The head gasket slayer!

[[ion] C2]

In case anyone is interested, I made another gasket leak coolant into my engine.

First build on the engine when everything was revamped (forged, all new gaskets etc.) was with a Fel-Pro gasket and Fel-Pro bolts torqued to stock spec (something like 40 lb-ft). After 5,000 miles of moderate boost (10 psi), the gasket leaked coolant into cylinder one severely after some tuning runs @ 14 psi from the Garrett T3 50 trim .48/.42 turbocharger (baby).

Replaced that head gasket with a factory GM gasket along with ARP head studs torqued to 75 lb-ft (but left the 2 small studs near cylinder 1 @ 40 lb-ft, my mistake). After 10,000 miles of moderate boost from the same turbo and then 18 psi from the GT3076R, it finally became significantly noticeable over the course of the past 6 months that the head gasket was leaking into cylinder 1. The car has been having odd vibration/stumbling upon startup, and definite cooling system oddities and slight overheating even before ASS. Even quite a bit before ASS. I remember me leaking coolant from hose connections significantly more when I went under high throttle since the compression in cylinder 1 was leaking into the cooling system. So this has been going on for a while, slowly getting worse and worse. What's funny is I beat a Corvette last week, on a leaking head gasket.

This time I ordered a Cometic. I'm going to drop off the head to D&S Engine Specialists to ensure the head is perfectly flat and the roughness specification is satisfactory for the new head gasket. I will also torque every nut/stud to 85 or 90 lb-ft.

From j-body.org, replies to a similar post I made:
my felpro leaked at 14lbs too... cometic with arp studs tq'd to 85lbs held 25psi of gt35r fury

im pretty sure i tq'd the small ones to the same 85ft lbs

So did i.
As did I.
So once this thing is back together, the engine will finally be rock solid and I won't have to worry about boost pressure anymore. :coolio: And then I'll finish my suspension stuff and head out to the Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon for 60 miles of mountainous twisty road with beautiful landscapes. Oh, and go to the track and run some times.

The beginning.
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/first.jpg

Yummy stuff on the timing chain cover. Always seems to collect there when a head gasket goes.
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small001.jpg

The camshaft sprockets and chain still had the markings I put on it last time the gasket blew, ha.
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small002.jpg

Time to take off the turbo then head.
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small005.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small006.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small007.jpg

Similar damage as the Fel-Pro before.
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small008.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small009.jpg

[cherrington17]

and THIS is the primary reason I won't touch engine mods. the car spends as much time, down, as it does up.

:glare: not worth the money/effort, if its not reliable.

[AleroB888]

C2;555100']In case anyone is interested, I made another gasket leak coolant into my engine.

First build on the engine when everything was revamped (forged, all new gaskets etc.) was with a Fel-Pro gasket and Fel-Pro bolts torqued to stock spec (something like 40 lb-ft). After 5,000 miles of moderate boost (10 psi), the gasket leaked coolant into cylinder one severely after some tuning runs @ 14 psi from the Garrett T3 50 trim .48/.42 turbocharger (baby).

Replaced that head gasket with a factory GM gasket along with ARP head studs torqued to 75 lb-ft (but left the 2 small studs near cylinder 1 @ 40 lb-ft, my mistake). After 10,000 miles of moderate boost from the same turbo and then 18 psi from the GT3076R, it finally became significantly noticeable over the course of the past 6 months that the head gasket was leaking into cylinder 1. The car has been having odd vibration/stumbling upon startup, and definite cooling system oddities and slight overheating even before ASS. Even quite a bit before ASS. I remember me leaking coolant from hose connections significantly more when I went under high throttle since the compression in cylinder 1 was leaking into the cooling system. So this has been going on for a while, slowly getting worse and worse. What's funny is I beat a Corvette last week, on a leaking head gasket.

This time I ordered a Cometic. I'm going to drop off the head to D&S Engine Specialists to ensure the head is perfectly flat and the roughness specification is satisfactory for the new head gasket. I will also torque every nut/stud to 85 or 90 lb-ft.

