I've tried everything.....and now it's dead (CONCLUSION)

[THE DUKE]

Get it on a rolling road with a wideband o2 sensor.. Sort it out once and for all

[skytek]

They won't put my car on the rollers because they say it's running lean and it isn't safe That was why I changed the fuel pressure regulator, to an aftermarket adjustable one...but that didn't fix anything

It's weird because when we cranked the fuel up I was going through 80 quid a week and the car was popping constantly, but still it was running lean.

Do you think putting a new o2 sensor on would fix it? Someone told me the o2 sensor has no effect under boost, and that it's only used when cruising or idling.

[steve b]

It's weird because when we cranked the fuel up I was going through 80 quid a week and the car was popping constantly, but still it was running rich.

If its popping in the exhaust is is indeed running rich,... what is the problem with going on the rollers if its rich.

[jonb-]

Apart from borewash what are they worried about? I thought rich cars were safer than lean cars, at least you're not going to melt anything.

No other tuners in your area? I thought the idea of tuners were to take a car not running right and make it run right...

[skytek]

Sorry guys, I meant lean. I was really tired when I wrote that post. I've edited it now

[skytek]

Update.

The car pulls strong and reaches full boost quikly for a while after each time I reset the ecu, then eventually I get a petrol smell and all power drops very low again until the next reset. It's got to be something simple! Should I replace the o2 sensor?

I'm not getting any error codes, except the usual 47 which is normal.

[jonb-]

At this point, if it's not been replaced i'd replace it!

[Stefen]

Have you got that pipe which goes straight from the turbo to the inlet manifold yet?

[skytek]

Have you got that pipe which goes straight from the turbo to the inlet manifold yet?

No. I have an aftermarket bov on now so I thought that would rule out a recirc valve problem

[Stefen]

You need to rule out all possible leaks and joints (inc. intercooler itself) by putting that pipe on.

[skytek]

At this point I'm leaning pretty heavily towards a fueling problem. After having all the boost pipes disconnected, reconnected and tightened 3 times now I feel pretty happy that it's not a boost leak. My next step is a new o2 sensor. I should be picking up a used one next week to test it with.

[Red_Turbo]

hey mate just a quicky but looked through the last 2 pages and wondered if youve checked your spark plugs to see what condition they are in? not that they are causing the problem as such but by looking at them and explaining what the sparking ends look like it should tell you if the car is running lean/rich. if they are black - carboned up then the car is running rich if they are white - blistered then the car is running lean.

i think its good to check the car out in a mechanical way just as much as checking for error codes which may hav dissapeared if you are resetting your ecu alot.

good idea to change the o2 sensor as they are where the ecu gets its info about how much oxygen is in the exhaust and varys the fueling accordingly. if only you could put your car through an emissions test it would show there, maybe ask a garage that does MOT's nearby to you if they mind putting your car on their exhaust gas analyser machine. will only take them 10mins to tell you what the oxygen content in your exhaust is and they can check it at differrent rev ranges.

Red_Turbo

[skytek]

Thanks! I'll get the plugs out tonight and see how they look. I'll post a pic too if I can. Good idea about the emissions test =D>

I'll stick an o2 sensor on when my mate's free soe we can swap them over to test.

[skytek]

To conclude this thread once and for all....

In the end the engine went. Blue smoke caused by the piston rings going, probably due to high knock levels caused by the mysterious fueling problem

I'll be breaking the car as soon as I find another tubby.

Thanks to absolutely everyone who contributed to this thread with advice, suggestions and sympathy. You're a great bunch you lot

I'm hoping my next mr2 will be third time lucky and I'll get to enjoy a few years of happy motoring

PS - If anyone's selling a black or blue rev3 tubby that's in very good order for under £4500 let me know

Thanks again!

[[SiG]]

Dude, why not spend 1k-1.5k on the engine and get it forged? Be lovely then and be worth it for the future

Si

[jonb-]

I owe you a beer for buying that car before i did.

[skytek]

Dude, why not spend 1k-1.5k on the engine and get it forged? Be lovely then and be worth it for the future

Si

Well i cold but the suspension is totally up the left too and thee's also the mysterious fuel problem which would possibly still be there even after a rebuild,. the car is bad news so i'm best rid of it to be honest.

[skytek]

I owe you a beer for buying that car before i did.

LOL no beers necessary mate. I was just unlucky with this one. Maybe I'll get third time lucky with my next mr2 [-o<

[Bobby (aka Shaggar)]

What a sad conclusion to this thread. i just read all 8 pages in one go.....phew. What an emotional ride that was. So so sorry to here of the 'conclusion'. personally i would rebuild it and get the unit put ona proper bench test dyno and have them go throught the fuel system properly. A good engine builder will be able to tear that thing to bits in order to find the fault with all the correct equipment to do so. I'm justa big old sentimental old thing whenit comes to cars. hate to see a perfectly good car with potential get broken up.

Best of luck with whatever you choice mate.


Bobby

[ENSMR2]

Rather then buy a new one, I agree it'd be better to just get a rebuild done. With a few choice bits. As Bobby has said, a good builder should find what caused your previous problem. Unless of course you are worried about anything else the car may have wrong?

In short could you summarise what your symptoms were again? and again in short what soloutions you tried and what, if any effects they had.

?

Be good info all in one place rather then spread throughout the post. Someone may then spot something which could solve the problem if you decide on a rebuild.

If you decide on a new car then I guess don't worry.


Really sorry to hear that the problem could not be solved in time