Frank818 -1993 VW VR6 Turbo donor- Build Thread

[Frank818]

FIRST MAJOR FIX - FUEL PUMP

Took more than 2 months to get a valid fuel pump since my last drive in Oct. I RMAed 2 pumps and got one not as good as I wanted in terms of barb tip, but still good.


Turns out the 2 DW pumps I RMAed were manually dremmeled from the factory to mimic a different pump model, even the plastic dust was still on the pump! The tip was totally not matching what was advertised on DW's own website, it was a bead like my AEM and matching a different DW model style.



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But in the end I got the non-compact pump (same size as my old AEM pump) and the tip is nicer. I applied some knife fighting technique to the tip to make it more rough and something for the hose to grab onto.


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I also totally modified the OEM FFR hanger. I mean quite a lot. That took time to think! I know by experience if I am not sufficiently convinced about a solution, that solution will fail. I was not convinced keeping the hose flexing to drop the assembly inside the tank was good. So I made the hanger solid and less than 50mm round.


I had to cut it, I also re-used the OEM Mustang hanger part that FFR ditches and I cut it, holed it and nylon99 zip-tied the pump onto it. It was not possible to have the pump straight down due to the angle on the Mustang hanger but still not bad. I have 4 screws holding the side hanger parts, they won't move.

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Furthermore, NO movement whatso****ingever on the pump. This should greatly help prevent vibrations from moving the pump and hose so the hose should not slide off again. In theory... still nervous about it but also quite confident.



Of course when I put the fuel plumbing back on for testing I didn't screw the OUTSIDE filter enough and fuel splashed all over the place when I turned the pump on, but that's irrelevant, the most important thing is I think I found a way to considerably solidify the clumsy solution I had before. What's weird is that most of you guys with the old FFR tank should have that clumsy solution, but why didn't you get the problem I got twice... weird. Anyway!

[Frank818]

MORE FIXES


I fixed many little things too. Like speedo reading 8-10km/h too fast (did not test yet), IC temp gauge failing display and also a NEW coolant tank!


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This tank is from a VW 2.0 and to my option is required on a VR6 build (anyway the OE Corrado tank is discontinued since a long time). It's smaller and spherical, compared to my super rare Corrado tank. The new tank gives me more clearance everywhere and most importantly allows me to RAISE the tank and therefore I hope it will prevent the coolant from splashing out and dripping down when the engine gets hot and/or colds down (pressure changes). Everyone knows the coolant in the tank must be higher than the highest level of the engine/hoses. I was a bit lower before due to the design of the OEM Corrado tank. I think and hope I am higher now. 15bucks for the tank, come on it's nothing.

[Frank818]

And finally...

EXHAUST RATTLE


I have built half an exhaust to plug onto the other half in order to test that really really really really annoying metallic rattle. Building an exhaust for a 10mins test, who would do that.... lolll



I'm using a race cherry-bomb-like muffler. Very nice finish and quality, but wall thickness is a bit too thin. Was harder to weld without making holes. I used inner-shield for welding cuz I had no gas and didn't want to bother ordering some, too lazy now when I work on the car.


The important thing is it needs to last for 10mins. More than that I don't give a... I cannot keep such a muffler it will be too loud.


What's this part?


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Oh come on, take a guess man, you have no idea??

No that's not it... try again.
Nope, still don't get it, eh?


It's my exhaust hanger! hahahahahha


This half exhaust section weighs about 10lbs, I just need a hanger that will last for 3-4 bumps. lolll


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Waiting for Spring and roads to clear and then we'll see what happens!

[aquillen]

Good to hear from you - always interesting to see what you are up to. Looks like that fuel pump should hold this time.

[Frank818]

I tested my race test muffler.


My metallic vibration really appears to come from my normal muffler, cuz there were no metallic sound with this race muffler. In fact the sound was pretty amazing, more so under accel. But way too loud, which is what I was expecting from this 35 bucks race cherry-bomb!

This and other things makes me realize my normal muffler is not suited for either this engine or this setup. The unappreciated deep throat burbles and gargles I get with my normal muffler, mostly at idle, but also at lower and city rpms, are not there with the race muffler. The race muffler has more fluid, quicker and smoother sound waves. Different frequencies and seems like better velocity in terms of waves. It reveals better the true VR6 sounds.

What a bummer, cuz changing the muffler requires a full re-design, I can't just swap, cuz the way I did the welds and use v-bands. I cannot find v-bands that fit perfect with the v-band on the DP (ebay guy is gone), so I need to cut the inlet pipe of my normal muffler and weld it on another muffler, then cut the outlet and weld it on that new muffler as well, for a 90-deg. And then probably extend the exhaust tip unless I find a muffler the same length or weld the pipes with extensions or something. Plus I do not have gas anymore and do not want to get some anymore, so I have to have someone, a pro, do the welds. Inner-shield isn't that good for long term on stainless steel, I believe.

