g00fy's 05' FXT is Back [Archive] - TriStateTuners.com

View Full Version : g00fy's 05' FXT is Back

Pages : [1] 2

g00fy

02-11-2011, 11:37 AM

I bought my forester back in April of 2005, brand new off the floor Crystal Grey Metallic with a 4eat.

Roughly a year later i got bit by the mod bug and purchased a QTP Downpipe with cut-out, and it's been a slippery, expensive, slope since then, and it's still not finished... I'll try to bring this Journal up to date as quickly and neatly as possible.

My ultimate goal for this car epic sleeper, near stock appearance, ride height, exhaust note, etc. The car also has to be able to handle all sorts of small SUV tasks such as towing, light off-roading, hauling, etc. Hence my first mod being a catless downpipe with a cut-out, it flowed great, allowed me to keep things quiet or crank up the volume if the situation called for it.

I'll skip the boring stuff and post up my current mod list, then I'll follow the list with my long and painful story until this point.

--------------------------THE OLD FAIL MOD LIST-------------------------

Fuel & Tuning:

* Jr. Tuned Open Source Tune @ 318hp (All Valves Were Leaking)
* 93 Octane Pump Gas
* Motul 300V 10W40
* Walbro 255lph
* Deatschwerks 850cc Injectors
* Agency Power Rails

Engine/Turbo:

* Rallispec Street Spec Short block FAIL
- 09' Nitrated Crank
- Cosworth Pistons/Bearings
- Manley H-Beam Rods
* Custom Built Heads FAIL
- Kelford 264/264
- Supertech .5 Over Valves
- Supertech Dual Valve Springs
- Supertech Retainers
- Mild Port Job
* ATP35R IWG Turbo @ 23psi

Exhaust / Intake:

* P&P'd STi Exhaust Manifold
* Catless Turbo XS uppipe
* QTP Catless Downpipe w/Cut-out
* Maddad Whisper Catback
* Perrin Old School Big MAF Intake
* P&P'd Intake Manifold

Drivetrain:

* Fully Built IPT 4eat w/High Stall & Valvebody
* Modena 4eat Front LSD

Suspension:

* Coming Soon

Brakes:

* Racing Brake Slotted Rotors All Around
* Racing Brake H6 Rear Upgrade
* Racing Brake ET500 Pads All Around
* Goodridge Stainless Brake Lines
* ATE Superblue Fluid

Wheels & tires:

* Stock Rims w/215x70x16 General Grabber AT's (Winter)
* MB Boost 17" Rims
* BFG Sports 225x55x17 (Summer)

Interior:

* Custom Garage XTi Triple Gauge Center Pod
* 60mm Omori Boost, EGT, Oil Pressure
* Alpine 9835 Head Unit
* Dual Alpine 12" Type R Subs

Exterior:

* 02-03 JDM STi Hoodscoop

--------------------------THE NEW WIN MOD LIST-------------------------

Tuning:

*Utec Delta w/map switching ???

Engine/Turbo:

* Area1320 Re-Built Short block
- Re-Honed
- CP Pistons
- Polished Crank
- All New Bearings
- Upgraded Oil Pick-up (Killer B or Covert???)
* Custom Area1320 Built Heads
- GSC 272/272 Cams
- Supertech .5 Over Inconel Exhaust Valves
- Supertech Dual Valve Springs
- Supertech Retainers
- Bitchin' Awesome Custom Area1320 Port Job
* ATP35R IWG Turbo @ 23psi Maybe Rebuilt if Needed

Drivetrain:

* http://www.powertraincontrolsolutions.com/ Custom Stand Alone TCU

Suspension:

* King Springs Stiffer Springs (Stock height in front, 3/4" lift in rear)

Exterior/Protection:

* Primitive racing 1/8" skid plate with stinger option & oil drain holes.
* Replacement Baby Head Hitch Cover

Will add pictures and story later...

The Story Of my Foresters Slow & Painful Evolution:

Like i said before I bought my forester new in April of 2005, since then the modding process has been slow, painful, and retardedly expensive.

My First mod in spring of 2006 was a QTP Downpipe with electric cut-out. Great pipe, kinda expensive, and the electric motors don't hold up very well, but they're cheap and easy to replace.

Part 1, Level 10 and the 4eat Nightmare

The Downpipe held me for a while, then I got involved with Level 10 transmission later in 2006. A buddy of mine convinced me to pick up a Fully built Level 10 Trans out of a 2000 Subaru forester. The trans was supposed to go in a project car that got scrapped and little did I know this trans bounced around nasioc for a while before i finally picked it up. Before purchasing it i called level 10 to verify fitment. They told me yea it'll fit, bring it in and we'll swap it in for you. So i picked up the trans for a very reasonable price, brought it to level 10, they had the car for about a week, i called them they said there were some problems with the electronics & fitment between the model years, so i said ok call me when you got it figured out. A couple more days go by, i call back and they say well, things were not going very smooth so we just gave you a credit for the trans you brought us and built your stock one up and charged you the balance...

At the time i figured OK that's fair especially since they credited me a few hundred dollars more then i paid for the used trans, and I now had a fully built new trans from what i thought was a reputable company. Little did i know I had just gotten the ultimate shaft. So i have the trans for no more then a week and spot a trans leak. Bring the car back, they have it for a day, say it's fixed, send it back, the leak is now worse. This went on for several weeks before it finally seemed to get fixed.

Shortly after that in February or march i was at college and i start my car up in the parking garage on the coldest day of the year. The car is billowing smoke, but i assume it's condensation and whatnot cause it's freezing out. I back outta the spot and notice a big old spot of trans fluid and a big spot of motor oil. Great. I had the car towed t a local dealership (Ramsey Subaru), cause mods aside the car was still under warranty. They call me up and tell me my car failed the compression test/leak down. The Woman running the service desk at the time was a real nice person, she calmed me down & told me she'd probably be able to get Subaru to warranty it. Sure enough Subaru did despite my Open downpipe and fully built automatic trans. After the job though they gave me a short novel i had to read and sign that basically said, "we did this out of the kindness of our hearts, we will never do it again." I was cool with that and quickly learned the importance of a Tune.

Time went on and i started getting deeper into the mod game. P&P'd STi headers came along, catless uppipe, EBC, and an internet tune. However my level 10 trans kept having new and interesting problems. It was not shifting between 1st & 2nd on launches, the thing started whining like crazy. I kept bringing it back and they kept feeding me BS and the trans just kept getting worse.

Part 2, IPT Trans Saves the day

Fall of 07 I finally bit the bullet and took my car to IPT transmission to have them undo all the damage level 10 had done to my transmission. The car was there for about a month, they tore it apart, told me they found no evidence inside the trans that level 10 had done any performance upgrades, all they did was replace all the OEM parts with OEM parts, throw in a sloppy stall converter, a crap valvebody, spray painted the whole thing back, then put it back together wrong since the pinion gear was hanging off the ring gear in the front diff, hence the terrible whine. I get the car back, things are OK, there's still some issues, the ring & pinion are still noisy, i still hit the rev limiter sometimes.

Winter 08, IPT takes my car back, does a FULL REBUILD AGAIN, under warranty, gives me a brand new ring & pinion and rebuild, gives me the car back. It's perfect, no whine, shifts great, my transmission woes are over for the time being.

Part 3, Heavy Modding

Spring of 08' my car is running good, still on the stock TD04, but I've added most of the bolt ons, TMIC, EBC, P&P'd STi headers, catless everything, STi axleback, internet tune, and of course my $10,000 transmission. The car still feels slow, falls on it's face up top since the TD04 on a 2.5L w/high stall 4eat is little more then an exhaust restriction, i figure it's time to get more serious.

I start poking around on nasioc for a good size turbo, I did research and decided on a TD06-20G IWG w/8cm housing since with my 4eat the RPM's tend to stay over 4k under any serious driving conditions. I got lucky and found the exact turbo i wanted slightly used on nasioc & built by deadbolt, i snatched it up and had it inspected by deadbolt himself so the lifetime rebuilds would carry over (waste of time now) and it was good.

So anyway, i got the TD06-20G, all the supporting mods I needed and started searching for a reputable shop to put all this crap in the car for me, since I don't trust myself to do anything more complex then an uppipe on my own. After searching I came across Tristate Tuners very own Area1320. Got in touch with Ryan, firmed up a date and things went well. Dropped my car off, four days later picked it up ready to rock with a new turbo & injectors and all that junk. Shortly after I got the car road tuned also by a local tuner.

The car ran good, and i was enjoying the upgrade the 20G gave me, however when i took the car to the track it just couldn't seem to put down the times i was looking for. My best time @ Island dragway was a 13.2, which kinda pissed me off considering all the work i had put into the car. I drove the car around like this for a few months, then in summer of 08' i decided i would get in on a dyno day because something just didn't seem right.

Got the car Dyno'd at 279whp & 290wtq. Again something was wrong, given the baseline tune was around 260whp, so i did make some gains, but there were VF39'd 2.0's there that were putting down better numbers. The blame was placed on my 4eat and it's high stall converter, and i left it alone. However my fuel mileage plummeted immediately after the dyno run, and some months later i started having drive ability issues.

In late fall of 08 we traced the problem to leaky injectors and 1 injector was just plain stuck open, especially in the cold. Again i had to dump more money on a new set of Deatschwerks 850cc's to replace the modded witchhunters I had. That fixed most of the drivability issues, and i went back shortly after Xmas or new years of 08/09' to get re-dyno'd and hopefully pick up some more power. I got re-dyno'd and lost 3hp... WTF? Again I left it alone and the finger was pointed at the 4eat.

Spring of 09' I start smelling gear oil when i would park the car. At work i started noticing the occasional quarter size droplet of oil in my parking spot at work. I take the car to IPT, they give it a quick inspection and don't see any problems. The gear oil smell continued and the droplets became a bit more frequent. Brought the car back to IPT & dropped it off for a more thorough inspection... Lo and behold they find a hairline crack on the diff housing just below the passenger side axle. The trans has to come back outta the car, completely disassembled, and they find my ring gear missing some teeth also. While they replaced the diff housing and ring & pinion they also refreshed the whole trans at no extra charge. This latest ordeal brought the total amount of $$$ spent on my trans over $11k...

Part 4, Bad News

Summer of 09' I decide that maybe i should have a compression test done, because my fuel mileage kept sucking (13-14mpg), and the performance just wasn't what it should've been. My compression test results come back, I think it was 140, 128, 145, 139, or something like that, not terrible, but not right. I realize this is probably my problem, it's time to get really serious, i now had an excuse to get some motor work done and go with a really big turbo.

I start researching, and collecting parts in fall/winter of 09/10'. I decide on the parts you see in the mod list above. I read great things about the rallispec shortblock, and the price was right, so i decided on that. For most other parts i consulted the company that was tuning me at the time, they recommended the ATP turbo, kelford cams, Supertech valvetrain, so that's what i went with through them.

Part 5, Build time.

