fixing the daily, again

[1st Gen]

Car is 1991 Protege LX with BPT swap with 100K on it. Rebuilt by me a few years ago after over heating it and ruining the GTX head. Replaced intake and head with BP j/y finds. Bored block, 10:1 pistons, vj20 turbo freshly rebuilt. ++

If somebody were to come at me with an e153, or a Kia intake, I might be interested. I don't have a lot of money but these are problems I need fixed. Information is golden. My current solutions are working but they're imperfect. Am also thinking of new clutch. My spec 2+ is getting pretty thin at this point.

Other problem to fix are oil burning from improper break in, rebuilt turbo getting noisy possibly causing my power loss, shifting front suspension causing my alignment to always be off, stripped drivers side window.

The engine hoist is in the process of getting fixed. I can't replace it unless I make some kind of effort to fix the leg I bent using it to pull plugs out of the ground from fence posts that had rotted off. Am still cleaning the garage to make it ready. I plan to source the gasket set from NAPA so if they give me the wrong one, I can simply take it back. A set for a big nose crank will have the wrong pan gasket. I'm thinking of doing the intake cut mod. I ruined one intake being impatient and now believe I could do a proper job. I also have a better tool to do the work with so no more 4" grinder.

Needed still.
4 cans parts cleaner
break in oil and filter
My old magnetic oil plug was stolen by crows during an oil change last summer and needs replacing
rings for .020 over
gasket set
Permatex



Inspect head carefully and make sure I got seals in properly.
hone cylinders and replace rings

maybe remove high flow cat since car is past DEQ
fix leaking radiator, (pin hole leak)
I very much want to be three quarters done with this by the end of vaca two weeks from now. We'll see how that works out.
As usual, I'll be updating and editing the thread as I go. I'm going to attempt to not make any of the same mistakes I've made in the past. I must be running out of things I can do wrong by now.

[1st Gen]

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[1st Gen]

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[Cloud_Strife]

"My old magnetic oil plug was stolen by crows during an oil change last summer and needs replacing"

LOL

[Pox]

Nice, good luck and keep us posted! And you know we like pics of everything.

[1st Gen]

I just got off the phone with the guy that rebuilt my turbo for me. The usual spooling sound has gotten a lot louder so I'm concerned there might be something wrong. Wow. lol. Talkative guy. He's going to look it over and make sure everything is A-Okay.

I've also decided to pair down my plans a bit. Instead of pulling the engine and such, I'm going to pull the head first and have it gone through by a guy that knows his stuff. If the head turns out to be the problem, I'll be money and time ahead. It's a gamble but it's a good one. (i hope)

[1st Gen]

[FE3-323]

yikes, those plugs look nasty

[Cloud_Strife]

Are those detonation marks? What's your compression?

[1st Gen]

185-190 on all cylinders.
That looks like mostly gas on my oil dipstick. That would explain the noise coming from turbo, and those plug sure would be one cause for loss of power.
All the Google searches about gas in the oil suggest an injector problem, but I'm skeptical.
I'm not sure what to make of this.

Edit-I've only use premium so assume the plugs look like this because of the oil going through the engine. I've been trying to decide between valve seals or rings, but this would suggest a valve seal on an intake valve. If that's the case, I might be able to fix this without taking the head off the engine.

Just spit balling but it looks like path forward.

[1st Gen]

From what I've been able to gather so far,

I had the cars timing advanced too far. This is what I attribute the cracked spark plugs to. It's also running too rich. I have a wide-band coming in the mail to help with this. As I recall, it was only one click on the VAF between this and turbo cutout. One click the other side was very rich. Not sure how to deal with that yet. Tuning---

I'm going to buy higher quality piston rings this time. I didn't consider that budget rings might not be up to a turbo application with the higher compression. I haven't decided whether to have the machine shop hone the cylinders or for me or buy the tools to do it myself. Buying single use tools is a poor way to store money. If Mike does it, I know it will be done properly.


Napa offers oil analysis for around $26. This would help me figure out why my oil turns black so fast and what wear is actually happening. I was thinking carbon in the oil but it could also be burnt. I may not have installed a bearing properly because of all the distractions that day and I'm suspect of the entire build. I'm going to pay particular attention during disassembly to see if I can see any smoking gun. I've never used plastigage before but plan to this time. I'll decide at that point whether or not to replace the bearings.

I don't know where the gas in the oil is coming from. Hoping the new rings fix the problem is not the way I want to deal with it. It has been sitting for several months so maybe there's some leakage past the rings. (just spitballin)

Replacing the spark plugs should take care of power loss.
I'll have proper break in procedures this time.

The engine hoist if fixed and nearly ready for use. I could have had it out this morning but spent time making a detailed log of what I'm doing and things I need to keep track of. That's the think about a Frankenbuild. Buying parts gets to be a PITA.

I'm still considering
clutch
alternator upgrade (lol)
filled motor mounts, or otherwise modded
cat delete (no longer needed)
intake manifold cut, (I ruined one, I know what to do now)
Monday is Memorial Day. Pick n Pull is half off. I might try to source a spare transmission, intake, window regulator, whatever.

[FE3-323]

subbin for the outcome!

[1st Gen]

Sorry for not maintaining this thread during the process. I think I'm done though.
Things done,
rebuilt GTX injectors
new iridium plugs
upgraded to 90 amp alternator
new Spec 2+ clutch and pressure plate
some coupler clamps upgraded as necessary
new upper radiator hose
replaced the magnetic oil drain plug
I had a filled RF motor mount I swapped in there. It looks like somebody just smeared some rubber cement into a regular motor mount. I'll keep an eye on it.
Valve cover gasket (the oil leak)



This car really needs LSD, second gear is still disappointing every time I shift, and it needs an alignment. ---and it only took two years!
Still needs drivers side window fixed. Stripped because window is fouled. I live in a drive through so this needs a fixin.


I was all set to rebuilt the engine until I took the exhaust manifold off. I checked the compression and it was the same as the exhaust ports. All the same. I noticed during the tear down process that there was oil all down the front of the engine. Bam! Leak.

Yea so---The oil I found in the intercooler is a bother. It's been three years since I've had this turbo rebuilt so it looks like I'm going to ignore it until something caches on fire.

[FE3-323]

So im a bit confused. Is the motor shot? What are the compression numbers

[1st Gen]

So im a bit confused. Is the motor shot? What are the compression numbers

The engine seems to be fine. It's been months since I tested it and don't remember the numbers. I think it was the combination of the battered plugs and injectors that were affecting performance.
(185-190 on all cylinders)