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Street Build 1g build - The Real Life Trials and Tribulations of building a DSM

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Well I think the talon is going to be down for awhile again.

Got home and got the catch can all installed and started the car for a little while to see how it would react to the catch can system and it was just still smoking a lot. It got up to operating temp and then randomly died. After it shut off I heard a hissing noise and followed the sound to the dipstick. I wiggled it and the hissing cut in and out a few times so I pulled the dipstick to find what looks like coolant and oil mixed. I checked the muffler at the back as well and again saw the same thing.

I pulled the catch can and saw nothing inside of it but I THINK it safe to say that the smoking, combined with the nasty why gunk, that the head gasket popped.

How? I'm not sure. I'll attach the log from the drive to work yesterday morning, when it spit out all the oil. There so many things here that I feel like play a roll. One is I don't think since I've had the car that the rings were seated/ sealing properly because of how the engine was kept with coolant in the cylinders. I think they gunked up the rings and that caused alot of blowby and crankcase pressure.

I didn't hit anything over 3lbs of boost in that log (I was trying to load up the engine and get some data), but it was still pulling some timing. 10° in some spots even. That 2500-3500 .6-.9 load area doesn't like that high of timing I guess.

I'll verify this with a compression test but right now I need to get some stuff paid off before I can rebuild it.

My plans are to pull the motor, and build it and finish building the head as well.
I'm thinking:
Weisco extreme HD pistons
Manly 22mm h-tuff rods
Kiggly girdle
Arp main studs
GSC S3 cams
Kiggly street behives
Jmfab street intake manifold
Balance shaft delete
Straight cut oil pump gears (if I can find em)
 

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So some good news, and some neutral news.
I ordered a new dipstick (got here yesterday and installed), new dipstick tube o-ring, new oil pan (mines got a big dent), and new oil drain bolts and crush washers for the oil pan side

Did a Leakdown test, and all cylinders tested under 5%. So that's the good news.
Cylinder 1: ~2%
Cylinder 2: ~4%
Cylinder 3: ~4%
Cylinder 4: ~4%

The Neutral news is that there's oil pretty much everywhere. I pulled the car outside to get it up to temp so we could do the leakdown and while sitting there idling it was still smoking like crazy. I pulled it back into the garage after it was warmed up and noticed a pretty decent size puddle of oil on the ground. I tried to find where it was coming from but was coming up short oh where. To me it actually looks like its leaking out of one of the flanges in the exhaust (this makes sense if the Crankcase pressure was so high that it backed up the oil drain for the turbo, forcing the oil into the compressor and turbine housings, and therefor into the exhaust) Pretty much anything connected to the turbo has oil in it. My wastegate, the wastegate diaphragm, inside the boost control solenoid. Ill need to pull off all the intercooler piping to clean that out, as well as the intercooler itself too..

While the car was running i pulled the dipstick (which is brand new) and crank case pressure came shooting out like a freaking air compressor. I put the dipstick back in for a couple min and did it again but then took a video, which ill attach-


I wonder if my check valve or the breather port are clogged and not letting the crankcase pressure escape as well as it needs to?

My next step is to clean out the intercooler piping and maybe even pop off the downpipe to clean it out.
 
Got around to cleaning stuff out. Pulled off the o2 housing, the wastegate, the intercooler, and the piping and cleaned it all out. There was also a nice pool of oil in the downpipe that im waiting for some oil rags to soak up. Just used some brake cleaning to clean out the wastegate and the solenoid. Buying new vacuum line for both of those as my old stuff was too small anyways and wasn't worth keeping.

Cleaned out the piping with some brake cleaner and cleaned out the intercooler with some gasoline. which worked out Perfectly. Poured the gas in and shlossed it back and forth for a few min and poured it out. Did that about 5 times let dry for a few days. About 2 qts of oil came out of the intercooler.


I was worried about the wideband sensor fouling out so i looked some stuff up on it online and read some post about NASCAR using a torch to burn the oil off so thats what i did. I didnt get it too hot but just hot enough to burn off the oil as much as i could. No clue if this is going to work or not but i was suspecting that i'd have to buy a new sensor anyways.. here's to Hoping!
 

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So far so good. Got everything cleaned out of all the lines like I said. I redid my MAP sensor vacuum/boost reference line. I T'd it off the line for the BOV (i know you're not supposed to do that but i'm running out of ports on this stock mani) and routed the stock pcv line to the intake manifold like stock. Plugged up one of the inlet ports on the catch can and ran the breather port to the catch can, and then out to the turbo inlet for a vacuum/clean air source. I also pulled the valve cover and cleaned it out with some brake cleaner, pulled the pcv port and sprayed it out good with brake cleaner as well (now it rattles back and forth when you shake it, not sure if it did that before or not) and cleaned out the breather port on the Valve Cover as well.

