adam

Hi gianic, I am in northwest athens..by marousi.

im not doing too good right now...

adam

I've been riding w/ this setup for almost a year...Is there a possibilty this could impact my engine in a bad way ? and to what extent ? should i be worried if this was running lean the whole time ?

thirdgen

iTrader: (26)

You need a WIDE BAND OXYGEN SENSOR. Such as an AEM or I prefer the Innovate LC-1. I wideband will tell you exact numbers, and you need to know this. You have your air/ fuel gauge hooked to your stock narrow band I assume, that's why it's going all over the place. Good thing you are only running 5psi, if you were running 15, there would be involuntarily destroyed internals. Like, oil pan with a connecting rod sticking out of it, or melted rings. You are probably running way lean when you go into boost. Get a wideband like I said, and most importantly, make sure you have your AFPR connected correctly.

brgracer

iTrader: (14)

Okay, I guess I'm feeling nice today, or maybe b/c x-mas is around the corner....

#1 Your wastegate may be loose, but is not the problem since you are seeing 5psi on your boost gauge.
#2 Are you sure your clutch is not slipping?
#3 You can have normal base pressure of 40psi with the AFPR hooked up wrong
#4 Yes, running lean in boost can damage your engine, but your compression numbers look decent so don't hammer it until you get this sorted.

That being said. Find your fuel rail (attached to all four injectors and intake manifold), on the back end of your fuel rail is the stock FPR (basically only thing attached to the fuel rail) with a fuel line coming off it. This should go to the IN port of the AFPR. Then the OUT port of the AFPR should go to the hardline by the charcoal canister.

If the AFPR is attached to the other fuel line attached to the fuel rail then obviously a problem. If the IN/OUT lines are swapped then again a problem. Finally, there should be a vaccuum line attached to the vaccuum port of the AFPR so it raises fuel pressure only in boost. If this line is missing or disconnected then again a problem as the AFPR will not raise your fuel pressure when in boost.

adam

well i can tell for certain that the vacuum line is a hose line that is open ended and not connected anywhere. I was told by Bell enginnering that this line has to feel atmoshperic pressure. So one end of it should be left open...Did i understand this correctly ?

thnxs btw

adam

let me ask another question..if 40psi at idle can still be wrong setup. what psi should it be at when throttle is open ? Can i determine if its wrong that way ? under throttle ?

curly

iTrader: (25)

yes, and its usually hooked up to a small check valve. there's two vacuum lines though, that one going to the atmosphere, and another that is spliced into the stock fuel pressure regulator.

It would be extremely helpful if you could post pictures, specifically of your fuel pressure regulator setup, your turbo itself, and possibly your intercooler setup, it would help us diagnosis the problem.

brgracer

iTrader: (14)

There are two vac line ports. The one with the **** should be left open to atmosphere. The other should have a vac line from the intake manifold attached to it (aka the signal line).

Yes, if you can monitor your fuel pressure gauge while driving, you can see if the AFPR is working. If your base pressure at idle is 40psi, then you should see somewhere in the ballpark of 6-8psi of increased fuel pressure for each psi of boost. So at 5 psi of boost you should see somewhere in the ballpark of 70-80psi of fuel pressure.

adam

Il check that while driving...good tip. Yeah, pictures speak a thousand words...

thnks for helping out guys...

Stephanie Turner

You can double check the FMU Install here:

http://www.bellengineering.net/templ...System.wpd.pdf

Did you check the vacuum lines for the boost gauge? The one on the turbo? What about the "C" clip that holds the actuator rod on? Clutch slipping is entirely possible too.
Stephanie

gianic

iTrader: (6)

Ok im from Ag.Paraskevi.

Get a wideband controller and then we are starting to talk about it. It s very dangerous not knowing your afrs when you boost.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

can I sofa surf with you guys when I go to Santorini?

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

+1. Just because you don't hear knock, it doesn't mean your engine is not knocking.

Stay off boost until you're definitely sure you are not running lean while on boost!

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

lol!

But even I need translating!

WTF are you talking about now hustler?

hustler

iTrader: (6)

they live a hell of a lot closer to that place than I do.

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

Not that part; the one about sofa surfing!

curly

iTrader: (25)

old college (school) term for crashing (sleeping) on your buddies couch (sofa) as he's driving (or flying) through town(city).

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

Oh, ok thanks!

adam

hehe....sure anytime hustler. Its as nice as it looks in pictures..Ive been there at least 3 times. Its a real nice place for a miata too...thats for sure.

Stephanie, thanks for the material on the FMU. I will look at that first thing in the morning!

yes Rafa, i guess a wideband is mandatory...im just upset i wasted 30 bucks on xmas lights for an afr gauge.... Those widebands are at least 200 bucks. But if its worth saving your engine right...

just out of curiosity...what would be the impact on an turbod engine thats running lean for like 6 months ? If any ?

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

I sincerely doubt your engine would be running after 6 months lean on boost!

BTW. did you search for "02 Sensor clamp"? I'm pretty sure your stock ECU is part of the problem.

Olderguy sells them in this forum.