Please...I need Professional help around my area to tune my car!

[BlackMagic]

I'm around Little Rock, Arkansas and need to find a good shop to tune and/or fix my car within about 300 miles of me. Any really good shops around the Memphis, Tulsa or Dallas area? I can drive the car there and leave it. Memphis would be great.

I got into a big mess when I bought my car. The person I bought it from claims that it was running perfectly when he dropped it off at the shipping company, but I have found waaaay too much evidence to believe him at this point. There was even a thread posted on here describing the exact symptoms that this car is having where the previous owner was supposedly diagnosing a "friends" car. When I pointed the thread out he promptly deleted it. ( I did save it before he deleted it though.) When I 1st got the car and wanted to ship it back at my expense due to the terrible way it was running ( I would have been out $1800 for the shipping both ways ) he basically said he was not responsible for my car. I am having to suck it up and spend a lot more money than I planned. I paid top $$$ for it expecting it to be running right, and got screwed. Merry Christmas for me and my family....

1st off the turbo was bad (dumping massive oil into the downpipe and looked like I was fogging for mosquitos.) I replaced the turbo and fixed the smoking problem (also replaced the o2 sensor while I was at it since it was soaked/caked with oil.)

I also replaced the plug wires while I was at it, and found one plug that was very loose and came out with only about 2 full turns.

The engine still has what seems like a very bad vibration (like something is out of balance) and it idles really crappy (missing). When you give it some gas and the boost starts coming up, the boost gauge needle fluctuates back and forth quite a bit (not steady at all...maybe has a good 5-7 psi fluctuation.) When the original turbo was on it would swing back and forth from 0-12psi when you got into the boost. I think he said the boost was set to 12psi max. Hooking up a vacuum gauge gives me a vacuum reading from 14-17 with the needle fluctuating up and down. I can hear the EGR valve? (plugs into the intake on the pass side kinda in the middle down low) making a clicking sound pretty regularly while it's idling. BLM's are around 128-135. It has a bstc boost controller hooked up. Fuel pressure is 44psi line off. TPS is at .42-.44 at idle. It had 42.5lb injectors now.

I am getting new injectors (57's) and a chip (extender extreme and a T+) to match the turbo I just put on (T64E), but don't have the time to spend tuning this damn car. It sucks that I'm even having to fix it, but I want it done by someone who who knows what they are doing. I just want it tuned!

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[John Larkin]

Sorry for the length

Normal vacuum: All motors regardless of number of cylinders all have about the same vacuum. 15 to 20 inches of mercury (in-Hg) At wide open throttle (WOT) it will approach 0. On deceleration it can briefly go as high as 25 to 28 in-Hg. I think higher compression motors are at the high end while our big lumbering 360;s are middle to low end with 454's being the lowest. Don't quote me on that. For every 1000 feet above sea level, normal readings will drop 1 in-Hg
Cranking vacuum: 1-4 in-hg when cranking with the ignition disabled and throttle at WOT.
Operating vacuum: 15-20 in-Hg at idle. 19-21 in-Hg at steady 2500 rpm. About 0 at WOT. 25-28 while decelerating. In all cases the needle should be fairly steady.
Low stead reading: Leaking gasket carb base, leaky vacuum hose (biggest FSJ problem), late ignition timing or late crankshaft timing (jumped timing chain?)
Low fluctuating needle: Needle fluctuates three to eight inches below normal. Suspect a leak in the intake manifold gasket.
Regular drops: Two to four inch consistent drop. Likely a leaking valve. Perform a leakdown and compression check to isolate the bad valve.
Irregular drops: Two to four inch occasional drop. Sticking valve or ignition misfire. Do a leakdown and compression check as well as inspecting the plugs for fouling.
Rapid vibration: A rapid 4 in variation at idle combined with exhaust smoke indicate worn valve guide. Perform leakdown test to confirm. If rapid vibration occurs with an increase in engine speed, check for a leaking intake manifold gasket or head gasket, weak valve springs burned valve or ignition misfire.
Slight fluctuation: A slight 1 inch fluctuation may mean ignition problems Check all tune up items and try an ignition analyzer.
Large fluctuation: Perform compression or leakdown test to find a weak or dead cylinder or blown head gasket.
Slow Hunting: Needle moves slowly through a wide range. Check for clogged PCV, incorrect idle mixture or carb to manifold gasket leaks.
Slow return after revving: Snap throttle to WOT until engine at 2500 rpm. then release. Vacuum should drop to 0 then go to 25-28 then back down to normal. If vacuum returns slowly and doesn't peak the rings may be worn. If there is a long delay, look for a restricted exhaust. If the exhaust seems restricted, disconnect at manifold and repeat the now loud test.

 

[John Larkin]

After that massive cut & paste it appears you may have a burned or leaking valve. Another trick is to hold a dollar bill against the end of your tailpipe while idling. If the tailpipe trys to suck it in, that is an indication of bad valve. If it just flutters, then you "should" be ok. Otherwise, just watch the vacuum gauge closely and find the best comparison to the chart above to help diagnose your car.

 

[BlackMagic]

Originally posted by John Larkin
After that massive cut & paste it appears you may have a burned or leaking valve. Another trick is to hold a dollar bill against the end of your tailpipe while idling. If the tailpipe trys to suck it in, that is an indication of bad valve. If it just flutters, then you "should" be ok. Otherwise, just watch the vacuum gauge closely and find the best comparison to the chart above to help diagnose your car.

