Goldfingiz

Well guys, as you know I went turbo. Anyway, today it was working great, no detonation, nothing...ran great for about 10 minutes. I'm on the highway and in 4th gear at like 6k RPM and i hear "PSSSHHHH" as if my BOV went off. I was still on the gas though. Anyway, I pull over to the side of the road. My car was smoking, like when my valve cover gasket was shot. Also, I didn't have a 10mm nut on one of the grommets where the splug plugs are. I revved the motor and the grommet lifted a little as if there was pressure under the valve cover. We checked the valve cover gasket and it was fine. Then we did a compression check...and it was ****.

1st Cylinder: 160
2nd Cylinder: 130
3rd Cylinder: 60
4th Cylinder: 170

Whenver the car is on, it smokes. The higher the RPM (revving/driving it home from friends) it smokes more. Can it be a blown ring? Head gasket? The car does not overheat. We figure it's a ring.

Something else that was interesting was when we hooked up the boost guage, it was at 12 PSI. What the ****? The guy I bought the turbo from told me it was stuck at 8 and can't be less, can't be more. I also have a stock B16.

Anyway, this weekend we are installing LS pistons/rings. Hopefully after that we'll be A-OK.

Any ideas what it could be though? Is it the rings?

Thanks so much guys, you've been very helpful and we were boosting for about 10 minutes successfully until this happened! Please help me out with the final stages!

Thanks,

Goldfingiz

PureTeg420

Just because your wastegate spring is set to 8psi, doesn't mean it won't spike. You've probably been running 12psi this whole time and without a proper fuel solution, this can be the result. BTW by the looks of things I'd say you cracked a ringland. And if your going to take the time to put it new pistons and rings, do NOT put cast LS pistons/rings back in there. They are weak and your just going to experience the same thing again...in time.

Goldfingiz

Hey thanks for the reply! Another thing is my TurboXS boost controller is set all the way down (lowest) and it still boosted 12 PSI. It's a very small turbo out of a Probe, and was boosting 8PSI when I bought it. Not sure what's going on with that. Maybe I need a digital electronic boost controller? =\

Goldfingiz

Goldfingiz

Also, I was just wondering. Why aren't LS pistons good? In my b16, they'll bring the compression down to 8.5. At 8psi I should be safe...no?

Goldfingiz

PureTeg420

manual boost controllers are known for over-boosting. And the reason I say don't use LS pistons is because they are cast...cast pistons are weak, not made for F/I. My LS pistons lasted almost a year at 8-9psi running rich. If your going to run B-series pistons the LS are probably the best choice, but I'm tellin you they will eventually fail.

BlueSi2k

damn...that REALLY sucks
12psi doesn't go too well with no intercooler and a 12:1 fmu
Im willing to bet its more than the actual rings..its most likely the ring lands. DONT drive the car...you might cause damage to the sleeves. As for the ls pistons it will be a cheap fix as long as the sleeves are still good and you have them honed but I would definately go for forged pistons so you dont have to do it twice. good luck with it

Phaze2 Mike

You paying for the forged pistons? He just needs to get it working ASAP, without spending an extravagent amount of money.

BlueSi2k

i dont think ~500 for forged pistons is an "extravagent" amount of money for the piece of mind and the ability to run more boost. Sooner or later the ls pistons are gonna have to be replaced anyway...its better to do it right the first time IMO

Phaze2 Mike

Its only better if have the money, peace of mind is relative. If your digging yourself deeper into a hole, you dont want to drop even more money, esp if the LS pistons will hold up for a year or more on 8 psi. Thanks for the advice, but we are just trying to get the car on the road for longer then 10 min.

freeplay

just reading this post and got to thinking.......
i'm running at 7psi daily with stock internals and 450's. will I need to replace my pistons soon too? will I know when I need to, or will they just blow? crap, i'm scared. thanks.