So once this thing is back together, the engine will finally be rock solid and I won't have to worry about boost pressure anymore. :coolio: And then I'll finish my suspension stuff and head out to the Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon for 60 miles of mountainous twisty road with beautiful landscapes. Oh, and go to the track and run some times.

Very good info and documentation, I'm sure it will get stonger every time out, and you will take it to another level.

and THIS is the primary reason I won't touch engine mods. the car spends as much time, down, as it does up.

:glare: not worth the money/effort, if its not reliable.

It's called research and development, and he's pushing the build to the limit so it can be improved upon. In case you didn't notice, he's taking steps to make it reliable.

[mfuller]

Be careful with the Cometic gaskets. Not only must the head be flat, but the head surface and also the block surface needs to be prepped properly; 50RA or better on the surfaces.

[Chris2000]

and THIS is the primary reason I won't touch engine mods. the car spends as much time, down, as it does up.

:glare: not worth the money/effort, if its not reliable.

i'd rather spend my time boosting than wiring up all those led's. :p

[[ion] C2]

Be careful with the Cometic gaskets. Not only must the head be flat, but the head surface and also the block surface needs to be prepped properly; 50RA or better on the surfaces.
It said 80RA somewhere for this application, but I'll double check the numbers before I have them smooth it up. I'm sure D&S knows what to prep it to.
Edit: Cometic states right on their website a maximum of 50RA is recommended for proper sealing, and I found references to that number on j-body.org. Cool.

It's called research and development, and he's pushing the build to the limit so it can be improved upon. In case you didn't notice, he's taking steps to make it reliable.
and THIS is the primary reason I won't touch engine mods. the car spends as much time, down, as it does up.

:glare: not worth the money/effort, if its not reliable.
Nah it's called I was in a hurry the first time and didn't want to wait to order a gasket. I expected this to happen. Also the car is only down for a week usually when something like this happens, and this is the only time this year. My car is VERY reliable, except for the head gasket. So this time I'm ensuring it is perfect. The rest of the engine always was built and perfectly fine to handle anything, but the gasket is something I cheaped out on, not realizing how easily composite/graphite gaskets blow out with high boost/combustion pressures. Once the Cometic is on and the head is clamped down at 90 lb-ft.. it will never leak again and I'll go back to boosting.

[tunerkid]

try to get the most top rated and highest pressure rated gasket you can find.
there a little thicker but it's the only way you can handle boost without have to change it all the time. the thin ass forged ones get alot more horspower cause theres less room from the head to the block but that's mainly for strictly racing

[cherrington17]

i'd rather spend my time boosting than wiring up all those led's. :p

haven't done any led work in quite some time.... :glare: i barely do maintenance now.

[[ion] C2]

try to get the most top rated and highest pressure rated gasket you can find.
there a little thicker but it's the only way you can handle boost without have to change it all the time.
Metal gaskets work far better than graphite/composite factory style ones for increased combustion pressures. I'm using a multi-layer stainless steel gasket from now on.
the thin ass forged ones get alot more horspower cause theres less room from the head to the block but that's mainly for strictly racing
Oh yeah? They make forged gaskets?

[heineck]

Damn I thought u had a cometic when the engine was built. How much boost are u shhotin for?

[[ion] C2]

Same as before.. 18-20... HPTuners and my 2 bar MAP sensor can only utilize up to 210 kPa before it just copies the last cell of the table and uses the same values for fueling etc. beyond that. So up to 20 is still safe enough. Should be fine for low 12s/high 11s.

[guiguilandry]

yeah me too I tought that.... what did you do with the cometic that I sent to you ???
Damn I thought u had a cometic when the engine was built. How much boost are u shhotin for?

[[ion] C2]

Hmm I think I sold it a long time ago. Wish I'd've kept it. Stupid gaskets are made to order and Jeg's said it was supposed to ship out on the 6th.. still hasn't shipped.

[tunerkid]

well that's what i meant. using the multilayer ones are thicker for giving up a little less horsepower but can handle more boost pressures.
forged is another word aluminum. hence forged pistons
some racing style spoon engines used forged pistons for more power and those engines always have to be gone through

[[ion] C2]

Do you think before you type?

