new to dsms, car starting to act strange.

[407BEAST]

First off id like to say im semi-new to dsms and this site and forums are great!!! this place has helped me learn ALOT in a short period of time and MOST people here are very knowledgeable and willing to lend advice to newbs like me and for that thank you!!

So here is my problem. I bought my car (laser) a month ago, wasnt really in the market for another race toy but i got a deal i couldnt refuse.

Car ran great up till yesterday, oil pressure is good, temps are good, boost pressure consistent, ect.... the only minor complaint before yesterday is the idle is a bit inconsistent,ie: when i got the car the idle was around 1200, i read on here the idle should be 900-1000 so i attempted to adjust it and when brought down to 900ish it wants to bog and stall so i left it alone at 1200 where it idles strong.

My wideband Air/fuel ratio gauge usually bounces around from as low as 11.8 to as high as 15.0 at idle but its normal avg is 13.5 at idle, when cruising the AFR is 13's to 15's and at WOT the AFR slowly drops down from that to about 12-11's & high 10's... from what i can gather reading these are decent/safe #s.

yesterday my problem started, sitting at a redlight and all of a sudden my car bogs down, the idle drops to 800 and struggles to stay running, my air/fuel ratio climbs up from 14's to 18 & 19, at this point the light turns green and im attempting to get my car rolling by feathering the gas and clutch and the car is spitting and sputtering and trying to die, revving up so i can get my car moving to the side of the road as people honk at me the car is just not wanting to run, getting the revs over 3-4k and letting clutch out slow just to get moving works but not well, car spitting and sputtering like hell, a lil bit of smoke not much....

i pull over after getting away from the light (20 secs after it started acting up), at this point the air/fuel has went back to normal, and the car is idleing fine again, i drove home and everything was fine..

today i was out and about just cruising and it started to happen at cruising speed (35-40) ###### 4k rpms, so i mashed the gas down and as soon as the turbo spooled up the air/fuel went back to normal and it took off.. when i got home i was on a phone call and sat in my driveway talking for a minute, as i was talking it happened again and actually made the car die because i wasnt paying attention to it and didnt play with the gas pedal.

If anyone has any ideas of what is happening here i would be greatful, like i said, car ran like a champion for a month and now its doing the jekyl & hyde thing on me.,, any info u need from me let me know, my car runs 16lbs boost.

Has a mega-squirtII engine/fuel management system, and coils on plugs... the car was tuned with the megasquirt when i purchased, i DO NOT have the program or a laptop to put the program on, the car has a huge box under the passenger side dash to plug a computer into, i have called every tuner shop in my town and noone tunes with this program, i do have an AFC2 in my garage still in the box if this would work/help me.

The only thing i did to the car since buying it was change the hackjob-rigged air intake they had on it to a 4" mongoloid, and tapped/rethreaded and re-bolted the j-pipe where they had stripped it out.

Sorry for the long post, i just wanted to be thorough with explaining everything so i would have a better chance of getting an answer... like i said, im still somewhat new to dsm., not really but its a long story...

thanks to anyone who answers.

 

[HaveBlue83]

um...everything sounds exactly like a DSM.....I'm not even trolling, it's cat and mouse games forever with these cars.

idle should be about 750, not 1000. can you get a log of this and show us? car can idle lean, its sometimes an emmissions thing. i have had cars idle at 14.7, 15s, 17's, just depends. as long as the idle is smooth its not an issue.

i was gonna say timing issue but you said it went back to normal again....so not sure. BLT (boost-leak-test) it and see what is going on with leaks first off.

 

[amballer82822]

Same exact thing happened to me twice,l except more extreme, first time there was a leak in my o2 housing.. So check your headers and o2 housing for any leaks. Second time my Stock side mount intercooler piping cracked causing the car to bog out... Check all of those things

 

[407BEAST]

um...everything sounds exactly like a DSM.....I'm not even trolling, it's cat and mouse games forever with these cars.

idle should be about 750, not 1000. can you get a log of this and show us? car can idle lean, its sometimes an emmissions thing. i have had cars idle at 14.7, 15s, 17's, just depends. as long as the idle is smooth its not an issue.

i was gonna say timing issue but you said it went back to normal again....so not sure. BLT (boost-leak-test) it and see what is going on with leaks first off.

Thanks for reading & the suggestions!!!

I was already planning to build a boost leak tester this weekend and check that next like you said but i may have bigger probs than lean idle/sputtering.

I took my GF to work this morning and the car ran great except for the high idle (1400-1500) so when i got back home i decided i was gonna adjust the BISS to see if i could fine tune a lower idle that it wouldnt stall at, well as soon as i popped the hood and got out of the car i noticed a strange louder than lifter tick type knock noise... not like a rod knocking or anything super catastrophic as far as i can tell but none the less a loud knocking type of noise coming from the pully/timing cover area, I have no clue at all what this can be, like i said the car ran great today and after hearing the noise i went ahead and adjusted the biss as i set out to do, got the idle to 1100 without stalling, thats the lowest i can get it to though..

im just worried at this point that maybe something is really wrong but like i said it didnt sound like a rod or any kind of internal catastrophic thing... i have been in the racing scene and worked on cars for a long time (just not dsms) so part of me feels good its not too scary sounding but the other part of me is being driven nuts trying to think what it can be.???