Started the car and warmed it up and pulled the dipstick and there wasn't a "whoosh" noise of crankcase pressure shooting out so that's good. The burning the wideband sensor seemed to work.. its reading about what it was before the whole crankcase pressure deal so that's a plus.

Car still smokes a little bit at idle as expected, but significantly less each time the car heat cycles. I took the car for a little drive to see if it would fare okay for a drive to the body shop for a quote for the body damage from when that guy hit me.. While it was warming up the car lost power to the ecu again.. I'm REALLY not sure what it could be. I got out and reseated both battery clamps and cleaned them again and tightened them down again. It started up again.. On my drive, It started smoking while accelerating, a decent size poof of smoke. I couldn't really tell what color because my rear view is tinted or something? While i was out and about on this short drive i shut the car down to check pcv and pull the turbo inlet to check for oil in the inlet and just check for leaks. but i noticed that the oil was really low.. like barely registering on the dipstick. Now i rememeber that i put oil in it that morning that it blew it all out the turbo, but i don't specifically remember putting any in after that. I went to start the car again and it lost power AGAIN. When i say lost power, the car itself had power, but it was like the MPI Relay lost power or something in circuit that powers the ecu.. I got out again and pushed down on the Fusible links on the + terminal, and the wiggled the positive wiring harness around and then got back in the car and it started right up.. Maybe its a Wiring issue closer to the battery? but then why would the MPI relay have a constant +12v, and the ECU Power have a constant +12v when it wasnt working last time? what a mystery..

anyways while i was driving pressure SEEMED okay but i wasn't keeping a super close eye on it as i was more worried about the puffs of smoke and pcv. so i limped it home and parked it for the night. I let it cool down and checked oil and it was low again.. i added oil and topped it off. I pulled the lower intercooler pipe, and there was a little bit of oil in it as well. Maybe a tablespoon or so, same with the turbo inlet. there was no oil in the catch can. I cleaned out all the oil as much as i could and put everything back together.

Yesterday, i needed to get the car to the body shop for a quote. Went to start it and it was dead somehow. Must have left a door open or something. Jumped it, and it started right up and idled pretty good and got warm. Didnt lose power at all Drove the car to the shop (maybe 10 min?) and logged it. I noticed that while accelerating in certain scenarios it was pulling timing for knock.. but i wasn't in boost really at all. It was like i was in 5th and just trying to maintain speed, and other times when trying to lightly accelerate. This isn't the first time this has happened. Its also showed that in previous logs too. I ordered up a new OEM knock sensor (from here: https://www.partsgeek.com/fc8ppv1-mitsubishi-eclipse-knock-sensor.html) to see if this helps since there's no real good way to test the knock sensor. At the end of this log too, I give it a good rev and it pulls like 12* timing too due to knock so I personally think the sensor is bad. I checked the oil when i got to the body shop and there was still oil on the dipstick, about the right about. I'm going to pick the car up today after work today so ill check it then.

keep ya posted!
 

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Wednesday i picked up the car but checked the oil first. It was the same level as when i brought it. Checked both the turbo inlet and the catch can and there was no oil in either of them, HOORAY. It seems that the oil that WAS showing up was residual, i thinnk its gone now.

The drive home went well, i logged it and didnt have any significant issues. I did have a little bit of knock if i remember right in 3rd while accelerating moderately again, and then quite a bit again while going up a decent hill closer to home too (knock retard shows like 7*) and it was only moderate throttle.

I went through the log and made some changes to the VE and what not, pretty much everything from into boost transition and on was SUPER rich.. like into the 9's AFR. Leaned those spots up a bit and saved it. I let the car cool off again and checked everything once again after getting home and there was zero oil in the catch can, and turbo inlet again. I also checked the oil and it was still full! I should also note that on the way home and starting it from the body shop to come home there was zero smoke! Seems like things are on the rise again finally, I guess thats what happens when you actually Do things correctly.

