How well have 3rd generation Eclipses held up?

I know, it's not the turbocharged monster that the 1st and 2nd generation was. But I'm thinking of a new daily driver that needs to be somewhat practical yet not totally boring, and I'd like it to be under $5000. 3rd generation Eclipses seem to be pretty easy to find for cheap, and the styling seems to have aged surprisingly well.

The biggest concerns I have:

1. How well have they held up mechanically?

2. Can you fit a rear facing child seat in the back if I needed to carry a small baby in a pinch? (It wouldn't be used as a main family car, but might have to fill in for that on occasion.)

3. Any common issues to watch out for?

4. If I can do something about my excessively long commute... is a 4G63T a direct bolt in swap for the 2.4?

I believe the 2.4L engine in those is the 4g69. If it is then you can bolt the 4g63 head right onto it. I'm told that's the most common path for the 2.4 stroker kit in the evo 8 and 9. Not sure about other issues.

Owning a 3rd gen for the past decade, I can tell you a lot (but be forewarned, mine is a spyder...)

1: 210k miles, and I have never had to crack the engine open. (changed the timing belt, water pump etc.. but never had to take the head off... I should though, the blow by in extreme nowadays. I should replace my oil cap with a muffler)

2: yes...ish. it will be TIGHT. you could put it in, but the front seat might need to lean forward... and have fun getting the kid in it.

3 common issues:

3a: ricers touching them. idiot kids think they can get power through all kinds of idiotic mods that make them worse.

3b: timing belt, timing belt, timing belt. many NEVER get the recommended timing belt change, and if it snaps, you have boat anchor (interference engine)

3c: maintnenence in general. kids buy them, and instead of keeping them maintained, they drive them like idiots, then sell them. 4: In the RS and GS the engine is a 4g64. a 2.4l SOHC. "the" 4g63t (from the 1g and 2g eclipses) does not swap in (wrong direction). BUT the evo8 4g63t swap right in. the REAL modders, put the hyundai 2.0t head on (or the evo 8 head) and turbo and have a 2.4l DOHC turbo car. the bottom end can't take a lot of boost though.. and 12 psi is on the edge. 4a: if you get a GT/GTS you have the 6g72, that you can swap in a 6g74 or 6g75 CHEAP for good power (4cyl to 6cyl, or vice versa involves tranny, and subframe changes, so they are kinda silly)

other side info:

on the highway, the gt gets mileage than the 4cyl. intakes and exhuast do NOTHING because the OEM parts are HUGE. the aftermarket SUCKS. you can only really get no-name crap that looks cool, but lowers functionality... or you are going to pay out the nose.

any questions, talk to me... I KNOW this stupid fat pigs.. like the back of my hand.. I have autocrossed them, and before that it was a looker... I have a love/hate relationship with this beast... partially because it REFUSES to die.

the V6 automatic transmissions are expensive used.

Its basically the same car as a Galant, or hardtop Sebring, so anything you can learn about them is true also.

I dont care for them in general, but I cant quantify that, so feel free to disregard my opinion..

"Its basically the same car as a Galant, or hardtop Sebring" in some ways it is like a galant, they share a large amount of mechanicals... but for the sebring, it is not the hardtop, but the coupe that it is the same as just like the stratus... heck the stratus is SO close that it even has the eclipse "clock pod" but instead of a clock.... it just says "stratus".

the 4 door sebring/stratus are not related at all.

I think he meant the 2dr couple/vert when he said hardtop. The 2 door cloud car/sebring used Mitsu platforms the 4 doors used chrysler platforms.

But the very is actually still an avenger based car at that time.

It is all screwed up.

My neighbors son had one. The paint was crap, peeled off of every horizontal surface, the thing loved eating steering components and suspension bushings. I drove a few, not exactly a fun car to drive, even with a manual V6.

Yep, I forgot about that. The black paint had a class action lawsuit on it. Just the black though.

And swaybar endlinks... If you ever have to take one off, just buy a new one, and take a grinder to it. It WONT come off in one peice.