For some reason I knew that was going to come up...

I have already put my hand on the tailpipe and got an intermittent "sucking" action I could feel with my hand. I've been wrenching on cars long enough to know that can indicate a burnt valve. I think I was hoping someone else might suggest another fix.

Well crap...he told me a compression check was done about a month before he sold it to me, with all cylinders around 155, but at this point I don't know if I can trust that. I guess a good compression check and/or leakdown test is in order. Never done a leakdown but I'm sure I can figure it out. Damn, damn, damn....

 

[wh1-Denver]

I think you need to fly out and take him behind the wood shed.


I can not stand people that lie and rip others off.

Look at it as an excuss to put Champion Iron heads on it.
You may also want to pull the motor and frshen it up just incase he lied about the milage and usage of the car.

 

[BlackMagic]

Originally posted by wh1-Denver
I think you need to fly out and take him behind the wood shed.


I can not stand people that lie and rip others off.

Look at it as an excuss to put Champion Iron heads on it.
You may also want to pull the motor and frshen it up just incase he lied about the milage and usage of the car.

Well, the mileage and use seem to be pretty well represented. The original interior is near MINT, the original body/paint is in super shape, and it drives and rides great. It just runs like crap. Here's a pic of it:

http://www.ayresweb.com/GN pics/driver_gn_800_crop.jpg

I was thinking about just sucking it up and going on, but at this point I am considering legal action. It wouldn't have been too bad had it just been a bad turbo, but the way the car is running and what is getting diagnosed, it's getting way too deep. I can't afford all this, especially this time of year. I may just have to whip out the credit card and chalk this up as an experience to never do long distance car deals again. This is the 4th car I've bought over the internet, and my 1st bad experience. I thought I could trust the guy because he seemed like a very respectable member on here. Live and learn I guess.

 

[BlackMagic]

Oh, one more thing...

It does not have a clogged cat either. I asked him if it had a cat on it and he said it was a high flow cat. In reality, I bought a test pipe thinking the cat would be clogged from all the oil. I went to replace it today, and it wasn't a cat at all! It was just something that resembled a cat that was hollow, so I wasted money on the test pipe too.

 

[John Larkin]

That is a very nice picture of your car. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. I didn't mean to cause you any grief, just nice to know the truth. I got a spare head in the barn that I'm not going to use. It's greasy and used but seems to be intact. If you want it, it's yours for shipping if you'll send me yours back afterward. Could turn the repair into a weekend swap if you have it tanked and done up in advance. I don't like offering people up but Greg Friend lives in/near Jackson, TN. He might know someone for the repair. If it's just an upper end problem, most any competent mechanic can handle that. It's the bottom end that the local jackleg will mess up.

 

[BlackMagic]

Originally posted by John Larkin
That is a very nice picture of your car. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. I didn't mean to cause you any grief, just nice to know the truth. I got a spare head in the barn that I'm not going to use. It's greasy and used but seems to be intact. If you want it, it's yours for shipping if you'll send me yours back afterward. Could turn the repair into a weekend swap if you have it tanked and done up in advance. I don't like offering people up but Greg Friend lives in/near Jackson, TN. He might know someone for the repair. If it's just an upper end problem, most any competent mechanic can handle that. It's the bottom end that the local jackleg will mess up.

Wow...thanks for the comment, and thanks even more for the offer!

I'm trying to work things out with the seller before I do anything further to the car. I was hoping a bad turbo, o2 sensor, and clogged cat were causing it to run so bad, but that clearly wasn't the case. We'll see what he says and I'll get back to you on the head.

Thanks for the reference, but Jackson, TN is a bit too far for me. I actually bought my 1st car over the internet from a guy in Jackson, and it's about 8-9 hours one way from here.

 

[BlackMagic]

News flash....

I pulled the plugs and did a compression check because I lost faith in what the guy had told me about the car.

#1 = 154
#3 = 90
#5 = 155
#2 = 156
#4 = 160
#6 = 156

That's why the damn thing was/is running so bad.

 

[BlownZ]

The burnt valve still could be the culprit. Did you try the oil in the cylinder test to see if the compression number changed? I would also do what the other gentleman suggested and find a core head and get it rebuilt prior to the swap and then make it a weekend affair. Good luck.

 

[BlackMagic]

I think I found the problem...which is both good and bad for a couple of reasons....

I pulled the driver side valve cover to have a look, and found a rocker arm with busted off end (the end the pushrod goes in.) It was the rocker arm on the intake valve on the number 3 cylinder. There was one large piece busted off, and the pushrod had nothing to push against. The pushrod has several long, deep grooves gouged into it from where it was rubbing against the broken rocker arm.

I know a rocker arm and pushrod would be cheap to replace, but could any damage have been done to the cylinder with the intake valve not opening?

Is it possible for me to clean up the oil on the top side of the head, dump some oil down the engine to kinda flush out the metal shavings, and drain/refill it safely? Or am I going to have to tear the engine apart and put it back together to get it clean? Where do the oil drain holes for the head drain to?

I fear I know what the answer to my last question is, but I would like some outside opinions on it.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[BlownZ]

As much as it has been run already I would say whatever damage was going to be done...likely has. I would try and clean up any material you can find....put a magnetic drain plug on the car and maybe perform 2-3 oil changes in the very near future and see how it goes. You might get out of it easy but I wouldn't do a tear down until I had to.