I just bought my 03 WRX 2 days ago, car had the check engine light on when I bought it but was told it was just where the MAF had gotten wet, or where it had a 9.5lb flywheel put in it and the change in mass was tripping it... Had to drive 9 hrs to get the car(ebay), and bout halfway home I noticed when I was cruising like 60-80 and gave it some gas an started pushing boost (anything over like 0.3-0.4bar) and let off the gas when the boost drops an hits about 0.2/0.1 it sounds like it is just blowing off the excess boost(2 whooshs like from the bov) but the car would kind of jerk, and it sounded the turbine in the turbo is rubbing something, (you can hear it turning when ## not into it full throttle at like 7-10lbs of boost) If you let off the throttle real easy, and kind of ease back into it slightly when the boost is dropped past 0.1/0.2 it just blows it out the bov an seems normal.. I'm not real sure to be honest.. Also every once in a while when downshifting, or just lightly revving it the car kind of backfires, not real bad and its usually only like one irregular exhaust note each time.. I got the check engine light checked tonight and it had 4 codes, MAF sensor, missfires on cylinders 2 and 4, and an one about the EGT. I didn't think at the time to write the codes down though... I was told the car had a different compressor in the turbo, and the ecu has been reflashed by an ecutek dealer and was supposedely tuned on a dyno, though I didn't get the dyno sheet... Car seems to make good power though, pushes boost good, and other than that seems to run good. It has the greddy profec b boost controller and a greddy turbo timer, blitz bov, front mnt intercooler... Here is a link to the ebay page for the car and a better list of mods.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-Subaru-Impeza-WRX-300-HP-L-K-Save-big-over-STi_W0QQitemZ250077266649QQihZ015QQcategoryZ31868Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250077266649 This is the first turbo I have had that wasnt really stock so I'm not sure if any of this stuff is normal or what the deal is. Any advice you all have would be much appreciated...
I would baby it to my local tuner and have them checkt the tune. it sound's like something isn't right there. That boost controller could be causing it to run lean.
Yea the most I have taken it to is 1.3, and I have only done that like twice i usually keep it around 0.8-0.9 max, and usually don't need to go that high. I haven't heard of anyone having this problem before, if you baby it off of the throttle it just blows it off like normal as you ease it passed 0.1, but it u just let off the gas and let the pressure drop it really doesnt sound good at all I'm not sure how exactly to describe it, but it blows it off twice pretty quick and u can really feel it jerk the whole car, I thought it might be bad backpressure but im not sure... The blow off sounds really good when it is behaving normally, but like I said if ## cruising in gear and boost it up without changing gears and just let out of it it does that... I'll try to record it an post a .wav or something of it
i would honestly remove boost controller and the bov, replace with stock bov and try another form of engine management and more importantly have the car tuned. it was also be a good idea to have a egt gauge installed and do a compression test on car for peace of mind. i would also research about the cylinder temp problems. does the maf look damaged or is it stock?
I believe it is stock, the thing is the hood on the car isn't functional but it had a leak right above the MAF so I have it covered in plastic until I can fix it. I would like to have some kind of boost control that I can change, I try to keep it pretty low, around 10-12psi max. Any recommendations? The bov i believe I will probably change out back to a stock one after reading up on it a little more...
Hrmm I was just checking over a BOV page on nasioc an found this, do u this might be part of my problem... ?
Are there any negative effects with aftermarket BOVs? Yes. The downside of releasing the air to atmosphere is that it has already been metered by the mass air sensor, and when it blows off, the ECU will be injecting the wrong amount of fuel into the cylinders. The engine temporarily runs extremely rich, meaning too much fuel is injected into the cylinders.
This temporary rich condition isn’t usually that harmful, but it can cause bucking or hesitation on lift-throttle. If the condition is really bad, it can eventually foul spark plugs and even clog the catalytic converter as unburned fuel on the catalytic converter burns very hot, and too much of it can melt the cat.
12-13 is stock level. drop the boost controller and take it to a tuner. missfires are from being rich so thats really weird. i wouldnt drive the car until you can get the maf issue adressed and get the tune checked. a datalog would reveal a lot on whats going on. with the maf messed up and it leaking and the bov your car is throwing a hotdog in a hallway on its fuel trims.
____________________________
Robby
02 rex is gone.
I defected to an evo :)
Yank that #$*&ing boost controller out of your car immediately before you do any more damage to your engine. If your car is tuned it needs to be set at a level specified by the tune. You don't want to manually adjust your boost unless you can fully monitor your A/F ratio. If you really feel the need to have different boost levels then you need to buy a Cobb Accessport and go see your local tuner.
Yank that #$*&ing boost controller out of your car immediately before you do any more damage to your engine. If your car is tuned it needs to be set at a level specified by the tune. You don't want to manually adjust your boost unless you can fully monitor your A/F ratio. If you really feel the need to have different boost levels then you need to buy a Cobb Accessport and go see your local tuner.
Ditto and take off the BOV, I know the sound is cool and everything, but why put another part on the car that could cause a prob.
Not to scare you or anything, but I would not believe what that guy told you in the Ebay add. All those parts were changed out for a reason Good luck with everything though Oh and the car does look clean
I just talked to the guy I got the car from, he said he had read that the missfire codes could be thrown by the lightweight flywheel on the car... And he said the jerking and bucking from running partial boost was where the car was tuned to be run at full boost (1.3-1.4 bar) and that at partial boost the jerk from letting out of it came from where the turbo was running so fast ... Does this sound right, or am I in a heep of shit with this car?
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Good luck with everything though
Oh and the car does look clean
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