schwett

well it's a b1tch working on and around the fuel rail on
a jrsc'd prelude. not much room to work. any suggestions on my not-so-handiwork would be appreciated, particularly if they involve any sort of major OOOOOPS i've made...



the a/f and boost gauges were cake. the fuel pressure gauge was not.
i removed the fuel line from the rail by unscrewing the 17mm sealing nut, which sits over the banjo bolt through which the fuel enters the rail. it is possible, with MUCH swearing, to work the banjo bolt back out of the fuel rail area, under the sc drive casting, to the other side where there is some room to work. i cut the line and put a tee in, then worked it back through, onto the rail, and bolted it down with a new crush washer. no socket wrench that i know of will fit in this area (not enough room between the sealing nut and the belts / pulley), so i used a 12pt box wrench. it will need to be 12pt because there's not enough room to do a 30 degree turn each time.



the third side of the tee goes to the sender, which i attached to the body with a hose clamp. i drilled a new hole in the body, tapped it, drilled a matching hole through a hose clamp, bolted the hose clamp to the body, and then tightened the hose clamp around the sender. there's a rubber washer between the hose clamp and the body, and a layer of thick rubber tubing (with a hole cut for the head of the screw) between the sender and the hose clamp. i didn't want the sender to be pulling the fuel lines around at all :



the various lines come out in the glovebox. i'll post pics of my nifty custom glove box gauge mount in a lil' bit.

boomslang

I like turbos.

schwett

me too... but i like superchargers also...

here's the finished product - i'm going to remake the surround
when i get a chance... the finish is not very good.

dragonsmp

sweet.... good work

ken

I hate you all. All your cool, innovative installs make me want a turbo/sc really bad. Santa, please bring me a turbo for xmas!

That looks like a sweet install. Very clean. I see room for a 4th gauge.

PureTeg420

With all that work put into making the guages look nice, you should have upgraded from the crappy autometer ones. Oh well, still looks pretty sweet, especially on a lude!

schwett

well, what do you expect from $40-$60 gauges? i'm satisfied, for $140, a few pieces of cardboard, gesso, and black paint, i've got three gauges. my only wish is that the FP gauge went past 100

schwett

for those who care, here's the car from the outside :

ken

I've seen those pics of your car before... what wax/polish do you use, because that shine is insanely awesome?

98lude

schwett, am i seeing things, or is your idle vaccuum at 15???

schwett

may not have been idling when that picture was taken, but yeah, it's between 15 and 20 at idle. never more than 20, never less than 15. is this bad? i've been pretty careful (i think!) about vacuum leaks......

schwett

actually, i don't wax it much. i just clean it often, with that red liquid car soap, and use the clay bar w/cali gold every month or 6 weeks. the clay bar is really key, i think. you think your car is clean... but you won't think that it was after you clay bar it! the last time (may even be the only time, not sure) i waxed it i used the gold class wax, the kind that comes in a bottle, and applied it by hand with pads.
incidentally, the shine in those pics also has a lot to do with the lighting.

boomslang

Your idle should be around 20-22. Either your gauge is inaccurate or your motor is feeling under the weather.

schwett

now you've got me worried. again, i don't think that picture was taken at idle...
but if it WAS, what are some possible causes of insufficient vacuum? the only real mods to the car are the jrsc and an intake.

i'm pretty sure it's a hair under 20 at idle, but i'm gonna check it this evening.
i'm also pretty sure the gauge is accurate, because it jumps right to 6-7psi at max boost, just where it should be.

DirtyLude

If you had that much of a vacuum leak you would know it. You would have a very high / bouncing idle.

bgod

your vacuum looks fine. judging from your air/fuel guage it looks like you just started the car or something. cold motor.

my vacuum guage does the same thing with my h22a4. the one bar reads rich before the car is fully warmed. then the vacuum goes to 20. don't worry about it.


and for whoever said that autometer guages suck basically. they're great for the price, unless you like spending $400 on 3 guages.