acting lean...

[arlsmazdaspeed]

I have had my car back from the for about 2 months now. I guess when the guy had built my engine he messed up the key that locks in the crank pulley, and my timing was off. I took it to another person to fix it. They had to reset the pulley and correct the timing. NOW, the engine runs lean when I go in to boost, and the exhaust makes a popping/hiccup noise which I only had heard once since I don't want to blow my new motor. It's wierd, I run fine out of boost but as soon as I go into boost my little light show A/F gauge turns red and sometimes shuts off... Has anyone had this problem before? I took off the unichip and still leans way out. Also no cels either. I searched for 2 days before I wrote this and nothing, I'm stumped, any help would be appreaciated. Thanks

[aubrandb3]

Has your car thrown any codes?

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Has your car thrown any codes?

Nope, none at all...

[bazooka joe]

do you have a wide band or narrow band guage? how lean...#? i'd stay out of boost until you've got this under control

[arlsmazdaspeed]

do you have a wide band or narrow band guage? how lean...#? i'd stay out of boost until you've got this under control

No, I only have a regular autometer afr gauge , it's only a light show but you know when the car is running lean when it shows into the red bars , Yeah for now i'm just staying out of boost...

[DiscreetSpeed]

if timing is correct.... check gap on plugs and for vac/boost leaks. Im sure you have a boost gauge. What is vac reading at idle?

[arlsmazdaspeed]

if timing is correct.... check gap on plugs and for vac/boost leaks. Im sure you have a boost gauge. What is vac reading at idle?

my vac readingis is -22 inches . yeah I'll have to check the gap on my plugs, what should be the correct gap for my plugs?

[aubrandb3]

Does it run in the red all the time, or just after the engine is warm.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Does it run in the red all the time, or just after the engine is warm.

well, I always let the engine warm up before I start driving it , and it runs in the red when I go into boost. If I stay out of boost, she can run fine all day.

[aubrandb3]

Check fuel pressure and so forth, if there is not a code in the ecu that rules out most of the sensors.

[bazooka joe]

ya, simply speaking if you lean your not getting the right amount of fuel, but that couls be cause by multiple things...

[arlsmazdaspeed]

yeah when I get time.. I think it could be the timing off... don't anything right now..(bang)

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Well, I checked my timing and its right on ...checked my gap in my plugs, checked my fuel pump, ohmed out my injectors, and checked my vacuum hoses and pipes, everything is tight and running good...any ideas?

[arlsmazdaspeed]

bump...

[mp3-79bronco]

maybe a bad tune on your unichip?

[SeR_Cyclops]

Well he said that even after he took of the unichip it still is running lean. If it was me i would get a wideband and see what is really going on down there.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Yeah, I have my unichip unpluged till I get this fixed. Yeah, I don't have a wideband but my little light show is showing red and then it shuts off of course then it hits fuel cut... I have no idea... is there a way to test your MAF, whether its good or not?

[mp3-79bronco]

ya take it to a decent garage they have a way to test it

[SeR_Cyclops]

If you MAF was bad you would know it and your car would not run hardley at all. really it would not drive just bad in boost it would drive bad all the time. when i say bad i mean so bad that the car would barley even run.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Yea, thats what scares me...I'm about to give up and take it somewhere.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

well, I tested my wastegate again and now it I can push air through it, which means its bad, right? It takes some pushing of air by mouth but it seems to go all the way through... is this bad?

[SeR_Cyclops]

yes its junk.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

yup just ordered one from atp...

[SeR_Cyclops]

when you go to change it you do not have to take the turbo off all you need to do is take off the two nuts and that clip on the end of the acuator, i also took off the intake and the hot pipe to give me some extra room. when i went to put the new one on it wouldnt fit so i pumped it up with air (with a air hose) and slid it on.

[xtrememps]

You mean Wastegate actuator. If your wastegate was gone you'd have to get a whole new turbo...or a different manifold and an external one.

[arlsmazdaspeed]

I finally got around to putting in the new WGA on the car, which reacted nicely. At WOT the A/F gauge was pinned to green (rich) and off the throttle it went red (lean) . I took it out for one night, maybe a couple of hours driving and then the next day I start driving and the A/F goes yellow and then stays at red whether I'm at WOT or partial... I checked my spark plugs and they are starting to turn white, signs of running lean. I have no idea what to do.

[mp3-79bronco]

my plugs were whitish, and theres no way in hell im running lean lol..

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Well, I hope that doesn't mean I'm running lean either, But still my A/F gauge is reading red and I can hear the exhaust making a wierd gargle noise when I'm at partial throttle...

[arlsmazdaspeed]

any ideas guys?

[mp3-79bronco]

check the connection on your narrowband...mine was f'n up the other day...although that wont fix your problem, it may explain the readings

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Yea, I'm gonna recheck to make sure it on the pink/blue wire...

[MS3_KIDD]

what are your fuel trims?

[mp3-79bronco]

also could that gargle be a exhaust leak? use seafoam and watch for leaks

[arlsmazdaspeed]

what are your fuel trims?

I have the regular autometer that shows you a light show it goes from red to green ....couldn't define my fuel trims...

[arlsmazdaspeed]

also could that gargle be a exhaust leak? use seafoam and watch for leaks

no, When the car isn't running lean it won't make that noise...as, I stated earlier when I just had replaced my WGA it ran fine for a day and then went lean again...

[MS3_KIDD]

if you have access to a decent scan tool you can look via the obd2 diagnostic port you can look at a live data screen with the vehicle running and look at the fuel trim and see your short term adjustments the computer made and short term expressed in a %

if you have CEL on, you can use the scan tool from advanced auto or auto zone and look at your freeze frame data and see your fuel trim as well
(i dont think the scan tool from above said stores has the live data option)

looking at your long term fuel trim you would be able to see the adjustments the vehicle is making in the given conditions it sees and your short term would be the fine tuning of the long term

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Yea, I don't have a cel either, thats what sucks, I know it something stupid just don't know what it could be, I am starting to think it the timing off again. I checked it and all the lines lined up but I think the line on the aftermarket crank pulley what got put on wrong...

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Well, I just got her back from the shop. The timing is on right, none of my sensors are bad, All vacuum hoses tight, plugs good, fuel pressure good, all ignition checked out and nothing to explain why its running lean all the time now. As soon as you turn the key , its running lean. I don't know what are the trim values yet, as I am still running a narrowband gauge. The guy at the shop said that I needed to get the car tuned to add more fuel because when I built the engine, the cylinders were bored out.. Does anyone know if that true?? Something sounds funny to me about that one. I'm going to get a obd2 tool and try to find the problem my self..I have taken it to 2 different mechanics with no results yet. Any ideas would appreaciated... thanks guys