Opening my normal muffler to see inside and possibly fix the loose metal is a long shot, cuz it only vibrates when the exhaust is quite hot. I can't make it that hot outside of the car. So what are the odds I can find that loose metal part when hot if I look inside when cold... on top, if cutting open the muffler I may cut some of the internal parts (no glasspack, see URL below in my other post).

And it's 17lbs, vs 4lbs for the race muffler. I need 2 anchor points for that heavy muffler.

For all those reasons I think I have to re-build the exhaust with a different muffler and cross my fingers it won't be too loud. I don't think I can find a muffler as quiet as my original one, that was its strength. Also like I said no glasspack, so the sound remains constant forever, it doesn't get packed with carbon or moisture. Although there are tricks to "wash" out the carbon from a glasspack muffler, so maybe it's not that bad. Glasspack material can also burn and get thrown out or absorb condensation, so it gets louder with time and you need to replace the muffler.

Will think about it. In the meantime my only option is to put back my original muffler and DRIVE. I have to drive, I have no choice. The new or re-built muffler would be next winter.

[Frank818]

This is when I cranked, it all worked well even if I didn't touch the engine since October. You can hear it's loud, the phone reduced the volume.

[Frank818]

Here at idle, loud again, and I still got those damn tapping lifters, I removed them all and poured oil inside, I don't know what else I can do to fix that other than fixing my overall low oil pressure, but how since I don't know what the problem is...

[Frank818]

I fixed my coolant tank leaks, though, that's a relief. After expansion there is no leak, this is a first since... I can't recall how far back!


Another relief is there were no fuel smell. No unburnt fuel smell neither burnt fuel smell from the exhaust.


I want to thank so much JetFuel for his fuel sealant, that helped a lot remove unburnt fuel smell by sealing various weak places on the fuel tank. Jet, are you still around?


Attachment 127269



Still got one weird leak I had last summer, seems to be red head gasket glue leaking, but it does that at every run, even if I dry it out as much as I can. I hope I can drive to my mech's shop someday and show him this, I'm sure he'll find the problem.

[Frank818]

What are your suggestions for a muffler? I'll look them all.
The one I have is a Hooker Competition Aero Chambers from Holley and it's not very good on my setup. I think it's designed for V8s+ cuz they have usually more explosions per second which would help on this muffler. On a 6cyl it goes put pause put pause put pause put at idle, which is bad, this only sounds good on old American V8s. The race muffler I tested goes vr vr vr vr vr vr vr vr vr vr, which is better.

https://www.holley.com/products/exha...eries_muffler/

But it's a 16ga alu, which is much thicker than other mufflers and easier to weld, doesn't burn holes through the pipe.

Of course it's very quiet and has no glasspack, but the overall sound isn't that great at lower rpms, it's heavy as hell and mine has a loose metal inside.


What do you think of internal cone shaped mufflers on a turbo engine?
https://www.holley.com/products/exha...flow_mufflers/

They are very expensive so I gotta make sure if I get one of those...

It's pretty much my only other choice for something with moderate or quiet sound (Aero Chamber has aggressive sound), that is not too long, too wide and has center to center 3", not necessarily designed for exhausts with a cat.

This is why I think it might be a great choice:


Combination (Restrictive and Absorptive)

“If you focus solely on noise cancellation or reflection, your going to end up with a real ‘tinny’ sound and not really a desirable tone. If you rely purely on absorption, you don’t cancel frequencies at the right areas and you get drone,” says B&B Exhaust’s Billy Boat. “So, what we have learned in the last 20 years of muffler design, through trial and error and practical application, is that a combination of both is what we found to be the best.”

Boat, a graduate from Arizona State University, has performance credentials from top to bottom on his resume. “When it comes to muffler design, we will implement some element of absorption, which gives it a deeper tone, and elements of reflection which helps to eliminate the drone,” Boats added.

Tauber explained how Flowmasters combination mufflers work by saying, “These mufflers use what we call broad band sound cancellation. The sound waves expand to the outer core of the muffler where the sound waves are cancelled out similar to one of our chambered mufflers. Residual sound waves are then absorbed by the outer thermal barrier, which also helps dissipate radiant heat. As the exhaust pulse enters the muffler its velocity is increased using the venture effect. The increased speed of the exhaust pulse creates a low pressure area behind it, which creates a scavenging effect. This type of technology also works very well in turbo applications.”

