97 eclipse

[JeffGS-T97]

Been a bit since last log but with the winter months here it has been hard getting time to iron out all the gremlins that plagued the car after the HG change and head rebuild. I had an erratic vacuum needle at idle. It bounced crazy fast. I resolved this is tonight finally. The throttle cable was too tight leaving an opening at idle. Put a bit of slack in it and poof it was gone.
Now that I can officially drive it reliably I'm not sure what to do with myself.

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Spoke too soon fellas. Got a boost leak and compressor surge. My rebuilt greddy bov isn't opening. Luck I have a spare greddy fv on the shelf. Other issure is dog crap power. Time to find another boost leak.

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Found a leak pre bov flange and it was big. Took care of that and found my soapy water fizzing at the base of the bov. Apparently the gasket is failing. Not sure which route to go. Put some rtv in conjunction with the gasket or just buy a new gasket I'm losing about a pound every 5-7 seconds.

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Decided to say to hell with the gasket and rtv combo for the bov. Another greddy gasket on the way.
I am however having a hard time trying to get the flange perfectly flat with prep work. Not sure what the flatness tolerance would be for the base flange on the IC pipe but is at a more than .002 Been using a fine sand paper on a hand size power sander.

 

[JeffGS-T97]

So I bought a genuine greddy gasket. Put it in and still a nasty leak... here's some pics of the flange to gasket and bov to gasket. Should it be this way?
Not really sure what to make of the size difference.

 

[C-note89ky]

So I bought a genuine greddy gasket. Put it in and still a nasty leak... here's some pics of the flange to gasket and bov to gasket. Should it be this way?
Not really sure what to make of the size difference.
View attachment 688834
View attachment 688835

That is weird. They make the gasket smaller? Have u tryed getting the sheet of gasket material and cutting one your self?

 

[JeffGS-T97]

There's an idea not sure why I didn't think of that. I will give that a shot thanks brother

 

[DSMPT]

The IC piping side flange looks thin, so I think the issue is the flange side. Most likely it's distorted. I have done double gasket plus RTV. It didn't look pretty and not a proper way but did work

 

[JeffGS-T97]

The IC piping side flange looks thin, so I think the issue is the flange side. Most likely it's distorted. I have done double gasket plus RTV. It didn't look pretty and not a proper way but did work

Thanks Hiroshi I appreciate it

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Thanks guys for the ideas I got all the boost leaks fixed.

 

[Dericsh]

Thanks guys for the ideas I got all the boost leaks fixed.

Was it the thicker DIY gasket that helped?

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Was it the thicker DIY gasket that helped?

Yeah it seemed to do the trick

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Been a minute, these 80 hour weeks are killing me.
Chasing down boost leaks again per usual. Running into a bit of an issue with the BOV. No matter how much I soften the setting I still get turbo flutter
I'm wondering if my bov is plumbed wrong. I have a T air fitting that goes from gm map sensor, bov, and manifold. Wondering if they need their own direct lines to the manifold

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Got my car jacked by a 6 year old. Yes this is a build update...

 

[Mickey5055]

If it repeating leaks coming out from that flange, I would throw that shit out and get a different pipe or get a different setup of BOV that use different flange type.

 

[JeffGS-T97]

So I went to go for a drive tonight. Forgot I left the cam lock tool installed and tried to start the car. Tried to rotate the crank after and I'm getting a ton of resistance in one spot I think I screwed up my engine.

 

[C-note89ky]

So I went to go for a drive tonight. Forgot I left the cam lock tool installed and tried to start the car. Tried to rotate the crank after and I'm getting a ton of resistance in one spot I think I screwed up my engine.

What's the plans? What did it do when u tried starting it?

 

[JeffGS-T97]

It chattered a bit. I thought something was wrong with the starter. Then tried starting it after the tool was out it began to start then died. Unfortunately I don't have the extra money to do another head job, got 3 kids. This is probably the end of road on the old DSM journey. Got some choices to make and they point towards the family.

 

[pauleyman]

I'm kinda curious why you didn't check marks?

 

[DSMPT]

Jeff, did you check the timing? Or if the cam gear's center hub bolts (The 3 bolt on your HKS gear) are not loosen? Still the degree mark stays in the center?

 

[JeffGS-T97]

I'm kinda curious why you didn't check marks?

Before starting it again you mean? Guess I'm just not very intelligent, or it didn't dawn on me the noise was the belt skipping the crank. This was my first mistake the entire build and it was an obvious one. O well

 

[JeffGS-T97]

Jeff, did you check the timing? Or if the cam gear's center hub bolts (The 3 bolt on your HKS gear) are not loosen? Still the degree mark stays in the center?

The gears are good but I can't turn the engine to TDC it gets stuck. I need to remove the cams to reset all the timing marks but there's a huge chance the spot that is resisting is a badly bent valve/s

 

[pauleyman]

Sadly you are probably right. Sorry to hear it.

 

[Dericsh]

Hate to hear this. Mistakes happen to all of us, but I know that one is pretty frustrating. I am hoping it’s not the end and you can just take some time away and come back to it whenever you’re ready.

 

[DSMPT]

The gears are good but I can't turn the engine to TDC it gets stuck. I need to remove the cams to reset all the timing marks but there's a huge chance the spot that is resisting is a badly bent valve/s

It chattered a bit. I thought something was wrong with the starter. Then tried starting it after the tool was out it began to start then died. Unfortunately I don't have the extra money to do another head job, got 3 kids. This is probably the end of road on the old DSM journey. Got some choices to make and they point towards the family.

Yeah sorry to hear that, it may be bent valves. If so, I think you bent them when you tried starting the engine again after removed the lock tool.
I know you have your situation and a desperate feeling, but I really hope you won't give up. If bent valves is the case, probably the situation is not too bad since this happened at idle or while cranking. You just remove the head and replace only the bent valves with aftermarket OEM style replacement valves from a local store which probably costs around $60~70 for a set of 16 valves (maybe you only need intake valves, if so it would cost half) and $30 for a new composite head gasket. You don't probably need a full head service and can be done by yourself in a day. Speaking strictly, it's not the proper way, but to be honest as long as if the valve guides are not damaged badly, it should work. I have done that multiple times.
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