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Old 08-08-2022, 04:54 PM   #1
AceKingNYC
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 406087
Join Date: Nov 2014
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: New York City
Vehicle:
06 GGB 6sp Wagon
WRB

Default Could a batch of bad gas cause all of this?!!

Hey all,

So i am in the middle of trying to figure out what is causing a rough idle, AFRs between 16-18, and the car to stall out when i give it gas during idle. I think I have it figured out but wanted to get some feedback on a batch of bad gas possible being the culprit, or if it was something building up over time.

2006 wrx wagon - perrin TBE, ID1000cc injectors, VF48 Turbo externally wastgated (turbosmart with GS piping), GS boost control solenoid, Walbro 255 fuel pump. Stock block internals, jdm 6 speed swap.

so the issues started while i was performing another repair:

I was having some pressure fluctuation on my clutch pedal so i swapped out the clutch master cylinder, bled it, adjusted the clutch pedal to a feel i was happy with. Drove the car around the block a few times. All was well with the world.

Then when I was leaving my friends house (where we did the repair), the car struggled to turn over. Eventually did but was idling super rough and my AFRs were going nuts, high 20s. So we began to diagnose. Since the TMIC had to come off, we double checked that it was on right, no leaks, all tight. Check.

We then thought maybe the throttle body was malfunctioning, swapped that out with my friends (he's parting his built FXT so everything was conveniently easily accessible or off the car already). With his on, same symptoms. So it wasn't my throttle body. Check

We check for vacuum leaks - find 2 tiny ones around clamp areas and button those up - but nothing major where this type of idling and AFR issue would be this bad. Check

We start feeling the connectors on the injectors and we cannot feel a ticking/pulsating on Injector 1 i believe (the one closest to the front bumper, passenger side). All others, we can feel ticking/pulsating so we suspect those are working as they should. So now we think it's an injector that is clogged or dead. We test the wiring with an injector test kit, all connectors are getting power. So, I swap out the injectors with another set of ID1000s (mine were the old design and these were the renewed design but from my research, the injectors are the same but just seat differently with the new design). Car idles better but AFRs are still wonky and giving it gas on idle i feel the car chokes big time, then the rpms kind of spike up a bit once i let off the gas.

We then swap out coil packs to see if there is an issue. Nothing. Swap out spark plugs. I last changed my plugs in Nov 2020. I had NGK OSC plugs and i put new OSC plugs in at that time. Plugs are SUPER black with buildup on there. (this is primarily a weekend car, and i drive it maybe once a week sometimes so between Nov 2020 and now I couldn't have put more than 5K on the car maybe?)

Next - take the walbro out of the gas tank. sock filter is super dark/black so i am thinking i've found my issue. We swap on my buddies walbro and filter and nada. Still! so now we are thinking, wtf is going on here.

yesterday he was fiddling with the car, and he told me he sprayed some carb cleaner into the intake (i think that is what he said, I was driving and i was trying to pay attention to the road bc i had a child in the car) and he says that when he did that the car idled much better and he was able to have someone press the gas pedal and it revved up to 5-6k without many issues. He said it was breaking up a bit but nothing like what we were experiencing before. He then suspected that there is not enough fuel reaching the motor and that the only thing we haven't swapped out is the in-tank fuel filter that sits above the Walbro. So, I ordered a new one today and will also tap into the fuel line with a fuel pressure gauge to see if there indeed is a lack of fuel making it to the clutch.

we have also looked at the o2 sensor. I only received a code when i unplugged the o2 and MAF if i recall. Other times i have read codes, there have been none but the car showed p0170 for the car running lean when i manually scan with my AP. As of now, it's not showing that code.

A few days before we did the clutch master cylinder, I filled up at my usual gas station, Shell, with 93 Octane. Right now the tank is 3/4 full.

Since everything that has to do with fuel has seemingly had an issue (injector possibly dead/clogged, black plugs, walbro sock filter super dark/back) can I suspect that the gas was total ****?

At this point, when I receive the in-tank filter - I plan to siphon out all of the gas, and unplug the fuel lines and crank all of the gas out of the lines and refill it fresh.

it's been an interesting few days trying to troubleshoot to say the least. Sorry for the super long post.
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