A noobs guide for buying an Evo X

547 Views 23 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Aidy, 5 d ago

Cris

Discussion Starter · 17 d ago

Hey there

I haven't searched online yet, thought i'd ask here first : can you give me a few basic things to look out for/check when viewing an Evo X?

I know the very basics like how a car should drive, check for leaks, if it smokes, abnormal noises etc. But is there anything specific to an Evo X that i can easily check for? I say easily as i have no mechanical skills so in depth checks won't be possible.

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

leeslancer8

· #2 · 17 d ago

Take someone with you who knows them. Where are you located??

Reactions: 1

Cris

Discussion Starter · #3 · 16 d ago

leeslancer8 said:
Take someone with you who knows them. Where are you located??

I don't know any such person unfortunately. I'm located in Chester, the car for sale is near Edinburgh so it's a fair trek!

Cris

Discussion Starter · #4 · 16 d ago (Edited)

ignore

stu8

· #5 · 15 d ago

Basically check all the usual stuff you would with any car of this age, also if its sst, the gearbox wants to be smooth, not slip on changes, no unusual noises and no warnings on the dash. Check AYC, can you toggle between the 3 modes, do this after a good test drive once all up to temp. The biggy, like all evo's and jap cars in general, rot, have a good look underneath, uk evo 10's a pretty much all 15 years old now, so immaculate is not to be expected, but you dont want to buy someones rot box. Also check the aluminium suspension arms, they can perish/crack/split around their bushes

Reactions: 1

Cris

Discussion Starter · #6 · 14 d ago

stu8 said:
Basically check all the usual stuff you would with any car of this age, also if its sst, the gearbox wants to be smooth, not slip on changes, no unusual noises and no warnings on the dash. Check AYC, can you toggle between the 3 modes, do this after a good test drive once all up to temp. The biggy, like all evo's and jap cars in general, rot, have a good look underneath, uk evo 10's a pretty much all 15 years old now, so immaculate is not to be expected, but you dont want to buy someones rot box. Also check the aluminium suspension arms, they can perish/crack/split around their bushes

Thankyou. The seller has told me there's a warning light lit on the dash to do with the headlights because it has "VLAND" headlights fitted. I will check the function of the AYC, apparently it has a reconditioned 1 fitted. About possible rot, i will get down to check the underneath, like you said i can't expect it to be mint. If I buy it 1 of the 1st preventative jobs i'll get done is to remove rust + underseal it. Its most recent MOT has an advisory for corroded fuel filler. From what i've read online if serviced regularly and not abused these engines are reasonably strong. I hope so as the journey home is 300 miles! Yes i have breakdown cover just in case 😅

stu8

· #7 · 13 d ago

Cris said:
Thankyou. The seller has told me there's a warning light lit on the dash to do with the headlights because it has "VLAND" headlights fitted. I will check the function of the AYC, apparently it has a reconditioned 1 fitted. About possible rot, i will get down to check the underneath, like you said i can't expect it to be mint. If I buy it 1 of the 1st preventative jobs i'll get done is to remove rust + underseal it. Its most recent MOT has an advisory for corroded fuel filler. From what i've read online if serviced regularly and not abused these engines are reasonably strong. I hope so as the journey home is 300 miles! Yes i have breakdown cover just in case 😅

Fuel fillers on older generation evos have always been a week spot for corrosion, cant say its clear its the same for the X but wouldn't surprise me. Is it manual or sst? To my surprise, the x is actually the most reliable modified car i've ever owner, running for 5 years at 380hp in my ownership

stu8

· #8 · 13 d ago

Also if it does have aftermarket headlights, it may be worth asking if the original headlights are with the car too

Reactions: 1

Cris

Discussion Starter · #9 · 13 d ago (Edited)

stu8 said:
Fuel fillers on older generation evos have always been a week spot for corrosion, cant say its clear its the same for the X but wouldn't surprise me. Is it manual or sst? To my surprise, the x is actually the most reliable modified car i've ever owner, running for 5 years at 380hp in my ownership

It's SST, here's the eBay ad for it :

www.ebay.co.uk

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - FSH 400bhp & Upgraded Gearbox | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - FSH 400bhp & Upgraded Gearbox at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

stu8 said:
Also if it does have aftermarket headlights, it may be worth asking if the original headlights are with the car too

Ah yes good idea i will ask if the headlights come with the car.
Edit: no the original headlights have been sold.

stu8

· #10 · 13 d ago

Cris said:
It's SST, here's the eBay ad for it :

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - FSH 400bhp & Upgraded Gearbox | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - FSH 400bhp & Upgraded Gearbox at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Ah yes good idea i will ask if the headlights come with the car.

