Picked up a TSI...curious.....

[95strandedDSmR]

Okay guys I just picked up a very sharp 95 TSI that is in great looking shape with 115k miles on it for $2600.00. Hell the hatch even still stays up with no problems at all and the windows go up an down like it was new

First off here is a run down on the car...

The dealer gave me receipts stating the head was decked and completely rebuilt, new complete valve job the whole deal, to stock internals of course. *timing belt broke on previous female owner who didn't know what to do with it*

The block had some repairs done to...
piston #2 was replaced all cylinders were honed and put back to stock config.
New Timing belt, water pump, oil pump and balance shafts were removed.* the owner of this dealership races DSMS an stood behind removing them * I know this is commonly done.

Regular maintance bs..brakes etc etc etc axles bla bla

My question is I found 2 vacuum leaks right away...one at the stock plastic BOV nipple...and one vacuum hose behind the throttle body that came off under a couple hard pulls.

The CEL came on which led me to noticing these vacuum leaks. I reinstalled the vacuum line reset the ECU and the CEL stayed out for a while. Then i got on it pretty hard again...CEL came on just after a couple hard boosts. Car seems to run no differently and pulls pretty damn goodand is very quiet.

Im gonna go snag a quick replacement BOV at pick a part monday...but does this sound like it would be a vacuum issue? Its been about 6 years since i owned a DSM so i forgot how to pull the ECU codes. Gonna look that up later. Also when I get on it an get it at full boost, A small little poof of black smoke comes out of the exhaust, this makes me think its running rich?

Now the balance shafts being removed...I know that causes some shaking and vibrations. Is it really supposed to be to the degree of almost sounding like its got some kick ass cams in it, and the Oil pressure seems to sit a bit low when idle some times the light flickers but as soon as I give it throttle oil pressure is up in the safe range? Im not too too worried if there is any serious engine issues as its a 7bolt... an i'll just do the 6bolt swap. But id like to milk this motor for as long as i can.

Also the engine is running 10w30 Valvoline Max Life and is clean as a whistle. coolant appears to be green an healthy.


*yes i know i still need to do a leak down etc etc...just wanted to throw this out there and if anyone had any ides that i can look for when i start testing things out.* Ive been a GSXR guy for the last several years till finally migrating back into DSMS give me some time to adjust to wrenching again...haha

Any tips are greatly appreciated and hope that this forum is full of good advice! Sorry for the long post...

 

[MLutin]

I'd bet as soon as you grab that BOV you'll be golden. Get a 1g they hold a lot more boost cause they're metal instead of plastic.

 

[Calan]

Definitely sounds like a running rich issue...the CEL could be from a couple things. Run by Autozone...they'll pull the CEL codes for free, which may tell you something.

If you are running stock boost or maybe just a bit more, your BOV should be fine if you fixed the vac nipple leak. (I would definitely upgrade it at some point though).

First things first, do a boost leak test on it to make sure you don't have any more leaks. That will probably fix your rich condition and maybe clear the CEL as well.

 

[95strandedDSmR]

Thanks for the response. I swung buy autozone they pulled the code for me it ended up being P0443 which i guess is Evap solenoid / purge valve?

Im picking up an entire 41k mile 95 TSI that caught fire inside from a cigarette recently*ha* so interior is shot. Engine bay is great though. So i'll ###### just swap out all the solenoids an ### not. hang on to the rest for misc parts.

Btw for a boost leak test, im gona do some searches on properly doing just that. Just curious if anyone has any tips while im here typing. Boost leak test will be done on thursday.

Also i noticed the damn valve cover filling up with oil...and further inspection and cleaning off dirt an grime, i noticed a small crack. Blah...thank god for the extra motor eh?

I installed a mechanical boost guage yesterday and an air/fuel...which i quickly realized that im not going to like the AF guage. But the boost / vac guage at idle sputters back and forth around the 7 on the Vac side with the rough idle. Is this normal? should it be sitting rather still at a set reading? Under boost...it climbs to 10 psi and falls back to around 7.

And the air/fuel guage...i used the O2 sensor wire at the ecu to tap into for a signal line. ANd its pretty much reading completely lean..except once in a while when letting off the gas it will go to Ideal and back to lean?

Sorry for the book...im just tryin to get this car running strong an correctly before I begin modding.

 

[Calan]

Probably have a vac line off at the evap solenoid, canister, or some other part of the emissions system, which is causing a boost leak, the CEL, and the running rich condition.

If your emissions laws allow it, one of the first things you might want to look into is removing all that emissions crap. It simplifies things, cleans up the engine bay, and removes a little weight; not much, but hey...every pound helps.

BTW - That A/F gauge is useless. In simple terms, it is measuring a narrowband signal; once you go WOT (open loop mode - which is where the AFR really matters) you are out of the range of what that gauge can tell you (so it will peg lean).

For true monitoring of your AFR, you need a wideband O2 sensor and gauge. There are countless threads on here about widebands and why those narrowbands don't do much except flash pretty lights.