new to t-buicks, is anybody willing to break down knock retard.

[turboc87gn]

...

 

[FaSho]

Found paper tuned at 15psi, but have to pull the car out and read the gauge.
Am at a birthday party will be on later.

 

[FaSho]

i i believe my boost is at 15psi, but not sure how to check it, QUOTE]


what does the gauge say?

Took the car out and the gauge didn't go past 6psi. Sorry so late.

 

[berserker6]

check for and exhaust leak on both sides of the motor but especially the drivers side. It could be why the boost is low. Or you could have a vacuum leak. most cars but not all control boost thru the chip and making adjustments to the wastegate actuator under the turbo. Some pics of the engine bay could be helpful as well as posting all of your scanmaster readings at idle after the car is warmed up.

 

[FaSho]

Will do

I'll be taking pics of the engine bay today and I'll upload them and post them, I have a few on my phone I'll be sending your way, along with the pics, I'll send you some scanmaster readings. I was thinking if maybe before being sold if the turbo might have been turned back down. Jus a thought.

 

[FaSho]

2 pics sent to your email.

Only way to send pics was to email them to you, at work and all i have is my phone.

 

[berserker6]

Motor looks nice and clean. I'll have to look at it on my pc at home to get a better look. I'm on my phone right now. I do see an adj. Fuel pressure regulator and an aftermarket air box. When you get home look at the wastegate under the turbo and see if its threaded. That's how you will make adjustments to boost.

 

[berserker6]

going back and reading you original post you were asking about knock retard. Are you getting any? This can not be stressed enough. You tune for no knock. Detonation will turn even the most expensive of our motors in to junk.

 

[FaSho]

Aye I'm working on my car now, do I need to take off the turbo cover to check for that threaded wastegate?

 

[berserker6]

Aye I'm working on my car now, do I need to take off the turbo cover to check for that threaded wastegate?

no. the arm of the actuator attaches to the internal puck of the turbo. if the rod is threaded its adjustable. just watched your vid and 02s at idle are almost useless. they really only come in to play when you go WOT. as for your scanmaster numbers at idle they all looked good.

 

[FaSho]

Is the arm you're referring to the one on the bottom you see in the second picture?

 

[berserker6]

Sorry fasho I'm on my phone and I erased them. The actuator is directly underneath the turbo and connected by a rod to the turbine side of the turbo. If its threaded its adjustable. I can't imagine with the work done to the car by the previous owners that it isn't. But first let me ask, are you seeing knock retard? If so stop immediately. There's no need to turn up the boost til we figure out where the knock is coming from.

 

[FaSho]

I may ask some dumb questions, but it's because I'm a rookie to this, but when you ask if I'm seeing knock retard, does that mean when on the scanmaster the retard degrees when they register while you're driving?

 

[berserker6]

No one minds questions. We all started somewhere. And yes on the right side of your scanmaster it says knock retard. If you see anything other than the double zeros STOP. When the scanmaster hears what it perceives is knock it retards timing and those are the numbers you see on the right. You don't want to see any numbers over there. Are you getting knock? If so we have to figure out why.

 

[FaSho]

Yes while on the street. I am getting numbers on that side.

 

[berserker6]

Knock is bad. Especially at only 6 lbs of boost. It may be false knock but we are going to assume its real until proven otherwise. stay out of the throttle until you can get this fixed. Or you will be replacing head gaskets or worse a motor. Start with the basics. give the car a tuneup. read up on the links I posted earlier. You will need to verify fuel pressure at idle. You would also check it at WOT but I am advising against that for now til we you get the car running better.
Plugs
Plug wires
Air filter
Fuel filter
Check voltage at fuel pump (I would look for atleast 13 volts)
Ohm coil pack between all 3 sets of coils. You're looking for between 11k and 13k
Start checking for vacuum leaks on all hoses

 

[berserker6]

And when you're thru with the above we'll move on to more.

 

[berserker6]

And replace the 02 sensor with one from denso

 

[FaSho]

Sorry so late, been swamped at work. Did a full spring cleaning, everything seemed pretty new and changed recently. That's the good news. Now for the bad news my exaust manifold wad cracked, and I have a ATR chip for 40lb. injectors with some injectors installed that don't match the chip. Also still have the stock MAF. So my next move is to get 60lb. injectors and matching chip from TurboTweak, also get a LT1 MAF, and MAF translator. Plus I have the SMC non-progressive alcohol kit, which i will be switching out with a razor kit. Forgot to say earlier I did fix the header, welded it and back gouged it with argon. If you have any tips or suggestions please let me know. Thanx again for all your help and patience. Greatly Appreciated.

 

[berserker6]

looks like you're moving in the right direction. Is it running any better? Definitely go with chip and injectors from turbo tweak. Are you still only getting 6lbs of boost? You also want to verify fuel pressure while driving. It needs to rise pound for pound with boost. And while driving keep an eye on AF on scanmaster. The number should rise and fall with throttle input. It shows what your MAF is seeing in terms of airflow up to a max of 255. If it doesn't rise or fall or won't rise above a certain number the MAF is bad.