Thanks! Had a friend with a 2000s era Stratus coupe that had the black paint issue. He got a free repaint after about a year.

I wasn't even considering an automatic. Less fun, less power to the ground, and more expensive if it breaks.

Does the back seat have a center location where you could strap a rear facing child seat, or (like my E36) is there something blocking the middle that means you can only put the seat to the side?

the rear seat has a hump, and no shoulder strap. also, you would NEVER get in the kid in and out...and there are no provisions for child seats (you know the cool lock points that most new cars have).

also, little known fact: in the coupe, the rear seats fold down (50/50 split): it is not actually a coupe, it is a hatchback (the glass opens with the trunk.)

SCARR wrote: the rear seat has a hump, and no shoulder strap. also, you would NEVER get in the kid in and out...and there are no provisions for child seats (you know the cool lock points that most new cars have).

Thanks. I'm afraid that rules this one out, as I'd like to find a way to carry two kids and Mrs. Mad Scientist around in whatever I get next. (Galants might still be an option, but seem to be hard to find with a stick shift.)

The 5 speed Tranny from the eclipse gets swapped over to galant all the time.

It is a butt load of work, but the recipe is available on line.

They never did make a 3.0/5spd Galant.

But, shockingly, they DID make a 2.7v6/5spd Stratus R/T sedan. Not related in any big way other than it being almost a direct equivalent to a 3.0/5spd galant. It used the trans out of th e srt4 with a v6 bellhousing on the case.

You can get a 2.0/5spd Avenger coupe which is basically a 2g dsm with a big back seat. Should be baby seat friendly, but i never had any baby seats in the avenger i had. I did put full size adults in back for road trips. They dont come fast but they are just as turbo'able as any other neon-engine or 420a vehicle. Hahn used to sell turbo kits for them. I have a buddy right now trying to sell an MS'd hahn-turbo'd 420 eclipse with forged pistons. That setup in an Avenger is a really cool car, in my opinion. So you might consider that as basically a big 4 seat eclipse.

Vigo wrote: But, shockingly, they DID make a 2.7v6/5spd Stratus R/T sedan. Not related in any big way other than it being almost a direct equivalent to a 3.0/5spd galant. It used the trans out of th e srt4 with a v6 bellhousing on the case.

Interesting, had no idea that existed.

Avengers usually seemed to get driven into the ground here, but I guess it might be worth keeping an eye out for a nice one. (Why they never put the 3.0 / 5 speed combo in them is beyond me!)

Because the engine is backwards.

From the 2g (and it's bretheren) to the 3g (and it's bretheren) they swapped the engine direction.

That is one of the reasons you never see anyone swap the 6g72tt from the 3000gt into an eclipse. Well, that and the firewall needs moved like 6 inches, because the eclipse 6g72 is shorter (sohc vs dohc) and backwards.

It would be easier to do an ls3 and we the thing.

SCARR is this your car?

I keed. I keed.

I am working on a friends 3G eclipse right now.

Rusty, non egr working pile of E36 M3.

The interior has held up well, but the rest of the car is E36 M3. It isn't fun to drive. It drives like a big fat sedan. It is the V6 5 speed and it is a chore to drive.

I hate it!

Rob R.

My wife had an 04 Spyder GT auto for years and we had no mechanical issues at all. Bought it used with 20k miles and racked up another 150k. We had a baby seat in the back but it has to go on one side or the other, no center mount due to hump. The car was fun to drive spiritedly, never AX'd but lots of mountain twisties in NH. When they were newer they had horrible resale values so we picked it up for cheap money and would think they would still be reasonably priced. As others have mentioned see if you could avoid kid cars, lots of adult women own them and probably keep them well maintained.

SCARR wrote: Because the engine is backwards. From the 2g (and it's bretheren) to the 3g (and it's bretheren) they swapped the engine direction.

I was thinking the 3.0 SOHC K-car / minivan variant of the 6G72 - for some reason, they de-stroked it to 2.5 liters for the Avenger, then coupled it with an automatic so power sapping that the four banger with a stick was faster. Another half liter and a manual would have made the V6 actually worth going for.