[mfuller]

Screw it Chris.....just O-ring the block.;)

[alerored04]

well that's what i meant. using the multilayer ones are thicker for giving up a little less horsepower but can handle more boost pressures.
forged is another word aluminum. hence forged pistons
some racing style spoon engines used forged pistons for more power and those engines always have to be gone through

You have just proved you are a moron. Go do some research and then come back to this thread. Until then GTFO.

I wish I had your patience Chris, I am nearing the stopping point with mine. Want a carbon fiber hood for cheap?

[guiguilandry]

WTF ?? how can be FORGED mean the same of ALUMINIUM.... '' I dont use FORGED foil to cook potatoes on the BBQ ???

And a thicker gasket gives a little less "compression"... not horsepower... and you can even have the Cometic MLS gasket in stock thickness !! he's already got low compression forged aluminium pistons
well that's what i meant. using the multilayer ones are thicker for giving up a little less horsepower but can handle more boost pressures.
forged is another word aluminum. hence forged pistons
some racing style spoon engines used forged pistons for more power and those engines always have to be gone through

[JLw7123]

what do u expect the kid has been posting shit all over threads he is a moron i would go with the MLS headgaskets.

[guiguilandry]

Sorry to threadjack... but I do want a cf hoodWant a carbon fiber hood for cheap?

[NoSweat83]

Been a while since I've looked at this but the Wisco piston's with the cometic boost gasket will put our motor @ 8.5:1 right?

[[ion] C2]

I wish I had your patience Chris, I am nearing the stopping point with mine. Want a carbon fiber hood for cheap?
Yeah, I've run into a lot of very difficult to pinpoint issues throughout my modding of this car, and it's taken a lot of effort to make it what it is, but I'll always have the keep on trucking attitude, because the car only gets more enjoyable and more fun to drive for me as time goes on.

How cheap?

Been a while since I've looked at this but the Wisco piston's with the cometic boost gasket will put our motor @ 8.5:1 right?
When you say "boost gasket" do you mean the one with .074" thickness? The compression ratio doesn't change that significantly with the head gasket thickness options. With the stock gasket I have a 9:1 compression ratio (stock gasket thickness: .047") and now with the Cometic .030" gasket my CR will likely be something like 9.05:1 or something very minimally larger.

Also, stuck this on today. The unamused face for when I drive by:
http://ion-productions.com/unamused.jpg

[alero_bmxer]

C2;555281']http://ion-productions.com/unamused.jpg

oh my god i love this decal :lol: . where the hell can i get one

[[ion] C2]

oh my god i love this decal :lol: . where the hell can i get one
http://store.detroitmotorapparel.com/product/unamused

[cherrington17]

:lol: only you Ion.

also... weren't you the one organizing the hazard switch awesome smiley sticker, a while back? what happened to that??

[heineck]

:lol: thats awesome

[Redog]

GL with the build.

You'll get it right, but IDK why you though of using a GM gasket on a bossted app. I understand you were in a rush, but still.

Tuner kid: please stop posting. You clearly have no clue ;)

[alerored04]

When I have the cash together for a new car this one will be parted, say under a year. I'm not sure how much right now. Whats it worth?

[Lucalare]

I'm no expert on it, but I've never heard of forged aluminum rods. Pistons, yes, but not rods. The pushrods are going to be made of either chromemoly or steel, depending on what kind of money you want to spend, and they might be cast iron in a stock engine.

[tunerkid]

i'm talking about connecting rods. i heard they are aluminum.i know pushrods aren't they'd be trashed in seconds

[Lucalare]

Well same story as push rods, I've never seen aluminum connecting rods, it just wouldn't work with the kind of strain they take. Most likely is chromemoly or steel.

[heineck]

me neither, eagle rods are forged steel

[[ion] C2]

IDK why you though of using a GM gasket on a bossted app. I understand you were in a rush, but still.
With ARP studs, it should've held up; however, I went too easy on the shorter studs near where the leak originated. If everything was torqued to 90 lb-ft, it likely would have lasted longer. Either way, the MLS will endure anything that my setup will ever throw at it.

[[ion] C2]

Got the head back today. Ordered the new gasket direct from Cometic, should be here Thursday, and then everything can go back together.