I collected all the parts i needed over winter/spring. I bought used heads so that when i brought the car to Area1320 it would be a fairly straight forward motor swap with less downtime. Unfortunately the used heads i bought were flogged pretty hard, and when i sent them out to be refurbished, ported, and assembled, they discovered that one of the cam caps that came with my heads was not a matching cap, great... I start doing research, making phone calls and it was suggested that i just get the heads line bored so i can use them. I start making more phone calls looking for someone to line bore my heads. A local machine shop gets me in touch with MachineWorldNY.com, they say they can do the heads and have them back to me assembled and ready to rock in 1 week for a reasonable price. I figure great, lets do it.

I get all the parts together and drop the car off at Area1320. At the end of August i got the car back, it seemed to run strong, although the valve train was very noisy. I figure OK, I'll break it in and get it dyno'd again. I try to get in touch with the company that was tuning me at the time to see if they could just send me a break-in tune so i wouldn't have to drive two hours to them. My e-mails were ignored for the most part, I took logs and sent them up there and told them about CEL P0021 that kept getting thrown, they said something was wrong, stop beating on the car. I said I'm not beating on the car, these are just logs I've taken while I'm breaking the car in, can you please just send me a safe tune til i break the car in and can get up there on the dyno.

They told me they don't send open source tunes via e-mail even though they sent me one or two before. I got fed up and started searching for a more local tuner. I got in touch with Jr. on nasioc because he's right here in jersey and has a great Reputation. Jr. was quick to get me a safe tune until the car was broken in and i could head down to get a dyno.

I meet up with Jr. in the beginning of October to get dyno'd. Again somethings wrong, the car pulls 318whp @ 23psi with my ATP35R... WTF? After some talking and blaming the trans Jr. tells me come in and get a leakdown because he saw something similar to this on a car he had that had leaky valves. Based on my past luck, I know immediately that that's going to be the problem.

g00fy

02-11-2011, 11:38 AM

Part 6, The Bad News Keeps Getting Worse, all aboard the Fail Boat

Jr. has his tech do the leakdown / compression test. Epic fail... All of my intake valves are leaking severely, and my compression is all over the board, 105, 118, 110, 128. Great... The next day I'm all pissed off and i call MachineworldNY, speak to John, and he feeds me some Bull**** excuse why all my valves are leaking. It was something along the lines of my valves got warped because my builder ran the car without a tune, which caused a lean condition, that caused excessive heat that warped the valves... Yea right, the car was running hot, but not that hot, and i didn't buy valves made of flipping play-doh.

So I talk to Jr. he says he can pull the motor for me and fix the valves within a week or so for a reasonable price. I think to myself thank god, the money wasn't an issue so much as downtime since this is my only car and i can't afford another beater. Weeks go by, I don't hear from Jr., probably because he was swamped with other cars, and I was kinda planning on having this problem fixed while I was away for two weeks for my birthday at the end of November. Now it's early - mid November and I'm getting pretty nervous because if i didn't hear back from Jr. in time who was gonna take care of this problem for me? I didn't want to keep bugging Jr. if he had people on line ahead of me, and i didn't want to bug Area1320 about it, they did their job and they did it right, it wasn't their fault I had my heads built by a buncha shady assholes.

So I'm sitting on my computer one night trying to figure out wtf to do, and I get a message from a number i didn't recognize on my phone asking how my car is doing. I respond who the hell is this? Turns out it was Ryan, and I explained my situation to him, and being the saint he is, he tells me hey if you don't hear anything let me know, I'll squeeze you in those weeks your going away and get this taken care of for you so the car is good to go by the time you get home. Awesome, Area1320 saves the day.

I drop the car off before vacation relaxed and confident that my valves just need to be Re-shimmed by competent people. Too bad things were alot worse then we all expected.

I'm away on my trip and cell phone service is spotty and using the cell phone at all was stupid expensive, but i have this feeling in the back of my mind that i better check my messages often. Sure enough I get a message from Ryan asking me to call him. Turns out my heads were done so wrong that my cams & journals were eaten and destroyed... Damn it... Ryan assures me it can be taken care of, i just need to get new cams and his machine shop would do what they could to salvage the heads.

I get home from vacation, and the parts are on order and my heads are out being inspected/worked on, whatever. I call MachineworldNY and tell them what happened, again they feed me BS excuses and tell me they won't do anything for me unless i send the heads back, and I get pissed off and say no way, I've got two reputable shops out here that say you guys royally screwed these heads, i don't want you touching them again, i just want my god damn money back. The guy John at machineworld gets offended and just starts cursing at me as if he were the angry customer. I say forget this and hang up.

Now after thorough inspection by Area1320's machine shop they discover that the cams and journals got destroyed because they were glass beaded, and they didn't get all the glass beads out!!! F'n idiots. So my heads are shot, there's little bits of glass embedded in EVERYTHING, and the machine shop recommends my block get inspected in case the glass beads made it into the oil system. Sure enough my oil pan is dropped and the bits of copper bearing all over the inside of my pan... The crank is pulled and all the main bearings are gone, and my crank is a little scored up.

Now we're pretty much up to date here. I'm currently waiting for my block to be honed, my crank to be re-polished and my old OEM heads to be refurbished, ported, and assembled. I'm hoping sometime soon I'll have my car back and actually be able to enjoy it and run some decent times with it.

I'm currently talking to Ryan about going Utec and letting him tune the car, since Area1320 has basically built the thing twice now, they might as well tune it too. I'm also looking into getting a Stand alone TCU from a company down in Virginia. With this stand alone TCU I'd be able to setup the ECU as a 5mt ECU, and control everything about the transmission independently, and I'd be able to control the 4eat completely. If i wanted to make a drag racing TCU map, I'll be able to set the shift points, TC lock-up, line pressure, and AWD bias.

Ultimately I'm going 400whp+ on pump gas, and i want to be able to dip into the 11's with a properly controlled 4eat. All while maintaining a mostly stock appearance.

Pics:

Summer Setup:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-08-30122014.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/NoPlate.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/NoPlate4.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/DSCN0078.jpg

Winter Setup:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/1118091018.jpg

Old Engine Bay Photo:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/DSCN0081.jpg

Towing:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/1103091146.jpg

Hauling:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-05-25_195342.jpg

Motor Build Pictures:

Here's my blown Stock EJ255:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-07-18135510.jpg

Ringland Fail

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/GetAttachment-1.jpg

Here's my new Rallispec Block:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/36345_542106813390_194901804_316995.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/37350_542106918180_194901804_316995.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/34139_542106933150_194901804_316995.jpg

^ Name that guy

Heads & Components:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-04-22_102545.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-06-24_182703.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-06-24_182817.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20101115_091747.jpg

Turbo:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-04-23_175309.jpg

Trans & Diff:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-07-22_180210.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2010-07-22_180218.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/TorsionDiff.jpg

All the Fail You could Possibly Ask For Complements of MachineworldNY:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1293669368672.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1293490660862.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1293490660925.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1293490660986.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1293490661052.jpg

g00fy

02-11-2011, 11:38 AM

Reserved***

ambitiousCK

02-11-2011, 12:10 PM

Sounds very interesting....im in for pics

Import Junky

02-11-2011, 12:15 PM

that's a nice armory in the back. i'm jealous

g00fy

02-11-2011, 12:21 PM

Sounds very interesting....im in for pics

Thanks man, I'll get more pics once i get my hands on the camera and get the car back from getting rebuilt again...

that's a nice armory in the back. i'm jealous

Haha thanks, if you poke around my photo bucket there's some pics of everything outside the cases :mrgreen:

ambitiousCK

02-11-2011, 12:28 PM

OMG at the babies head LMFAO....car looks great man. Def a sleeper

g00fy

02-11-2011, 01:15 PM

OMG at the babies head LMFAO....car looks great man. Def a sleeper

LoL yea everybody loved the baby head. I had it on the car since december 05, but just this past fall some punk ass kid swiped it :mad:

RyanG

02-11-2011, 02:47 PM

Ck you coild have seen this beast in person when you were here :P

g00fy

02-11-2011, 02:55 PM

Right now its not so much a beast as a coat hanger abortion on 17's

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

captainfalco

02-11-2011, 03:17 PM

This thing is all sorts of cool.

ambitiousCK

02-11-2011, 03:43 PM

Ck you coild have seen this beast in person when you were here :P

Damn i missed it lol

akley88

02-11-2011, 03:49 PM

That's awesome. It could become one he'll of a sleeper

g00fy

02-11-2011, 04:54 PM

That's awesome. It could become one he'll of a sleeper

It would be one hell of a sleeper if i didn't keep getting kicked in the nuts by companies like level 10... At the moment my car is at Area1320 getting rebuilt a second time because MachineWorldNY built my heads for my initial motor swap and they glass beaded them. Well they didn't get all the glass beads out and glass beads got into my oil, so everything in my motor got shredded by glass beads, they also totally botched the valve job. :mad:

I'll go into greater detail in my 1st post when i get to that point...

akley88

02-11-2011, 06:57 PM

That completely sucks I would be fuming. On a side note that style forester does have a nice aggressive look to it.

g00fy

02-11-2011, 08:06 PM

That completely sucks I would be fuming. On a side note that style forester does have a nice aggressive look to it.

Yea man, I'm so used to getting kicked in the nuts like this i've kinda gotten numb to it, and i left out alot of details in the Level 10 fiasco and even the heads disaster... The only thing that still bothers me is the downtime & stress that goes along with all of this, I'm hoping it'll be over soon.

I always liked this model year forester the best, the newer ones are too rounded for my liking, I always thought the 04-05' foresters looked angry and aggressive.

RyanG

02-11-2011, 09:00 PM

Had some more fun at the machine shop today.

Rod bearings were chewed up due to poor clearances.... Cylinders were very out of round. How can a shop say (accordingly to their site) "Custom built to exacting tolerances." Ummmmmmmmm right. I don't bash shops but this is bull****.

My machine shop re-polished the crank to new.. Which looks amazing! Rods are getting fixed as well.
New heads are completely ported IN HOUSE.. some quick pics.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/sidewayzrs/haeds.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/sidewayzrs/heads.jpg

previous "ported" heads just had the exhaust lightly (mind you poorly) ported. No work to the intake where it really matters.
Only thing Im waiting on is new intake valves to come in then the heads are getting built.

/updates for now

akley88

02-11-2011, 09:03 PM

my brother has one in black that i love the look of. just think in the end it will all be worth it.

g00fy

02-11-2011, 10:38 PM

New CP pistons comin my way...

inteva6184

02-12-2011, 01:26 AM

Wow you have the worst luck ive ever seen. Love the subie.

Munky

02-12-2011, 01:32 AM

Nice car and build up. I never looked twice at these until I started my new job and one of my co-workers has a real nice FXT. With all those guns in the back tho it seems like you need to come visit the TST Official Gun Thread.

g00fy

02-12-2011, 10:48 AM

Already posted in the TST gun thread :-D

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Honest_Bob

02-12-2011, 10:54 AM

I commend you on being so persistent, at least your in good hands now. :)

g00fy

02-12-2011, 01:04 PM

maxpowr

02-12-2011, 06:22 PM

good luck to you and your subaru in the future goofy...wow what a nightmare you have lived through...

i still find it hard to believe your street spec block was not assembled properly.

