Once I got to hang out with other owners, my learning curve was MUCH less. It has always been better for me to see something rather than just read about it... Florida has prolly the largest group of owners, perhaps you should try to hook up with one/some of them sometime.

 

[turbodog]

As for the idle, the ECM does NOT look at O2 at idle. It only computes cross-counts and adjusts BLM offsets based on O2 output during steady-state cruising. At idle, ECM is operating open-loop..

don't know where you got this info, but it's not correct. idle at operating temperature is closed loop.

Oops, you're right... I was thinking of cold start & warmup. Sorry, folks.

 

[Jimmy]

Pretty normal stuff you got happening,so don't feel like The Lone Ranger.
I took my tuck to the shop today for a $50 frontend alignment. It cost me $484 ,because both my lower ball joints and one of the uppers was shot.So far I've replaced the engine,transmission,and all the stuff that just wears out (brakes,shocks,tires,ect.)

If you can put up with the pain,the pleasure of driving it when it's right will win you over.If not,just sell the POS.

 

[gmcturbo]

i just went through wanting to sell my ty but decided not to.... i have had to deal with more than that in about a year (tranny, vac leaks, tune up)....

 

[Ozrein]

I'm in the same boat. Bought my Sy almost a year ago and it's just not running right. I've got a loud-ish ticking sound coming from the top-end (injectors?), stutter at WOT and the starter is going (that the main stuff)

Now I've done my own oil changes and the odd thing here or there but when it comes to tracking down a problem I'm at a loss. Guess I've just jumped in feet first into (what seems to be) one of the most trouble-some vehicles on the road. I just wish there were some more SyTy owners around my area to talk to about these things.

ANyway enough with my complaints, just keep in mind that as far as I've read, SyTy's are off the road because of problems just as much as they're on the road.

IMO, keep the Sy. I know I cant wait to get all these issues fixed and can start roasting some Rustangs, Lightnings, etc...

 

[DanenGraham]

I have had my sy for about 1.5 years, I paid $8200 for it and now have about another 13K in it. I have only drivin it for mabye 4-6months of the time i have had it. In the first two weeks my list

Heater core-blew up on my trip home from IL from where i got it.
Upper Lower ball joints- check them when i got home- shot.
Idler arm- check while doing ball joints
ect ect....


I spend 2 grand in the first month i had it.

They suck, no ifs ands or buts about it, but when they run they run. Good luck.

 

[Loeryder]

Geeesh, you got off easy if thats all that was wrong with it.

I know my list was exceptionally long, but most owners end up with quite a clean up bill taking over a SyTy.

Most of the stuff you mentioned was wear parts.
Just wait till you start breaking the hard stuff.
That will be a testiment to your faith.

If you want it bad enough you will fix anything to keep it.

SyTy fer life!