Take a look under the hood?

[HBWaterfowler]

Hello everyone,

I just bought recently a 1992 Turbo Laser AWD. I'm a newbie to DSMs and I'm looking to get my car running like new and keep it that way! I'm hooked! I have the Haynes repair manual, and I have a book on street turbo charging and I have read dozens of online articles. That's really all I know at this point.

I wanted to include some information about the condition of the car. I was hoping I can make some new friends that can help me make this happen.

The car is fairly stock, with some minor mods. The main thing I'm worried about is the engine. The original one was taken out (reason unknown) and a used Japanese 4g63 engine and trans was put in. It runs OK, the throttle is a little starved at times, but it runs well. It also has an idle serge problem, that I have seemed to almost completely fixed (fuel filter, cleaned k/n air filter). One problem I have noticed is the emissions is different and is not smog legal here in California. It doesn't seem to have the equipment, but it has a cat. It won't pass the visual test, but I managed to get around it for now.

I will include a picture of the engine bay so that people may take a look and if they spot anything wrong with it, let me know (If you want a closer shot, I can take more photos, in fact I will put some new ones up soon that caught my eye and could be a problem).

Basically what I wanted to know is, can I some how make my car smog legal? I also wanted to make sure that everything is hooked up right, the previous owner said he was just learning as he went (gulp). I also wanted to get the idle problem solved.

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One thing I have been wondering about is the valve cover exhaust valve. I know some people just throw a small air filter on it and its done, but other articles have said that it should be kept the stock way hooked up to the intake. So I wanted to put a catch can in and hook it back up to the intake. I'm not sure where it could be hooked up, I think my dejon intake pipe replaced the stock nipple? I'm not sure.

If there is anyone local in the Huntington Beach area that might want to take a look in person, that would be really cool. I'm just a normal guy, 26, I even have some hook-ups at turbonetics, maybe we can work out some deal. Basically I can get everything they sell at cost .

I will put up some pictures tomorrow when the suns out, the picture above was taken at night very quickly and kinda sucks. Oh well.

Thanks so much to anyone who read this post in hopes of helping me out!

-Tyler

 

[tqmx1]

That's the engine breather. It should have a rubber hose going from that fitting back to one of the fittings leading into the hose coming off the MAF leading down to the turbo.

As for the Cam angle sensor and the wiring harness & plug it looks like it's been run hard and put away wet.

From the pictures you have poasted I think it's time to start searching for some stock parts (Intake & throttle body for sure) and making sure all the the smog equment is there (Carbon cannester & EGR) just to name a few and all the related plumbing. If not the SMOG gods are going to have fun with you.

 

[kenamond]

At a minimum, you can pick up some vaccuum line and put it on the VC breather and let it hang down below the cam angle sensor so it doesn't spit oil on the sensor or harness/plug.

I know my 2g aftermarket filter is CARB legal. Maybe yours is or you could get one that is (K&N). I'm not sure if they'd catch the intake pipe in the visual inspection. If you can keep them, I would or you're backstepping in performance a bit.

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

Theres a small little wax pellet inside the throttle body that controls the isc IIRC...The isc opens and closes to allow or limit the amoutn of air left past the throttle plate to help control idle which in turn is ran by the ecu....

Sometimes just getting a junkyard t-body can solve the problems(if the wax pellet is still good)But you might as welll get the t-body and an intake manifold anyways....Make sure you get a 91-94 throttle body and not a 90(On the top of the t-body on the left side it will have 4 nipples....3 next to each other and 1 angled...for 91-94's)

FFWD Connection - Race Injuns That Will Freeze Your Brain

Check their t-bodies (But please get rid of yours and get a 91-94 first....)

You do not have a distributer cap and rotor....you have a coil pack and igniter module...1.8 liter non-turbo models had the distributer.In your picture your refering to the CAM ANGLE SENSOR....or CAS for short...

I'm sure the fuel pump is delivering enough fuel since you upgraded it already....Nut you might want to change out the fuel filter for safe measures....I think purolater makes 1....Don't buy that FRAM garbage....

Cams worn doubt it....should check all your belt on occasions anyways....

As kenamond stated, get a peice of hose and clamp it on the valve cover breather nipple and just let it hand down to under the car....
For that cracked plug go to the junkyard get a 91-94 harness (90's are different IIRC) and cut the plug giving yourself at least 4-5 inches of wire then cut yours off and solder all the connections followed by shrinkwrap and then I would go overkill and black tape over everything and then wireloom it so it looks almost factory...

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

Forgot to add, yes your car does have a stock fuel pressure regulator....but it is easily outflowed but high pressure fuel pumps.....

 

[HBWaterfowler]

Can anyone tell me about the Timing Belt idler Pulley? Like: What it does?, Do they go bad? (how many miles?).

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

Basically the timing belt idler pulley is well just what it's called....It basically just lets the belt rotate when the engine is on and rotating. It's kinda hard for me to actually explain....Just like the tensioner pulley, it tightens the belt up by adding tension and takeing out slack....

All pulley's and hydraulic tensioner should be replaced at 60 thousand miles...If your unsure when the last change happened you should replace them anyways.....

Also at 60k you might want to change out the oil pump and water pump for new OEM units....