upon close inspection of my motor this morning attempting to pin point the noise better i noticed my downpipe is only connected to my 02 sensor housing by 1 bolt instead of 2 and there is a decent 1/4' gap on the side where said bolt is missing, is this a problem? if so how big and does it need to be fixed ASAP?

one last thing, how long do injectors on these cars stay in good function?

i say because these injectors look a bit weathered and i have a new set of denso's in the garage in the box so i was thinking about changing them this weekend after the boost leak test, if these injectors are a bit clogged or just old can that be causing the spitting/bogging i sometimes am experiencing?

sorry for the laundry list of questions/problems but if anyone is gonna know these answers, its you guys... im just trying to learn as much as i can as fast as i can and after all this is what these forums are for right?

and help/advice is much appreciated guys and if there is anyone in the central florida/orlando area who can come thru and give me a crash coarse ona few more things hands on about my car i would be willing to compensate you $$$ for your time. thanks so much.

 

[19awd93]

your best bet is to get a laptop and the megasquirt program and see what your car is doing at the ecu...if you go changing injectors and countless other things without adjusting your tune it will just make things worse

 

[chadillac2820]

Imo you should diagnose and repair the knock as its probably gonna cause a lot more headaches than a bad idle. Maybe shoot us a video of the knock.

 

[Simadowna119]

You have a boost leak. thats why when you turn the idle down it bogs but when idling high it runs fine. the air is flowing easier and faster past the leak making the car run "ok". Do a boost leak test. get all boost leaks out. then order something called "3g revised lifters" you can get them on ebay. have them professionally installed. then get a laptop and and EMS so you can post logs for us. but i'm assuming the last owner left it with a tune and as long as HE was'nt a jackass then fixing your boost leaks should cure the problem... ALL 1g DSM lifters tick after a while. the were just poorly designed. so first things first. get that boost leak figured out!

 

[407BEAST]

your best bet is to get a laptop and the megasquirt program and see what your car is doing at the ecu...if you go changing injectors and countless other things without adjusting your tune it will just make things worse

Working on that as we speak, already found the website to download the program(s) and get info from. probably another month before i can afford that and thank you for taking the time to read and suggest.

Imo you should diagnose and repair the knock as its probably gonna cause a lot more headaches than a bad idle. Maybe shoot us a video of the knock.

last night when i started my car to leave the strange knock was gone!!!
i drove a 50 mile round tripper mostly highway and didnt run the car hard and when i got home the knock was still not there anymore and on top of that the car ran great barring the high idle which ill be working on fixing this weekend.

so idk, im thinking maybe it was a belt or a pulley bearing... no clue.

thanks for taking your time out to read and help me out though man.

guess im just gonna have to get used to the erratic behavior of these cars but for now shes running smooth with no noise.

You have a boost leak. thats why when you turn the idle down it bogs but when idling high it runs fine. the air is flowing easier and faster past the leak making the car run "ok". Do a boost leak test. get all boost leaks out. then order something called "3g revised lifters" you can get them on ebay. have them professionally installed. then get a laptop and and EMS so you can post logs for us. but i'm assuming the last owner left it with a tune and as long as HE was'nt a jackass then fixing your boost leaks should cure the problem... ALL 1g DSM lifters tick after a while. the were just poorly designed. so first things first. get that boost leak figured out!

from what i had been reading i was starting to suspect it had some boost leakage, im making the tool for it and testing it this weekend, where would be the most common spots for the leaks? and how should i check for them? i was thinking soapy water ina spray bottle?

i had already checked about the 3g lifters because when i got her she was tickin away like a rolex, cant afford them just yet but i DID seafoam her for 100 miles and throw in some royal purp after purchasing, seemed to quiet down the tick a tad, i WILL be buying the 3g lifters though soon as i can afford them.

and as far as the previous owner goes, im not one to talk crap about people BUT.... lets just say he cut more than a few corners that i have managed to uncover so far like the j-pipe was missing a bolt when i bought the car, he tells me it probably just vibrated out, so i go buy a new set goto install and the damn hole on the turbo is stripped out

i found that my downpipe only has one bolt connecting it to the 02 sensor housing.

he told me the EGT gauge WAS working in the a pillar pod, "it must have rattled loose" well turns out the connector on the back of the gauge doesnt fit the wire he has in there, i need some kind of adapter.

i dont even wanna mention the hackjob air intake he had on this thing....

there are a few more examples of this misleading crap but im not here to run the guy threw the mud, just here to get my car running RIGHT now that its mine.

thanks for your input man,, thanks to all who are trying to diagnose and help me.... these forums are great!!! u guys have helped me learn so much.

 

[bassman5000]

Hello I have a 91 Talon Tsi...Got it a few days ago because someone was liquidating there cars and I got it at a good deal because it had 1 issue and 1 issue alone. I can start it. and it will fire and die.. i start it and give it gas (pumping as to not over rev when it hits finally) and it is just all bogged out until i work it to actually rev up and it usually goes to 3k or more rpms so i try to be careful when testing it. if u get it rolling. is has a boggy missing sorta thing that's happening. and when u actually get into it. The car opens up and is mean as hell. Just need to figure out what us causing this massive bogging on the low end. I need to get this car rolling ASAP and any help would be awesome. I have heard a few things it may be. but I would like to see what u guys say b4 i start throwing things out there. just don't want to spend money i don't have to. Thank you very much DSMers I hope you can get me rolling soon. Sorry if this is not the right place to post. I just need to get some information and help asap and i cant make a normal thread. thank you again