Damn. In the last 2 days I finally was able to settle down and drive my FD with no problems. Fixed everything that had gone wrong on it and everything worked perfect. perfect 10-9-10 boost pattern. tight rear end, tight smooth shifting. no more oil leak, coolant leak, no more leaks period. Everything worked just fine. Even got a new dashpot to add the final touch.

Then tonight after coming home from my girlfriend's place i pull into my driveway and notice smoke coming out from under my hood. I'm thinking oh you mohter ****** nto another coolant hose (many have been replaced). I pop the hood and run out and check it out. It was, as far as I could smell, completely odorless. It wasn't a thick billowing smoke. Looked like steam from a pot on the stove. I couldn't even tell where it was coming from when I opened the hood, I couldn't even see it. But when I closed the hood again it still came out from under it. on the Driver's Side over the Wheel Well.

Also! As I was pulling into my driveway I noticed the CEL was suddenly on. It was just moments after when my automatic porchlights lit up the driveway that I noticed the smoke. The CEL was off by the time I got back into the car to turn it off after opening and closing the hood.

I'm sort of afraid to drive it. Anyone have anything for me?

 

i had a hole in my cat that kinda did this... then i lost a bolt on my downpipe to cat which did it again.

my advice (take with caution but this worked for me)... put one of the small UIM vacuum pipes in some ATF BRIEFLY and then watch to see where the white smoke comes from... and that'll be ya steam (unless it is in the coolant system - then use that dye stuff!)

 

hm...thanks for the idea, i'll go ahead and try that

 

If the CEL lit, the ECU will store the code. Pull your codes and check them.

You're gonna have to find where the smoke is coming from - could be anything, even water splashed up in the engine bay from a puddle.

Dale

 

yea good point. i didnt think the ecu stored a CEL code after it went out. I'll check it for sure. Thanks

 

hm, any other suggestions? keep em comin folks

 

What code did you pull ? ? ?

 

mine did something sort of like that, i had to have my intake man. rebuilt....

 

was code 50. ****** double throttel solenoid. this is the 2nd time this week that code came up. I really don't know why, it doesnt even change how it drives at all. i just reset teh ecu to make the code go away but it doesnt change anythign everything still acts normal. as for the smoke ****, my downpipe tp cat gasket blew out.. that's the second gasket in the past 2 months since iv had the car. i tightened it down this time with no remorse. No wonder it was kinda smelly and a little louder than usual.

still no clue why the code 50 keeps popping up though.

Also a new question. at what rpm should it hit 10psi in 1st gear on stock sequential twins?

 

If you've lost two gaskets in two months, something else is probably wrong. Are you sure the mating surfaces are even? I mean, is the flange from the downpipe making good contact with the flange from the cat converter? When you torque down the downpipe, you should be removing or untightening the bolts/hangers that hold the cat in place, so it's free to move around a little in order to make a better seal.


On another note, how old is the cat converter? If your cat is clogged, it could be creating excess pressure, but it would have to be really clogged to blow your downpipe gasket. It's more likely that your DP flange isn't matching your cat flange. To test this, bolt the cat to the DP without a gasket, and try to jam a piece of paper in there from different sides. If the paper fits easily from one side but not the other, then your surfaces aren't straight, and that means it's time for metal files, sandpaper and plenty of elbow grease. Or if you've got access to good tools, a nice belt sander would do the trick quickly.


One last thing: you shouldn't see 10psi in first gear, at least not with the factory ECU. It limits boost in first (and possibly second) gear. The 10-8-10 boost pattern should be tested in 3rd gear, starting at 35mph. You should see 10psi nearly instantly with that much load, definitely by 3500-4000 rpm.


-s-

 

In 1st gear, when WOT at about 1500 rpm, I get 10 psi at 3700 rpm then drops to about 7 then back up to 10 till redline.
2nd gear at 1500rpm WOT i get 10 psi by 3100 and then transition of 8 and then 10 till redline.
3rd gear and above at 1500rpm WOT I get 10 psi at ~2700 RPM with a transition of 9 and back up to 10 till redline.

Does this sound okay?

Also. I'm aware the mating surfaces are slightly uneven. The gaskets always blow out the top. the angle of which the flanges are coming together is steep for some reason so they come together like "V"...but not as dramatic obviously. I don't know who made the Stainless downpipe since it was on the car when I bought it. For All I know it's a piece of **** generic thing that just doesn't fit for ****. O well. If my trigger happy impactingness didnt fix it this tiem i'll buy a whole new setup.

Anyone know which company(-ies) makes a matching Setup? (Downpipe - Midpipe - Catback)

 

sounds like your boost is coming on a bit slow In second gear i had 10psi at about 2500rpm easily

 

To improve the fit of the flanges, take a tip I got from Dale Clark - unbolt all the exhaust flanges, including the bolts that hold the dp to the turbos. Then tighten them all to snug tight, then go around again and tighten them to spec. Don't overtighten or they will warp and leak like mad.

As for the DT solenoid code, it's an electrical code meaning that it's not seeing the proper resistance on that circuit. I'd just change that solenoid with any working used solenoid the next time you're in there, or eliminate it.

Boost should reach 10psi in first and second gear. Usually lazy solenoids are responsible for not getting that. I'll have to check on mine, but I'm pretty sure I get 10psi earlier than 3700. It just goes by quick and you have to put the pedal to the floor. It takes much less throttle to get full boost in the higher gears.

Dave

 

is it possible that my slow spool is a consequence of using manual boost controllers on the pre-control and wastegate actuators?

on the wastegate i have the boost controller between the turbine housing and the actuator with the actuator capped off on the other side. with the pre-control I removed the pill from the line between the turbo and the actuator and just put an open hose on. then i have it running like normal to the solenoid but have the MBC in place of the solenoid. I put the pill in the hose that's on the exit side of the controller that feed back into the rack.

I tried many combo's and this was the first one that gave me a real good flat transition and equal primary and secondary boost levels. When my car was set up using the stock pills and solenoids it would spool up alot faster and hit 10psi in 1st gear at 2500 no problem and even lower in all other gears. the reason i started using these mbc's are because the downpipe caused a heft 13-14 psi boost spike.

 

also, can i just leave the DT solenoid in there even if it kicks a code? i mean will the code being there really do anything? I'd ratehr not have to dig in there and **** with it if i can just leave it

 

You can leave the DT as-is. It's a non-essential system that only affects the car slightly before the engine is fully warm.

I have to think about the MBC setup.

 

atfirst i thought the mbc setup would slow the spool but that doesnt make sense really. if anything it would speed it up. the duty cycle of the solenoids is there to control max boost. the only thing i can think of is that the pre-control mbc isnt allowing pressure to leave as quickyl as it should. the reason i put the pill in the line is because without it i couldnt get it under 14 psi. with the pill it creates enough restriction to allow pressure to hold the actuator open. this is working great for the transition. the pre-control solenoid only goes into effect at the 3500+ rpm level to get ready for pre-spool and the wastegate opens at 7psi to control the primary boost under that point. now with the mbc in place of the pre-control solenoid there is no minimal rpm point for it to operate. it may be possible that the mbc is opening along with the wastegate at the low rpm becasue now they are both seeing enough pessure to open, instead of JUST the wastegate. that's the only explanation i cant think of. problem is though, that if i hook up the pre-control in it's stock setup i still get a good 12-13 psi spike.

did this make sense? i just kind of threw it all down and didnt get to organize it.