My Build Thread

[1.5]

Battery was pulled for 2 hours and tightened down the intake but same problem when I fired it up again, but the stalling out has started back up. So it wont idle again unless I give it gas

[Focus_Sh1ft]

You didn't run the car at any point with the O2 sensor in still, but unplugged, did you? Doing so will ruin the sensor VERY quickly. Out of curiosity, how did you wire up the wideband? Anything else you messed with recently?

[1.5]

Step by step what I did is:

-unplug battery
-unplug stock a/f sensor
-cover stock sensor with supplied protector from AEM and place gently on pass seat
-screw in AEM wideband sensor and plug into AEM gauge and wired gauge up to power/ground
-reconnect battery
-fired up car and immediately saw what I was doing wrong, the car threw a lean code and the AEM a/f gauge showed the ratio spiking all the way up to 19s
-Realized that I was causing a problem by removing the stock sensor and leaving the ecu
harness unplugged
-unplugged battery
-removed all the AEM equipment and replaced the stock sensor
-plugged stock sensor back in
-plugged battery back up
-fired it up and it started bogging and misfiring and stalling out

[1.5]

So on my commute home finally my CEL came on and these are the codes now:



Its no longer reading cylinder 1 or 3 misfires like before but it still sputters. It also doesn't fluctuate at idle as much either. It kinda stays around 950-1100 with AC on and around 550-700 with AC off.

Here are my readings at idle

[Focus_Sh1ft]

P0101 is the code that everyone throws when they install a new intake improperly/seat the maf improperly... Unless you actually have maf problems, which is unlikely. I'd try reconnecting the maf connector just in case. I know you haven't really touched anything on the intake side, but I'm still leaning towards a leak, and P0101 further supports that idea.

[1.5]

Since I didn't really mess with much where should I look for the vacuum leak? Is there a test I can conduct myself similar to the smoke test. I know you boosted guys use compressed air to test seals. How detrimemtal to my engines life is daily driving it right now?

[Focus_Sh1ft]

It really depends on how bad you're misfiring. It seems like during normal driving it isn't too bad, which suggests a fairly small leak since you're only seeing problems during idle. Obviously, it should still be fixed asap.

You could build a boost leak tester which would serve the same purpose to find a vacuum leak. You can get all the parts you need from Home Depot on the cheap. I'll see if I can find the guide I used to build mine...

Smoke machines are quicker and more thorough though.

[1.5]

Ok thanks! Is a "smoke" test common practice? I typically do my maint at my boys shop which is a full service shop but it's no toyota or aftermarket installer, I just dont know if he would have the means to do that.

[Focus_Sh1ft]

Yes, very common. That should be the first step to diagnose a vacuum leak by any competent mechanic. Basically they put a plug in your PCV port on the intake and throw a bunch of smoke in the intake. Smoke will come out of any leaks that you may have.

[1.5]

ok Ill see if I can take it over to him. Thanks for all your help man.

[1.5]

Great success!!! I really was sick of my idle/lean issues so I decided to take apart my almost entire breathing cycle and reinstall and found a couple pain points. Removed the air intake and throttle body, took off my header, removed and reinstalled the a/f sensor and this is what I found:

-the coupler attaching piping to TB had a large crack running down each side
-the vacuum line had a hole in the portion facing downward
-cleaned a ton of soot off the header/exhaust donut
-Extremely tight A/f (stock one I was able to unscrew by hand)

After replacing the coupler and cutting myself a new vacuum line, replacing everything, cleaning the donut, and loosening the sensor, I fire it up and let it idle. Immediately I notice how smooth it runs. Pull my OBDII reader and clear my CEL. Re run the code pull and get the always delightful "there are no fault codes stored on the ecu" message. Snap shot some of my readings and notice revs right where I want them and the afr back to ~13s-14s. Thanks again to Focus and Derrick you guys convinced me not to give up that it was a vacuum leak and I seem to have found it. Not sure why it never popped up til I started messing with the a/f sensor but I am much happier lol.

[HANZO_187]

Hell yeah!!! I was talking to my boy Eddy at work about that and he said it might of been a problem with the Throttle Body or the case of the leakage. Awesome as hell you got the problem solved!!

[Focus_Sh1ft]

Nice. Always great to see a problem solved.

[1.5]

Originally Posted by HANZO_187

Hell yeah!!! I was talking to my boy Eddy at work about that and he said it might of been a problem with the Throttle Body or the case of the leakage. Awesome as hell you got the problem solved!!

Yea its hard to say since i did like 4 different things, exactly what the problem was but I am just happy its back to normal. Today again on my morning commute everything ran fine.

Originally Posted by Focus_Sh1ft

Nice. Always great to see a problem solved.

Thanks again man.

[ilikerice]

Cars do that.. Once you start playing with thier insides they get all pissy and start making leaks where you never touched before just to piss you off.

[1.5]

For real duuude lol.

It was my car telling me "F*** the management give me more AIR!!!!"

[vten]

I want more , I want more , we want more ...just like that little girl on tv commercial ..lol

[1.5]

hahaha thats so funny I referenced that same commercial for something similar this morning lol