I have the chance of getting into a 2003 Single turbo car for VERY LITTLE money. I just wanted to ask some people who know alot about these cars. What are some things to look for on the vehicle before I get myself into a nightmare.

Stuff I know about the car:
2003 Track.
13k miles
7k approx. miles on the turbokit
Turbonetics t-60
All supporting mods-exhaust, !cats, boost controller, etc.
Competition Clutch

The bad that I know about:
Car has a Nasty exhaust leak. sounds to be around the area of the downpipe but don't know exactly where it is until I put it on a lift. Car also has some issues building boost. Person who owned the car said it's supposed to make 7.5lbs but was only seeing 2-3lbs underload. But I'm thinking this may be tied to the exhaust leak.

Looking for some insight and some help?
Thank you guys ahead of time.

I can try to answer some more things about the car just wanted to get the topic open for discussion.

 

i would never buy a NA car that was boosted. Esp one with problems.

If he gets it all fixed up then maybe i'd spend the money on a leakdown and compression test. too much stuff can go wrong with a turbo kit and then you are out a couple grand for a new motor

 

how much are you getting it for?... Bring it to a tuner near you.. have them run a check on the car and turbo etc, b4 you buy it ofcourse... sometimes it could be worth it.

 

Would be around 15k for the car. I was going to do a compression and leakdown test on it before I made the decision.

 

Man !!!! I would get a pro to check that thing out. YOu are in FL....so you can go south to PF or north to FP

15K sounds good....but it may cost the same to fix it

 

Completely check out the engine - if the compression and leakdown test come out clean, I'd seriously consider it - even if there was an issue with the turbo kit...

 

I would recommend not wasting your time. I understand it's cheap but fixing a motor can be expensive as well. Just my .02 .....Know any more history on the car? Where was the work done? Tuned?

 

My only true worry about the vehicle is how cheap the person let the car go for. All the work was done (according to the person) by a shop in Orlando. I would have a pro do the leakdown and compression check on the vehicle. I know a good bit about cars but not these. I mainly have been in and around foxbody mustangs and my current vehicle which is a Gto.
I don't mind spending some money to make the car better (not replacing a motor though).

edit: spelling and grammar owns me.

 

take it to Jeremy at PF and have him point you in the right direction

 

Thanks for the insight. Where is he located?

 

www.performancefactory.com or pm on here he goes by AudibleMayhem.

As far as the car, it sounds like it has a major pre-turbine exhaust leak. That would explain why it was sputtering and not making full boost. I'd still recommend taking it in and having it tested like mentioned before.

 

Thank you for the info.

 

dude kirby, its me steve! with the red turbo g.

haha dude you're looking into a turbo z now!? haha about time you got a fast car

seriously tho, all my work was done down in orlando aswell with jeremy at PF, they do the best work around here by far, the treated me amazing!

funny how i just run across you on here haha.

If you want i can look at the car, ive got the turbonetics kit aswell.

 

Definately have the car checked out as it seems something is wrong. I would do a leakdown and compression test and have a local shop make sure everything else is good before diving into it. The main thing is you can never be sure he turned up the boost and ran it or how the motor is running.