im looking into buying a 91 eclipse, the base 1.8. i dont know too many of the common problems with this year, but ive heard some have a problem with the iac and stall at idle from time to time. anyone have any good/bad basic info on this year eclipse? thanks a lot for any feedback!

 

i bought my eclipse back in september of 04 and i love the car. unfortunately eclipses do have a tendancy to break down. i personally went through pretty much the whole front end of my car although i did beat the hell out of it. my advice to you is to let a mechanic take a look at it before you buy it and if he says its all good then go and buy it. but like any car if you beat the hell out of it you will have to replace parts. the only thing i dont like about that one is the 1.8 engine. eclipses are good cars if you take care of them. they are nice to drive they handle pretty well and they are small so it makes swerving through traffic easier. do what you want but ill tell you straight up i put about 8,000$ worth of parts into my car not including my rims or speakers in the past year and i wouldnt even consider giving it up. by far the favorite car i ever owned. also mine is a 93 gs so its the same gen as that 91. hope this advice helps you make a decision thats the good and the bad.

 

You have a 4g37 SOHC, 110 hp and a transmission that won't mount to the 4g63. Good running little car. It was my wifes until she blew it up. Don't get that one if you are planning any worthwhile mods though.

 

I don't think they make many mods for 1.8L engines anyways for ANY car. I STILL can't find them for my Nissan.

 

Another thought. EVERY 1G eclipse I ever owned ended up needing an ECU replacement. The faulty capacitors leak after a while and destroy the circuitry. Ask the owner if it has been replaced and if not, capacitors are about 30 cents and an electronics repair shop can do it in no time. Better than buying a new ECU. Hints that this is happening are things like clicking of your ECU controlled components,(Relays,IAC,etc) rough idle, wont idle, poor fuel consumption, Long cranking periods before starting. Once the car is yours open the ECU and see if there is any sort of liquid stain on the wafer board.

 

That's a good point. The capacitor leak is a known problem.