ST205 Buying Guide
Contents
Things to consider when buying a GT4 (ST205)
Another frequently asked question, more so with ST205`s for some reason, is What should I look out for & Potential Problems. I was going to try to encompass all the 3 GT4 models in one go, but to be honest my knowledge of the ST185 and the ST165 isn't great enough to offer reliable advice upon this, so once again I will concentrate on the ST205. I'm sure someone else will offer buying advice on the other 2.
If you can't be bothered to read this, a fantastic site to visit is www.st205.net (at the time of writing this, it is down though)it covers a whole host of modding questions & advice amongst other things. Pay that site a visit even if you do read this.
There are some equally good sites that cover both the st165 and st185 (will get the links later).
Well, I will kick off with the most possibly the most notorious part of the ST205, the dreaded fig8`s.
What are fig 8`s
Figure eights are a small link that connects the bottom of the shock absorber to the front lower arm (front wheels only). It looks like this..
When you are buying a car, chances are you wont get to see this view and probably wont be bothered to take the wheel off. There are several ways to check the condition of the fig8`s. One is to try to rock the wheel backwards and forwards in the direction of rotation, if they are really bad you will notice the wheel rolling within the wheel arch, this shows that the fig8 is very worn indeed, and will effect the control of the car, be very careful should you decide to proceed from this point further, and go for a test drive.
Should this test not reveal any forward/backward motion but you can hear a slight knocking sound from the front of the car as you go over a bump, (also it can happen under braking) then chances are it is a duff fig8. They cost around £60 - £90 each to replace and it has been advised to replace the lower arms as well, these cost from £220 - £290 each so before you have even started down the modding/upkeep road, you are already facing a bill of £560 - £760 plus labour charges if you don't fix it yourself.
Staying with knocking sounds we`ll now move to the rear of the car and look at something called the rear diff mount.
What is the rear diff mount
The rear diff mount is as it says, a mounting plate for the rear differential. The diff mount is located just in front of the petrol tank and is mounted to the rear sub-frame and helps to hold the rear diff in place, as with the fig 8`s you probably wont want to crawl under the car to take a look, even if you did, there isn't a lot to see although if you have a torch, you may be able to do a visual check on the condition of the rubber.
The best way to check the condition of the rear diff mount is to take the car for a drive over some bumps, and listen out for a knocking at the rear of the car, it can also happen under braking if the diff mount is in particularly bad condition. A replacement Diff mount is £100 and can be replaced in about half an hour if you have ramps and the right equipment.
What else to look out for
As with every car that you purchase there are some common things to look out for, erratic and rough idle, smoke from the exhaust, general look of the car etc, I`m a firm believer that if the car dosnt look right, then it isn't - walk away.
Take a look at the body panels are they bent, covered in dints?? Are the gaps between the panels an even distance apart all the way along??? Open and shut the doors do they close correctly??
If you are buying an import, take a look under the wheel arches to see if they have been under sealed. (will look like rough paint, usually black), also check under the sills to see if it has been under sealed everywhere, a lot of places only do under the arches. Look for signs of rust, especially on the sills where the door meats the front wing, run you fingers along the underside of the door when it is open, see if you can feel any signs of rust coming through there. Open the boot and lift the carpet up.. is there a space saver spare wheel??? Check the boot floor and make sure there are no signs of rippling (could indicate a rear end shunt) open the little door inside the boot on the right hand side, is there a jack there. Look under the petrol tank, any signs of a leak??? Feel the carpet in the boot, is it damp??
Move around to the passenger side, feel the foot well carpet, is it damp (could indicate a busted heater matrix) Look at the stereo if it has one, turn it on (with the ignition on) does the electric Ariel move up and down smoothly, or at all in some cases.
Back to the drivers seat, waggle the steering wheel left and right, is there any play, knocking noises. Whilst you are doing that, you can make a note of the mileage to see if tallies up with the MOT documents. Check the speedo if it is an import, has it been adapted to read in MHP instead of KMPH?? Pull the bonnet catch and take a look in the engine bay, Is there any oil sprayed onto the underside of the bonnet?, check to see if there are any modifications to the car, an obvious one to look out for is a dump valve. Look at the general condition of the engine bay, any oil leaks from around the rocker cover??? Or the turbo??? Check the oil level with the dipstick.
If you can take a torch with you to check down the front of the engine and as much as you can down the back and sides, look for any strange oil leaks or marks. Also check to see if there is any indication as to when the last timing belt change was, it is sometimes marked on the top of the cam belt cover. If not find out when the last timing belt change was done and get as much proof of this as you can, don't just take someones word for it. Also check the condition of the other belts, look for cracks in the rubber.
Next take the radiator cap off and look at the condition of the water. And do a quick visual check on the other fluid levels.
Check the tyres, are they correctly inflated? And is the tyre worn evenly across its width? (a sign of the tracking being out if it isnt)
The Test Drive
Start her up and listen to the tick over, then go around to the back of the car and check out the exhaust gasses, they should be a light/mid grey colour. Whilst your there check the inside of the exhaust, if it's got a white deposit around it, it's a sign it has been running lean.. not a good thing on GT4`s, a quick check under the bonnet, undo the chargecooler filler and look down into the chargecooler, blip the throttle, make sure the coolant is being sucked down by the charge cooler water pump. (charge cooler liquid should be red)
Don't floor it straight away when you set off, the current owner will cringe if he knows anything about cars. Drive around for a while and get the feel of the car, does it turn smoothly. Listen for any knocks coming from the front or back of the car (as mentioned before). Any noises when you turn left or right, take it into a car park and do some low speed tight turns, knocking could indicate worn bearings. When the car has had chance to warm up, say 20mins or so it's time to put yer foot down a bit. When you do, take a look in the mirror and look for signs of blackish/blue smoke (worn turbo seals). Do a brake test. At about 30 ish mph take your hands off the steering wheel and apply the brakes, does the car pull to one side??? It should slow down in a straight line.
When you get back to the owners house / meeting point, let the car sit at idle for a bit, it should stay around the 750RPM mark with very little variation in tickover speed. Leave the engine running and check under the bonnet again, listen for any out of place noises, lift the dipstick slightly (about 3 inches) look for smoke coming out of the dipstick (blown ringlands).
Last but not least, if you can do an error code check.
Th th th th th that's all folks.. if all of these tests don't reveal any problems, chances are you have a good car, but don't forget to do a HPi check just to be doubly sure. Good car hunting.
