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Old 01-03-2013, 06:28 PM   #1
GigglesTheBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 309935
Join Date: Feb 2012
Default Hesitation from stop, very long story, SOLVED!

Last time I was on here I got a lot of hatemail for asking a question before, so now I have taken the time to create a new account, search for possible solutions, along with the time to answer the three questions and type up a thorough account in hopes that others may take their time and help me. That said lets get started!

I have a 2003 WRX, I got it around June of 2011 with 110k. At the time it had:
K&N Filter
Injen Intake
Gimmick Turbo Inlet
Forced Performance HTA68
740cc Injectors
Gutted Uppipe
TurboXS 4" downpipe
3" to a Flowmaster muffler
Exedy stage 2 clutch and lightened flywheel

Quick review and symptoms below the Wall-o-Text

The first 3k miles I drove HARD, but watched the oil on every fillup, since that time it's been daily driving, with the occasional 0-100 pull. No more than 10 pulls. Around 6k miles after this I had a coilpack go out in the passenger side, took it to SOA and they replaced it completely, unsure of which cylinder. I'm actually going to look for the documents now that I think about it. Spark Plugs were changed at this time.

Since that time I had met a friend we will call Bob. Around Spring 2012 he found a great deal on a set of brand new headers and uppipe. Worried about my uppipe not actually being gutted and grenading my turbo, we pulled it out and installed the headers and uppipe, which is a similar model to Tomioka, but doesn't have any identifiable markings(but in good quality and new). At this time we were doing his downpipe as well and I didn't notice he had snagged my front o2 sensor to block his downpipe hole, this didn't come up because the headers had supplied the bolt to block the hole, and he had my front o2 in his downpipe for the summer. I had a code that I never looked up, that we thought to be the uppipe code, so I let him try to remove it, using the 2.2k resistor mod. He told me he did it but it didn't work. My car didn't run bad at all, felt as smooth as it did when I first got it, but I still had a code that was never checked. After this time I had 2 bolts completely fall out that he had tightened, and another one "heat sheared" off, but stuck inside. I replaced 1 bolt and tightened it well, since this I haven't heard(or seen while seafoaming later) it leaking even missing 1 bolt.

Since this time I have learned a lot more than I knew when I first got the car, and started to question him more, but he continued to tell me he has completely built this car that car yada yada, so I trusted him.

So Fall 2012 comes along and I need to do emissions testing the same week I start school. I talk to him and he says he can help me out. I take my car to him and he gives me his car to drive, which had just gotten antilag and again he told me to thrash it. I told him strictly to remove the codes and see if it would pass without the engine light on, and if it didn't pass do whatever he needed to get it passed, IE tuning. I get my car back, the CEL was on but it ran fine and he told me it passed the second time.

Over the week it got worse and worse, to the point where I couldn't understand how he COULDN'T have noticed the start of the slight hesitation. I also started to notice on shutdown it would make a "clunk" from the passenger side of the engine. This was somewhat pre existant, I had heard it maybe once every 20 shutdowns, but was so quiet it wasn't noticeable. After he messed with it I could hear it every other shutdown. As it got colder it got worse, I started to get worried when it started to do 3 clunks in a row and asked him about it, he told me its probably slap, not knock like I thought it was. At this point I asked about my O2 sensor, and he seemed like he completely forgot, we installed it, he got my bolt, and after a drive there wasn't a CEL and it ran a little better and I was happy. The "clunk" on shutdown continued. The CEL came back sometime after.

I asked him to reclarify what he had done to get my car to pass. He had originally told me he had gotten in the ECU, and claimed he had reduced the short term fuel trim under 3k RPM, as to not run as rich and to give me better MPG's. Then after avoiding him for sometime he happened to be on the road and confronted me about it, I tried to explain the knocking going on and tried to demonstrate but couldn't recreate the sound. He told me its probably a vacuum leak, I called bull**** and asked what he did to the ECU, this time he told me he hadn't even touched my ECU and had never wanted to so the car wasn't messed up, he told me all the tuning he did to get it passed was done under the hood, as in the boost pressure regulator(?) next to my turbo. I tried something I found online, blowing cigar smoke through the intake to find leaks, I couldn't find any. I tried a homemade leak test using low pressure and soapy water, still couldn't find anything, so I asked him again, he told me the MAF is probably going out or dirty. I read a tip that lightly tapping on top will cause the engine to stutter if it was bad, no stutter at all. I decided to clean it, however it turned out I only cleaned the IAT gauge. After I thought I cleaned it I reset the ECU, and it ran POOR. It would last 5 seconds and cut out, over and over. It wasn't very drivable so I searched for a solution online and purchased an IACV gasket and cleaned out the IACV with gas and q tips, the "motor" was sticky and wouldn't turn. I was able to get it idling mostly right, at least to the point that I could drive it without it cutting out. I seafoamed it to further clean the throttle body and beyond. Since I had cleaned the IACV no CEL had come back on.

