View Single Post
Old 09-07-2007, 05:49 AM   #44
clsmooth
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 86394
Join Date: May 2005
Chapter/Region: VIC
Location: Vancouver
Vehicle:
2000 RS Coupe
Blue Ridge Pearl

Default

To get the car through the new AirCare test of 98+ vehicles, I had to convert back to the stock injectors and ECU. With the car not boosting right now, now's the perfect time.

So I woke today and started workin on my car...

Did the injectors first cause they take more time. Manage to swap the originals back in, but not without dropping one between the engine and cross member and fishing it back out. With the exception of piping, the car was brought back to stock. In theory it should run, and sure enough it started right away and idled great!

Decided to get 2 days of insurance put on it and went down to Superstore down the hill from my house. Came back, stuck up the papers and pulled the car outta the garage for the first time in 8 months. Decided to take it easy at first to make sure everything was working. Putted down the alley, down the hill, all the way to Superstore. Couldn't go even if I wanted to cause of traffic. Get to the bottom of Rupert to turn right on Granville, give it gas and it just bogs and nearly stalls. I'm like, WTH?

Pull into the Superstore parking lot and try and rev the engine and it won't go past 2 000 rpm. Call a friend who says it sounds like it's really rich, and I might not have my FPR adjusted properly. I didn't have anything on me to adjust it, so... back up the hill I tried to go. Shook my way up Rupert at a speed slower then walking and the zig-zagged my way back up to my house. No engine light to whole time, just shook and moaned as if it were possesed.

Got it in the garage and started playing with the FPR. Any extreme didn't make a difference. Call back my friend who suggests to check a few things while he makes his way over.

Check one plug, black as midnight. Check all plugs, all black. My brother suggested to check the MAP. Found a few vague posts that suggested unplugging the first O2. Only thing I got from doing all that was an engine light. Thought the injectors might be sticky, but bros said I wouldn't be idling smoothly.

Friend comes by and I show him what the car does while he happens to be walking around it. He noticed there's next to no exhaust coming out the muffler; my cats might be clogged. (Yes, plural, previous owner couldn't pass AirCare, so installed 2 in-line cats.) Good thing he walked around though cause it's not something I would've been able to diagnose by myself.

Held a temp probe and by touch notice the front cat was quite hotter. The first cat was connected to the downpipe using a U-clamp. The 1st and 2nd cat were connected using another U-clamp, and the 2nd cat was bolted normally to the cat-back using spring bolts.

We agree to take out both cats as one. Ended up braking the front U-clamp off and the disconnected the back cat. Looked back up into the 2nd cat and the honeycomb looked fine. Couldn't get the 1st cat off the downpipe due to the crimp left by the U-clamp. Using a drill and a grinding disk, made a slit on one side of the pipe to relieve pressure off the crimp. After some pounding on the flange, both cats came out. Fired it up quickly with them out and it revved up to 5 000. I think we found the problem...

Looked down into the first cat to reveal hand-sized chunks of honey comb all over in the cat! Turned it down and these rocks of honey comb rolled out. Some of the element of the first cat melted to the element of the 2nd, so... both cats got hollowed out using a foot long masonary drill bit!

Put everything back together and fired up the car, and for the first time, sounded like a Subaru with an exhaust, ready to rally! Friend said I owed him a Big Mac so we went for a drive.

Wondered if the wastegate was burnt out as much as the cat, so under controlled conditions, gave it some gas to see if it'd boost and it snapped up to 3 psi before I could react and let go. Wastegate doesn't appear burnt but will be replaced as it's rusted to hell. But thankfully my worst fear in this whole project wasn't the case... THE TURBO'S NOT BLOWN! THE TURBO'S NOT BLOWN!!!!!!! hahaha

Going to have it put up on a hoist at my bros. work to fill a few pin holes found in the exhaust before attempting AirCare.
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
clsmooth is offline   Reply With Quote