Pros:

• Great balance of sound and exhaust flow
• Great for Turbo and power adder applications

Cons (according to some experts):

• Packing material can deteriorate or hold moisture

Examples of Absorptive style mufflers:
Flowmaster Inc.

• Super HP-2
• Pro Series
• DBX Series

[Canadian818]

Hey Frank, I have some insights on mufflers for you. The big problem is how short the exhaust is, on a regular car the exhaust is typically over 10ft long. If you’ve ever heard the difference between a strait piped car (no muffler at all) and an open header then you can attest that while it’s still loud the 10ft of piping does intact reduce noise. When planning my exhaust (already want to redo it, lol) I learned that a 180* bend was the equivalent of 5ft if strait exhaust for noise reduction. If you ever look at a Porsche 911 exhaust you’ll notice they utilize this method of sound reduction. Also learned from the 911 world that high flow cats can greatly reduce noise with negligible effects on horsepower. Not sure how helpful this information is to you, but some food for thought.

[Jetfuel]

For sure...last summer I went down to Fathouse Fabrications (look it up wild a$$ builds) to look into an exhaust set up to make my car a little less noisy... they took a look at the set up and said..."you ain't got enough pipe"

Jet

[Frank818]

You guys are absolutely right. I remember reading this years ago when I built my 1st exhaust (let's call it that way).

I ain't got enough pipe and I ain't got enough space for more pipe. More on that later.

I pulled the trigger and bought that Flowmaster 14" DBX laminar flow muffler. Will try that, IF I can get my parts, carriers are VERY SLOW with a lot of LONG delays, especially UPS which I never liked anyway. So far all parts are delayed and there is no ETA. Anyway, virus era...

I also found ways to build the exhaust without one single weld, which will help a lot in the design and test fitting. In the swapping of exhausts too, so I can drive as much as I can without having the car stuck inside while the exhaust gets built.

That muffler could also potentially be quieter than the one I got now, for various technical reasons. We'll see. But I'm sure the sound will be better and obviously NO DAMN RATTLE! I feel the car is undriveable with that rattle every single time I drive it for the past year so I had to pull that 50cal trigger. How can I miss the shot with such a caliber, right?



As for having more pipes, once I get the car reliable I'll rethink on that. A 180-deg 3in on 3in CLR is 9in wide. As you can see on my pictures that ain't gonna fit, I need twice the space.

I guess I need to go over the gearbox, with some kind of crazy serpentine 180-deg followed by another one and some different angles to make it work within the space. But 2 pipes of 3in going over each other take 6in without any clearance. I have 5.75-6in of vertical space between the top of gearbox and the top of the exhaust tip hole in bumper. Not good!

I'll do all I can to be satisfied with little piping, I think I can make it work cuz that very simple 10in race test muffler I tested was sounding really good and I had even less pipes than I have now or will have with my 2nd muffler.

I truly believe the original Aero Chamber I have now is not designed for my setup, unless maybe I have a lot of pipes or 8cyl+ but who knows.


Still need to make the car reliable anyway. Overflow tank started to overflow again, fuel pump hose I need to keep 29 eyes on and head gasket oil leak I need to manage and may not be able to fix without removing the head, plus my fuel map which is really hard to improve. It drives, doesn't stall, but there are always spots I have trouble fixing, which make the drive stressful somewhat. Engine management fun...


What the... all my pix are upside down and I don't even have an iphone....

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[Frank818]

I'm pissed off at the car.

Are there any AFR cylinder imbalance experts out here? Countless hours on google didn't give me deep enough info to troubleshoot this one.

Up side is last 2 rides I had no leaks anywhere, a first since the engine is running in this car 4 years ago. And so far so good on the fuel pump hose, will remove it to check how hose is holding up but I think it's good. Then car should be ready for driving... but...


While I wait after UPS Canada to stop delaying packages for more than TEN days (as of today), I decided to attack my 30% AFR imbalance in cyl1 which I think it really not normal.

Since the engine has been rebuilt and fired up the 1st time a year ago, on the very 1st fire up I had to back off fuel injection 10% on cyl1 compared to others. That's a bit high but livable.
Then when the car could finally run in September that 10% shot up to 20%. And a month later on Oct I had to back off fuel by 30% on that cylinder alone!
Now in May and it's still 30% off. That means 30% less power too!

I am pretty sure that explains why I have SO much trouble nailing down my fuel map. Fuel combustion in cyl1 is unstable which causes consistent AFR fluctuations. I will never get a stable enough map to drive if I don't fix this.