Honest_Bob

02-12-2011, 06:30 PM

I may be wrong but I thought that I read that the glass beading still stuck in the heads is what wiped out the bottom end.

good luck to you and your subaru in the future goofy...wow what a nightmare you have lived through...

i still find it hard to believe your street spec block was not assembled properly.

g00fy

02-12-2011, 06:36 PM

Yea, the glass beads shreaded the main bearings, the rod bearings.apparently suffered a different fate, and the cylinders were pretty outta round... I wouldn't have believed it was assembled wrong either, I thought outta my whole build my short block was the one thing I did right...

then i got pm'd by another user on a different forum who asked about my motor cause, he saw two other street spec blocks fail from seized rod bearings, and wanted to know if my block suffered the same fate...

I'm actually kinda glad things worked out the way they did, or else I would've been driving down the road one day, a rod bearing would've seized, and id be in worse shape then I am now...

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

g00fy

02-15-2011, 10:38 AM

Well, I think i finally hit rock bottom, I don't think there's anything else that could possibly be wrong to set me back any further. So now it should be all positive progress from here on in, my intake valves came in, my new (old OEM) heads are ported and getting a valve job done now, my block & crank seems to be straightened out now, so I'm hoping it's only a matter of time and i won't have to worry about any more new problems popping up. Although I think i might lose it if i get 1 more text message that says "hey call me there's a problem," money is getting too tight, and I worry that the trans in the daily driver I've been borrowing is getting ready to crap out.

ambitiousCK

02-15-2011, 11:59 AM

RyanG

02-15-2011, 12:04 PM

oooooooooooh quite cryin :P

you're in good hands dude..

g00fy

02-15-2011, 12:30 PM

oooooooooooh quite cryin :P

you're in good hands dude..

I know I'm in good hands, it's just been a very long and expensive road, and Elmo's trans acting up isn't helping my state of mind.

oh btw don't forget to get me some more pics of the crank and wasted rod bearings today, and have you heard anything on my turbo?

Ender81

02-15-2011, 12:45 PM

Ryan has jumped in and saved the day with my WRX more times then I can count lol. Keeping an eye on the thread for progress, can't wait to see it on the road.

R22B

02-15-2011, 12:53 PM

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Ryan was always super cool and nice and had no troubles explaining things to me. I haven't been down to the shop in a LONG time because I've done nothing with the WRX and it hasn't broke... yet. When things go drastically wrong with my Subaru, he'll be the first and only person I'll call to get it fixed. I had a dream the other night that we converted my automatic WRX to RWD... what a bad ass dream.

g00fy - your story is crazy and unfortunate. Thankfully the car is being built by a solid business and super knowledgeable people. Hopefully your car will last you many years to come!

g00fy

02-15-2011, 01:51 PM

Updated the mod list with coming soon mods, Also i'm kicking around if i should get an aftermarket oil pick-up? After all the time and money into this thing i want to take as many preventative measures as possible.

Ender81

02-15-2011, 02:01 PM

Do it, don't even think twice about it. I shopped around and went with this one:
http://www.importimageracing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

If you find yourself at Area1320 Ryan has mine sitting there.

g00fy

02-15-2011, 02:38 PM

Do it, don't even think twice about it. I shopped around and went with this one:
http://www.importimageracing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

If you find yourself at Area1320 Ryan has mine sitting there.

Cool man if i get out there in time i'll check it out

Subie_sleeper

02-15-2011, 03:16 PM

SWEET !!!

Another Subie trucklet found a home with Ryan @ Area1320 !!!

You're DEFINITELY in good hands :mrgreen:

You seem to have luck similar to mine. (if not WORSE :shocked:)

It's a great feeling to roll out of there after the build is finished...... it's even better when a year passes by with no issues :lol:

Good luck with the build !!!

maxpowr

02-15-2011, 04:33 PM

Subie_sleeper

02-15-2011, 04:44 PM

If I'm dropping a couple grand at a shop & there's a 3% chance of failure built into the equation...... I'm going somewhere else......
3 out of 100 IS a pretty lousy ratio.

maxpowr

02-15-2011, 04:58 PM

but isn't there a 100% "chance" of failure with any motor built completely with aftermarket parts, that is attempting to almost double its designed horsepower output.

i'm this game knowing that at anytime i could have a catastrophic failure. i don't expect it to last more than 10k without a rebuild anyway, but its not like i bought an oem engine.
to me it became a toy when i removed OEM from the equation. i assembled everything on my car myself, so i would have no one to blame though.

truth is i doubt there is a shop on the planet that has built high performance engines and has a 100% success rate, there are just too many variables to be considered after the engine is built and installed.. don't be the guy thinkin "it can't happen to me". unless of course its the first motor the shop has built and the engine has been running for 5 minutes.

funny thing is if the boost control hose pops off or the oil pump failed or an injector stuck open or a fuel pump failed, its not likely we will know definitively caused the failure. be nice if 1320 could show us what went wrong though.

g00fy

02-15-2011, 05:04 PM

i put the covert oil pick up in my build from josh at import. the subbie pick up does fail. plus it was half the price of the killerB. looked good, fit perfect and 5k later has not failed.

i'm curious how you broached your engine failure with dave at rallispec and what his response was. its really not like not to stand behind his work. 3 failures out of 100 steet spec blocks sold isn't really a terrible ratio. sure zero is better, but some many different things can cause a failure. nothing personal to 1320, but i'd like to see evidence that this failure was caused by improper assembly. we are all human and mistakes "can" be made, but daves skill, experience and knowledge is up there with the best of the subaru mechanics out there today and its not his style at all to send something out that wasn't perfectly assembled. the blame game helps no one. broken motors dont help anyone either but maybe something can be learned from g00fys misfortune.

Honestly, I don't want to go any further then the information I got and relayed on the forums. I don't know enough about this stuff to make my own assumptions, so I'm not gonna push it, i posted what i was told, and since it was caught before a catastrophic failure like a seized rod I'm not too upset about it. I know motors are assembled at 8am on a Monday morning with a nasty hangover and 4pm on a Friday afternoon after a rough week, and judging by my luck i wouldn't be surprised if I got one of those... I just figured I'd post what was found in case anyone else out there has a similar problem.

jesse096

02-15-2011, 05:22 PM

Looking good man! One question though, what exactly is 4eat?

-Jesse

Subie_sleeper

02-15-2011, 05:25 PM

Looking good man! One question though, what exactly is 4eat?

-Jesse

4speed
Electronically controlled
Automatic
Transmission

Ender81

02-15-2011, 05:26 PM

That would be the code for the auto trans

jesse096

02-15-2011, 05:28 PM

Gotcha, but why a 4 speed? It must kill gas mileage on the highway... Have you thought about doing a 5 speed MT swap?

-Jesse

g00fy

02-15-2011, 05:39 PM

Gotcha, but why a 4 speed? It must kill gas mileage on the highway... Have you thought about doing a 5 speed MT swap?

-Jesse

The car was originally bought as a commuter car, then I got bit by the mod bug and it's been all down hill from there... But i always liked raw power for straight line drag racing, and for straight line drag racing automatic is best. Unfortunately since the 4eat TCU sucks, i haven't been able to take full advantage of the 4eat, however when i get the stand alone TCU it'll be pretty sweet.

jesse096

02-15-2011, 07:02 PM

Ah, gotcha. Doesn't Subaru make a 5 or 6 speed auto?

-Jesse

maxpowr

02-15-2011, 07:20 PM

thats cool g00fy, i can respect that. truth be told though, dave really is a stand up guy and would never be caught staggering into work. anyone who knows him will agree. he is really dedicated to his business and reputation. thats is why i am surprised you couldn't work something out with him before going to 1320.

your right though, if your not upset and sueing dave then i guess its squashed.

also, a properly built 4eat is probally close to 10grand. awesome don't get me run, but a built 5/6 speed is half of that.

RyanG

02-15-2011, 07:47 PM

Im going to post a reply as to the engine failure once. Just once so listen up.

The main cause of the failure was a machine shops neglegence as to glass beading a cylinder head and not cleaning every spec of glass out. That caused the cam journals and cams themselves to get chewed up beyond repair. As well as poorly cut valve seats which leaked every valve.

This material also made its was to the main bearings and wiped them out. Which also chewed up the crank.

As far as the rods go, the clearance on the bearings were very tight. And the worn spots on the bearings show this. The rod bearings "fell" out of the rod. Were they an acceptable clearance? Yes. Just. And if you are running 0w30 tbey would be just dandy. Combine that with main bearing clearance that is on the loose side of the scale you would have to run an odd oil combination. So something around a 5w40 synthetic just to make sure it holds up. BUT one good shot of knock and the rod bearings are toast.

The cylinder out of round is pretty normal. But when you are advertising "built to exact tolerences" i would expect a little better build. But i guess you have to shell out $6500 for that motor.

What it seems like is this block was built with standard size bearings and pistons and slapped together without measuring a damn thing. We build a ton of engines with standard size bearings and pistons but we measure everything prior to final assembly.

I will post pictures of bearing and cylinders tomorrow

maxpowr

02-15-2011, 08:42 PM

i appreciate the civilized discussion.

g00fy

02-15-2011, 09:01 PM

g00fy

02-17-2011, 10:21 AM

I've decided I'm definitely going to do an oil pick-up... No sense sacrificing the safety of my entire $10,000 motor to save a couple bucks right now. I just want Ryans input on if i should go with the Covert or if it's worth the extra money for the Killer B pick-up.

Updated the Coming Soon Mod List!

g00fy

02-17-2011, 10:39 PM

Oil Pick-up Ordered... Anyone else have any suggestions for other safety/preventative maintenance mods?

g00fy

02-23-2011, 09:30 AM

Oil pick-up arrived, and i gotta say I was expecting something much bigger... I mean i know our oil pans are not very big, so the size makes sense, but i guess the pictures i was looking at made it look much bigger to me. I'm glad i went with the covert unit, cause if i spent $225 on the killer B one, I would've been pissed when i got it lol. I'm gonna head out to the shop Sunday to drop it off, hopefully I'll at least get to see my motor and/or heads.

Ender81

02-23-2011, 09:42 AM

Lmao I went with the covert one and we sat it next to the Killer B and I was pretty happy with my choice.

g00fy

02-23-2011, 10:39 AM

Lmao I went with the covert one and we sat it next to the Killer B and I was pretty happy with my choice.

Yea, definitely content with the covert oil pick-up, but i still think even $125 is a bit steep for a little tube, a flange, and a cheap bracket, but it'll be worth the peace of mind.

Ender81

02-23-2011, 01:40 PM

I agree but yeah not many other options you know.

Erik@R/TTuning

02-23-2011, 03:44 PM

Rough to hear of anyone getting run through the ringer like that once let along multiple times. Glad you are in good hands now with Ryan and Area1320.

g00fy

02-28-2011, 03:43 PM

Rough to hear of anyone getting run through the ringer like that once let along multiple times. Glad you are in good hands now with Ryan and Area1320.

Yea it's been a bumpy road, i'm confident its gonna get sorted out now, it's just taking longer then i'd hoped.

Also I'm looking for a used UTEC off an STi. If anyone is selling one or knows somebody selling one please let me know.

