What I did last night.
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I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
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From: Richmond, VA
What I did last night.
Pardon the blog. Something I've been discussing with a few other people got done
My cousin gave me the keys to the shop before closing yesterday. I got my car on the lift around 6:00 PM. I changed my gear oil to BG Synchroshift II, transfer case and rear end oil to ShockProof/90W mix. I changed the engine oil, strained it (clean) and cut the filter open to inspect (normal for a new engine).
Once I got all the maintenance stuff out of the way, the troubleshooting started. I boost leak tested it and found all kinds of crap leaking. Every coupler, my j-pipe flange, manual boost controller, throttle body gasket, base-idle set screw, and all 4 injector seals leaked (and they're brand new, too). I left the shop at 2:41 with no leaks to find my fuel trims all out of whack because all the compressed air is staying in the pipes. So I drove around for a good while to tune it by gauges so that it's in the ballpark safe area at 21 PSI, and then posted an abbreviated DIY on my web page about how to do a boost leak test.
I'll post another one later (much more descriptive) and post it in the tech forum for the turbo guys, but right now, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep.
Here's the Boost Leak Test DIY photo preview on my site for those who want to avoid the long descriptive one I'll post in the tech forum.
http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum15.html
My cousin gave me the keys to the shop before closing yesterday. I got my car on the lift around 6:00 PM. I changed my gear oil to BG Synchroshift II, transfer case and rear end oil to ShockProof/90W mix. I changed the engine oil, strained it (clean) and cut the filter open to inspect (normal for a new engine).
Once I got all the maintenance stuff out of the way, the troubleshooting started. I boost leak tested it and found all kinds of crap leaking. Every coupler, my j-pipe flange, manual boost controller, throttle body gasket, base-idle set screw, and all 4 injector seals leaked (and they're brand new, too). I left the shop at 2:41 with no leaks to find my fuel trims all out of whack because all the compressed air is staying in the pipes. So I drove around for a good while to tune it by gauges so that it's in the ballpark safe area at 21 PSI, and then posted an abbreviated DIY on my web page about how to do a boost leak test.
I'll post another one later (much more descriptive) and post it in the tech forum for the turbo guys, but right now, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep.
Here's the Boost Leak Test DIY photo preview on my site for those who want to avoid the long descriptive one I'll post in the tech forum.
http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum15.html
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Joined: May 2002
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From: NoVA
Originally Posted by brtecson
good idea with the soapy water to check for air leaks. i was told to use carb cleaner.. i really don't like that idea because that stuff is extremely corrosive.
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
With as much polished and powdercoated stuff as I've got under the hood, flamable corrosive chemicals are straight out of the question. If I had a ragged out 94 Ford Probe, I wouldn't care.
Using a fuel source is okay on the intake manifold and throttle bodies of NA cars while they're idling if you know the problem is around there, but it's not a good way to test a turbocharged or supercharged car, or to diagnose its overall health because there are just SO MANY PLACES you can leak boost from... (and probably do) that it would be really expensive and messy to buy all the cleaner you'd need.
The bad part about using a fuel source as a leak finder aside from it being dangerous is that on a turbo car, leaks can happen in only one direction. Meaning, when you're under boost, and only above a certain pressure... you can develop a leak. It also won't tell you that you'd blow your intercooler pipes off at X or Y pressure, or if your vacuum lines are punctured or cracked. But it will raise the idle when it's sprayed in the general neighborhood of the problem, and a lot of skilled mechanics (that know what to look for on any given engine) get by with that added-fuel trick. One of my 20+ year experienced friends told me to use propane... and if you ever thought carb cleaner was flamable...
Using a fuel source is okay on the intake manifold and throttle bodies of NA cars while they're idling if you know the problem is around there, but it's not a good way to test a turbocharged or supercharged car, or to diagnose its overall health because there are just SO MANY PLACES you can leak boost from... (and probably do) that it would be really expensive and messy to buy all the cleaner you'd need.
The bad part about using a fuel source as a leak finder aside from it being dangerous is that on a turbo car, leaks can happen in only one direction. Meaning, when you're under boost, and only above a certain pressure... you can develop a leak. It also won't tell you that you'd blow your intercooler pipes off at X or Y pressure, or if your vacuum lines are punctured or cracked. But it will raise the idle when it's sprayed in the general neighborhood of the problem, and a lot of skilled mechanics (that know what to look for on any given engine) get by with that added-fuel trick. One of my 20+ year experienced friends told me to use propane... and if you ever thought carb cleaner was flamable...