So I was following good ole' JTP to an RX7 meet last Friday night, and in trying to keep up flooring it through 3rd, something blew and my engine instantly died. I just got finished checking my compression and it sounds great on each side, my fuel pump is pumping just fine, and I checked for spark on each plug. The engine turns, but will not turn over or even act like it wants to fire up as if it weren't getting fuel or spark at all. I checked what vacuum lines I could see and they were all fine, right now I'm gonna go take off the UIM and check everything real good. I have no clue what this could be, FPR? Injectors? Its just weird because it was fine and now it won't start at all so I'm not sure what it is. Checked all fuses too.

Car is a 1990 JDM T2 swap, with straightpipe exhaust and upgraded fuel pump. I boost at like 15-20psi sometimes with the stock ecu and turbo because of the exhaust, so I was scared my injectors couldn't keep up and i blew the engine, but the engine itself is fine.

Oops.

 

without a good compression test i would not go by sound with 15-20 psi in a stock motor with notting more then a fuel pump

 

Check your couplers =] just a guess

 

^I don't understand what you're saying. I didn't manually turn the boost up, it just spools up a lot more because of the open exhaust. and to check compression i took both leading plugs off and made sure each side had a strong pulse, it sounded great on each side and if it was blown I would have been able to tell.

 

I'll check them all when I get home, thanks. I checked the tmic ones but idk why I overlooked the other ones.

 

just to be sure i would check compression with a guage. did it make any sounds when it blew or shut off whatever happened? also i wouldnt think just an exhaust and Downpipe would make you boost to 20psi unless you have a boost controller set at like 16psi or something them it may spike up like that. Please correct me if im wrong on that someone. Check maf for leaks and to see if its good. hope you get it running

 

20 psi ...tmic.....sounds like a recipe for failure. Get a real compression test.

 

Nothing about this sounds right.

20psi on a factory turbo just from an exhaust...I don't think so. The factory turbo is pretty well maxed out at 12psi.

Boosting past factory boost without some kind of fuel correction is just plain dumb and if you did pop the motor you pretty much deserved it. Especially if you were any where near those kind of boost levels.

What is more likely is that your boost gauge is inaccurate and/or teed off a location without a restrictor pill, so it bounces all over the place.

You really need to get compression numbers with a tester.

An easy way to check if the FPR is bad (which would just be bad luck) is to install a fuel pressure gauge.

When you say "something blew" what do you mean? Was there a noise? A vibration? Smoke? More details...

 

I will for sure check my compression with a gauge, sounds like that's what you guys think I need to do. As far as the boost goes, I wasn't expecting it to be this high either, that's why I don't have fuel upgrades, not just because I'm ignorant, lol. And it's totally possible that my boost gauge is inaccurate...I got it used off the forum mainly just cuz it came with a pillar pod, and it only goes to 10 psi but the needle goes much past that to where 15-20 would be. I was told that with an nonrestrictive exhaust you should expect the boost to go much higher so I'm not sure why you guys think otherwise because I was told by many people that the stock turbo will spool a lot faster. Anyways, I will check compression with a gauge tomorrow morning and post how it goes, but I am pretty darn sure it's not blown. I will also check all my couplers.

Also, I feel like if it were blown, the engine would start and just not hold idle, but I may be wrong on that. I feel like it would at least start to fire up because the other sides of the rotor are fine.

 

I was on the fwy with the windows and sunroof open, so I couldn't hear much, but there was definitely a noise and a "bump". No vibration or smoke.

 

You blew the engine. 15-20 psi spikes are more than possible with the stock turbo, and will be catastrophic with an essentially stock engine. If you damaged multiple apex seals, starting will be nearly impossible.

 

Ferrrk. I'll check numbers tomorrow morning...hopefully it's okay.

 

One of the temptations of travelling with other cars, the leader takes off, and your tempted to keep up.

Sounds like when I blew mine.. I had boost turned up about 11-15psi. There was a pop sound and then the engine died.. came to a stop and couldnt fire it up, everything else looked ok.

Mine blew up real good


Tho I dont know how to explain my turbo compressor wheel getting chewed up
http://i51.tinypic.com/2czu3xf.jpg

 

^
nice, mine looked like that also when it blew up from detonation. lots of metal bonding with other metals. Apex seal actually melted somewhat into the rotor....
Blew up on the highway, push started it, ran on 1 rotor still boosting all the way home lol.

OP, sounds like your engine blew up.

 

Hahah wish i could post a pick of all three cracked apex seals i had, 15psi on a stock turbo, all boost creep. Go buy a compression test, best thing you can do atm

 

I would be more surprised if this engine WEREN'T toast.

 

did you do compression yet?

 

That sucks man. Nothing worse that spending a bunch of time and money on a project, take it out for it's maiden run and catastrophic **** happens you didn't foresee.

 

And this here is why those "damn rotarys are so unreliable".

Sorry to hear about your luck, but honestly what did you expect by massively increasing the boost without any supporting fuel mods?

 

I remember when my stock turbo with stock top mount boost spike all the way to 20 psi when I was gunning it......lets just say, I shat something when I pulled over. So lucky nothing happened though. Damn MBC was set wrong LOL

 

I'm gonna call it. Air leak due to loose clamp; motor is fine.

 

If by some miracle this engine isn't kaputskis I wonder if the coupler at the turbo outlet to bov pipe didn't just lift completely off the turbo. Mine used to due to old hard couplers at around 10 psi

 

Finally got along to testing my compression yesterday, and the rear rotor is totally blown. When testing it before just by sound, I was only hearing the front rotor and it was even since every side of the rear rotor was bad. Thanks for the input gentlemen.

 

Yikes...

 

When you see people say that, they mean that you can't really get any more power out of it above that pressure. Doesn't mean you can't spike to high heaven, I've done it and others have said they have, too.