Ballin'
http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small011.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small012.jpg

[alerored04]

That looks nice! Give the machinist a thumbs up from me!

[[ion] C2]

All they do, all day, is build fancy engines and do machining and fabrication. Most of them are very familiar with the LD9 and previous versions. As soon as I walked in the door carrying the head one of the guys was like "Alright, a Quad 4!" just by glancing at the head. :)

[Malibu369258]

noice!!!

[heineck]

Nice, so u just had it resurfaced?

[[ion] C2]

Yeah it was machined to the proper spec for the Cometic gasket and then jet cleaned. I dropped it off to them super dirty.

[Cliff8928]

i'm talking about connecting rods. i heard they are aluminum.i know pushrods aren't they'd be trashed in seconds

Well same story as push rods, I've never seen aluminum connecting rods, it just wouldn't work with the kind of strain they take. Most likely is chromemoly or steel.

me neither, eagle rods are forged steel

There are plenty of rods out there that are made from aluminum... either forged or billet... Less mass=more HP.

[Lucalare]

There are plenty of rods out there that are made from aluminum... either forged or billet... Less mass=more HP.

Ok, I've never seen them, but like I said, I'm no expert.

[Redog]

Looking good Chris

[Redog]

Thread cleaned. Keep it that way. this is a good thread, I want to keep it open

[clutch1]

so awesome.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/awesomealero.png

[wrestlingandrunning]

^^^Can we start a group buy for that lol

[xXManwhoreXx]

well that's what i meant. using the multilayer ones are thicker for giving up a little less horsepower but can handle more boost pressures.
forged is another word aluminum. hence forged pistons
some racing style spoon engines used forged pistons for more power and those engines always have to be gone through

Your dumb spoon uses 100% OEM parts they just balance the entire rotating assembly so they rev high trust me they make like 140hp at the wheel at like 10k rpms... not a big deal..

anyways Chris hope you have luck with the cometic I have one too :-)


anyways you should have go the precision sc6262! such a nasty turbo! Garrets are now made by 12 year old asian kids in a tin warehouse lol! joking though haha

[[ion] C2]

I torqued the head to 88 lb-ft this time.

It would've been running last night, but I ripped out half of the threads in the head where one of the exhaust camshaft tower bolts go, which holds everything up. Just need to pick up a longer bolt from this Metric fastener store on Monday (nothing's ever open on the weekend -_-) and then we can get back in business.

[clutch1]

forged is another word aluminum. hence forged pistons


Wrong. Forged means machined from a billet of metal, like via CNC.

Vs. Cast, which is metal poured into a mould for shaping.

[[ion] C2]

Wrong. Forged means machined from a billet of metal, like via CNC.
Did you smoke some of what he has before you posted that? :lol:

[cherrington17]

C2;556490']Did you smoke some of what he has before you posted that? :lol:

have you seen clutch's car? hes just sampling product! :lol:

[heineck]

Wrong. Forged means machined from a billet of metal, like via CNC.

Vs. Cast, which is metal poured into a mould for shaping.

:eek:

[widbyj]

Forging is the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging can produce a piece that is stronger than an equivalent cast or machined part. As the metal is shaped during the forging process, its internal grain deforms to follow the general shape of the part. As a result, the grain is continuous throughout the part, giving rise to a piece with improved strength characteristics.

Conventional machining, one of the most important material removal methods, is a collection of material-working processes in which power-driven machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and drill presses, are used with a sharp cutting tool to mechanically cut the material to achieve the desired geometry. Much of modern day machining is controlled by computers using computer numerical control (CNC) machining.

Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process.

Casting and forging both produce parts which need further machining to perfect surfaces before use. Forging will produce the strongest and usually lightest parts. Casting makes odd shapes easily, look at all the engine block. Machining parts from a solid block/billet of material may look nice but often is not as strong as cast or forged and is usually only done with aluminum, a soft metal.

For these reasons all of the best pistons are forged.

[clutch1]

Wtf that's what I've been told.

I remember specifically in my auto class some jackass telling me that a forged crank forged was a crank machined from a block.

Neeeeeeeevermind

[xXManwhoreXx]

lmao so much misinformation! :eek: who tunes your shit chris?