Ender81

02-28-2011, 04:41 PM

Classifieds on Nasioc should have a few of them

g00fy

02-28-2011, 04:46 PM

Classifieds on Nasioc should have a few of them

Ya, I've been watching them come & go in the classifieds, but was never sure which one i needed. Now that i know i need an STi one, most of them or sold lol. I am talking to a guy right now though that has a Utec #STi 001-002 . I'm just trying to confirm if it's compatible with the Map switch accessory, and if it'll definitely work on my car.

g00fy

03-01-2011, 12:57 PM

Utec purchased, awaiting tracking number.

RalliSpec

03-03-2011, 03:27 PM

RyanG

03-03-2011, 05:56 PM

Dave, yes the mains failed because of the glass beads. We never said the engine failed because of Rallispec building it.. I merely stated that the clearances were off. I think we just caught the rod bearings before the glass beads really did their work. Both main and rod bearings were std size. The rod clearance needed the crank to be ground and polished to bring them into spec, they were just too tight for us to feel comfortable with the size of the mains.. The mains are also off but not horribly. The rods were the huge issue and our machine shop refused to let the crank go with the clearances as they were..

inteva6184

03-03-2011, 08:33 PM

Well if Ralli builds engines like he reads I cant believe it is only 3 engine failures. Area 1320 made it quite obvious in his post that the glass beads did the engine in its actually the first thing he said. He also said he wasnt fond of the clearances you guys had but he never said thats what caused the failure. Reading is your friend.

On a side note this build is awesome.

g00fy

03-04-2011, 09:48 AM

Big Update: The machining on my heads, block & crank is finally finished, heads should hopefully be getting flow tested today, then everything needs to be assembled, and i can drive my car again.

g00fy

03-07-2011, 01:30 PM

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/PART_1299517487126.jpg

New heads by Area1320, excellent work!

Ender81

03-07-2011, 01:34 PM

ohhh it looks so shiny lol.

g00fy

03-07-2011, 01:50 PM

ohhh it looks so shiny lol.

LoL yea the whole thing looks awesome, but those inconel exhaust valves are especially shiny... And i can't get over how huge those intake valves are...

Ender81

03-07-2011, 02:00 PM

It is all very pretty lol.

g00fy

03-08-2011, 03:11 PM

I was thinking about all this head work I've had done, and now motor work also... I wonder what i could safely bump my rev-limiter to for drag strip days?

RyanG

03-08-2011, 11:04 PM

Eff higher rev limit. Just run it out to 72-7500 and make some numbers. Tbis sucker should be good for 4 bills

R22B

03-09-2011, 12:08 AM

If you are going to trash our product and our company's name at least have an understanding of what you are talking about.

If you have metal or any kind of debris floating in the oil it is very quickly going to destroy all bearing surfaces. Rod bearings are the most highly stressed component in the engine. When the bearing surfaces get wiped an oil film can no longer support the crankshaft and the crank journal will touch down on the rod bearings. Eventually the rod bearing will weld itself to the crank journal and the bearing will spin in the rod (spun rod bearing). I am assuming this is what you mean by "rod bearings falling out".

If you are telling me that glass bead circulated through your engine then you have just told me what your cause of failure is. If you have wiped out bearings how can you or anyone possibly calculate the original assembled clearances and come to this conclusion?

And if this was such a concern why have I never heard from you and only am made aware of this thread because someone told me to look for it?

As for 3 failures out of 100 engines attributable to our assembly....what 3 engines? This is all news to me.

-Dave

I know Rallispec is very well respected in the rally community. While I've never had any person experience with them personally, I know a lot of people have used them and had good luck. I think their contributions to rallying here in the U.S. is unquestionable. Their knowledge is also awesome (FYI, I purchased my 2.5RS trans off a person who had two motor swaps done by you guys -- they had nothing but great things to say!)

@Dave - I don't think anyone ever said the engine was built incorrectly. Someone just pointed out that the tolerances were different than what they would have like to have seen. I believe the finger was pointed at the glass beads.

Regardless, what is done is done and what was said can't be changed. I know what I've read in this thread won't change my opinion about Rallispec -- I know you guys do excellent work and have a stellar reputation in the rallying world. Thanks for becoming a member of TST! Hopefully you'll stick around!

g00fy

03-09-2011, 11:01 AM

Eff higher rev limit. Just run it out to 72-7500 and make some numbers. Tbis sucker should be good for 4 bills

Fair enough, although I just realized, even if i wanted to raise my rev limiter the trans is still programmed to shift at a maximum between 6800 and 7000...

rexorcist

03-10-2011, 11:58 AM

Hey goofy love the thread, followed you from nasioc/level10/ipt expereince...
have 2.5 hybrid, atp 3071 turbo and ipt built tranny on 04 wrx wagon..when tuning
on accessport knock sensor killed power as as it interpreted ipt tranny noises as
knock..ended up with utec on top of accessport to wake up the beast...good luck
and keep posted

RyanG

03-10-2011, 01:20 PM

Rex has a good point as to why im not fond of os tuning and the ap. You do not have the luxury of tuning the knock sensor. If you get false knock the car will start pulling timing. Thus reducing power. The utec can "tune" the knock sensor at different rpm levels to silence piston noise, ewg noise or in rex's case transmission noise ;)

g00fy

03-10-2011, 03:04 PM

rexorcist

03-10-2011, 04:05 PM

good luck goofy, stoked for you. keep us posted

g00fy

03-10-2011, 04:07 PM

good luck goofy, stoked for you. keep us posted

Thanks man I'll keep the thread updated as much as possible.

And i do have an update, my Turbo was sent out to be inspected to make sure it didn't get damaged during the whole ****show that's taken place, and the turbo now has a clean bill of health and on it's way back to Area1320. Finally i caught a break and won't have to spend $900 on a new center cartridge lol.

g00fy

03-11-2011, 10:32 AM

I just happened to stumble across Island Dragway's Facebook page and noticed i'm going to miss opening day next week :(

g00fy

03-12-2011, 02:31 AM

Assembly has commenced...

Motor pr0n:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG958392.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG955756.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG953661.jpg

g00fy

03-13-2011, 10:38 PM

Hey ryan, have you ever fooled around with the Utec Delta Dash system? You know the gameboy advanced thingy?

RyanG

03-13-2011, 11:24 PM

Yeah when it first came out. It was nice because you didnt need to lug around your laptop all the time to do a log or make adjustments.

g00fy

03-13-2011, 11:29 PM

Yeah when it first came out. It was nice because you didnt need to lug around your laptop all the time to do a log or make adjustments.

How did the utec connect to the GameBoy Advanced? And what components did the kit come with? Cause i'm tryin to figure out if it might be possible to get a Pioneer AVIC unit with windows CE, upload a GBA emulator to it, and then run delta Dash on the AVIC head unit with the GBA emulator, that way I would always have a slick setup to mess with/monitor the Utec.

Ender81

03-14-2011, 07:50 AM

Got to see those heads in person yesterday they look great.

RyanG

03-14-2011, 08:08 AM

How did the utec connect to the GameBoy Advanced? And what components did the kit come with? Cause i'm tryin to figure out if it might be possible to get a Pioneer AVIC unit with windows CE, upload a GBA emulator to it, and then run delta Dash on the AVIC head unit with the GBA emulator, that way I would always have a slick setup to mess with/monitor the Utec.

you lost me at connect

Ender81

03-14-2011, 08:22 AM

I am pretty sure it connected with what looked like a gba cartridge

g00fy

03-14-2011, 08:50 AM

I am pretty sure it connected with what looked like a gba cartridge

ah, that's kinda what i was afraid of...

g00fy

03-14-2011, 09:34 AM

Looks like i'm way behind on everything Dashboard is capable of... I see people using it on PDA's & such which is perfect, i just need to get my hands on dashboard to see if i can get it running in my windows CE emulator, then maybe i'll look into picking up a cheap used AVIC head unit that'll run Dashboard on it.

g00fy

03-16-2011, 09:43 PM

Update:

My build seems to be moving along rather quickly now, it's pretty awesome, heads and intake manifold & a few other bits appear have been bolted to the block! getting really excited now, can't wait to drive my car again!

g00fy

03-17-2011, 03:57 PM

Current estimated time of Completion is late next week! So excite!

There's a couple things though that I think I really need to look into taking care of. The biggest thing is the 4eat bell housing on this trans, I'm really afraid if i take this thing to the strip I'm going to crack the bell housing again. I gotta see if there's someway somebody can figure out a way to Fab up some sort of brace to support the bell housing and stiffen things up so i don't have to worry about destroying the bell housing every time i romp on it.

If i can find a solution for that, all that's left to worry about are the axles and the R160 rear diff.

Got Insulin?

03-17-2011, 04:45 PM

Wow, you've been through quite a bit with this build! Looking great now, best of luck with the rest of it.

g00fy

03-23-2011, 09:59 PM

Wow, you've been through quite a bit with this build! Looking great now, best of luck with the rest of it.

thanks man, i think i'm finally down to the home stretch here, just got news that the motor is going back in the car tomorrow! :banana:

Khellen

03-23-2011, 11:03 PM

Noiiiccceee!

g00fy

03-23-2011, 11:27 PM

Noiiiccceee!

Hell yes, I can't wait to get it back and go Burninating The Countryside with it

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

g00fy

03-24-2011, 10:18 PM

If all goes well, I'll be picking up my Million dollar forester sunday

g00fy

03-27-2011, 06:32 PM

Picked up the car today, really happy to have it back and running strong. There's just a couple stupid kinks that need to be ironed out, gonna head back to the shop sunday to have them squared away.

g00fy

03-27-2011, 06:50 PM

heh

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110327_145624.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110327_154939.jpg

Khellen

03-27-2011, 08:25 PM

That sticker never gets old...hahaha

Honest_Bob

03-28-2011, 07:04 AM

Congrats!

g00fy

03-29-2011, 02:46 PM

Car's back at the shop till thursday to get a couple kinks worked out... Stupid Crank Position Gear...

Ender81

03-29-2011, 03:21 PM

There's always going to be something to work out but still good to see you have it back

g00fy

03-29-2011, 04:05 PM

There's always going to be something to work out but still good to see you have it back

Yea, i'm glad it was something small and simple like the Crank Position Gear. Since that's been replaced ryans been driving my rhombus around to make sure there's no other issues and says the thing is pretty ill, even de-tuned to 15psi.

RyanG

03-29-2011, 05:47 PM

I neutered the hell out of the tune and its still retarded lol.. I can't believe how much air this thing pumps.

Ender81

03-29-2011, 06:00 PM

I can't wait to see the numbers this thing is going to put down.

g00fy

03-29-2011, 06:03 PM

I neutered the hell out of the tune and its still retarded lol.. I can't believe how much air this thing pumps.

It's tough to keep outta boost isn't it? It's like anything more then resting your foot on the pedal sends it into boost, i guess some of that's got to do with the trans setup right?

Also we're gonna need to get some pics/vids soon.

g00fy

04-01-2011, 09:18 AM

Picked up the car last night, and i gotta say I'm extremely happy with it now. That Cam position gear must've really been throwing things off, atleast in the starting & idling department. Now the car starts up & idles flawlessly, and the power is really unbelievable. So far i haven't given it more then 1/3rd throttle and it's exceeded my expectations. I have a Center Diff Lock-up switch installed to help w/launches and low traction situations, and I used to consider it the "No Fun Switch" because when i would flip it the car didn't have enough power to fully take advantage of it... Yesterday however, I came to my first red light figured what the heck, flipped the no fun switch, light turned green, gave it maybe half throttle, boost started building and before i knew it i was jumping off the gas cause the car started getting squirrly lol, I can't wait to see what this thing can do broken in with a full scale tune.

