a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

I took the plugs out and checked and thoroughly cleaned them. They are practically brand new platinums. Installing right now and then a couple more tests.

Last nite it started just fine with an open air intake system and now with the intake system closed its a no go. Has to be a condition that was introduced when the piping was all installed and connected. Read quite a few threads to check the water thermosensor - with all the wires that got moved around, could be an electrical thing.

chuck

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

This afternoon I started the car with everything in place and connected and with cleaned and dried spark plugs. She started right up and ran horribly. I had to set the idle stop screw high to maintain an idlle. There was a lot of popping and sputtering through the entire rpm range. The exhaust coming out of my tailpipe looked like a volcano erupting excluding the debris of course. The fumes were so strong that my eyes burned.

note: Before taking everything apart and then reassembling, the car would start cold and have difficulty when hot. As it warmed up, the idle got progressively worse. If the rpms were over 3500 or so, the car ran and drove fine.

Im in the process of going thru the troubleshooting steps in the manual and will do a error code check. Any ideas on other things to check.

thanks for any and all input,
chuck

ProdigyDevil

a3d. im very interested and may co hijack this is u dont mind, a simular problem happend to me over the summer, and as i am only 18 and still in high school and unemployed i have yet to be able to really do ne thing, and the car has been sitting in my garage since, and has probly only started causing more problems that i do not even want to think about, ill give you the info on mine, kinda want to know if it sounds like the same thing that happend to you. i stoped at a red light close to my house, light turned green the car got up to speed fine. 30 mph was in a school zone.. suddenly i heard some what of a ping, and then the car would not excelerate, even with it floored. i tryed letting off the gas and the car sputtered and was loosing velocity very quickly. luckily i was close to home, as i turned on to my street. the car completely shut off, and i costed it home the rest of the way. the car has the same smoke coming from against the fire wall were it curves back. and it is a deff. plastic smell, my exast while trying to start when i was trying to figure out what was wrong, was a very sweet, gas soaked smell, coolant leak maybe.. the car has not started since this day so im assuming that if i do have the same problem as you. mine is much worse, or i basically blew my apexs, except that my compressions read fine. good luck with your car, and any info or new finds would be very help full, i have an old post about this from early november i think if you look it up through my profile some of it may help you, how ever none of it helped me. i really really hope its not an apex.. : (

RE-Amemiya7

[QUOTE=RotorJoe]Try spraying starting fluid or carb cleaner around the engine bay (where you think the vacuum leak maybe) and see if the idle increases/smooths out. If so you have a vacuum leak in the area where you sprayed the starting fluid/carb cleaner.

This works great, I used to do this all the time on my old chevelle to check if the vacume line going behind the carb popped off.

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

Im pretty sure I dont have a vacuum leak at this point, having done the new vacuum lines carefully and methodically.

I set the TPS up this afternoon to spec and it started better and ran a little better but still ran like crap overall. The exhaust wasnt shooting out flames as before and the sputtering through the rpm range had diminished. I am going to pull the UIM again and check the intake thermosensor and the water thermosensor next.

I checked error codes and I got one long beep that was continuous. I believe it is the water level sensor showing low water, but the water level was okay. About 6 months ago, I had replaced it. Not sure how that one works. Does it take the wiring harness connection to ground by being in contact with the coolant to show a full reservoir? If that is the case then I probably have a broken wire since I tried grounding the harness connection and the buzzer continued to sound and the light also stayed on. If there was a long beep error code, would it stop and then repeat ? I did check to see that one long beep indicates intake thermo sensor malfunction. Regardless, its coming out and I will run the tests as per the workshop manual.

Another thing I noticed is that the engine upon startup while it was running a bit smoother was quieter - no exhaust leak sound.

If I dont find any mis-routings of vacuum lines or defective sensors, then I will pull the engine and get it rebuilt. Sent Pineapple an email for a price quote on a performance rebuild with small street port, 3mm apex seals and heavy duty water seals . Im also considering ceramic coating some of the components. Any suggestions on which pieces would be best to do?