I checked piston #1 using an endoscope and there's much more carbon deposits everywhere compared to other pistons. Cyl1 and Cyl6 are on the same wasted coil. Piston #6 has a little more carbon than the others, but not really out of specs, cyl1 being way more abnormal.

What happens is I am 98% certain I have 30% less power on cyl1, which causes the engine vibrations I can feel, mostly at idle, which did not exist before that imbalance, and causes a lot of other symptoms.


This is what I troubleshot so far, what else am I missing?

1. Injectors: not the issue here as I had to CUT fuel, so it's not a dirty injector. However could it be a malfunctioning injector, injecting sometimes too much fuel in an inconsistent way? Maybe I should swap it to another cylinder and test it out?
2. Leak-down test on Cyl1 and Cyl6: not the issue here as both cylinders showed a 0% loss at 20-30psi, I could barely hear the air being injected cuz it couldn't escape anywhere.
3. Spark plugs: not the issue here as I changed about 4 times with 4 different types/brands. Absolutely no change at all on that 30%.
4. Plug wires: not the issue here as I tested resistance, all the same, and tested spark outside the engine, all wires show same color and consistency level sparks.
5. Coil pack (wasted, not COP): doesn't seem to be the issue here as I tested #4 above, tested resistance across terminal posts, across negative and positive, tested voltage and also I tested a second coil pack. That 2nd coil pack is from a cheaper brand and I don't think it will hold the required power under boost, however sparks outside the engine were the same as my original coil pack. I could test drive it, should I? Only thing I don't understand is that 2nd pack shows a 2800ohms primary resistance whereas my original pack shows 780ohms! The terminal posts on both packs show the same 3400-3600ohms resistance.
6. I don't believe there is something say in my intake plenum, like a cloth at the far end, blocking some of the runner's opening, which would prevent air from being sucked into cyl1, located at the far end of the plenum/log. That's still a possibility, though! Although I think after 300km and hundreds of hours running that thing would have moved.
7. Coolant does not seem to have oil or fuel in it, also leak-down test did not reveal any bubbles.
8. Oil has been changed many many many times since and never had one bubble in it or foam, did not seem to have coolant or fuel either mixed in oil.

I must be missing something.
I have faced quite some hard issues to troubleshoot, like my muffler rattle, but this one with 30% less power on cyl1 is TOP1 on my list, now. Muffler was TOP2.

I think it now comes down to swapping injectors and coil pack. I don't see what else I can test and I hope it's either or (or both!).

[STiPWRD]

Frank, I may have missed this but what caused you to reduce fueling to cylinder 1 in the first place? Are you measuring AFR or EGT's at every single cylinder? Were you getting a misfire on cylinder 1?

Also, swapping injectors seems like the easiest way to troubleshoot if one is flowing differently than the rest.

[Frank818]

Frank, I may have missed this but what caused you to reduce fueling to cylinder 1 in the first place? Are you measuring AFR or EGT's at every single cylinder? Were you getting a misfire on cylinder 1?

Also, swapping injectors seems like the easiest way to troubleshoot if one is flowing differently than the rest.

Thanks for the reply! I really need to exchange ideas as I went as far as I could with my own little mind right now.


I cut fuel there cuz the engine was not running normally and the AFRs were fluctuating in the too rich side. After getting the plugs out I found out that cyl1 plug was too black compared to other 5. So I cut 10%. Than later in last year it started to become even more black and I cut 20%, then 30%...

I cut fuel based on the plugs' colors in order to have matching colors, that's how I did it for the past 10 years but usually it's always less than + or - 10% per plug.


I will swap injectors. Takes too long to wait for fuel to evaporate from the rail, so I'll try to drain as much as possible by unplugging the hose from the fuel pump and while I'm there I'll take a look at that hose inside the tank.
However I think I will try my 2nd coil pack before swapping injectors. It's already in place anyway.

Would it be advisable to do a compression test even though a leak down resulted in perfect seal?

[STiPWRD]

Ok, that makes sense, thanks for clarifying. I can certainly believe tuning a fuel map would be difficult if one injector is flowing that much different than the rest. Are the injectors new or old? If they are old, I could see how their flow rates would change over time. Are you cleaning the spark plugs each time after checking color or just replacing them?

Because your coil runs 2 cylinders and one is much more covered in carbon, I'd focus on swapping injectors first as this is the most likely culprit. I doubt the compression test will reveal any new info.

[Frank818]

Are the injectors new or old?

Unfortunately, all 6 are totally new from a year ago when I started the engine after the rebuild. And they are from a high quality mfg, Injector Dynamics.

Are you cleaning the spark plugs each time after checking color or just replacing them?