From the listing, few observations -

firstly, looks tidy

BUT - 10's are known to be very sensitive to breathing modifications, so the "Since then it has had a performance exhaust, intake and intercooler fitted to increase performance to around 400bhp. " gives me 2 thoughts, 1, thats fitted after remap, so if I was to buy, i would get the fuelling checked by a mapper, and maybe map tweak if needed. Also, for the gearbox, i'd want to know what clutches were fitted on rebuild, and evidence of the parts fitted and work done.

Also with the gearbox changes and remap, i'd be very interested to know if the sst ecu has been remapped, or just the main engine ecu files that affect the sst, as i didn't think this was possible. selecting s-sport 'on the go', rather than the standard set up that s-sport can only be selected when stationary, would imply things have moved on from what I knew, so from a personal interest, i'd be interested to know whats been done there

Test drive, make sure there is no slip on gear changes throughout the rev range under full load

See less See more

Reactions: 1

Aidy

· #11 · 13 d ago

Warning lights on the dash might result in an MOT fail depending on the warning and how jobsworth the tester is being. There's nothing wrong with the OEM ones.

Reactions: 1

Cris

Discussion Starter · #12 · 13 d ago (Edited)

stu8 said:
From the listing, few observations -

firstly, looks tidy

BUT - 10's are known to be very sensitive to breathing modifications, so the "Since then it has had a performance exhaust, intake and intercooler fitted to increase performance to around 400bhp. " gives me 2 thoughts, 1, thats fitted after remap, so if I was to buy, i would get the fuelling checked by a mapper, and maybe map tweak if needed. Also, for the gearbox, i'd want to know what clutches were fitted on rebuild, and evidence of the parts fitted and work done.

Also with the gearbox changes and remap, i'd be very interested to know if the sst ecu has been remapped, or just the main engine ecu files that affect the sst, as i didn't think this was possible. selecting s-sport 'on the go', rather than the standard set up that s-sport can only be selected when stationary, would imply things have moved on from what I knew, so from a personal interest, i'd be interested to know whats been done there

Test drive, make sure there is no slip on gear changes throughout the rev range under full load

By no slippage you mean no clutch slip when booting it just like you'd expect in a manual car, I will test for that yes. Thanks for the other pointers.
Edit: in the ad he's stated the clutches are "550bhp rated from AP transmissions", i've asked for evidence of this.

Aidy said:
Warning lights on the dash might result in an MOT fail depending on the warning and how jobsworth the tester is being. There's nothing wrong with the OEM ones.

The seller says the "asf" warning light is lit on the dash on startup and this is because of the aftermarket headlights (he's sold the OEM's). Vland headlights (and rear lights i think) have been fitted. I'm not sure it'd be a fail tbh, maybe an advisory? I've not seen a fail for a dash headlight warning light being on.

stu8

· #13 · 13 d ago

Cris said:
By no slippage you mean no clutch slip when booting it just like you'd expect in a manual car, I will test for that yes. Thanks for the other pointers.
Edit: in the ad he's stated the clutches are "550bhp rated from AP transmissions", i've asked for evidence of this.

The seller says the "asf" warning light is lit on the dash on startup and this is because of the aftermarket headlights (he's sold the OEM's). Vland headlights (and rear lights i think) have been fitted. I'm not sure it'd be a fail tbh, maybe an advisory? I've not seen a fail for a dash headlight warning light being on.