[heineck]

he does. you get it running yet C2?

[[ion] C2]

he does. you get it running yet C2?
Tomorrow.
C2;556412']Just need to pick up a longer bolt from this Metric fastener store on Monday (nothing's ever open on the weekend -_-) and then we can get back in business.

[[ion] C2]

Back up and running. Cometic sealed and leak-free. Only thing left to do is install a gasket between the wastegate and dump tube because I forgot to and it leaks noise, and the turbocharger oil feed fitting leaks oil a little still, so new fitting for that.

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small013.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small014.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small015.jpg

[Malibu369258]

Looking good, I see you got yourself a new coolant reservoir.

[[ion] C2]

Forgot to mention that. It's nice to have one whose cap screws on and off properly. I broke 3 replacement caps on the stock unit. Plus I can actually see the coolant through this one, but the carbon fiber cover will go on soon again.

Once I'm sure everything is set I'll get some videos.

[[ion] C2]

Drove it home, exhaust leak fixed. Minor oil leak at the turbo from a previous incident, new fitting arriving tomorrow.

Hopefully the cooling system will be all bled tomorrow and running nice and chill like it used to (just a hair under 1/2, always, which is 180-195)....

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small016.jpg

[spyhunter]

Reminds me of my old setup.....NOSTALGIA! <3, you still have a helluva a lot more stuff under the hood than i had. :-x :) looking good.

C2;556720']Back up and running. Cometic sealed and leak-free. Only thing left to do is install a gasket between the wastegate and dump tube because I forgot to and it leaks noise, and the turbocharger oil feed fitting leaks oil a little still, so new fitting for that.

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small013.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small014.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/headGasket2/small015.jpg

[-Alero-]

Ion - has the turbo givin any issue with the heat shielding on the firewall? also I wonder what this setup would look like with a battery relocate. Just a thought, other than that some good work on the head. Also enjoy that new reservoir while it lasts heh

[[ion] C2]

Reminds me of my old setup.....NOSTALGIA! <3, you still have a helluva a lot more stuff under the hood than i had. :-x :) looking good.
Ha yeah being that it's a top mount manifold I figured why not have everything visible. It's like bam turbo, intake manifold, BOV, hoshit.

Ion - has the turbo givin any issue with the heat shielding on the firewall?
Yeah as you can see it killed it, the fiberglass is all exposed as the black covering has fallen apart. I planned on covering the firewall with that shiny silver DEI heat shield during this process but time got short and so did money. I'll probably do it though very soon, I hate touching that fiberglass with my arms when I work around there.

also I wonder what this setup would look like with a battery relocate. Just a thought, other than that some good work on the head. Also enjoy that new reservoir while it lasts heh
I plan on having a carbon fiber battery cover for it, plus I likethe way things are laid out in my bay. The new reservoir is nice, the cap goes on properly on this one. My old reservoir's threads were messed up and it was very tight putting any cap on. After breaking 3 of them in half, I finally got a new unit. The old 3's spring loaded center pieces flew out at me when taking off the cap when they broke. lol

Cooling system fully operational. Car runs just a HAIR above what it used to "back in the day" as far as I remember. Gauge sticks right around half and the highest it goes is where you can see a little bit of the middle tick mark underneath the needle. (AKA 190-200 degrees) which is well within safe and normal ranges. Even after some wide open pulls and hard driving, it won't go above that point, so that's good.

I turned the boost to 20 psi. There's a boost leak though, fixing that today then possibly getting a video.

[[ion] C2]

Wasn't a boost leak. At least, not in the way I thought.

I've got a feeling my #1 spark plug shouldn't look like this:
http://ion-productions.com/brokenPlug/small001.jpg

http://ion-productions.com/brokenPlug/small002.jpg


I noticed it seemed at higher boost pressures 10+, the car doesn't seem as quick, and even when at 20 psi, it feels like 10, car doesn't seem to pull any harder whatsoever. Today on my way to work after tightening and re-doing all of my clamps ultra-tight and checking hoses for boost leaks, I did a short 30-70 pull, resulting in a flashing SES light. Immediately drove slowly, pulled into work and scanned the code and of course a P0300, random/multiple misfires. After work I pulled the spark plugs, #1 looked like above, the rest were just relatively normal looking, but gapped at like .050. I gapped the new plugs to .030 like I used to have them (figured maybe getting blowout).

