v4 kinetix plenum installed... but bogs during engine crank?
 

Hi. i just installed the kinetix v4 plenum and test drove the car. car cranked up fine like stock and i took it for a wild spin to test it out. came back home and told my friend to test it out hours later... cranked the car, rpm fell down to 0 and the car stalled. cranked again, same deal... so i cranked it with some gas and the car fell to a very smooth idle. turned it off and cranked it again with a long start and the car fell to a very smooth idle. i then proceeded to drive the car for 30 minutes and turned off the car in attempt to see if the car will crank up normally... but it doesn't!

anyone have a clue what i am talking about? idles and rpms are very smooth and nominal though.. no bogging while riding! only during crank/ignition... :( seems like car is not getting enough combustion to start?

Let us know what Kinetix tells you tomarrow; I think everyone is stumped.

did u check to make sure everything is tightened? did u reattached the MAF correctly....check for leaks and etc....could be you didnt tighten all the bolts....referred there before asking kinetix....but i am pretty sure it is bolts....if im wrong then i have no idea...did u put the gasket on??

Ben

I want this v4 plenum. :(

Yeah, i am hopefully getting this soon, i hope there isn't a problem. That sounds weird.

for install, i removed the z-tube with the popcharger still intact with the maf in the appropriate location. all coolant and vacuum lines have been double checked: 1 under z-tube, 1 left of plenum and 2 under throttle body. bolts have been torqued down in a 5 star configuration similar to our wheels to ensure a uniform seal.

last night i sprayed some water and couldn't find ANYTHING around the plenum seal... so, i am thinking it is the throttle body. just to make sure and triple check again, i will replace the throttle body and plenum gaskets and retorque again. otherwise, i will put back the stock plenum on while this item goes for sale.

also, the bog happens when the car is hot-cranked... when cold-cranked, the car does not stall at all; logical, since considering the engine needs more air to warm up the car with higher idle. when i turn off the car, i get an interesting BOV like sound, or a engine shut down sound from a sci-fi space shuttle. ~_~ i guess... it's a leak.

i'll perform the duties tomorrow and post up any updates later on... thanks for the replies guys!

safe and happy motoring.

Are you going to call kinetix and see what they think?

i am pretty sure they'll just tell me it's a leak from the symptoms... i'll call them once i attempt to fix this problem.

Well, cause if it is a leak, and everything you have reinstalled is tightened down, it might be defective and they would give you a new one.

It is possible that it is a crack. Once the plenum gets warm the plastic could be more pliable allowing the crack to open a little wider.

no! no v4 cracks!

I'm going to agree with teh215 and everyone else.

These are the symptoms of a leak. You must have a crack that you don't see. Try the stock plenum without touching the maf and make sure it's not that or the throttle body.

Otherwise, I'd probably try to send this one back in and get another one.

this sounds interesting, as it is the only case I have heard of with the probblem you are descriving.

The first thing that will ALWAYS let you know there is a leak is a rough idle. Even a tiny leak will cause the idle to be rough and sporatic.

You say your car idles strong and smooth, so that would eliminate a leak possibility.

Let the car sit idling for about 5 minutes and see if the idle continues to run strong.

Also, for a leak to be causing the problem you are describing, it would have to be a major leak.

You can try resetting the ECU, also check the hoses attached to the plenum, you may even remove them and make sure they have clear passage into the inside of the plenum and arent blocked.

my idle is smooth, however in recent events the rpm needle did steady around 500~600 rpm. never jumpy at all. i'll see tomorrow. once again, thanks for the replies!

no problem, I am sure it is something simple.

just let me know

I have a similar problem with my kinetix that i just installed. I installed it two days ago, and drove to san diego and then back the next day, no problems. I used all the thread lock etc.. on the bolts as stated in the directions. Today i was driving around, and i noticed that the plenum was rattling, against the strut bar i think, (so i put washers in to correct this). But today, when I parked the car, I went into a store, came out, and the car wouldn't turn over. It cranked, but wouldn't start. This only happened once. I popped the hood, to see if anything was wrong, and i couldn't find anything. i unplugged the MAS and quickly plugged it back in. Car fired right up. I figured that it was K and N oil on the MAS diode, and just drove on. I stopped the again at another stop, and it fired up with no troubles. I went home and looked at it, and the bolts were a little loose, so i tightened them all down. We'll see what happens from here

People with the Kinetix plenum have to be sure to re-torque the plenum bolts and nuts, since plastic does expand and contract, but be careful not to overtighten as you can crack it.

I can only figure that my problem was due to the plenum not sealing well.
I didn't throw a check engine light, but i checked my RVIT, and it shows that there is a code stored in the ECU. So i reset my ECU.

That is interesting with the code, and usually I always suggest resetting the ecu after the new plenum has settled in.

I have thrown lights by turning the key in the on position while things have been unplugged, etc.

thanks for the heads-up nosaccordh22. i guess that could explain WHY my car fires up perfectly during cold-cranks? either way, i think i should retorque down in 1/8ths (per lsdunique's instructions) once the engine has been warmed up... or perhaps when still on.

thanks!

edit: also, lsdunique, do you sell replacement cork gaskets for the plenum?

we dont sell replacement gaskets, mainly because they are trimmed once adhered to the plenum. We do however offer
re-gasketing for a very small charge, where we clean off the old gasket, clean in and re-adhere a new gasket.

this requires the plenum to besent back to us for a couple days however