Looking For Input/Suggestions

[NAJ]

Hello To All,
I know this is a long thread but I would appreciate you reading it and your input.
As you may or may not know I hit the track for the first time in 17 years(same car) and there was no power/torque at WOT, car ran 18's.
BUT..... Was still pushing 11 lbs of boost with no problem, Car seems to run fine at 1/4 -1/2 throttle daily driving, 18" HG at idle, car still gets 21/31 mpg, and absolutly no driveability issues at all daily driving.
I have been over everything with a fine tooth comb since and this coming Thursday or Friday I will be back at the track for another test and tune.
The car still feels the same on the street after some repairs so I am not very confident.
Unfortunatly I cannot duplicate the track conditions on the street because I need to wind out in 3rd gear, don't want tickets or accidents.
If the issue is still present I would like input from you guys.
Here is what we did to this point.
1) Checked fault codes, none present
2) Checked and Rechecked Cam Timing.
Today we spent the day playing with Cam timing, retarded it one tooth and lost 3" HG, Advanced 1 tooth and the car had a difficult time starting so back to where we were originally.
3) Checked ignition timing, was retarded 12 degrees.
This was my fault, just wanted to get the car done when we had the head off in Feb 08 and just assumed that if all timing marks were aligned the ignition timing was still correct.
4) Checked fuel pressure, found a FPR issue and replaced the FPR and Pump since it was 20 years old. We also replaced all rubber lines with new fuel injection hose. Filter was replaced 2 month's ago with a Mopar.
Static Pressure is 56 psi, engine running at idle with 18" HG rail pressure was perfect at 47 psi.
We verified boost and fuel pressure on the road with gauges taped to windshield.
Boost was 11 psi and fuel pressure was at 67 psi under full boost.
5) Injector balance test showed all 4 injectors suppling the same amount of fuel.
6)Checked exhaust backpressure, read 0 psi at idle but found it unusual that it read 3" HG at 2000 rpm's, I chalked it up to exhaust flow and the turbo, do not know for sure since this is the first turbo I ever checked exhaust backpressure on.
I am assuming that an exhaust backpressure issue would create a boost issue as well which I do not have.
7) Swept TPS and found no issues and WOT voltage is 3.55.
(Controller see's anything over 3.50 as WOT)
8) Replaced CTS since a new one was only $10.99 at Advanced and the other was 20 years old so....why not.
9)ACT sensor was replaced 1 month ago due to a code 23 with a Mopar sensor.
10)) No plug fouling or deposits, cap/rotor/wires less than 3 months old, K&N Filter just recently cleaned and recharged.
The only thing we did not verify yet is Map Output Voltage at 11 lbs of boost.
Hard to do when it is always raining.
Anything I overlooked?
Thanks,
NAJ

[turbospirit]

3) Checked ignition timing, was retarded 12 degrees.

[NAJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbospirit 3) Checked ignition timing, was retarded 12 degrees.

Like I said that was my fault and the car was running that way for 1 1/2 years. and I never noticed any difference.
Hoping(praying actually) that makes a difference on the 1320.

[NAJ]

Purchased an Adjustable Cam Sprocket today so Cam Timing will be eliminated as an issue.
Just for S***S and Giggles replaced the braided ground strapes today, they were only hanging on by a thread.

[4Daytonas]

AS YOU KNOW EACH TIMING TOOTH IS APPROX 9 DEGREES.WAY TOO MUCH EACH DIRECTION. yOU'LL LOVE THE ADJUSTABLE CAM GEAR. I BELIEVE CORRECTIONG THE IGNITION TIMING WILL CURE 99% OF YOUR PROBLEMS . 12 DEGREES retarded IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE!! Sorry for the Caps! I don't type while watching I type by peck. Back in the day of super modified drag racing,we had the cam off 8 degrees and when we put it in straight up we picked up 3 tenths. My drag car will lose a tenth if the ign timing is off 3 degrees!

[puppet]

A tooth is actually 18* crank. Way too much.
NAJ .. guessing that you're running the original cam? That'll spec out to be like an '89 T2 cam. I'd grab a nice looking, later year (90+) TBI 2.5 cam and install that @ 0* for starters.

... heh, take a sawzall to the exhaust right before the CAT. Make a straight section up to the first hanger with a down turn. Can use those SS band clamps they've got today to fit it up. Get to the track and drop the restrictive OEM system CAT back and slip on the shorty. Put the OEM exhaust where some Honda can roll it over for ya.

[turbokid]

Curious to know what kinda compression you have?
My lebaron was 100 across the board and ran slower then shit on 15 psi of boost.

[NAJ]

Never checked compression or ran a leak down test, that will be next after the Cam Sprocket is installed.
Did not seem like an issue since there are absolutly no driveabilty/misfire/rough idle/loss of vacuum issues but......
We all know what "assuming" does.
We pulled the head in Feb 08 because of a valve seal issue and the keepers would not break loose on the car.
As it turns out the seals are not the problem, #2 plug fouls out(not enough to create a misfire, idle gets a little rougher and I clean the plug and all is good again) with a white crusty buildup after about a month or so which is oil burning so it seems the valve guide is the issue(hopefully not oil rings)
Since we had this apart so many times I also noticed a slight amount of oil in the air induction tube off the turbo so I am guessing the seals are going but absolutly no smoke.
The only smoke that was visable by friends watching was on the first pass when I hit overboost at 5000 rpm's in 3rd, the car nosed over and puffed black smoke for a second.
That was a line from the turbo to airbox we overlooked after installing poly shifter bushings.