I think any warning lights can be a fail now, changed a couple of years ago. yes when booting it, and also when the gears change as you boot it, for example on an upchange under full throttle, the revs actually rise at first as the higher gear selects (obviously revs should just drop the instant it selects the higher gear) . For my interest too, if you do go test drive, test his claim that s-sport can be selected whilst on the move, its something that has been wanted for years but was never available (as far as I knew)

Cris

Discussion Starter · #14 · 12 d ago

stu8 said:
I think any warning lights can be a fail now, changed a couple of years ago. yes when booting it, and also when the gears change as you boot it, for example on an upchange under full throttle, the revs actually rise at first as the higher gear selects (obviously revs should just drop the instant it selects the higher gear) . For my interest too, if you do go test drive, test his claim that s-sport can be selected whilst on the move, its something that has been wanted for years but was never available (as far as I knew)

I've done some googling around, i agree some warning lights can be a fail, i've just read a forum post by an mot tester made in jan 2022 :

"...MOT tester here - will try and clear a few things up...

The warning for the active headlight fault is not a fail.
The active headlights do not need to work..."

Of course i don't know the validity of this claim, maybe it's best i contact my usual mot tester and ask him. The fix for the asf warning light doesn't look too difficult for a pro, a resistor needs to be wired in, i couldn't do it it'd be a job for an auto-electrician.

Yes no problem I will test that the s-sport can be selected on the move. He's just sent me proof of the gearbox etc being a recon item and pictures of it before it was installed, looks legit.

stu8

· #15 · 12 d ago

Cris said:
I've done some googling around, i agree some warning lights can be a fail, i've just read a forum post by an mot tester made in jan 2022 :

"...MOT tester here - will try and clear a few things up...

The warning for the active headlight fault is not a fail.

The active headlights do not need to work..."

Of course i don't know the validity of this claim, maybe it's best i contact my usual mot tester and ask him. The fix for the asf warning light doesn't look too difficult for a pro, a resistor needs to be wired in, i couldn't do it it'd be a job for an auto-electrician.

Yes no problem I will test that the s-sport can be selected on the move. He's just sent me proof of the gearbox etc being a recon item and pictures of it before it was installed, looks legit.

did he tell you which uprated clutches were fitted?

Cris

Discussion Starter · #16 · 12 d ago

stu8 said:
did he tell you which uprated clutches were fitted?

No, tbh i thought he did when the ad stated "550 bhp rated clutch from AP transmissions" covered it but i see now there's no actual name of the clutch given there, so i will ask him, thanks.

Cris

Discussion Starter · #17 · 12 d ago

stu8 said:
did he tell you which uprated clutches were fitted?

He says they are Dodson clutches.

Reactions: 1

Cris

Discussion Starter · #18 · 8 d ago

An update : I was due to see the car today, i'd made all the arrangements with trains etc but the seller contacted me 2 days ago to say there was a problem with the car, with the AYC pump motor specifically, and that he wanted to replace it due to a "dodgy connection". Obviously i was pretty disappointed.

I'm unsure whether to go through with the sale now when this work is done. It's good he was honest but i'm now wondering about the condition of the rest of the car.

stu8

· #19 · 8 d ago

Cris said:
An update : I was due to see the car today, i'd made all the arrangements with trains etc but the seller contacted me 2 days ago to say there was a problem with the car, with the AYC pump motor specifically, and that he wanted to replace it due to a "dodgy connection". Obviously i was pretty disappointed.

I'm unsure whether to go through with the sale now when this work is done. It's good he was honest but i'm now wondering about the condition of the rest of the car.

AYC pumps are a weak point on older evo's. good he told you first to be fair. I remember driving 3 hours to view a vehicle for the seller to tell me someone had offered him a more than we agreed, complete waste of a day and fuel

Stu

Cris

Discussion Starter · #20 · 8 d ago

stu8 said:
AYC pumps are a weak point on older evo's. good he told you first to be fair. I remember driving 3 hours to view a vehicle for the seller to tell me someone had offered him a more than we agreed, complete waste of a day and fuel

Stu

Yes it's good he's told me beforehand although the pessimist in me says I wonder if he's only told me to protect his perfect eBay feedback? But yeh many sellers wouldn't bother, I think he's told me for good reasons.

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