I think I found a problem that might have been causing my vacuum readings to be high. I think the one way check valve for the vacuum canister is in backwards. Just to make sure, air should be sucked from the UIM into the canister, right? The way it is currently installed the air is sucked from the canister into the UIM.

 

The "airflow" is from the can to the UIM. The can provides no vacuum but needs it from the UIM.

 

Ok, then we had that right also. I guess that makes sense, with FI you don't want the pressurized air to get pushed into the can causing the valves to shut. Hense the check valve. Got it!

 

Secretly? No. I hoped you had because that would have been a simple solution.

 

Yeah, that was what I was hoping for also. Now I am leaning towards fuel pressure but that is going to be harder to pinpoint.

 

Fuel pressure? Uh-oh, conspiracy theory up ahead. Sabotage!

 

You might as well forget that notion for good. After the Hell I went through I won't make THAT mistake again.

 

If there is a problem I'm sure there is a valid reason for the problem. Only way to tell is to check it.

 

I hope you get it fixed soon because your starting to sound like Vanilla Ice, and thats a sign of aggravation.

 

I've got 20 years worth of hooks! Riffs and chops, too.

 

I didn't work on that section of the car, but I know who did.

 

Yeah, both Kyle and I. If there are any issues with the install I'll take the blame.

 

I have already taken a look at the fuel pump/pressure regulator and it appears to be installed correctly. I just need to know what the fuel pressure is. If its just 5-10 lbs off it could cause problems. The sucky part is that there is no way to check the fuel pressure on the RX8 without some sort of an external gauge.

 

Thats what kind of sucks about a problem in a big project like this, you put on so many new parts that there is so many places to look to find just one problem. I'm hoping something is just connected wrong or loose and nothing is defective.

I'm going to try and put on as many parts as I can while my car is still in N/A form to try and somewhat lessen my places to look. Its a good thing you have your truck, I cant have very much down time and trouble shoot in my spare time. I'd be franticly trying to fix my car so I didn't have to pay $20 a day to take a cab to work.

I know it is no help to you but I am definitely taking notes on your experiences.

Added to my list of parts -inline fuel pressure guage

 

I made some changes to my setup and took some more readings today. I put a screen before and after the MAF and I re-routed my vacuum lines. My car ran better for about 15 minutes before it died. Also, the smoking is getting better.

My vacuum at idle is between -17 & -19 inHg on a new vacuum gauge. I started to establish an LTFT today (+1) but I have still only driven it once for 3.4 miles. I think the LTFT will continue to change as it runs more.

 

Any updates on your trouble shooting?

It's not even my car and its eating me up wondering what the problem is...

 

I talked to a couple of shops and they gave me some leads to try but I have not been able to work on the car. I had to paint the kitchen for the wife because keeping her happy is essential. I also need to get a couple of parts that will eliminate a couple of the variables. If everything works out I will try to take it for another short drive this weekend and datalog the results.

 

-17 - -19 inHg is pretty good. I usually idle around -20inHg to -18inHg. Your old readings were ridiculous. What was your STFT??

 

I think I am going to buy another vehicle because this kinda crap can happen to any of us, and it has me worried about Turboing my car... There's an 88 rx-7 for sale down the street from my house for $1300 maybe I'll see if they will take $900

What can I say after getting my first Rotary 2 years ago, I prefer nothing else

 

That would make a sweet daily driver. My first rotary was an '86 that I had to sell to go to college. I've been trying to get back into a RX ever since!

 

Its actually closer to -20 inHg but when it stumbles it will go as low as -16 or -15. My STFT is all over the place. Anywhere from -14 to +12. I ordered some parts today that should be here tomorrow or Friday. They will help eliminate the BOV from the problem equation. Hopefully it will be the BOV because that is an easy fix. If not, I also have a plan for checking the fuel pressure but it might take a couple of days. After that, I will check the spark. If its not any of those, it is probably in the tune.

 

And the saga continues....

I got the parts today to recirculate my BOV in order to see if that is what has been causing my problems. Well, I installed everything and started my car. This is what it looked like right before I shut it down.




This is what it looked like after I took the turbo off...





I need to talk to the shop but this should not have happened after only 5 times of starting my car and letting it idle. I only drove it for 3.4 miles and I never went into boost. I am pretty sure that the turbo was bad from the beginning.

 

oh **** tdiddy.

 

is that coolant/oil on the hotside? Or is that gas?

 

Its Royal Purple in both the turbine and the compressor. There was a lot of oil in the compressor and now there is oil in the manifold and the downpipe. It has been smoking ever since I installed it the very first time. At first I thought it might be from everything being new. Then I thought the smoke was from the exhaust wrap. But yesterday, I knew what it was. After I started it and it smoked like that, I pulled my EGT probe and it had oil on it. I knew what the problem was at that point. When I pulled the coupling from the compressor outlet oil started leaking out. I couldn't believe a brand new turbo would have both the seals go that fast.