I have a feeling though that I have a vacuum/boost leak where the #1 port is, so it's leaning out while the others seem fine. I'm going to do a boost leak test ASAP to verify this. I only used black RTV, a coat on the intake manifold and on the head to seal the intake to the head, rather than the paper intake manifold gasket AND RTV on both surfaces.

I'm hoping that is all it is, and it would explain my "hair above normal" temperature condition if that cylinder is getting hotter than it should. I regret doing those pulls last night and questioning why it didn't feel as quick as it should be. Hope everything's still alright. If there is a vacuum leak (let's hope so), and I fix it, I'm definitely not driving it around hard whatsoever until I get it re-tuned and safely straightened out.

[-Alero-]

jesus one little thing after another, gotta love turbo headaches, that plug looks seriously nasty, you dont think its another head problem do you?

[[ion] C2]

No. The surfaces were prepped properly and the head was torqued down very well. It also has a multi-layer stainless steel gasket..

Going to do a compression test and a boost/vacuum leak test though. I guess the sound I heard was detonation. If cylinder 1 is lean and the rest are decent, that will throw off the AFR readings and the closed loop operation so things may seem somewhat fine, but in cylinder 1, it's not. When I listen to the exhaust I can hear it, sounds just like when I had a vacuum leak at the head before.

[pimpalero2003]

Glad new car is already boosted lol seems like one headache after another lol but good luck getting it perfect.

[[ion] C2]

Taking my fuel injectors to Kinsler Fuel Injection tomorrow for cleaning and flowtesting. It would make perfect sense that that injector is clogged.

[guiguilandry]

true, it could be that for sure, because you clearly have not enough if no fuel at all to burn a plug like this fast... anychance that a particle of dirt got stock in the fuel rail ?? maybe

C2;557176']Taking my fuel injectors to Kinsler Fuel Injection tomorrow for cleaning and flowtesting. It would make perfect sense that that injector is clogged.

[[ion] C2]

The injectors stayed in the fuel rail pretty much the entire time the engine was torn down, but the fuel rail was moved around and away and the injectors rested on a towel over the engine bay components. The injector may have gotten damaged, who knows. They were used when I bought them.

I'm hoping that injector is messed up. It would explain my "just slightly above what I would call normal" coolant temperature since that cylinder would be running a lot hotter too. If that cylinder had little to no fuel it would also throw off the balance and power overall significantly. I'm basically missing 80-100 HP lol.

[spyhunter]

Ion - has the turbo givin any issue with the heat shielding on the firewall? also I wonder what this setup would look like with a battery relocate. Just a thought, other than that some good work on the head. Also enjoy that new reservoir while it lasts heh


with the power of SHAZAM!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1218/751271550_a43f50fe17.jpg

[[ion] C2]

Injectors tested out perfectly. :( At 45 psi they flow 60 lb/hr and at 60 psi they flow 75 lb/hr, interesting note.

Got a few other ideas I'm checking in to.

[JLw7123]

oh that sucks well do you have any leaks or is anything clogged like any of the hoses. Does the turbo spool up. how about a worn out boost controller.

[[ion] C2]

oh that sucks well do you have any leaks or is anything clogged like any of the hoses. Does the turbo spool up. how about a worn out boost controller.
That doesn't even make sense lol.

I'm going to reinstall the fuel injectors tonight (boost is turned back down to like 13 or 14, not sure yet), and then do a boost/vacuum leak test tomorrow as well as install an intake manifold gasket if there's a leak there (right now it's just RTV, no actual gasket). Tomorrow I will also install NGK TR7 spark plugs, which are one more step colder than what I have, to help eliminate any detonation.

It MAY just be because I'm running 23 degrees of advance on a poor fuel tune and 18-20 PSI on 93 octane, who knows. I'll know more after tomorrow and I drive it.

[JLw7123]

well good luck finding the problem.