Absolutely cleaning them all the time after each run. It's hard to remove all the carbon though but I brush with a brass brush and sometimes use brake cleaner to help. I could use my bench grinder it has a brush wheel.

Because your coil runs 2 cylinders and one is much more covered in carbon, I'd focus on swapping injectors first as this is the most likely culprit.

That's a good point actually. Time to snif some 94 octane fuel again. lolll

I doubt the compression test will reveal any new info.

Good, that's what I thought too which is why I didn't spend the time cranking the engine and setting it up for comp test.

[aquillen]

Just me and how I troubleshoot but - I'd swap injector and coil at the same step. If it doesn't change you covered both in one test. If it does, you put one back. 2 steps max. If you swap one, then the other and still haven't found it you used two steps and not done. Of course you swap one and hit it, you got lucky.

I'll be glad to send you my home made injector pulse tester jig. Electronic box fires the injector once each time you push button. You hit a few times and measure what it totals. I built it to test my 90 'Vette injectors a few years back and then used it on my H6 last year before even trying to start the motor.

Chevy's field test procedure for the 90 was to connect factory test pulser on-car. Pressurize the line, pulse one injector (3 times if I remember) and see what the line pressure drops to. Re-pressurize and repeat for each injector. Each to drop within a very close amount to each other, crude but simple. and works too. But cylinders get a bit of wash...

In the wildest of dreams just barely maybe some very odd wiring problem, but that's getting weird (then again you've had some magic lulu's so far). If you run out of other things to try then I'd say check out the wiring very carefully.

Hey - swap that spark plug too.

[Frank818]

Man you guys got great ideas! This is why I decided to expose this issue after months of trying to fix it and feeling bad I couldn't find the slightest thing... I can't have them all by myself, I know, and this is why you guys are awesome.

Will go with 2nd coil pack AND injector swap AND plugs swap (this first and last ones are done now for next start up).

As for the odd clog in the injector rail (which got deleted from your edit), this is the first injector at the beginning of the rail, my assumption would be that if there's a clog there it would affect all the others too, unless it is located in the rail's hole for that specific injector.
Good news is once I swap injectors I will take a look inside. Maybe there's a small rubber o-ring bit squeezed in there! That is well possible as the o-rings are super super tight inside the rail.


I got a lot to test, now. lolll

And yes, wiring at the very end, but guess what, I thought about it, just can't believe it. Yet...


I'm sure you will need your injector test bench some day! That is something I wish I had when I got the injectors cuz I wanted to test them before installing them. Let's see what those to-do tests come up with first.

[Frank818]

Nailed it!!


It seems like! Followed the electrifying advice of Art (those who know him will understand the play on words) and the engine runs better with normal fuel trimming.

I removed injector for cyl1 and cyl3, then I did one of those funny mistake, I put both injectors side by side on a towel without marking them! Later when time came to swap them, I couldn't remember which was which. So I took off cyl5 injector or maybe 4 whatever and immediately swapped it to #1. We all do those mistakes once in a while...

Since I couldn't remember which cylinder had #1 in, when the engine was idling I played with trimming on 3 injectors and every time I trimmed 30% the car was almost stalling. So that's good news.

I also found out the engine ran better and even though I still got rich spots and a bit leaner spots, they were reproducible pretty much in the same scenarios, which means there is a pattern and an improvement in fuel map will smooth that out. Hell, I simply adjusted fuel a bit before I took off the driveway and during my entire ride I never re-adjusted. I knew it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't jerky or other bad behaviour, so I didn't need to make adjustments. That is really really good sign. Let's hope my next run will be the same so that I can reproduce the same behaviour in more than one ride.

It was easier to launch in 1st too and shifting into gear wasn't as lean and jerky. So that's an improvement.

I removed plugs and yes need to adjust slightly trimming to have all 6 the same, but no more -30%!!!

I swapped coil pack as well, my guess is the issue is the OEM-like Beru replacement coil pack. Is it the coil or the ICM, that is a good question... I will buy a MSD upgrade kit, but it uses the OEM ICM, so I think I'll have to use the one from the cheap coil pack replacement. I'll test them both anyway.

Anyway in the end I wasn't sure if the OEM coil pack could handle the power once I get on the dyno, so rather upgrade to MSD instead of failing at 28psi 5000rpm...
Besides, it's a 300 USD upgrade, so it's not a lot of money to ensure something reliable, that can handle the power and that can make the car driveable!

Also no leaks whatsoever again! 3rd in a row, they're out!

I think now I can start fine tuning things... muffler, fuel, coil pack, front alignment... and normally every time I tune it should run better and better.

I also took pix of my valves! From within! That endoscope is really great... through the injector hole and down to the valve. Or through the plug and down to the piston. Really great quality pix. That thing will help me a lot.