Thanks again for everyones feedback.
chuck

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

Rob Golden from Pineapple Racing got back to me today on a few things to check. He suggested using an open ended stethoscope to listen for the intake spitting back at idle to determine a bad pulse on the rotor lobes. This was another test for checking for a possible chipped apex. Another test for the raw fuel being dumped into the cat was to remove the 2 vac hoses one at a time. One goes into the front rotor and the other into the rear. If the engine smooths out its running too rich. If not, spray barrymans brand carb cleaner down the port, if it pick up it indicates vacuum leak or injector not working properly. I was impressed with Robs quick response to my inquiries on rebuilding by offering suggestions to help diagnose and determine my engines condition before trying to sell me a rebuild. Very kool!
chuck

clayne

What I did was this:

2 layers of 500 degree, oil resistant teflon tape + 1 layer of 500 degree silicone self-adhesive sealant. I did this across the inividual strands and along the main strand after doing the individuals..

BTW: IT wil SUCK to do it - but you will never have a cracking harness ever again.

clayne

Not to hijack this, but the problems you're having now are one of the reasons I went non-seq. Let's not make this into a non-seq or not thread, but one huge benefit is the removal of 75% crap on top of the engine to reduce complexity and the oven effect.

CantGoStraight

Thanks ever so much. I'll be adding this to the spare bullet to be on the safe side.

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

I wound up getting the XTREME TAPE from Gotham Racing. After breaking away all the hardened plastic tubing/wrap I wrapped all accessible wires. If I wind up doing a rebuild, I will have easy access to the harness and will rewrap the entire thing.

You are obviously a very patient and meticulous man. Do it once and do it right! I like your idea of prewrapping the individual strands with hi temp oil resistant tef tape followed by the silicone self adhering wrap. Where did you get the tef tape? I have always thought it was all basically the same.

While removing a few of the electrical connectors, I broke some of the squeeze locking tabs. Havent looked to see if those individual connectors are available as a replacement part.

Thanks for the tip,
chuck

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

Bought a engine puller / cherry picker last night from Harbor Freight, $158 on sale. Very heavy duty. So, those of you who have been following this saga, probably are thinking.....hmmmm, imagine that.

With that, and knowing what is coming next, launch an assault for words of wisdom and hot tips for extracting the engine from the car. Those tricks that arent covered in the manuals!

Ive got a bunch of pics and notes to share covering the various steps to resolve the engines condition. Also will cover what will be done to the engine during the next month. Later when i sort through it.

chuck

luizajeff

Good luck Chuck, I feel your pain. (Wish I had the time to come over and help [watch] you).

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

Hey Jeff, been a while since Ive heard from you. Its been a great learning experience and when it hits your wallet hard it has that much more impact.

Since Im on here, this is a summary of what will be done to the engine. Im having Rob at Pineapple racing do the rebuild for me. My goal is to get an engine which is as bulletproof as possible and will provide years of hassle free driving (alot to ask, I know, but certainly within the realm of possibility). I dont drag race or road race, but I do like to get on it and have some spirited and exhilarating drives and the occasional "lets see how she does against an over zealous youngster flexing their horsepower muscle".

1. PERFORMANCE REBUILD 5 YEAR WARRANTY - $2895.00
2. SMALL PORT JOB - $350.00
3. HEAVY DUTY WATER SEALS - $99.00
4. STAGE 2 OIL MODS - $240.00
5. 3MM APEX SEALS - $195.00
6. MACHINING FOR 3MM SEALS - $295.00
7. CERAMIC COATING FOR ROTOR HOUSINGS - $450.00
heres the link to the above if youre interested in more info about whats being done. http://www.pineappleracing.com/PricelistSvcs.html

Rob has been a great help walking me through troubleshooting, testing, and evaluating the engine after I reassembled it with new gaskets, vacuum hoses, fuel lines, coolant lines and a host of other components. The result of the testing indicates an internal engine problem. I will be taking the engine down to Portland in a week or so and Rob will open it up while Im there to find out what happened inside.

When I put my newly rebuilt engine back in my car, it will have either an Aquamist or Cooliingmist water injection system as added insurance to protect my investment. I wont be tuning for more HP with this system. It will serve strictly as a failsafe.

Got some more tech stuff and pics to sort through and will post that soon.

chuck