Engine/turbo performance poor

[noah360]

Hey all,
So i have had my 96' eclipse gst for over a year and half now. I bought it from a police repo auction. So this being my first car *was 15 at the time* i had no clue what a turbo felt like or anything. I am now positive i have a turbo related problem

The Symptoms
Idle seems fine, idles around 1k, not exact but not able to go start it at the moment.
The problem lies with acceleration.
While accerating very moderatley in the 3k range *give or take about 500* i see the boost gauge go all the way up. My RPM's stutter, a little up a little down around 100-200 while it is stuttering. i can physically feel the up and down of the RPM's jerking.
To solve this i have to mash the gas to get any accleration, now when i mash it it seems pretty okay fast but talking to a guy at advance auto who has had a couple he says i should be able to atleast spin the tires with the stock engine no prob...I can't even get a sqeak outta mine...
Please help me diagonose this. I just bought new spark plugs (Denso Platium TT) unsure of gap, pretty sure a .40 or something like that. NOT INSTALLED, will be installing in the next few days.
Also i have black residue in my exhaust like it is running rich.


Also no check engine like comes on, and no codes were run while i was at advance auto

Thank you in advance and if i havn't given enough information please let me know what you want to know Thank you so much again!

-Noah360

 

[Dsmj89]

Your spark plug wires are probably gone. I had this same exact problem with my previous gst and it turned out to be the cables.

 

[bigal07]

Go with NGK6's gapped to .23, iridium and platinum plugs dont work well at all and .40 gap is high. I had a friend with the same problem and it was the plugs, gave him my old ngk6's and ran like a dream.

 

[noah360]

I also hear the normal turbo spinning up,no biggy. But i also hear a loud sound of air being sucked in our pushed out while it is in these rpm' ranges of around 3k. Dono if i might have a boost leak too?

Thanks

 

[No_Skillz]

I would do the following:

NGK BPR6ES gapped to 0.028" - best plugs for our car, and they're cheap
New wires
Boost leak test - most important and probably what is causing most of your problems
Timing belt and pullies, water pump - do your maintenence, you won't regret it
Accessory belts.

And don't bump your thread just because no one answered within an hour.

 

[MrBoxx]

I would do the following:

NGK BPR6ES gapped to 0.028" - best plugs for our car, and they're cheap
New wires
Boost leak test - most important and probably what is causing most of your problems
Timing belt and pullies, water pump - do your maintenence, you won't regret it
Accessory belts.

And don't bump your thread just because no one answered within an hour.

Quoted... so I don't have to repeat everything No_Skillz just said.

Take those damn Denso platinum's back to the store and exchange them for NGK's, just like mentioned. Trust me, our cars HATE platinum plugs, especially with as wide a gap as you say they have.

Do a boost leak test, properly. Don't just "guess" that you don't have leaks because all your couplers are tight. Also, you need a real aftermarket boost gauge. The stock gauge isn't accurate, and doesn't even have numbers on it. Get a boost gauge, do a BLT. There's no argument to be had about this point.

 

[JusMX141]

I just bought new spark plugs (Denso Platinum TT) unsure of gap, pretty sure a .040" or something like that. NOT INSTALLED, will be installing in the next few days.

On a quest to make your car run worse?

Do yourself and your car a favor and return the plugs before you install them. NGK BR6ES/BPR6ES plugs are the way to go and will be a fraction of the price of the crap they talked you into at your friendly local parts chain.

 

[noah360]

NGK BR6ES/BPR6ES plugs are the way to go

you listed the two recommend plugs. Now from my research one has a solid terminal and the other a removable terminal. What is the difference, which one should i get? and the stock gap is? and i gap it to .028? just getting this all correct before i make a mistake will advance auto gap them for me? and which of those two parts numbers should i get? and the second one has two options so ya just curious, sorry i'm a newb but i just am doing what i can

 

[MrBoxx]

The P in the part number just stands for projected tip. The recommended plug is BPR6ES; the other common (factory) option is BPR6EKN which is a dual electrode tip, which is pretty pointless since the spark will only jump to one electrode anyway.

Just go to the parts counter and say you want 4 NGK BPR6ES plugs. They will already be gapped close to .028", but check them each to make sure. If you have to, gap them yourself or ask the counter person to do it for you.

 

[My90tsiawd]

Are you talking about an aftermarket boost gauge or the stock one? If it's the stock one that goes all the way up as soon as you accelerate you got a boost leak man. Try a boost leak test and tell us what you get.

 

[juanpac0]

Are you talking about an aftermarket boost gauge or the stock one? If it's the stock one that goes all the way up as soon as you accelerate you got a boost leak man. Try a boost leak test and tell us what you get.

Not true, mine goes all the way up and I don't have any boost leaks.

It sounds like you have a timing issue compounded by a spark issue to me, check your cam angle sensor (left side of head/valve cover) a general estimate is that it should be about centered, if its too "low" then you're retarding timing. Do you have poor gas mileage?

 

[My90tsiawd]

Well if you're looking for trouble from the ignition then you should check ignition timing with a timing light. For the boost gauge thing I can tell i already had a boost leak and as soon as a touched the throttle the stock boost gauge went all the way up with hissing sounds from the engine just like he does and everything stopped once the boost leak was fixed. I d'ont say it's impossible that it gets there without a boost leak but i'd check that first to be sure.

 

[noah360]

FIXED!
I replaced the spark plugs and wires and it runs like a top! although i still am gona check for boost leaks that is another day. No stuttering, lower idle etc.

Is it worth it to buy 2.5 or 3 inch aluminum or SS to redo all my intercooler stuff? on ebay for like 80 bucks