can't go over 2000rpm and no boost

[anubis]

i just finished my first turbo-charged dsm engine rebuild. had a lot of problems, but finally got it running. i took it for a test drive and i have a couple more problems now that i can't figure out. i am new to the turbo world of dsm, so i don't know much about turbo diagnostics. here's my trouble:

1) the car won't go over 2000rpm. it'll get there slowly, but then it bogs down and won't go any further. it's like that in every gear. i can get to 2000 in 1st, then shift and go to 2000 in 2nd and it bogs down. repeats all the way to 4th. i didn't bother with 5th.

2) no boost. the stock boost gauge is reading -7 (the very bottom of the gauge) and it's stuck there. when i start it, it goes to 0 and then once it's running, it's back to -7.

3) i think i'm running rich. there is moisture coming from a couple cracks in the manifold. it appears to be coming from the inside. too much fuel is the only thing that i can think that it could be right now.

the car is stock with a few exceptions: 2g pistons, p&p head, ffwd level 1 regrind cams, 3" downpipe (with cat eliminator) and a 3" muffler man cat-back with no muffler (this cat-back is temporary). i have an safcII wired up, but it's unplugged because i have not had time to set it up.

i don't know what the problem(s) is(are). i did search but couldn't find anything useful. i'm going to go check the intercooler pipes to make sure they're all hooked up nicely and try to get the safc tuned up. until then any help would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[anubis]

for those of you who followed this short lived thread: i quit!

i never got around to reposting anything because all i had was more problems. i got the boost leak taken care of, but then when i went to drive it back to school the alternator died. so i replaced the alternator and the knock sensor (clean up the final "check engine code" and the car was running great. for about 5 minutes. i started to drive it to a friend's party. after getting gas, it stalled about 1 minute from the station. wouldn't start after that. so i had it towed home.

next morning i went outside to see what the problem was. the #2 spark plug was smashed... it was the correct plug, so you probably all know what that means. so i got a flashlight to look inside. nothing in cylinders 4,3, or 1. but i'm 99% sure that i'm seeing the bottom of my left intake valve in cylinder 2. the lifter for that valve is not pumped up (not sure if that means anything). i'm assuming that part of the valve stem was stabbed into the top of my piston because the valve won't move. my car is F -ed. i want to cry.

so i'm going to call my machinist who assembled the head (excluding lifters, rollers, and cams) and see why one of my brand new valves broke. i'll see what he recommends. i didn't pull the head this weekend. i'm sick and tired of spending time on that bi*** of a car. i've spent the last 12 weekends working on it and at least $1500 in parts.

so i need a new beater to get me by this winter and possibly until i graduate.

 

[oldman]

I'm sorry to hear that. Did you remember to pump all the oil out of the lifters before you re-intall them? Take a break from it for a while, most of us who had made it this far probably had gone through some thing similar many times. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[anubis]

I'm sorry to hear that. Did you remember to pump all the oil out of the lifters before you re-intall them? Take a break from it for a while, most of us who had made it this far probably had gone through some thing similar many times. Good luck and keep us posted.

yes i cleaned them out well. there was definitely some serious lifter ticking while they pressured up too.

yeah, i guess i'm earning my stripes... damn it's rough though. i mean, it's hard for me to swallow right now with so many other crazy things going on. life sucks right now. i'm pissed, i'm depressed, and i've been drunk 4 straight nights now. i'll pull through though and be fine eventually. like i said, i'll update in a few weeks after i get the head pulled.

 

[ddavisaf]

The good thing about DSM's are the owners are more than just drivers. We're a community here. We're here for ya bud. I can't count how many times I've wanted to shave a plug wire and crack a fuel line and just let the car run in an alley.