Randy,

Let me know when you get the motor out. We have to start by checking the oil pressure problem first. You cant give them an accurate oil pressure since we never had good pressure. Also if the turbo died from OIL starvation and or contamination you wont need the restrictors the next time around.

 

Thats Not It...

If I remember correctly, you totally removed the little yellow piece shown below, because you didnt know what to do with it..?? That IMO, is cutting corners..

 

The car had the DEATH WHINE... Its a notorious and unmistakable sound. Whine, and then smoke... All from the driver side. Not to mention oil in the inlet of the turbo..

 

"Originally Posted by Kenk2
IMHO, I think your turbos are fine... I honestly hope I am 100% wrong... Cutting corners in a build is not something you do with this or any car.. When we talked on the phone about your tuning, you mentioned about the issue you had with your CJM Return Fuel System.. Now I am not saying this has anything to do with that but if you cut a corner there, where else were you not 100%?"

You're killing me Ken. LOL The fuel system was not a problem before the stage 2 upgrade, nor is it a problem now. There was never a problem relating fuel when I had the turbonetics and there is no fuel related problem now. The temporary leak I had was due to a failure of the compression fitting.

Other than that, if I go system by system, I can guarantee 100% on each component just for you Ken...

cylinder Heads install w/torque specs in hand 100%
cam install w/torque specs met 100%
valve covers install 100%
timing cover to spec o-rings 100%
The list goes on.
Down to the turbo install 100%
I already admitted my only flaw on original install was my failure to include the 2 o-rings when installing the upper oil pan, so I guess I failed on that component. That is what lead to my oil leak situation before I got to the point where I am now. (Thanks for reminding me) But that was not cutting corners, I simply didn't know I needed them. Everything else worked out very well I think.

 

Randy, for what it's worth, if its hasnt been done already, do a quick compression check and a leak down if you have the proper tools...before you take the engine out. Whenever we see a smoky car, I always eliminate the big nut first (the engine). I have seen smoky cars come in, with chipped ring lands, still make good power and drive normally. Not saying that is what happened, but just do it. It reminds of the situation with Todd a while back. Car ran fine, but started smoking at the track. Thought it was the turbos....repaired them....still had an issue...ending up being the engine.

 

Hey Sharif, Thanks. You are the second person to suggest the compression test, so I guess I will try to get that accomplished before dismantling. Thank you. I'll let you know what I find. Any idea what is the normal range for an 8.5:1 compression engine set-up?

 

Consistency between the cylinders is the most important thing. Every engine is going to vary, but anywhere for 125psi to 160psi is normal for a low comp VQ35. They just need to be relatively consistent between the holes.

 

Any Updates on the rebuild?

 

yes, he swapped the twin turbos for a pair of twin tities : )

 

He got a sex change? What?

 

"i wish i had 4 hands to give them ******* 4 thumbs down"

 

Yeah, I did a compression test about 2 weeks ago and found that the driver side was weaker than the passenger side.

Driver side Passenger side
Cylinder 2 135 Cylinder 1 150
cylinder 4 140 Cylinder 3 150
cylinder 6 135 Cylinder 5 150

Today I just succeeded in pulling the engine and tranny out. It took the majority of the day. My next day to look into the potentially damaged parts will be this Wednesday. That's when I will have the turbo's off and in my hands.
Kyle said he wants the motor back to check it out.
I hope to ship it out Wednesday.
That's all for now.

 

Damn man. Big delays

I hope everything works out for you. Good luck!

 

heh, hope it's not from running too lean trying to make that kind of hp on that psi. Good luck bro, you've had some of the worst luck.

 

It will all come together in due time. I'm in no rush. I had some great luck getting some space to work on my car and having access to a lift. This was the biggest gift I could ask for...considering its winter time. Its not exactly as easy as working in my spacious back yard. LOL
Anyway, things can only get better. The engine is out and I will be checking out the turbos Wednesday. Not exactly sure what to look for, but anyway, I'll be bringing them back to my dealer for a thorough check up.

 

I knew it Randy...Sorry to hear that,hope everything works out.

 

Thanks Julian.
But even with this info, I am still not 100% for sure where it went wrong. As Sharif stated, it is normal for a low compression engine to yield results anywhere from 125-160psi per cylinder.
I am sending it back to Kyle just to be 100% for sure, meanwhile the turbos will get checked out as well.
I'll update you guys as I find out anything new.

 

Yes, but the "consistancy" amongst the cylinders is the most important.All the lower compression cyliders on your compression test, are all on one side. Which concearns me greatly,especially if that was the side the smoke was comming from on all of the dyno pulls, and the supposid bad turbo. The smoke would indicate a damaged ringland on the pistons, and this would show a lower compression.
The "Death Whine" Junior described usually indicates broken or damaged compressor blades.
Now if the low compression is on the same side of the "Death Whine", the pistons or ringlands may have cracked up a bit and shot some pieces of metal into the exhaust side of the turbine,destroying the blades,causing the "Death Whine".
But hey, what do I know,Im only internet diagnosing,and FYIFYI, we have not tuned any REAL cars.. FYIFYI..

My theory, is one side of the motor went leaner than the other and detonated the pistons to crap first shot, and cracked the ringlands,causing the smoke.Further attempts to keep tuning, sent pieces of pistons/rings, into the turbo, thus destroying the turbo blades, causing the "Death Whine" Junior described. The damage to the pistons got worse as the tuning session went on, which explains the very high numbers in the onset, followed by the numbers drasically reducing as the smoke worsened and the "Death Whine" started.
This is why it is VERY crucual on a Twin turbo set up to monitor both sides of the engines A/F ratio, as we do with dual O2 sensors. On a single set up it is not really possible to do this unless you catch the signal at the manifold.
I would ask Junior, if he was monitoring BOTH sides for A/F,? What the A/F was on both sides? What the knock count was? Was the stock ECU pulling timing?
perhaps these answers will help you narrow down what exactly went wrong.

 

I appreciate your input. Definitely something to think about. But as you said, you and I are both just speculating (internet diagnosing). Once I get the engine back to Texas, I will get some more definitive answers from Kyle and I can move forward from there.

 

I didn't realize it was possible to monitor A/F on both sides when tuning.