I was able to take the car on a short 10 min test drive yesterday with the updated VE table from the drive home from the body shop and the difference so far is really night and day! it drive really smooth so far, considering that not a whole lot of work had been done to the VE yet. Its overall smoother, in pretty much every section, i was even able to get into a little boost while still in closed loop, mind you being careful of temps while doing so. Got home and went through the Log again and through the VE table and made changes. Ive attached the Log and the New updated VE table for anyone that is curious and wants to double check my VE. I did notice that according to Trims, that in part of the VE table in the light load, light rpm its asking for the VE to be LOWER than what it is at idle. My idle is 54% right now and its saying its rich at 52%.. and that doesnt sound right to me. Hopefully i dont have to lower my Global because my Airflow/rev is about where it needs to be:
upload_2021-2-26_9-31-18.png

I tried my best to keep this clean and logical but im not sure what else to do. I know that this isnt perfect but its a work in progress. If anyone's got some tips, im all ears!
 

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That’s a lot of oil. Have you checked the plugs and look at the top of the pistons? I’d bet plugs and pistons are caked up.

When we did the leakdown i checked the plugs and they looked pretty good. None of them were wet at all. I did not look at the top of the pistons, but when i pulled the upper intercooler piping there was no oil inside of the piping/throttle body. Judging by that and the plugs being dry i think the cylinders are okay. I really think that the intercooler took the brunt of what was being pushed through it.
 
Ok. I was thinking maybe you have buildup on your pistons and that would be cause the knocking. Haven’t looked at your log but I’ll take a look

ahh yeah it might not be a bad idea to check the top of the pistons but i have a feeling they're okay.
The Timing is quite a bit retarded right now in the map due to this knock. I dont plan on driving it until I get the knock sensor replaced.
 
Yeah not a bad idea if it’s old and leaking goo
I honestly have no clue, if it is or not but i figured id just replace it anyways.

Looks rich in the area where it picks up knock. I'd try lowering those cells. FYI your idle switch isn't working.
I honestly did not know that... i just looked and idle switch was disabled in link so ill get that fixed. Ill check out the map again and make sure that i changed that cell. Thanks for checking, i really appreciate it
 
Well i ordered up a knock sensor from Partsgeek, and its the wrong one. It looks like a 2g/evo knock sensor. What a shame for $130.... sending it back today.
https://www.partsgeek.com/fc8ppv1-mitsubishi-eclipse-knock-sensor.html

IF you are going to order one from partsgeek, look into ordering this one---> https://www.partsgeek.com/vvcxgtb-mitsubishi-eclipse-knock-sensor.html<--- At least it looks the same as oem..

I ended up finding on one of the facebook pages that was for sale, and i ordered one from RTM racing as well. Expensive but at least ill have a used one and a new one for later down the road if this decides to take a crap too. Its a good thing i ordered some because taking a look at my knock sensor on the back of the block, i think its probably safe to say that its toast. Its also confirmed that if you dont create a special socket for removing this, you'll likely have to remove the intake manifold. Im hoping that i can get this knock sensor replaced so that i can go for a cruise this weekend and get some good data logs and finished my cruise tuning.
Screenshot_20210301-172659 (1).jpg
 
They are terrible. Parts geek that is. First two order (non dsm) were both wrong. Ordered something for my Altima and got a bmw part of some sort.
Yeah it sounds like it. I've never ordered something from there and im not sure i will again for something this sensitive.
 
Oh yeah this thing is toast! New sensors should be here Saturday, and Monday.
IMG_20210302_162928.jpg
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Was kind of a pain to get out. but I took the battery and unbolted the starter and set it aside. used a 15/16 wrench and was able to break it loose and spin it out by hand.
 
While the talon is down I decided to finally use my Cerakote headlight restore kit for the headlights, and picked up some New LED hb4 headlight low beams to try them out..

Here's the headlight before and afters

Ill let you guys know how the LEDs work out after I aim them correctly
 

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So im not 100% sure how this came to be but I have a hunch it was from riding in my buddies 91 ga. I got the HP bug (I already had it but, now i definitely wanted more) One of my other car buddies had recenly picked up another 91 ga but was unable to keep it but kept the good bits. One of which was an old School Precision/Garrett scm50 or 5031e. He hooked me up with this turbo for $100, which was too hard to pass up. Even with it being old. Information on this turbo is pretty extremely limited so it was hard to even find out and STILL is hard to find out what its even capable of making. From the info ive found, its listed as a 47-49lb/min turbo which is roughly like 400wheel/ ish. However, the compressor, and turbine wheel size suggest that its somewhere in between an FP Green and an FP red. Which should net me really close to 500whp. specs and sizes listed below. MY Measurements

PTE SCM50 specs
Compressor:
53.86 Inducer
76.33 Exducer
50 trim

Turbine:
64.9986 Inducer
56.6166 Exducer

I had a buddy of mine verify what turbine housing was on it (he runs a custom turbo mfg shop) and he found that its a .63a/r housing. So to me, the above statement makes sense.
Now I knew as soon as i picked this turbo up, that it was going to need a rebuild. Black pretty much everywhere on the turbine housing. You could just tell it was oil. (How precision like, right?)

