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Got my O2 sensor setup last night, and its working fine.

gadgetSC

I'm still setup on the LS400 MAF....I took it out for a quick ride around the neighborhood this morning. Started up and had a smooth idle, I pulled quite a bit of fuel on the safc after the first ride because of the smoke after 2500rpm and noticed quite a bit more pickup during boost. I am getting hesitation at 5k rpm and about 7psi so I dont push it any more. I'm still going lean, there is much less smoke but the fjo goes down to about 10.5 - 10.8. Dont think this MAF and 550's is gonna cut it with the SAFC. So with some luck, I may get my VPC working this weekend. I received my new chip a few days ago and gave it a quick try.....I am reading voltages as I should this time but it idled like crap and I got the check engine light with code 31 - air flow sensor...even with the resistor . I would really like to get this sorted out because I find myself looking down that AEM road

anyway here's a couple more pics

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electronics minus the vpc

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before bumper install

One HoT

iTrader: (5)

i'm speechless...Looks breathtaking....Can't wait to see it in person...

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Today I got my VPC connected and running well. I was able to control idle with the idle **** and monitor the changes with the fjo. I wasnt sure of the safc settings so I started with +10% across the whole range and took her out. It ran wel up to 6psi and got the hesitation again and the fjo read 10.5 rich, and some smoke from the exhaust...so I set the safc hi throttle setings back down to 0 . This time out I boost to 12.8 psi with no hesitation but still reading 10.5 on the fjo. Still had a little puff of smoke but much less than before. That was it for the day...so back home while I let her idle and cool while checking for leaks or loose connections and found everything OK More to follow



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Wanted to wait till I knew this worked before I posted my last fix.
I had been trying to figure out my puff of smoke while building pressure. I had originally used the stock setup for the left side of the valve cover hose to the throttle-body intake. This setup worked fine until I boosted over a few pounds and started to see smoke from my exhaust. Turns out I was pressurizing the crank case and also pushing oil out of my oil cap.
What I ended up doing was to remove the connection and use a $9.00 breather filter on the valve cover. Right away the car stopped smoking under load and no smoke at all when under full boost.
Anyone hear of this???

Car's running great now. I really have had alot of time for testing. I have my fuel setup at 11.5 - 12.0 A/F at 10psi. Its like driving a new car. I was very surprised to get tire spin when my auto shifted from 1st to 2nd. So was the guy nex to me in a new 350Z who thought he was going to beat-up on a SC300. He was so suprised that I tried it again with the same results, this time I got so much spin in the shift I felt the rear end really break loose. I'm loving it!

Here's a pic of my latest fix

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Have you done a compression test????

Lex Luthor

go gadget, go gadget, it's your birthday...

gadgetSC

Scott....No compression check. What are you thinking??? Possible valve guide seals? I considered that. Could they be fine while NA and bad under boost?




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bump

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Valve stem seals will cause smoke just after sitting at a stop light upon initial take off... The reason I asked, was cause you mentioned that you were pressurizing the crank case. A pressurized crank case can sometimes mean rings. You said the smoke was reduced through the vent that you devised. I'm just curious. How much oil consumption do you have? As a reference, I'm using about a quart for 2000-2500 miles of hard driving/racing. Oil wise, at idle and under most conditions, you can see just an ever so slight amount in the exhaust under the right conditions if you the car behind you has its lights on, for instance. This is on a 150k mile bottom end with good compression. My engine is loose, but not too loose yet. Probably have another 50-75k before the bottom is completely worn. Smoke on the vacuum/boost transtition could also be a turbo oil seal problem? That is what I'd hope for as turbo rebuilds generally are simple. I did both compression checks and a leak down test. I'd strongly recommend going straight to a leak down test as this test can tell you where and how bad the leakage is: piston rings, head gasket, valves, etc. Leakdown tests are also more accurate. In simple terms, you hook an air compressor up to your spark plug hole, a gauge measures leakage in terms of percentage. Its the amount that seeps out a a given time. You can then listen to the hissing noise that the leak makes. If you hear the hissing at the exhaust pipe, you have an exhaust valve leak (I did). If you hear hissing at the intake, you have an intake valve leak. If you hear hissing or see bubbles in the radiator fill, you have a head gasket leak. If you hear hissing in the oil fill cap, you have worn rings. New engine leakage numbers can be as low as 2%. I'd say that at 10% you have something that needs looked at. I got my leakdown tester for around $45 on Ebay.

Also, if its the piston rings, you should be able to see smoke at idle, under part throttle and under boost.

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Scott, thanks for the speedy reply. I considered the compression and leak down checks prior to adding the breather filter. I didnt really devise it. After reading through 500 posts on Supraforums and anyplace else I could find on the subject. I did find someone who did an SP57 install and used this same setup, which is why I tried it. The one reason I didnt break down and try the checks are, not having the right equipment and considering the miles on the car. I'm just finding it hard to think that a possible ring job or even valve seals would be needed after only 83k. I've babied this thing from day one. Prior to turboing the car I had no problems with oil consumption or smoke. The car ran like new. I havent logged enough miles yet to monitor any oil loss. I had considered the valve seals because its the only thing that I didnt change during my install. Is it possible that they could have dried out while sitting on the bench? I also looked for the obvious signs like light smoke after idle or at a stop light which I didnt have. The head gasket is a brand new and installed exactly as the manual stated.
Do you see any downside to running it like this? I had already convinced myself to pull the head and do the stem seals prior to trying this breather, but it worked fine so far, But I will be looking for a leakdown tester(another gadget for the collection). I would like to know myself. Thanks again



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I really doubt you'll hurt anything. I'd just run it for 3000 miles, log the oil consumption, take a gander at the sparkplugs, make sure its running around 14.7:1 a/f closed loop and around 11.0 + or - under WOT. You have the FJO, so just keep a constant eye on the a/f. The neat thing about my TechEdge 1.5 W/B setup is that you can adjust the stoich point --- It has a simulated narrow band 02 output that you can feed your stock ECU, which is adjustable from around 13:1 to 16.5:1. Its a little pot on the board. I think you mentioned that with the FJO you need two 02 sensors to feed one to the W/B and one to the stock ECU.

The advantage of the adjustability is that after running WOT and fouling plugs at the track, you can then lean it way out and burn that junk off of them at 17:1. Less sparkplug changes. Fuel mileage on the highway is also outstanding at 17:1, around 30+mpg. Around town 17:1 is a little jittery, though. Idle with upgraded cams is lumpy at 17:1.

For those running an autometer a/f gauge, I definitely wouldn't trust it. I've seen it indicate all green (rich) and the wideband is reading. 15.5:1 or something like that. It's just not accurate.

gadgetSC

Found an instance of a breather filter used the same way. If you can see it back there. Just wanted to post this after finding it on Supraforums. Its from DaveH's car. Gotta ask him what prompted him to do this.I wish I'd found this a few weeks ago.



P.S. Thanks for your help and insight Scott



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