My only complaint with the car, and it's nothing detrimental to the car's health it's just outrageously annoying, is that my downpipe is rattling against the subframe under the car and it's very loud and irritating. When i get some free time i gotta throw the car on the lift at work and see if I can shimmy things around a little and eliminate the rattling/clunking.

Honest_Bob

04-01-2011, 10:22 AM

haha, that lockout swtich sounds fun! :mrgreen:

rexorcist

04-01-2011, 11:01 AM

stoked for you...keep posted

RyanG

04-01-2011, 11:09 AM

yeah that stupid downpipe is a pain.. because the turbo needs a spacer it puts the dp right on the trans crossmember.. a torch and a hammer will take care of it :)

g00fy

04-03-2011, 08:50 PM

Just a little update, cars been running good, I thew my giant AT's on it for the april fools snow storm we didn't get, also band-aided the downpipe rattle with some silicon wedged between the pipe & crossmember... Made a huge difference. Today however I was sitting in the car while it was idling and it started to run a little rough & threw a CEL, I checked it with my cheap code reader, code reader was unable to find a code, but it was able to clear it ??? I have a feeling it was P0000, i would get that now and then before the build... Idk what that's all about.

g00fy

04-09-2011, 05:45 PM

Definately need to get this thing tuned soon, I was driving today going up a hill about 45mph, trying to accellerate, got alot of lugging/surging and didn't pay attention to the EGT's for a second, looked back and they were right about 1900* :bigeek:

RyanG

04-09-2011, 06:05 PM

I wonder how accurate that egt gauge is.

g00fy

04-09-2011, 06:09 PM

I wonder the same thing, but the lugging concerns me too

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

RyanG

04-09-2011, 06:16 PM

Hopefully we get the utec back soon. If not ill log it again and make some adjustments

g00fy

04-09-2011, 06:41 PM

Yea, it wasn't bad when I first got the car back, but I think the oversized at's made it bad... I did a learning view earlier today though and my IAM was 1 and everything looked perfect

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

RyanG

04-09-2011, 10:26 PM

If learning view isnt showing anything and isnt pulling timing dobt sweat it too much

g00fy

04-10-2011, 11:30 AM

Hey i forgot to ask, did you say my AC needed to be Recharged?

g00fy

04-10-2011, 06:38 PM

Found a major contributing factor to my high EGT's, the damn Turbo to Inlet silicon coupler slipped off the turbo... Unfortunately the coupler fits like **** and just barely hangs on the turbo.

This coupler is gonna make me lose my ****, i've been messing with it, trying to get it to fit on the turbo better, and I just can't get it on there any better, and when i try to torque the hose clamp down it just slides off the Turbo and into the middle of the coupler. I finally battled it to a stalemate and it's on there about the same as it was, but it's just barely on there, I'm afraid the thing is gonna pop off at anytime.

jesse096

04-11-2011, 10:33 AM

Can you get a new hose?

-Jesse

g00fy

04-11-2011, 12:56 PM

Can you get a new hose?

-Jesse

idk if that would exactly fix it, i don't think there's really a problem with the coupler, it seems that the turbo just sits at a slight angle instead of being level... I'll post a quick MSpaint pic of what's going on:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/InletIssue.jpg

MSpaint FTW!

jesse096

04-11-2011, 02:28 PM

Cut an angle into the coupler? Just a suggestion.

-Jesse

Ender81

04-11-2011, 03:09 PM

Slight bend to the intake would even it out a bit as well I would think

Honest_Bob

04-11-2011, 03:47 PM

Typical issue with gigantic stock location turbo's. :(

g00fy

04-11-2011, 04:29 PM

Cut an angle into the coupler? Just a suggestion.

-Jesse

I'm wondering if that would work, because it seems like there's enough silicon coupler to make this work, it's just the bottom of the coupler is hitting the turbine housing and not letting the top slip on further.

Honest_Bob

04-11-2011, 04:39 PM

hystericfox

04-12-2011, 12:24 AM

I'm wondering if that would work, because it seems like there's enough silicon coupler to make this work, it's just the bottom of the coupler is hitting the turbine housing and not letting the top slip on further.

I've done that. I had to use a T-bolt clamp to get it to seal. I'd rather try a hump hose than mess around doing that again.

jesse096

04-12-2011, 11:15 AM

I'm wondering if that would work, because it seems like there's enough silicon coupler to make this work, it's just the bottom of the coupler is hitting the turbine housing and not letting the top slip on further.

Worth a shot, just get a stronger clamp like hystericfox said.

-Jesse

g00fy

04-13-2011, 09:02 AM

I decided to take a peek at the Perrin silicon inlet, just out of curiosity. I never really considered a silicon inlet since i heard they collapse under extreme circumstances. However after looking at Perrins newest silicon inlet that reinforced with stainless steel rings, that maybe my best option. The Full silicon inlet would probably allow for enough flexibility to fit correctly on my turbo. Does anyone have any input on any other inlets, or even the perrin inlet?

rexorcist

04-13-2011, 09:56 AM

worked well for me on an ATP 30R, prbly very similar to your set up, no collapsing so far

g00fy

04-17-2011, 06:18 PM

well, the coupler slipped off again today... when i was about an hour from home with no tools on me... I decided to get home i would Unplug the MAF so the ECU wouldn't be getting False MAF readings. Oddly enough the car ran better with the MAF unplugged then it does with the MAF plugged in and the coupler in place. Maybe i should just run speed density :-p

RyanG

04-19-2011, 06:16 PM

once I get the utec back we can switch it to sd :P

g00fy

04-19-2011, 07:14 PM

once I get the utec back we can switch it to sd :P

Hell yes! I think my MAF is shot or atleast failing, the car seemed to run better, cooler, and got noticably better milage with the MAF disconnected, even compared to when the coupler was fully connected with the MAF plugged in... thinking about it now it was signifigantly better mpg wise...

Also on a seperate note, my springs came today!

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

g00fy

04-21-2011, 08:31 PM

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110421_202129.jpg

New Springs!

I was reading the sticker that came on the packaging, said they're marked accordingly for Driver side, passenger side, etc... I looked them over real well and didn't see any distinguishing markings. It's easy to tell the front and rears apart, but the only thing I noticed was one front was a little taller and one rear was a little taller, I can only assume that's to compensate for the weight of the driver correct?

g00fy

05-05-2011, 09:42 AM

Well, I got the good news that my inlet & coupler issue was resolved without the need of a new inlet (thank god). Now just waiting for my new springs to be installed and Air Conditioner to get patched & charged.

Just outta curiosity anyone on here going to street legal night at island tomorrow?

g00fy

05-07-2011, 01:11 AM

Alright, springs are in, and i gotta say i'm very pleased with the new road manners and the vast reduction in body roll. The only dumb little thing left to do is replace my AC line again since another hole was rubbed in it...

After that i just have to focus on getting this thing tuned. For now it seems like my MAF is either extremely dirty, or on it's way out. Drove around for most of the day with the MAF plugged in, and the car ran really hot, guzzled gas, and gave me some coughing crap at 4k rpms in 1st gear. Unplugged the MAF to drive home from the movies, car ran cooler, the gas gauge didn't move near as quickly, and the coughing issue was gone.

Gonna see if i can trade MAF's with a buddy for a day or 2 and see if it improves any of the issues. If so i'll have to start searching the web for a replacement MAF.

g00fy

05-09-2011, 01:12 PM

For anyone interested, here's the best i can do for a before & after with the king springs...

Before:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/1118091018.jpg

After:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110509_112810.jpg

You can see the biggest improvement is in the rear of the car, right where i wanted it, and keep in mind i went with LIFTED rears and Stock height fronts, and that seems to be the perfect combination. The car appears to sit perfectly level.

Ender81

05-09-2011, 01:31 PM

Looking good

g00fy

05-09-2011, 02:21 PM

Looking good

Thanks man, all that's left to do now is tune the thing.

g00fy

05-10-2011, 10:10 AM

Car's been running kinda crappy, really high EGT's, surging, coughing, feels like it's doggin, almost like i'm towing a 3000lb trailer, then it'll randomly free up and drive decent for a few seconds, I've traced it to the MAF. I've got one of those foam Perrin Big MAF filters, it kinda sucks, and last time i cleaned & oiled it, i used No Toil on it and over oiled it. I've been trying MAF cleaner and stuff, but improvements are small & temporary if any. Last night i decided i would bust out the OxyClean and give the filter a bath and lightly re oil it.

Just to give an idea how gross the filter was...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110509_220734.jpg

The filter was black, you can see in the picture the filter is now red, all the water in the sink is black. I was expecting to have a major chore on my hands when i decided to clean this thing, but No Toil is biodegradable & non toxic and designed to be cleaned with warm water & no toil cleaner (relabeled oxyclean). I gotta say the Oxyclean worked so easy, the moment i submerged the filter, all the grime and oil came right outta the filter in seconds.

So anyway, the filter has been cleaned and lightly reoiled, I also blasted the hell outta the MAF with MAF cleaner. I reset the ECU this morning and put in my new clean intake parts, and drivability is still the same. Either the MAF is shot from being coated so bad, or the MAF scaling is off from being setup while dirty.

I've got a new Generic ebay MAF coming in, I'm gonna see if that yields better results... I'm just trying to get by for now until i get setup with utec SD. When that time comes I've got an SPT intake lined up so i can go back to a stock size MAF which should also help improve low load & throttle conditions.

RyanG

05-10-2011, 01:07 PM

dude.. we cleaned that thing before you got it back too lol.. wow that sucks!! When do you wanna come in for a tune?

g00fy

05-10-2011, 01:15 PM

dude.. we cleaned that thing before you got it back too lol.. wow that sucks!! When do you wanna come in for a tune?

ASAP, this thing is running like total ass with the MAF hooked up. Like i said in the previous post, it feels & sounds like i'm towing a 3000lb trailer, and the EGT's reflect it, saw 1950 just 10 minutes ago trying to pass a tractor trailer doing 65 on the highway. The car still runs hot when i unplug the MAF but at least it revs more freely, doesn't surge, and doesn't feel like I'm towing yacht anchor. If it's not a MAF issue the only other thing i could think of is a giant boost/vacuum leak somewhere.

g00fy

05-12-2011, 04:47 PM

Took some logs some weeks ago, never got around to looking them over, looked at them today. They were logs taken going up a hill on the highway where i would normally see the highest EGT's and experience some surging.

