Hi All,

I think i need some help from you FI experts..

My car is a 03, with about 31k miles, FI mileage is about 25k, some mods: HKS rotrex s/c kit, 7psi boost, aam spacer, cusco oil can, stillen dual exhaust, and the HKS piggy back was programmed for stock setup(will A/F rich?)

stock internal, drivetrain(6 spd)

Here is the problem:

My car was put away for winter about 4 months, and today i took her out for a wash. When i was driving, i found some wired, and very noticeable smell. It smells like coolant or rubber... so i opened the hood, but didn't find anything wrong..and I didn't push the rev hard at all..
i checked the dipstick, oil level was in the middle, 2000miles since last oil change, oil is redline 5w-30.

Before I put her away for winter, i noticed the car might burns oil, from the reading of the dipstick, but no smell at that time...
Last summer, after i changed my oil from Mobil1 5w-30 to RP 5w-30, I found this oil consumption problem...

my idle vacuum reading is -15hg
i searched, and noticed the normal reading for stock engine should be around -20, so if FI'd, -15 is normal or not?

what might be wrong?
Piston ring, head gasket? or oil maybe?

where should i start with?
check the coolant? or oil? compression test?

some inputs will be appreciated
thanks!

 

Check Vacuum lines for cracks and then if you don't find any
get to someone for a leakdown test. That is better than a compression
test and will let you know if anything is wrong and where the problem
is.

 

Yeah, that vac is pretty low. On a stock compression motor it will be about -20hg, and on a built low compression motor it will be around -17.5 to -18hg.

Check your coolant for carbon.

Check under the car on the front crossmember and between the tranny/block for oil. The burning may be a bad rear main seal.

Make sure your AC works and its not leaking refridgerant.

Also, make sure your clutch isn't going bad or in or leaking fluid.

Finally, do a compression and leakdown test.

There may be a slow leak somewhere in the system that is just burning off now that you've started driving again, but the vacuum discrepancy may be concerning.

Good luck.

 

thanks a lot for the help!!

So today i opened the oil cap, and i found mixture of oil and coolant, inside of the cap, the "milkshake" thing..

Possibly bad head gasket?

 

Bingo!

 

thanks...

time for a built motor?

i am not hungry about power, and don't want to spend huge money into it.. because the current hp(325whp) is pretty good for me..

so, any suggestions on the parts? piston, rod, gasket, etc...
i would like to spend about $2k on these..

Thanks!

 

HKS headgaskets, eagle rods, and name your pistons (at that power level it doesnt really matter). Also add ARP head and main studs, and some replacement crank and rod bearings, and you have a shortblock that will easily stand up to the rotrex sc. You can pick up all that stuff for ~$2k.

Why the stock engine failed at such low whp, I dont know... Bad luck I guess.