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[Frank818]

Something's awfully wrong!



The car is fixed and behaving!!

This is not possible, but still. I adjust fuel on my fuel map (X axis = MAP pressure, Y axis = RPM) on a specific cell, it fixes it and next time I come across THAT specific cell it still fixes it!!!! No more fighting against a bad cyl1 spark through the fuel map!

Every ride I do is an improvement from the previous one. And still no leaks after 4 rides in a row. Obviously that never happened, I never had more 2 rides in a row without a leak somewhere.

Car was quite sharp on quick accels and launching in 1st was smooth ALL the time. Shifting was very good ALL the time, stopping at stops was flawless ALL the time, every fuel adjustment I made along my ride this early morning I never had to come back again. Except those times I had to guess the amount of fuel to trim or add, but that's fine! I add 5%, oops not enough but close, add another 2% and oh wow it's spot on and STAYED spot on the next time!

There definitely is a HUGE improvement on the mechanics, now.

I ride on early mornings cuz there's less people outside. This car is the exact opposite of the USS Zumwalt, I don't want to look stupid is I get stranded or something... lolll


Bought upgraded coils will fit that in a few weeks. This Chinese coil pack will fry sooner or later.

I need my new muffler on pretty soon, can't live with that rattle. This is why I don't have a video, I don't want you guys to hear the muffler rattle. lolll

Tomorrow is a rainy day, I will remove the fuel pump and see if the hose is starting to slide off. That's been 46km now, it should be wiggling around. If it's still sturdy in place, then I'm gonna risk myself further away from home next time. My open loop fuel map is not that bad at all, I guess I could just turn on close loop and it may smooth out a bit. But on open loop it ran better than ever today! One year problem.... ONE freaking year! And it's fixed. Same for muffler btw, that was a ONE year issue. 2020 starts good... forgot the virus, forget it, 2020 starts good.


Am I really moving fwd now and getting close to driving on the highway without fear? So far nothing tells me otherwise for the 1st time in 6 damn years!

[AZPete]

My fingers are crossed that it continues to run right. You damn well deserve it!

[fletch]

Frank, this is such great news to hear! I'm so happy that things are coming together for you. I still remember my ride with you very fondly. Your car is one-of-a-kind, just like your stickers say!
Enjoy this season while it lasts, and hopefully it will only get better from here.
-Brian

[aquillen]

Yay for you Frank - my wife and I follow your aches and pains - glad to see you having a string of successes. She says "keep the faith man".

[Frank818]

46km later, fuel pump hose still exactly in place where I clamped it!!

I am ready for driving a bit further, probably where I went with Brian last Oct, you got SO DAMN LUCKY when you came by, dude, the car was for some reason running very well, even though I was trimming 20% off of cyl1 at that time. Yeah fuel pump hose slipped off in front of my door as you remember, but it all went well before.


I found some interesting uninvited remnants of some parts inside my fuel tank...

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1st one is an electric tape. One of my early solutions, what was I thinking, never use electrical tape if it touches fuel, glue will wipe off and tape fall off. Oh well...
2nd one... I don't know! Looks like the bottom of a fuel pump, but my filter is still on and the pump is working, I really don't know... I might try to get it off one day but for now I won't waste my time on something that won't affect my driving.

Adjusted front alignment a bit, we'll see tomorrow morning.

Ordered more powerful coils. Should get all parts but one clamp tomorrow for my new muffler, so I think I'll start working on that this week. The muffler rattle upsets me more and more the more I drive it. loll

[fletch]

Definitely enjoyed the ride with you last October. Very much a highlight of my trip.
Keep up the great work, were all counting on you!

[Frank818]

Well it's definitely running!

I checked my plugs and they were all the same! This is a first since...oh god, 2010? 4 years after I went turbo.
I do have more fuel adjustments to do of course, but it's so much easier when your adjustments do what they are supposed to. I can see where each adjustment is going. A lot more fun.

I wanted to do a longer ride but I messed up the front alignment, this thing is sensitive, one slight deviation and it can screw everything up. Also on the road I took to drive longer there was a cop, he pulled over someone, so I didn't take chances and turned right on a street just before passing him over. I am not ready to get pulled over, don't know how the car will handle a hot shutdown and hot startup. I should try that, though.


So my next updates will be once I adjust that fuel map pretty good, do a longer ride to report how it feels, install my new muffler or when something breaks up... loll

[mikeb75]

Congrats on having a stable foundation to build on!

I laughed out loud on the cop-dodging part 'cause I imagined this:
https://youtu.be/L397TWLwrUU

[Frank818]

Hhahahahhaha!