Links:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdHlyYklNVDd3cG4wc0JKOG9Jd3R0V EE&hl=en&authkey=CO6SiqcM

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdDhfbTNyTERCWmdzUGY5ZDNIc2VKN Hc&hl=en&authkey=CN3thqIB

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdEtuMkdKd2FjTWNuUHhCVUJCT2ZYX 0E&hl=en&authkey=CJSl6L8D

2StepsAhead

05-12-2011, 08:10 PM

Wow, glad to see you still have this! Saw a few of the FXT guys at an auto-x and then saw this thread, makes me miss mine so much.

g00fy

05-13-2011, 12:03 AM

Wow, glad to see you still have this! Saw a few of the FXT guys at an auto-x and then saw this thread, makes me miss mine so much.

haha, yea, i'm way to deep in this thing to ever let it go, just wish it was more fun and less of a pain in the ass :mrgreen:

g00fy

05-13-2011, 12:05 AM

Well I did some brief logging this evening and managed to log when one of the coughing incidents happened. I was in second gear, bout 60% throttle right around 3500rpms, getting upto 3500, i could feel the car bogging, then all the sudden the car felt like it shut off for a split second. Here's the log file:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGk1Y2lHdDk3ZHBsYzVzWVVoY29iQ Xc&authkey=CI3H_J8H&hl=en#gid=0

In that spread sheet, you can see where things get wonky, lines 25 - 28.

g00fy

05-13-2011, 11:41 AM

Oops i put the wrong link in last night, corrected it this morning...

RyanG

05-13-2011, 11:47 AM

Look at the fuel pump duty. Why is it slamming 100% when the throttle opening didnt change?? I wanna try a new fpc and regulator

g00fy

05-13-2011, 12:09 PM

Look at the fuel pump duty. Why is it slamming 100% when the throttle opening didnt change?? I wanna try a new fpc and regulator

Fuel pump controller? and Fuel pump regulator? Cause I'm looking into one of those new 340lph Fuel pumps, but if you think it's something cheaper and easier that'd be great. Cause this thing is getting bad, I can't even take the car on the highway right now, too much throttle and it does that coughing or fuel cut thing that happened in that log i posted.

g00fy

05-13-2011, 01:18 PM

Well, i just impulse bought an Aeromotive 340lph pump anyway... I figure it's more likely the fuel pump will fail instead of the FPR or FPC, and if it's not the fuel pump, at least i'll have a nice new fuel pump with a lot of extra head room. Gonna throw it in tomorrow, i'll post results.

g00fy

05-14-2011, 04:15 PM

Just finished my fuel pump install... Turns out my old fuel pump really **** the bed, we found metal flakes and shavings puking outta the pump into the sock and elsewhere, check it out...

pics:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110514_142649.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110514_153136.jpg

Also since i was unable to find a replacement crappy in tank filter, we deleted the in tank filter and installed an old style engine bay filter :)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110514_153525.jpg

The car runs much better now and doesn't feel like the E-brake is on anymore, also my EGT's are much more reasonable, definately have to mark this one down as a win!

g00fy

05-15-2011, 02:42 PM

Fixed my AC lines today, armored all the new ones with Nylon hose, and i also wrapped my whole SS fuel line in electrical tape to help it be less abrasive, and pointy. Damn thing has so many little barbs sticking out i felt like a pin cushion by the time i finished today... While i had the TMIC off i checked my trans fluids, trans was alright, my diff however was half a quart low :-/, topped it off with some smurf blood and it's much happier now, i was wondering why the damn thing was so noisy. Also noticed one of the lines on my Agency power rails was leaking at the distribution block, I was able to use a crows foot to torque down better, but it still seems to be weaping a little bit outta the SS braiding itself...

Unfortunately even though my new fuel pump seems to have helped vastly, I'm still throwing a misfire code and the car is still sputtering under certain conditions, disconntection the MAF helps, so I'm wondering if i have a bad Coil pack, or if maybe my spark plug harness is shot? It looked like the MAF was in the same bunch of wires as the coil pack plugs so idk if ones effecting the other...

g00fy

05-15-2011, 08:19 PM

Cars starting to act up again. Not as bad as before, but the EGT's are climbing again, don't know why... Took a learning view and everything appears OK.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/LearningView_SS_5-15-201180813PM.jpg

RyanG

05-15-2011, 09:04 PM

Your afr learning is good. The knock at part throttle cruise isnt tho. Are you catless? I dont remember

g00fy

05-15-2011, 09:06 PM

Your afr learning is good. The knock at part throttle cruise isnt tho. Are you catless? I dont remember

yea i'm catless

g00fy

05-16-2011, 09:54 PM

Checked learning view when i got home today, Cylinder 4 misfire disappeared. Cylinder 1 and P0000 still remain. I've also included a very long log that contains nothing more then me trying to cruise up a big hill on my way home from work. During the log you'll see me let off the throttle every so often, my guage was usually showing 1800* or better when i would let off...

Here's a link to the google docs version, i froze the top row so it's easier to see what's what as you scroll down:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdHV0dXdLam9DMG52UnNjajc3MXJGU EE&hl=en&authkey=CJzysNgH

g00fy

05-17-2011, 11:03 AM

Took a learning view this morning after i drove to work, and it looked good, no soft codes or anything...

Took a learning view after running some errands for the office and had a nice 1st - 3rd pull going on the on ramp, and this is the learning view i got after that pull:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/LearningView_SS_5-17-2011104134AM.jpg

g00fy

05-17-2011, 02:20 PM

For anyone that's interested, the transmission performance was questioned, so i took some transmission logs since the guys at Romraider added that feature, here they are:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdHZnVzNWcnlpRWxvT1pvSF85UlZzW EE&hl=en&authkey=CPO6ov0C

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdExxdHc3ellnNklnbGRtRkwtVGNJb Hc&hl=en&authkey=CNzJ0c8I

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdFFtNnBYVzZ4QjFjSl9XZ0NOUklwb 1E&hl=en&authkey=COPTkrgF

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGdwbTNDQ2oydFdUcTU4T2g4SExpe Gc&hl=en&authkey=CMPR7KEN

rexorcist

05-17-2011, 02:52 PM

very interested (have similar configuration, atp 30r and ipt built 4eat tranny utec tune over accessport base) but have no idea what the tranny logs are.
keep posted and good luck

g00fy

05-17-2011, 03:28 PM

very interested (have similar configuration, atp 30r and ipt built 4eat tranny utec tune over accessport base) but have no idea what the tranny logs are.
keep posted and good luck

Will do, looking at those logs, the trans seems to be doing it's job just fine... I think I've just got tuning issues that need to be ironed out.

g00fy

05-25-2011, 09:44 PM

I discovered today that the drivability issues i've been having are definately motor related. Today I had to jump start a tractor trailer for a friend of my mom, and I hooked up, and brought the RPM's to about 2500 to charge up the trucks batteries a bit before the guy tried to crank it. While i was holding the RPMs at 2500 i heard the suddle popping of misfires, so i booted up romraiders logger and sure enough, misfires going nuts on all 4 cylinders...

Don't know how or why, but the Misfires seem to be limited to the RPM range of 2250 to 3000. Outside of that the misfires clear up almost instantly, here's a log i took holding the car at 2500rpms:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGd2c19qellPdVIwdVc2UkNTanc2c lE&hl=en_US&authkey=CMypzdAG

I have no idea why or what would cause this behavior... Any suggestions would be appreciated

jesse096

05-25-2011, 09:54 PM

Coils or plugs maybe? Does it misfire at idle?

-Jesse

g00fy

05-25-2011, 10:46 PM

Coils or plugs maybe? Does it misfire at idle?

-Jesse

slightly, more so when cold, once it warms up it idles fine.

jesse096

05-26-2011, 09:10 AM

I know a friend had that problem with his car when it was arm or cold, and one of the coils was on it's way out... but that was just one... maybe try new plugs just to make sure?

-Jesse

g00fy

05-26-2011, 10:39 AM

I know a friend had that problem with his car when it was arm or cold, and one of the coils was on it's way out... but that was just one... maybe try new plugs just to make sure?

-Jesse

The plugs in the car are only 1500 miles old, but i'm gonna get them changed when i get my compression & leak down done next week. My two top theories are either my engine harness has issues, or my perrin crank pulley isn't perfectly balanced. Cause the weird thing is when the car is in gear it doesn't misfire, it just bogs on and off.

RayArroyo

05-26-2011, 11:34 AM

scratch the crank pulley as i said over the phone, as for the harness my thinking is it would do it at all throttle points.

g00fy

05-26-2011, 02:11 PM

scratch the crank pulley as i said over the phone, as for the harness my thinking is it would do it at all throttle points.

I noticed today the inconsistent RPMS and bogging while driving at steady throttle is present over a much broader range of RPMs, possibly the whole range.

Honest_Bob

05-26-2011, 02:40 PM

I would at least pull the plugs to look at them. I'm sure the failing fuel pump wasent kind to them. :(

g00fy

05-26-2011, 06:27 PM

I had some free time today and pulled my cylinder 1 spark plug out, cylinder 1 keeps throwing the CEL for misfires, however all 4 cylinders read misfires when i run the roughness monitor, here's the picture:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110526_173704.jpg

jesse096

05-26-2011, 09:39 PM

Maybe a tad lean?

-Jesse

g00fy

05-27-2011, 09:38 AM

Maybe a tad lean?

-Jesse

Possibly, but i'm still thinking it's possibly some sort of crank issue, because I noticed the yesterday the Tach has got the same little wiggle or dance it had going on when my crank position gear was missing a tooth however now it's not as severe.

jesse096

05-27-2011, 10:21 PM

Could be a sign that it's on it's way out, or loose.

-Jesse

g00fy

05-31-2011, 05:09 PM

Tried a new Crank Position sensor today since it was a cheap possibility, no changes, still a pretty bad dead spot with misfires in neutral between 2k & 3krpms. Did notice though that the hot start issue i've been having where the car refuses to start or stumbles & dies when the car is hot is lessened or eliminated when i prime the fuel pump 2 - 3 times before actually trying to crank the car over.

Ender81

05-31-2011, 05:32 PM

Sucks to see you having such strange problems man

Honest_Bob

05-31-2011, 07:37 PM

Timing issue?

g00fy

05-31-2011, 09:37 PM

Timing issue?

Don't think so, had these issues on the old motor too, tuning hasn't seemed to help, it's gotta be electrical or mechanical.

Ej6Mike

05-31-2011, 09:43 PM

Any chance the ECU maybe got zapped? I know it doesnt seem likely, but i thought id throw it out there as a possibility.

g00fy

05-31-2011, 10:30 PM

Any chance the ECU maybe got zapped? I know it doesnt seem likely, but i thought id throw it out there as a possibility.

yea that is a possibility, but i figured I'd rule out the less expensive possibilities first :-p

jesse096

06-01-2011, 11:22 AM

Go for the cheapest **** first, good man :lol:

-Jesse

g00fy

06-01-2011, 01:33 PM

Found unplugging my o2 sensor helped fix my misfires

Ender81

06-01-2011, 01:34 PM

Progress woohoo lol

jesse096

06-01-2011, 01:40 PM

o2 bad?

-Jesse

g00fy

06-07-2011, 01:46 PM

So, Ryan has been telling me for a while now that my EGT gauge has to be messed up, i never believed him and always denied it... Well, the past week it started doing wonky stuff, and yesterday i came out, started my car and found this:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110606_170948.jpg

So i guess my EGT probe was on it's way out and it finally bit the dust, so that might explain my outrageously high EGT's that i thought i was seeing.

Also, I've been driving the car around with the front O2 sensor disconnected, and it's been running pretty good. Yesterday I plugged in a different O2 sensor, and did not experience any of the same issues or misfires. Plugged my old O2 sensor back in and all the misfires and stuff came back, so my front O2 sensor turned out to be just as messed up as my EGT probe.