So I thought to myself: "Well, now I'll need a way to tune this car with this bigger turbo right?" and then it just snowballed into, "Well, if im going to tune it, im gonna need a wideband, and i might as well run flex fuel, and a boost controller and an intake or turbo inlet that will fit, and a bigger fuel pump, and a rewire kit, and if i do that i might as well upgrade to a EWG, and to help it flow i might as well pick up an upgrated exhaust manifold" YYYEEEAAHHH... it went like that.

So now here's the car sitting in the garage just waiting for some seals to stop leaking t-case fluid.. The car was kind of running like shit because of some lean surge issues. Could have been the BISS or the FIAV. I did make sure to adjust the TPS before starting the car. I figured that ECM link would help me get this car running correctly, stock turbo or this 50-Trim.

So I order up the only rebuild kit i can find for this turbo, from Turbo Lab of America. While im waiting for that to come in I also order up ECM Link v3, flex fuel plug n play adapter harness with GM Flex fuel sensor, Speed density Plug n play harness, with GM IAT and MAP sensor, ingersoll 3 port bcs and oem adapter harness, a fuel pressure sensor so that I can log that through Link as well, a walbro 450 as well as a rewire kit from STM Tuned, an FP intake and K&N Filter from Extreme PSI, a purple Tial 38mm EWG from a buddy of mine, and a stainless Vent to atmosphere o2 housing that im going to have Jaren modify and weld on the tial vband clamp.
Things are getting serious!


All I read is "It's time to f*ckin party!"
 
Dude the FP Red htz is a blast! I went from an evo 3 16g to the Red, spool up wasn’t bad at all, it was a SUPER fun street turbo:hellyeah:
That makes me more excited for it now LOL I was a little worried about the spool but I'm sure it would have been worth it. Cams will come further down the road for sure.
 
I was on stock cams when I ran mine, it “hit” maybe a Mississippi or so later than the 16g, the way it hits and pulls will depend on the fuel you run and your timing table. I’m just chiming in because I really did enjoy mine, for a journal bearing bolt on I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, but again, my experience was on an e85, stock block set up.
 
I was on stock cams when I ran mine, it “hit” maybe a Mississippi or so later than the 16g, the way it hits and pulls will depend on the fuel you run and your timing table. I’m just chiming in because I really did enjoy mine, for a journal bearing bolt on I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, but again, my experience was on an e85, stock block set up.
I'm running stock cams and stock block setup as well on flex fuel. We've got e85 stations around me so that'll be my go to for sure.
 
Knock sensor got here Friday and it took me longer to put the starter back in than it did to get the knock sensor installed again. Finger tight, and then turned maybe a 1/16th of a turn with the open end of a 15/16 wrench. Just snugged it down really is all.

Clutch came in too! Act 2900 with a streetlight flywheel. Not sure when I'll throw that on but definitely sometime after we finish tuning 91, I'd the current clutch will hold.

The new sensor didn't solve my phantom knock issues. A buddy of mine came over and we took it out for some logging and just cruising in 3rd maintaining speed around 45mph was getting knock retard all over the place. Same thing in 1st
Left a stop sign pretty gently and boom all of a sudden it pulled like 16°.. in 1st.. with basically no load.

Did some research and people say it's the lifters and to upgrade to 3g lifters. Well, I already have GSC lifters. Not saying they still can't cause them but it's highly unlikely. I don't really have anything look ranting around the bay, except for the ac lines not attached to the compressor. During research I stumbled across people mentioning the knock sensor thresholds in the ALS/KNOCK tab in link. I went in there and set mine to 2500rpm/50% throttle and took it out for a drive later on in the day and it didn't get any knock that I could see BUT the car did start getting a little Hot. Not sure these stupid ebay fans are going to work. So I might swap out to some SPAL Fans now.

The new LED headlight bulbs work but I haven't had a chance to actually test them out during the night I'll attach a picture.

Oh and here's a picture of my brother in law's 68 chevelle we took out for the evening since it was nice. Big cam 454, she scoots!
 

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Here's a few logs showing what I mean about the knock.
First is a free rev in neutral, whole not moving.
Second is just cruising
Third is a small pull
 

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