SO I had Jack (CantGoStraight) do all the polishing (well most of it). Results are awesome - and everyone should PM him if you are looking to get something polished. So after spending the whole weekend putting this thing back together I think I'll share some pics.
I had hand surgery last Friday and I have 8 stiches in my palm - so let me tell you I had a few painful moments putting this back together but I couldn't wait to get out there again!

One problem - it's all show and no go right now
There some sort of devastating boost leak that prevents me from boosting past 5 lbs. All the large boost hoses are connected and tight and I worry its some small vaccuum line I overlooked or popped off. Lots of whooshing I think coming from the area near the turbos. I used RTV Black Silicone gasket maker on the secondary turbo inlet pipe where it bolts to the turbo. Did this during the install because I was in a bind and did not have a new metal gasket. Would a leak in that area cause such a boost problem? I also thought the o-ring on the TB was looking a little 'flat' and should probably be replaced as well - but I'm pretty sure there still a decent seal there. Before I took it apart - it boosted great all the way to 12 lbs. The only change I made from the previous setup is the new Y-Pipe (which I tightened really well).
Anyway - here's the pics and sorry for the novel. Any help with the boost thing is appreciated.
Dave







I painted my airpump. Turned out nice - it seems hidden now.

 

Again AMAZING work by Jack!!!!! BRAVO

 

Beau-tee-full!

 

Looks good. What part of philly do you live in?

 

Thanks.

I live in Deleware County - right off of Rte 1.

 

that is clean, love the RE V-Mount..

 

Gorgeous

 

looks good, was it hard changing out the uim, i need to do that this weekend.

 

Smooth

 

Well, I will say it was really helpful to use Dale Clark's writeup from his very helpful site:
http://www.clubrx.org/default.asp?id...ntent=63&mnu=5

hint: print this writeup in landscape format

It's not the easiest task because there is a lot attached to it and I was bending over and standing a foot away from my car because I didn't want to scratch the new paint . Hate to say it but I think it's even more of a pain in the *** to put it back on (reconnecting hoses, etc.)



So nobody wants to take a shot at the boost problem?

 

Tell me about it. When i did my uim/tb swap, my back hurt soo much, it would hurt more to stand straight so i would just lay foward more onto the engine bay to relieve some pain. I should have put the car on jack stands, maybe i wouldnt have to bend over soo far down. Its a real pain.

As far as your boost problem, are you sure you put the check valves on the correct way? Or maybe did you put all of them on?

 

Well there were 3 lines that go to the front of the UIM (facing the IC). One had a check valve and was certain to get them on good and tight with tie wraps. Dale's write up said it doesn't matter which hose goes where in that spot so I just connected all three - should there be an order or a specific pattern with hooking those three up?

There was another at the back of the UIM near the ISC - definetly got that on too.

 

Looks great, dave . Congrats on getting in getting done!

 

Thanks Matt. And thanks for the

 

Well i meant was maybe the check valves were faulty? Or maybe you installed them backwards. You have to make sure the arrow faces towards the manifold.

 

Dave the secondary turbo intake pipe won't cause your boost leak, if it didn't seal properly the worst that could hapen is very tiny dirt/dust particles may enter the secondary turbo. I would suspect the o-ring might have been cut when installing the Y-pipe back onto the turbos, or even the y-pipe maybe not seating properly on the turbo outlets, if thats not it then look at the hose where the ABV (factory BOV) connects to the y-pipe or possibly the charge relief hose that connects to your y-pipe. You didn't say wether or not you were making 10 psi or better up to transistion so you may want to look up the turbo trroubleshooting guide and follow it's suggestions. I completely forgot about the gaskets for the secondary turbo inlet pipe. That's the one thing I hate about having to rush to get parts back. I had no idea you were so hooked up on your mods, looks great. Jack

 

Thanks Jack. I think I'm going to go back and look at the y-pipe again. Don't worry about the gasket - it's not your responsibility. I will say that you went out of the way helping me with the alternator. The wrinkle paint looks great.

"I had no idea you were so hooked up on your mods, looks great"

Thanks for the compliment - you could say it's a little hooked up.

 

What size wheels and tires are you running? They look great! I love Fikses.

 

looks good

 

Super clean!

 

Nice pics, car looks put together well. Too bad you have emissions concerns!

DGblk93- "I used RTV Black Silicone gasket maker on the secondary turbo inlet pipe where it bolts to the turbo. Did this during the install because I was in a bind and did not have a new metal gasket. Would a leak in that area cause such a boost problem?"

Are you suggesting an intake leak would give you LESS boost response????

 

Thanks for the compliment. I'm not suggesting that about the leak - I'm just fishing for an explanation. Doesn't make sense when I really think about it
That's a place where I know I went outside the the norm so maybe there was an answer there.

About emissions: I recently learned that in PA if you drive less than 5000 miles a year you don't have to pass emissions. Thing is - I have a Pettit ECU and really don't feel like getting the car tuned for a mid pipe and buying a power fc, etc. Honestly - I'm not bothered by the airpump and the high flow cat is fine with me

 

I love them too.

17X8.5 with 235 / 45
17X10 with 275 / 40

Eibach springs too

 

is that a rotary extreme v-mount? and did he polish your alt housing as well?

 

Thats a real nice looking rx7 you have. The polish work looks great too.