[longislandwrx]

black thing in the tank is def your sock retainer/fuel pump rubber thingy the sock should stay on without it, but might as well pull it out with some pliers


what about a double pass muffler to give you some more length and still be pretty compact?

https://www.amazon.com/Mugen-Style-T.../dp/B007O0WPL6

[Frank818]

Yeah sounds like that to me too, I don't have long pliers to reach the bottom but I may find other tools, or 2 sticks like the Japanese.


I didn't know those twin-loop mufflers existed!
I am almost done on my muffler rebuild, takes a lot of super fine adjustments to make it fit due to space constraints (hence the idea of that twin-loop) and a no-weld rebuild, but I think I'll make it.

I'll keep that twin-loop on my list for next time, I guess one day I will change muffler again for whatever reason! It's always when you think you will never touch something that you are touching it for good.

[Frank818]

2 major updates:

1- I have fixed my weird cyl1 coil issue by buying a nice MSD-generic setup from Ontario (quick shipping). I could have gone with the real red MSD coils, but they were too expensive for a color that does not really fit well in my engine bay, so I went with generic coils having same specs as MSD's. I can run much higher spark plug gap and they will support the power if one day I can fix all my issues and go on the dyno! The OEM coilpack would probably have failed, maybe not on the dyno, but after a while with too much power, yes. I had to crimp the wires to fit new types of terminals, there is no coming back to OEM coils. Although I still got my original wires from 1992!!!!!!

2020-06-05 11.43.15.jpg

Let me take a sip of porto for the next update...



2- Exhaust!!!!!!

I have re-built half of the exhaust with a new muffler from Flowmaster. This time I did it with no welds (well, almost, you'll see), so I can take out any parts if required or swap for another muffler if it has about the same length.

I painted everything with high-temp paint.

I use Permatex exhaust sealant to block off space between 2 pipes, it withstands super high temps, like 1500-1600F continuous or something.

I welded only some spots to ensure the inlet connecting pipe does not move. I think I did pretty good welds, considering this was Innershield wire!

And as you can see, I have more than 1 finger gap between the bumper and pipes. This took a lot of design time! I had to cut and cut many pipes including inlet and outlet of muffler. I did my cutting by HAND, see next post.


2020-06-18 12.10.04.jpg2020-06-18 12.10.20.jpg2020-06-20 08.49.42.jpg2020-06-20 08.49.53.jpg2020-06-20 12.40.17.jpg2020-06-20 12.40.25.jpg2020-06-20 12.40.31.jpg2020-06-20 12.40.45.jpg2020-06-20 12.40.53.jpg


I think it's fine as it is now, I'm happy with the result, it has minimal stress, fits without stressing other parts. I hope it will not be too loud and I won't have leaks.

Still need to torque the clamps, though. Must not forget before starting up! lolll

[Frank818]

This is how I cut a 3in pipe. It takes about 20mins per cut and after 3-4 cuts your shoulder muscles take a bit of a beating, so you gotta be careful.


2020-06-15 07.27.33.jpg

I was doing it with my wheel cutter, but one pipe overheated and got elliptic! So no more cutting with that tool...

Overall the exhaust re-built took about 20-22h.


Final result:


2020-06-20 12.41.13.jpg2020-06-20 12.41.40.jpg

I now have a tip that extends beyond the bumper grill instead of inside the engine bay! lolll


This thing better work or I'm gonna scream.

[Frank818]

It ruins again!
I mean "It runs again!"

And seriously, I had improvements everywhere this time.

New muffler is on
New coilpack is on
New spark plugs with better heat range are on
New completely refurbished timing map
Improved startup
Improved fuel map
Still no leaks!

Unfortunately, what cut about half of my pleasure is that I still have that metallic rattle around 2700-3000. That surprised me. It's different though, happens always at the same rpm, less noisy, not as loud than with my old muffler. Happens mostly when shifting gears in that short rpm range and sometimes when cruising in that range. It will rattle if I accelerate slowly in that range too. The loudest is when shifting, when pressing the clutch and rpms drop. But it's still not as loud as before, so that's good, pretty sure it's not engine internals otherwise changing the muffler would not have changed anything. There's probably something else along the exhaust line... what an issue this one, 14 months and haven't fixed it.


Now THE MUFFLER.

It's quite nice! Well worth the swap.