I'm now confident that once i get my own new O2 sensor in, all that's left to do is get some dyno time and make some numbers.

Ender81

06-07-2011, 02:36 PM

Oh that's a strange combination of coincidences. Really happy to see you may have worked it out.

Subie_sleeper

06-07-2011, 02:45 PM

Honest_Bob

06-07-2011, 03:09 PM

I dont know if any of these work with what you have but maybe you can find out.

http://www.exhaustgas.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=558&DepartmentID=1&CategoryID=56&MenuID=sub6&BasketID=&RepID=

rexorcist

06-07-2011, 03:11 PM

congrats..my omori set up is going as well..i think 52mm is discontinued..
lmk what u decide to go with..good luck with tune:)

Ej6Mike

06-07-2011, 06:17 PM

Oh my, what a hot exhaust!

g00fy

06-07-2011, 08:47 PM

Oh that's a strange combination of coincidences. Really happy to see you may have worked it out.

Thanks, but knowing my luck, even some things that should be simple fixes team up to create a complicated web of deception to send me in the wrong directions LoL

LIKE Button !!!!

:mrgreen:

I dont know if any of these work with what you have but maybe you can find out.

http://www.exhaustgas.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=558&DepartmentID=1&CategoryID=56&MenuID=sub6&BasketID=&RepID=

Right now I'm trying to get in touch with J-spectuning since they offer an Omori replacement EGT probe on their website... Unfortunately when i went to add it to cart i got an error saying it was out of stock... I left them a message to see if and when they might be able to get one.

congrats..my omori set up is going as well..i think 52mm is discontinued..
lmk what u decide to go with..good luck with tune:)

At the moment, even though they're not the most accurate, they still work and match up to the stock gauges perfectly & look real nice, I'm going to see if i can replace just the EGT probe and continue using them. Also it's definitely not in my budget to go get 3 new gauges...

Oh my, what a hot exhaust!

My car breathes fire :-p

g00fy

06-08-2011, 09:24 AM

Bad O2 sensor?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/IMG_20110608_092306.jpg

g00fy

06-08-2011, 12:17 PM

well, drove around with the new O2 sensor in the exhaust stream, misfires are back, current theory is with my over sized valves and very ported heads the O2 sensor is too close and is seeing too much turbulence, ryan suggested we move the O2 sensor to the downpipe.

g00fy

06-10-2011, 09:37 AM

Alright, my last logical step before going for a compression/leak down test will be to try a different FPR. That's the last thing I've seen on the forums that could cause the symptoms I've been seeing, and would make some sense considering the car was barely running on my old Walbro 255, but then my new 340lph pump seemed to put some life back in the car. Maybe the extra flow helped compensate for the failing FPR, but the continuously swinging fuel pressure is pissing off the O2 sensor?

My only question is do i go with another OEM one for $79, or do I go for an aftermarket adjustable unit with a gauge on it?

g00fy

06-11-2011, 07:31 PM

Took some new logs today, idk wtf to make of these issues anymore...

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGFLN3N0QVV3b1ZSS0hES1dpX2xHO Wc&hl=en_US&authkey=CPaD_IID

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdFFfdzB5TEtrMVVXVWV4SW1WbzBTc nc&hl=en_US&authkey=CMP1zegD

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdE1qYXFabHYyYlhyRmhMb3pTVkdKM Hc&hl=en_US&authkey=CIOF5owC

Plugged the O2 sensor back in for these logs...

w/o the O2 sensor the car was running smoother with no misfires, but learning view showed IAM dropped to .625 and was showing some knock in the mid-range...

With the O2 sensor back in, Learning view showed the IAM back up at 1, but then i had misfires on 3 different cylinders, and P000 came back... wtf?!

RyanG

06-11-2011, 09:10 PM

The cruise knock is odd. Sensor picking up false knock it seems. Lets get that utec in

rexorcist

06-14-2011, 09:48 PM

feeling your pain..rexorcist is beginning to do something odd in 2-3 shift..but between the built engine, tranny, utec, etc..who the hell knows..look into false knock theory..mine had to be tricked with utec..gl:)

g00fy

06-15-2011, 07:57 PM

Alright, I did some more tinkering today with sensors. I bought a Brand Spanking new front O2 sensor for $155, didn't touch that one yet.

Anyway, here's how it goes:

Scenario 1:
O2 sensor plugged in and mounted in the exhaust = Tons of misfires on all 4 cylinders @ 2500 rpms in neutral, misfires can clearly be heard in the exhaust note breaking up, also tach also swings a bunch.

Scenario 2:
Second O2 sensor Plugged in but left out of the exhaust stream = Roughness monitor Pinned at 2 on cylinder 1 period, regardless of RPMs, slight break up in exhaust note @ 2500 rpms, slight movement in Tach also.

Scenario 3:
NO O2 Sensor plugged in at all = Zero misfires, No audible break up of exhaust note, tach holds rock solid @ 2500 rpms

Any thoughts or comments on this weirdness?

RyanG

06-15-2011, 08:50 PM

I would change the fpr first. It wont hurt and I would do an aftermarket. If you want you can borrow my Aeromotive off my car in the meantime

g00fy

06-18-2011, 02:35 PM

So i went out to Area1320 thursday to grab some parts, and ryan let me borrow the Aeromotive Adjustable FPR off his RS.

I installed the FPR today, and found something that seems to be the root of my issues. Ryan told me the FPR was set at 48psi, on my car it was only showing 38psi... So i decide to crank it up, every time i would crank it up, it would start off a little higher, but always dropped down between 38 & 42 psi. I mean i really cranked this thing in, and it would just plummet to about 40 psi sometimes it would hold steady at 50 for a minute, then it would just drop down to 40.

Now the question is, what would keep my fuel pressure from coming up?

Ej6Mike

06-18-2011, 04:47 PM

Fuel pump? Perhaps it has a clogged filter? (both on the pump itself or your actual fuel filter?) Something seems to be restricting it.

g00fy

06-18-2011, 08:44 PM

Fuel pump? Perhaps it has a clogged filter? (both on the pump itself or your actual fuel filter?) Something seems to be restricting it.

I changed all that stuff a couple weeks ago, when i upgraded from a walbro 255 (that i thought was failing) to an aeromotive 340lph. Right before i did the swap the car was getting really bad, I thought the new Fuel pump did the trick, but all it did was help get the car drivable again, I can only assumed the increased flow rate of the new fuel pump helped compensate for whatever is hurting my fuel pressure.

I've read in a few different places, if the Evap Canister (or smog box or charcoal box) is shot, it can cause fuel starvation issues, or if any of the fuel tank vents are clogged. I'm going to try pulling the canister completely out of the car tomorrow and see if that changes anything. I'm also gonna try and blow out all of the lines with some compressed air.

g00fy

06-18-2011, 09:08 PM

So doing some research, i found that a clogged Evap Canister can cause a number of symptoms that i'm experiencing, from the whacky fuel pressure and surging to misfires from vapors backing up into the cylinders... I'm gonna rip all the evap stuff out of the back of the car tomorrow and see if and what changes, i'm also gonna see if maybe my Evap canister is clogged with sludge & junk.

Ej6Mike

06-19-2011, 11:44 AM

Yikes! What can be done to clean these things out?

Ender81

06-19-2011, 12:38 PM

I just keep checking in to see what's up in this thread and it's always something new.

g00fy

06-19-2011, 12:50 PM

I just keep checking in to see what's up in this thread and it's always something new.

LoL well, this fuel pressure thing has got to be at the root of my issues... I think if I can get my fuel pressure where it belongs the car will finally be right.

Ender81

06-19-2011, 02:38 PM

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you lol

g00fy

06-21-2011, 07:13 PM

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you lol

well, the FPR issue didn't pan out, i read up on how to properly adjust the FPR, and even when i was able to get the fuel pressure rock solid at 48psi, car still misfired and stuff...

However...

A member on Nasioc recommended I try forcing the car into Openloop only through the tune so i can see if I still get misfires and monitor my AFR's... This seems to have been extremely successful.

Forcing the car into Openloop greatly reduced misfires, improved drivability, and allowed me to see how bad my AFR's really are.

At idle i'm seeing low 12's AFR, no wonder the O2 sensor was causing misfires, trying to pull so much fuel all the time.

Logs:

Idle Log (https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGdDZzh4ZlZyaWZ1WjFUZkM4OGllc nc&hl=en_US&authkey=CN-eucQN)

Cruising Log (https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdGVDSWhFb2pnb1dGbzJBRUkxS2E4S kE&hl=en_US&authkey=CJmA5N8I)

g00fy

06-23-2011, 11:24 AM

So today i managed to convince Romraider to cooperate and log a hard start for me. Turns out cylinders 1 & 3 have a misfire count 40+ during these hot starts, while cylinders 2 & 4 show zero misfires. Gonna check the injectors and coil packs on 1 & 3 as soon as i get the chance.

rexorcist

06-23-2011, 04:31 PM

keep u the good fight:)

g00fy

06-23-2011, 08:51 PM

keep u the good fight:)

Thanks man.

Today I changed all the injectors around, misfires remained on 1 & 3, so i can rule out a leaky injector and be sure that my tune is very rich and it's not just the O2 sensor reading weird from a bad injector

Rally Sport

06-23-2011, 11:02 PM

Every time i check your thread it's something else lol. I'm glad you keep your hopes up about it, you'll figure it out then you'll have a real beast of a fozzy!

g00fy

07-24-2011, 08:10 PM

Well, i've tried switching coil packs around in the car, my hot start misfires remain on cyls 1 & 3... Wondering if there's computer or electrical problems, I've got a good soldered 5 wire grounding kit coming in to see if that'll improve things. For now though, the car's feeling really really slow lately, seems like boost takes forever to come on, and even when it does it feels restricted, like it does when my IAM used to drop to 0, and the car's been stalling alot. So i hooked up learning view, and my IAM was fine, but i'm seeing knock in a lot more places then i ever used to.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/LearningView_SS_A2WC410D_2011-07-24195929.jpg

g00fy

08-02-2011, 09:04 AM

I was getting real sick of worrying about the car stalling so i decided to let it run in closed loop again cause i noticed there was a real bad lean spike after i would blip the throttle @ low RPMS, and it would almost always stall. It was giving me a hard time going back to closed loop, so i got fed up and hard reset the ECU, loaded the stock map back in just to see what would happen. I drove the car to the store on the stock map, believe it or not it actually drove decent, albeit slow, it was pretty normal. So i tried a few more things before finally changing back to the stock map, but I changed the injector & MAF scaling to that of my most recent maps so my fueling is where it belongs.

Car felt pretty stable but slow on the way to work this morning. It does however still struggle a little bit to idle when it gets hot, and again, since my front O2 sensor is being utilized again, I'm seeing misfires on all 4 cylinders randomly.

g00fy

08-04-2011, 10:02 AM

I've been noticing over the past couple weeks, my voltage output has been getting steadily worse. Yesterday i really started to pay attention to it. When my car is warming up, or if it's cooler outside the car puts out a solid 13.8v's or better w/o flinching regardless of RPM. However when the car gets hot, i'm seeing the voltage fall pretty bad, with the AC on the other day i was seeing the voltage drop below 12 while idling around, at stop lights it was hangin out in the 11's, dipping into the 10's at some points. Then I was getting on it going up a mountain on the way home from work, I could not get the voltage to go over 12.6, regardless of how high i pushed the RPMS.