Since this I've been troubleshooting the best I can. I decided to stop messing around and bought an Actron 9580a(not the best decision I should of gotten Tactrix but don't have a debit card at the time, plus I figured I could actually help OTHER people with it) to hopefully help me diagnose and read codes. I bought the Actron that was able to read and record live Data, not as good as a datalog but has some info that I hope someone can dissect better than I can.

FINALLY: to present day. Last week I had a code pop that I could finally check! It was a misfire in #1 and #4. The "clunk" sound has been coming from #1 I assume. I thought about the lightened flywheel but the problem never came up in the first 3k, only a CEL that flashed 3 times and disappeared.

2 days after the code popped it disappeared and never came back. My car is running worse than it ever has and even makes the Knocking noise while moving at low speed while turning. Also sometimes at idle when it drops after going into neutral and coasting.

Quick review:
Friend did "something" to pass emissions
Replaced IACV gasket and cleaned it out
Cleaned AIT sensor
Bought Code reader
Misfire in #1 and #4, code dropped after 2 days
Cleaned MAF correctly this time

Symptoms:
Rough Idle, cleared up but still rough.
Big pause from time I press gas to the point I have power to apply through the clutch.
Sometimes "knocks" on these starts from stop.
After he returned it, for a short time it would shoot out black smoke over 7 PSI, avoided boost and now, after seafoam, does not smoke but does sound different under boost.
I can drive around smoothish if out of boost, can also bring the revs up slowly and after 3.5k things ease up and it can build boost nicer like before.
When it doesn't build up nicely it bucks and sounds like you hit the rev limiter at 4k and I need to shift.

I know there's not really a question but I'm wondering what the best approach is, I don't want to take it to a shop and get ripped off, but if its a tune I need then I'm wasting money. Vise versa, don't want to pay a tuner across state to fix mechanical things at tuner prices. My car as of today is BAD, its under 10 degrees out and until it warms up all the way its completely gutless with no power. It's also been knocking for some time now and I'm worried about my internals at this point.

For those of you who read all of this, pat yourself on the back, sorry I'm so long winded, just rather not be one of those guys who posts something that isn't even english anymore.

I have "logs" but they are just a snapshot about every 4.5 seconds. Here's a pull where I had hesitation around 5k in second gear from awhile back, I'll take more through logs later tonight if it helps.

Ghetto Logs:

20-60 2nd gear pull, Not WOT but full Boost and pushing what I have been doing recently.

FRAME: 0 TM: 0.0

MIL STATUS Off
ABSLT TPS(%) 0.0
ENG SPEED(RPM) 2606
CALC LOAD(%) 1.6
MAF(LB/M) 0.48
MAP("HG) 5.9
COOLANT(°F) 185
IAT(°F) 46
IGN ADV(°) 25.0
ST FTRM1(%) 14.1
LT FTRM1(%) 14.8
VEH SPEED(MPH) 22
FUEL SYS 1 CLSD
FUEL SYS 2 N/A
O2S12(V) 0.025
ST FTRM12(%) -0.8
O2S11(V) 4.031
EQ RATIO11 1.102
OBD2 STAT CA

---------------------

FRAME: 1 TM: 4.6

MIL STATUS Off
ABSLT TPS(%) 19.2
ENG SPEED(RPM) 2481
CALC LOAD(%) 15.7
MAF(LB/M) 3.63
MAP("HG) 25.4
COOLANT(°F) 185
IAT(°F) 46
IGN ADV(°) 38.5
ST FTRM1(%) 25.0
LT FTRM1(%) 14.8
VEH SPEED(MPH) 29
FUEL SYS 1 OPEN1
FUEL SYS 2 N/A
O2S12(V) 0.045
ST FTRM12(%) -0.8
O2S11(V) 2.625
EQ RATIO11 0.756
OBD2 STAT CA

---------------------

FRAME: 2 TM: 9.2

MIL STATUS Off
ABSLT TPS(%) 28.2
ENG SPEED(RPM) 5686
CALC LOAD(%) 32.6
MAF(LB/M) 4.55
MAP("HG) 10.9
COOLANT(°F) 185
IAT(°F) 46
IGN ADV(°) 38.5
ST FTRM1(%) 0.0
LT FTRM1(%) 5.5
VEH SPEED(MPH) 54
FUEL SYS 1 OPEN1
FUEL SYS 2 N/A
O2S12(V) 0.935
ST FTRM12(%) -0.8
O2S11(V) 2.928
EQ RATIO11 1.043
OBD2 STAT CA

---------------------

FRAME: 3 TM: 13.8

MIL STATUS Off
ABSLT TPS(%) 10.6
ENG SPEED(RPM) 3268
CALC LOAD(%) 11.4
MAF(LB/M) 2.44
MAP("HG) 13.9
COOLANT(°F) 185
IAT(°F) 43
IGN ADV(°) 36.5
ST FTRM1(%) 18.0
LT FTRM1(%) 14.8
VEH SPEED(MPH) 63
FUEL SYS 1 OPEN1
FUEL SYS 2 N/A
O2S12(V) 0.300
ST FTRM12(%) -0.8
O2S11(V) 4.158
EQ RATIO11 1.038
OBD2 STAT CA

Last edited by GigglesTheBugeye; 01-05-2013 at 03:54 PM.
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