PROs
- Deep sound, similar to my old one but sometimes deeper
- Takes MUCH less space than my previous one
- 10 pounds lighter
- Clamps installation so easier to adjust or replace parts
- No exhaust leaks!
- Better hanger support design, both are working in tandem instead of supporting only on one side
- Quieter than my old muffler but barely, although quieter at idle and I think at higher rpms as well
- Smooth flow, smoother sound, no weird burbles at idle or when the rpms are dropping around idle

CONs
- I really don't see any, other than the price which is double the AeroChamber, but it's worth 10 times more to me.

[Frank818]

Now THE DRIVE

As I said I had COMPLETELY revised my timing map. I based myself on someone else's map with a 2.9L turbo but with higher CR, so to keep things safe I took his map and removed 1-2deg. I had to guestimate most of it cuz his map is based on TPS % but mine is on real MAP pressure. I know how my ECU works so I was able to convert it. It really changed the car!

Previously the car felt sluggish, hesitant, like someone with a belly full of beer and hot-dogs and unable to walk straight. Increasing timing EVERYWHERE changed all that. Now it's much more sharper and it wants to go faster than I want. Idle blips are super quick and responsive and over-run down to idle are just like on a normal car: stable.

Fuel was also very good, no adjustments required while driving. Only 2-3 small I made after reviewing my log, but it was less than 5%.

Engine seems to run like a normal engine, I believe next time I'll try to go further and longer.

[Frank818]

[AZPete]

Hey, Frank, it sounds nice and smooth, and revs quickly. Congrats! Now go for a drive.

(I wish you had not made this about me with your comment of "a belly full of beer and hot dogs.")

[Frank818]

WOAAAAA!!!!! What a perfect engine ride!!

This morning went flawless on the engine side, I think the engine never ran that good in over 10 years!

Fuel was spot on every time I looked at the AFR gauge. 14.5-14.7 cruising, STABLE! No hesitation, no AFR bouncing around and absolutely no adjustment required.

Timing was AWESOME! The engine feels so alive with the increased timing map I injected into it! I'm sure now the fuel burns better and at the correct moment, which explains why it's all more stable. Previously the timing was so late fuel was burning after the fact, causing imbalance and instability. This explains a lot of my past issues!!! I was so dumbass not to discover this before. Basics of Engine-101, god damn it.


These are my spark plugs, new after a 30mins run. They are as white as new! ALL SIX!!!! Never happened in over 10 years!
I changed plugs for better heat range, since during break-in period car will always be in lighter loads condition, there is no point running NGK8 or 9s and seeing them foul immediately! So I went with Denso IK20. I have IK24s but they tend to foul, when I had a low timing map I admit!
The IK20 is the same heat range as OEM, NGK6.

I think now I got everything right: Fuel, timing, spark plug heat range and plug gap.
The most impressive is that all 6 cylinders show the same colors on plugs! That is a monstrous step fwd for me, you really don't understand guys.

2020-06-30 12.50.46.jpg

Densos are great plugs for the VR6. The IK24s I ran for years before, always went great and long lasting.



Engine sound is better with this muffler. Really I think it would be a great muffler for an H4 too. FLOWMASTER DBX 14". Super happy!

Impressively COOL muffler, temps are quite lower than on the outlet piping! But maybe that's normal anyway? More on that later.


I still got a few things to improve.

- Wheel alignment, god I need one but can't drive the car to shop yet due to fuel hose freaking fear
- Still a bit of metallic exhaust vibrations, which you can hear on a below video in the 1st few secs mostly, but it's still better than it was and less noticeable now, I can go on for a while with this
- I got some parts hitting each other somewhere, like fiberglass panel edges hitting or something, been like that for a long time but now that the muffler is a bit quieter I hear them a bit more. Not super important but I want to fix that some time...
- Low oil pressure, although using some Lucas Heavy-Duty Oil Stabilizer helped a bit, pressure remains low, which make one lifter valve tap in some situations.It got better with the Lucas, but not fixed. Once I go back to 20w50 I'll see.


Essentially those are the issues, a long way since over a year ago I know! A psychological issue is the fear my fuel hose will slip off again, that is a big issue in my head only time and trust will fix... getting stranded right in the left lane downtowm or highway is not a very good picture in my head!



But the car was awesome to drive! The engine revving, shifting... awesome.

I also gave a try harder on a left 90-deg green light downtown turn, quickly, 2nd gear, pushed it mid-corner. This car is NOT a Fleetwood!!! With beer and hot-dog in the trunk... There is NO chassis flex and NO chassis tilt. And NO loss of traction! I believe you gotta be on a race track to feel those 3 extremes, but downtowm it was like a train!

[Frank818]

[Frank818]

Pay attention to the AFR gauge on the left far side. You'll see 14.7 cruising and then when shifting you'll see a very brief 15+ and then back to 14.5-14.7. This is how it always supposed to be and I finally made it.