I'm gonna have my alternator checked out today, I'm wondering if it, or the voltage regulator, have been failing and putting out very dirty power that's upsetting my sensors & ECU and creating these little gremlins I've been chasing.

Subie_sleeper

08-04-2011, 02:46 PM

Reds82

08-04-2011, 03:50 PM

Did the voltage issue start before the ground kit or after?

g00fy

08-05-2011, 09:31 AM

Did the voltage issue start before the ground kit or after?

I noticed the voltage falling off before i did the grounding kit, but it just seemed to get steadily worse over the past couple weeks, and I figured the grounding kit might help it, but it clearly didn't.

g00fy

08-11-2011, 02:26 PM

Got the voltage all straightened out, but the car is still misfiring like crazy, sometimes it misses so bad in first it feels like the car is hitting the rev limiter. Here's a log of that awesomeness:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhTdz54ybrDgdHd2dmxNdlVOMDFqLXdtQ2VoaGtpd Wc&hl=en_US#gid=0

g00fy

08-12-2011, 02:25 PM

I've been suspecting the Engine wiring harness of having shorts in it for a long time now, so i pulled the trigger on a new Engine wiring harness and it arrived today. Gotta set up a time with Ryan to have it installed... Or when i pick it up if it doesn't look to complex i may try and install it myself, i'll see how it goes when i pick it up this afternoon.

g00fy

08-18-2011, 01:46 PM

Looks like i've gotta wait to have the harness installed by somebody else, removing the intake manifold goes above and beyond my skill level. I'm really hoping this will fix my issues, it's just so bizzare how plugging in the O2 sensor causes the car to see all sorts of knock, misfires, and makes the tach all wiggly.

RyanG

08-18-2011, 11:03 PM

Jake,

why is your coolant temp so damn high in that log?? 210*???

I would swap out coolant temp senders..see if that helps at all.. OR unplug it and start it up.. see if it defaults.

g00fy

08-19-2011, 10:57 AM

Jake,

why is your coolant temp so damn high in that log?? 210*???

I would swap out coolant temp senders..see if that helps at all.. OR unplug it and start it up.. see if it defaults.

I would say that's reading correctly, my engine bay/radiator get so hot so fast it's retarded. I go for a 10 minute drive and i can't even grab the stick to hold the hood up :eek:

RyanG

08-19-2011, 12:44 PM

something is off then.. I normally see 190-200 on most cars when tuning.

I wonder if the trans is causing the heat.

g00fy

08-19-2011, 01:48 PM

something is off then.. I normally see 190-200 on most cars when tuning.

I wonder if the trans is causing the heat.

It's possible, but yea, my car gets stupid hot very fast, even just idling it gets really hot.

That log was taken when i was on the highway, i pulled over for about 5 minutes to convince Romraider to connect to my ECU and take a log, and that log was taken as i was pulling off the shoulder back into the highway.

sqc151

08-19-2011, 01:52 PM

Ringland Fail

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/GetAttachment-1.jpg

this is the stock block that came out of your car???

just wondering if anybody noticed what im seeing?

g00fy

08-19-2011, 02:12 PM

this is the stock block that came out of your car???

just wondering if anybody noticed what im seeing?

Yes, that's the OEM block that came out of my car.

sqc151

08-19-2011, 02:23 PM

is the piece between the cylinders and rubber gasket part of the block or is it a gasket?

RyanG

08-19-2011, 02:34 PM

in that pic the headgasket is still on.

sqc151

08-19-2011, 02:45 PM

ahh, thanks. phones suck when it somes to details in pictures...LOL

g00fy

08-19-2011, 03:11 PM

BTW, I have a replacement ECU on its way, I found one for cheap and figured I should try that before I go fiddling with the harness since I found out the O2 sensor goes directly to the ecu and not through the engine harness.

The swapping the ecu is currently cheaper then the wiring harness alone w/o install, so hopefully the new ecu will solve my issues and ill return this wiring harness.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

g00fy

08-24-2011, 10:51 AM

Replacement ecu didn't help... looking into relocating the O2 sensor further down the exhaust stream to reduce turbulance at the sensor.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

rexorcist

08-24-2011, 04:03 PM

sorry man..keep up the good fight:) not sure if you have a trans temp gauge,
my ipt/wrx tranny stays below 200 fwiw

g00fy

08-28-2011, 12:26 PM

something is off then.. I normally see 190-200 on most cars when tuning.

I wonder if the trans is causing the heat.

Well, I'm looking into maybe a new thermostat, and i'm seriously considering a Mishimoto radiator, unfortunately I noticed that it says it's for manual trans only... Would i still be able to use a mishimoto if it doesn't have ports for the auto trans? Or will i have to get a bigger auxillary trans cooler and run it as a primary?

g00fy

09-19-2011, 09:29 PM

So anyway, my car still sucks, but, somebody on nasioc has been having the exact same misfire issues as me, and they've even followed the guy through 2 different motors his original stocker and his brand new build motor. After leaving the car with his shop for like 4 months, they finally narrowed the problem cylinders down to 1 & 3, and after trying everything i tried, they narrowed it down further to a fueling issue, and finally discovered the soldering on engine harness for the injector plugs was ****ty and not allowing a good signal to injectors 1 & 3 causing seemingly random misfires on all 4 cylinders but heavier misfires on 1 & 3 just like my car...

So, this being discovered, I have a brand new engine harness sitting in my car, i just need to setup a day to have it installed, hopefully the subaru gods @ Area1320 will smile down upon me with good fortune and fit me in sunday.

g00fy

09-24-2011, 12:56 PM

I had the harness swapped and the car tuned and dyno'd, still missing about 100hp, but that's another issue with my trans... The engine runs so nice and smooth now it's amazing, i've forgotten what a well built well tuned motor feels like.

Anyway, I was examining the old harness, and here's what i found with the cylinder 1 injector plug...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2011-09-23_23-21-05_914.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2011-09-23_23-21-22_247.jpg

Notice the contacts are basically missing in the bad plug.

Here's a good plug for reference:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2011-09-21_10-49-08_581.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/XTRpaintball/2011-09-23_23-21-38_484-1.jpg

Honest_Bob

09-24-2011, 01:26 PM

that sucks dude!

rexorcist

09-25-2011, 09:12 AM

hey goofy what's up with ipt tranny?

g00fy

09-25-2011, 11:55 AM

hey goofy what's up with ipt tranny?

Well we suspect the tranny is fine, it's the torque converter that's shot, and this torque converter is from the original level 10 tranny that was done on my car (so I'm not surprised it's shot). For years people have been telling me the torque converter is not right, but I've always had engine problems, so I never believed it was the tranny.

Last year when I was dyno'd the car only laid down 318hp, but, i had a messed up injector plug, and all the valves were leaking on the POS motor, so even though the tranny was brought into question, we ultimately felt it was the motor that was screwed.

Now we got this motor squared away and tuned so it runs beautifully, but it still felt slow, so we threw it on the dyno and sure enough it only laid down 250whp... And when we let it shift into 4th gear the horsepower fell to 150!!! and it just flat lined there, the engine was pulling 4.5v's on my big maf and my 850cc injectors were working pretty hard, but the car just wasn't putting power down.

So now there's no way around it, the tranny is eating power, and the stall converter has got to be the culprit, since the car shifts perfectly fine and drives pretty normal until you lay into the gas and start pushing the converter. Luckily i was hooked up with a free already modded torque converter, and I'm gonna have it installed Saturday morning, so hopefully that will be the end of my car nightmare and i can move on with my life.

rexorcist

09-26-2011, 11:55 AM

best of luck keep posted, happy its no the whole ipt unit

Ender81

09-26-2011, 12:00 PM

Dying to see the post where you just say you are enjoying this thing.

g00fy

09-27-2011, 01:18 AM

Dying to see the post where you just say you are enjoying this thing.

At this point, I am just enjoying it. It starts up nice, idles flawlessly, and drives almost as smooth as stock, so driving is enjoyable once again, even if it's not as exciting as it's supposed to be... Yet...

After the new torque converter goes in saturday, then it won't just be nice to drive, it'll be exciting to drive too :mrgreen:

rexorcist

09-27-2011, 12:57 PM

gl man its about time

Ender81

09-27-2011, 01:13 PM

So will I be seeing this beast at the toys for tots meet in November?

g00fy

09-27-2011, 02:44 PM

gl man its about time

Thanks man

So will I be seeing this beast at the toys for tots meet in November?

When in november? More importantly, where is it? Cause idk if I can justify driving 4 hours 1 way for a meet :-p

Ender81

09-27-2011, 03:34 PM

http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119013

Sunday November 6th down in Montgomeryville, pa right on 309

g00fy

10-03-2011, 09:32 AM

Had my torque converter swapped out over the weekend, and it feels like less power is being wasted, but the car still feels slow. I'm wondering if i've still got some kinda stupid little motor issue holding me back, cause even though the car runs real nice and smooth now, the throttle response is pretty poor. The RPMs climb really slow when i rev the car and neutral and a few other people have noticed it too, don't know what would cause that.

Also thew CEL P0304 last night and P0000. Don't know why, car doesn't feel like it's missing, I'm really wondering about my perrin crank pulley though, that thing wobbles like a SOB and i'm wondering if it's causing false misfires.

g00fy

10-04-2011, 09:59 AM

Well, I'm fed up with this stock location turbo BS. I was looking around in the engine bay and saw how kinked the coupler was for my turbo / inlet, and realized that's probably where my horsepower is getting lost. It's kinked pretty bad to begin with and I wouldn't be surprised if it's collapsing further under boost giving my car this anemic feel of being held back. I've searched and searched and it seems that i could try different inlets and whatnot but in the end i'm still probably going to have issues.

Long story short I've lost my patience and decided to go rotated, so i've posted a for sale thread, I'm selling my current turbo, uppipe, downpipe, inlet, etc, along with some other parts i've had laying around.

Honest_Bob

10-04-2011, 12:08 PM

You've seen the light! :mrgreen:

Any ideas on what kit your going with?

g00fy

10-04-2011, 01:20 PM

You've seen the light! :mrgreen:

Any ideas on what kit your going with?

Idk, probly something with an HTA turbo, i hear they're pretty sick

g00fy

11-22-2011, 03:57 PM

Well I've been patiently waiting for a turbo kit since my last post... I put down a hefty deposit on a used one back around the beginning of October, and I'm still waiting for it which is really starting to piss me off, the only reason I haven't lost my **** and disputed the charge is it's a good deal and I know seller is good for it, he's just dragging pulling the parts, also my car has been running good albeit slow.

Anyway I just got back from a 10 day vacation, hopped in my car to drive back to work and i noticed the car feels more sluggish then usual. So i did a pull out of a stop light and noticed the car refused to boost over 15 psi, I'm gonna check the IAM and see if maybe it dropped, if it didn't though what would cause such a drop in boost?

Subie_sleeper

11-22-2011, 05:04 PM

Stock location turbo + AWIC kit FTW !!! :mrgreen: