Buying a 94' VR4 Tomorrow. I have a couple questions....

**hazards280** · 07-27-2011, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by green-lantern

I'd try and get him down a bit more. If it has a spun bearing (and you should believe it) then you could have a lot of work on your hands.

Right now, if I am not 100% sure it is the lifters, I am walking away. I dont have the time nor the money to be rebuilding (or potentially replacing) the engine in it. I will be there around noon tomorrow, I may take a small video of the car and upload it to hear so you guys can hear the noise and help me a little.

Does the engine bay looked shady to you man? I dont know what the engine bay should look like in a vr4 as I have only owned a 94 SL

**green-lantern** · 07-27-2011, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by hazards280

Right now, if I am not 100% sure it is the lifters, I am walking away. I dont have the time nor the money to be rebuilding (or potentially replacing) the engine in it. I will be there around noon tomorrow, I may take a small video of the car and upload it to hear so you guys can hear the noise and help me a little.

Does the engine bay looked shady to you man? I dont know what the engine bay should look like in a vr4 as I have only owned a 94 SL

The engine bay doesn't look bad but I'm not sure if you can be 100% sure it's a lifter. Post up a vid if you can but it's probably is a bearing.

**dbest671** · 07-27-2011, 11:45 PM

That looks like a rat's nest wiring in the back of the engine bay.

I would inquire if the car has been in an accident, the hood and front bumper looks jacked up. And it also appear the driver's side is a glass headlight while the passenger side is lexan.

Check the oil pan for dents also.

**hazards280** · 07-27-2011, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by dbest671

That looks like a rat's nest wiring in the back of the engine bay.

I would inquire if the car has been in an accident, the hood and front bumper looks jacked up. And it also appear the driver's side is a glass headlight while the passenger side is lexan.

Check the oil pan for dents also.

The wiring in the back scares me as well.

I asked him about the hood and he had it "semi-popped" i guess you would call it. He opened the hood to take the engine bay photo and just sat the hood back down lightly.

I will be checking into the headlight issue as well, being a 95, it should have just lexans if I recall correctly.

Im incredibly nervous about what im going to find or what im not going to see when im there. I really dont want to just waste $50 in gas you know.

**dbest671** · 07-28-2011, 12:14 AM

^Is it a 94 or 95? Very early production 95 had glass headlights. But I will *almost* put money that the driver's side is glass and the passenger side is lexan. Definitely missing the bumper gasket that goes around the headlight bucket on the passenger side though.

This is just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions. But with my limited knowledge about VR4s, even though I have owned two, I wouldn't touch that car. There just seems to be something off about the car. Maybe it is the different color couplers, the unsymmetrical FMIC, the rat's nest wiring, the bent to hell front manifold headshield, or just the dirty engine bay. But again, I'm an asshole and look at the little things.

I really just question the owner's knowledge about the platform because he can't tell the difference between lifter tick and spun bearing. But he has all those mods done to the car.

**hazards280** · 07-28-2011, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by dbest671

^Is it a 94 or 95? Very early production 95 had glass headlights. But I will *almost* put money that the driver's side is glass and the passenger side is lexan. Definitely missing the bumper gasket that goes around the headlight bucket on the passenger side though.

This is just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions. But with my limited knowledge about VR4s, even though I have owned two, I wouldn't touch that car. There just seems to be something off about the car. Maybe it is the different color couplers, the unsymmetrical FMIC, the rat's nest wiring, the bent to hell front manifold headshield, or just the dirty engine bay. But again, I'm an asshole and look at the little things.

I really just question the owner's knowledge about the platform because he can't tell the difference between lifter tick and spun bearing. But he has all those mods done to the car.

The car is a 95, according to the owner. He bought the car from someone that did all the mods too the car and now he is "over it" The price of the car is $4000. Im sure he would take $3800 cash, do you think it would even be worth it at that price?

At this point I am seriously contemplating NOT going down there tomorrow. Going back and looking at the pictures, I just have that gut feeling about the car.

**CoopKill** · 07-28-2011, 12:41 AM

After seeing the pics dbest is right, (I will put money on it) the passenger lens is post 94 (lexan), and it looks shoved into the center of the bumper cover. The fender is also misaligned with the bumper cover.

It looks like they did a vac/egr delete on it. It has lowering springs, or coilovers. With the looks of the rest of the work on it, I would say springs. With how the front mount is mounted, I would say the honda owner that did the mods was very unconcerned with quality and function...

My gut feeling is in line with yours. With the engine problems he readily admits it has, and the obvious issues in the pics you are looking a lot of time and money to get it back to decent condition. Unless you are prepared to do the work and can talk him down to about $2500, I would walk. There are much better examples out there at a similar price (4000-5500)...

Carfax it before going.

Edit: It appears to also be missing the front active aero.

**hazards280** · 07-28-2011, 01:18 AM

Hey Guys, I have made the decision to pass on the car. I figure I will simply save the money and go purchase one I do not have to be concerned about. Thank you all very much for the input and I plan on letting you guys know what I do in the near future.

Once again, Thank You