[Chris2000]

Your problem is RTV man. It is not meant to be used as a gasket replacement especially in high heat areas. Check the label.

[[ion] C2]

Last time I used the laser cut fiber gasket I had to use RTV on both the manifold and the head to seal it properly. This time I solely used RTV. I have a couple intake gaskets that just were delivered so I will boost leak test it tomorrow and if it leaks there I'll redo the manifold install with the proper gasket + RTV to ensure a solid seal.

I doubt it's that but it would be nice. I'm just thinking plugs are too hot and spark is too high for the amount of boost pressure. Here's hoping.

[guiguilandry]

Good luck finding the gremlin of the melting plug.... but did you noticed some knock... checked with a scanner ???anyway it cannot hurt running colder spark plus I run 4 steps colder on my L67 than the stock ones... and it's fine even at 16 psi on 91 octane without intercooling with methanol i do get a little knock but not much

[[ion] C2]

HPTuners is not with me, it's with XanderWifi, so I have no way to log or analyze any data. I increased the spark advance by like 3 degrees, and somewhat disabled knock retard... like a retard. So I have to take it easy until I can retune.

[[ion] C2]

So I put the injectors back in, and my colder spark plugs. Car has a little bit of stumbling and the exhaust has the vacuum leak pop still. I can also still hear a unique whistling when I drive, the idle takes a while to go down at stops, the vacuum level seems weaker than udual... so I assume it's just a vacuum leak. Doing the boost/vacuum leak test tomorrow and fixing wherever it's seeping through. Likely intake to head as described above.

[xXManwhoreXx]

oh that sucks well do you have any leaks or is anything clogged like any of the hoses. Does the turbo spool up. how about a worn out boost controller.

ROFL!

Did you check you timing it may have hopped a tooth what kind of waste gate do you have? EWG or IWG? start spraying spoapy water over all your piping from the turbo to the intake mani gasket it should bubble where its leaking

[[ion] C2]

With this situation it would be an intake side leak, not exhaust. I found a minor intake manifold to head leak, so I installed a gasket + RTV and now it is sealed to 30 psi. Timing ain't hopping lol.

Colder plugs in and this seemed to have fixed things, just needs a tune. Runs great, pulls fine @ 18 psi. The idle rumble issue has been reduced to just from how I changed the tune originally. (Spark advance was always jerky at idle when I'd datalog it, just because my changes for bigger injectors, VE, and spark at idle, need to tinker with it, but the rumble is coo) Need my HPTuners back so I can do shit.

[xXManwhoreXx]

Hasn't he had your HP tuner for a while now?

[[ion] C2]

Yeah we're waiting on hpuners to fix something so he can flash a new tune I helped him set up, then it'll be sent to me so I can finish up my tune.

Lol so today this guy comes in to auto zone and asks me if my car is a grand prix. So I tell him what it is and show him the engine bay picture on my phone and describe what it has. He's like so it's just a little four cylinder? I was like yeah with a built engine and a big turbo... He's like ever think of swapping in a 3.8? I was like no... I would just beat them... he's like ha yeah right.

rofl

[cherrington17]

a customer came into work once and for some reason was complaining about her car (at radioshack, i don't know why) but she said something about hating her last car...
"because it was a 4 cyc and really slow. so she slammed her foot on the pedal, and made the engine explode. so she could go out and get a 6 cyc car."

there was no response i could give, for the level of stupidity it just heard come from her mouth. i mean... i'd have to rip my face off, and hit my other hand with it, for the facepalm to even remotely equal out.

I just stood there... staring blankly.. then walked away without saying anything.

[heineck]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[xXManwhoreXx]

a customer came into work once and for some reason was complaining about her car (at radioshack, i don't know why) but she said something about hating her last car...
"because it was a 4 cyc and really slow. so she slammed her foot on the pedal, and made the engine explode. so she could go out and get a 6 cyc car."

there was no response i could give, for the level of stupidity it just heard come from her mouth. i mean... i'd have to rip my face off, and hit my other hand with it, for the facepalm to even remotely equal out.

I just stood there... staring blankly.. then walked away without saying anything.

Shes just mad cause cause her ecotec wasn't poppin