[NAJ]

Ran the engine tests tonight, compression and cylinder leak down.
Compression was exactly 120 PSI on all 4 cylinders.
Cylinder Leak Down test was done at 80 PSI regulated pressure and the results were....
#1, 70 PSI, 12.5% leakage
#2, 73 PSI, 8% Leakage
#3, 76 PSI, 5% Leakage
#4, 70 PSI, 12.5% Leakage
The leakage on 1,2,4 is within specs and the leakage is past the rings, heard the air coming from the oil cap.
In my opinion those results are pretty normal for an engine with 132,000 miles and no driveabilty issues, oil burning, blowby, etc., other than a 3 second ET loss in the 1/4 mile from 17 years ago.
Also installed poly mounts tonight.
Always (or so long it seems like always) had a vibration under hard acceleration, you could feel it in the body of the car.
Well...... now it is gone.
Will be back at the track on Thursday to see if any improvement was made after the repairs that were made.
I certainly hope so, I went over this car with a fine tooth comb and replaced anything that was suspect, except the engine itself.
The adjustable cam sproket has not arrived yet.

[NAJ]

Car is fixed!!!!!
132,000 miles and 90,000 on the clutch.
Not what she used to be ET and 60' wise but some things were actually better.
Part of the 60' problems were the driver and the clutch I am assuming. Also the poly engine mounts, reduced rear end squat and engine movement so the tires grabbed.
Had 2 firsts tonight that never happened in this car even when she was new.
Broke 88 mph and chirped 2nd gear 3 times.
Top end pull was absolutly amazing.
Was shifting at 5500(and lifting when I shifted) and hit the stripe in 3rd gear at 6100 rpm's and still pulling.
Here are some time slips.
All of the runs were against my Son in his 94 Sundance Duster 3.0L Automatic.
He is running 2 1/2" exhaust, high flow mufflers, 52mm TB, advanced timing and drag radials and heavy duty clutches in the A604.
I am AR33 on the time slips(my # from my bracket racing days 17 years ago)

[boboli]

Congratulations
Amazing how much you picked up with just the right timing. Did you ever get the adj cam gear and try that out. Is your son upset that your stock car beat him.
Side note: why do all tracks have broken weather sensors. I live in a desert, so I'm no expert, but wouldn't 100% humidity mean your under water!
The track hear says that the baro is 27.74 every time i go out there. At first i figured that this was part of my problem, but 1 month later it said the same thing
Congrats again!!

[NAJ]

Actually the ignition timing was part of the problem but we also replaced the fuel pump, FPR and all rubber fuel lines and I did forget to mention the timing belt was loose 2 weeks ago.
I put the adjustable cam sproket on and it by its design it was much easier to verify true center of the head.
Cam timing is dead on factory marks and I was happy with 16's so we did not touch it tonight.
Have a Mopar meet on Nov.8th so I am leaving it as it is for now.
I am not even sure they had the weather turned on, tonight was muffled cars/motorcycles and most of those guys don't care, they just want to go fast.
My son has a weather station and the temp was 53 degrees, barometer 30.02 and humidity was 89%.
We just had a storm front move thru from yesterday to this afternoon.
He was not upset, but I was surprised, most of the night we were really close.
We got in about 8 passes, all against each other and we were trying different things, he did beat me twice when I bogged at the line and ran 16.40's.
I also was concentrating on the launch and he hit me on the tree big time and I never caught him, he took the stripe by .0373, I ran 16.27 and he went 16.44 but I was .228 on the tree to his .020.
First pass when he was out on me I thought "F**K!!! Still having problems" but the car kept pulling.
If you look at the time slips he had me all the way to 1000' and then I pulled on him and passed him.
Made me happy since I am a bracket racer and pulling hard top end is great for a bracket car, makes you hard to judge.
Actually he said he could not see me, I was in his blind spot then all of a sudden I was on him.
And on top of all that the driver still has it after 17 years, 000 light first pass, hard to do with a manual trans.

[turbokid]

Wow excellent. Glad the car is doing well as is the driver I see :)
Congrats on getting the car all worked out. Hope the best for you on the 8th

[Reaper1]

I see your 60' times are kinda bad, so it explains some of the ET, but I would have thought that car to be in the mid/low 15's unless it's heavier than I think it is (around 3100#). Those TIV engines were rated at the same 174hp as the TII, but they made more low end torque IIRC, due to the basically instant spool of the VNT. 88mph definitely indicates you're making the power to do it as I think that's what my ShelbyZ trapped when it was bone stock and I ran in the mid/low 15's IIRC. I know my car weighs 3115# with me and a full tank(weighed on race scales).

[NAJ]

The shipping weight on the car new according to the label was 3030 lbs so 3200 with me in there and fuel was at 1/2 tank(7 gallons)
When the car was new the 60' times were 2.23, 1/8 mile was 9.90 @69 and 1/4 mile was 15.60 at 87+, never hit 88 mph.
The car used to squat really bad and unload the front end, I think the poly mounts stopped that, no wheel spin at all last night.
I was leaving at 2000 rpm's, I assume if I increased rpm I could improve the 60' but one of the priorities was no breakage since she is also my DD and I LOVED the top end pull.
No breakage is also the reason I lifted on shifting.
Gotta tell you though the poly shifter cable bushings made a HUGE difference, absolutly no problems shifting.
Since I have a Mopar meet on the 8th and have not bracket raced in 17 years I was focusing on hitting the tree and not launching so......