Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Smoked today on startup, but stopped when it was warm. Did a few 5psi pulls from 2nd to 4th up to 5500rpm range, the a few 10psi, then 15-18psi. Compression test read 140-150 for all four, though the tester was pretty ghetto. It was a rental from oreillys that had seen better days. I tried to compare numbers to the ZX2 but the tester didn't fit... so no luck there.

I'll continue to beat on it a little, maybe a few short WOT pulls in 2nd to 5000rpm, the wastegate has an 18psi spring so I won't be boosting too high. I did another 10 miles on it today for a total of 30 so far, there isn't much time left for the rings. I'll be pissed if they don't seat properly.

Bled the brakes again today, they feel much better but still not great. I'll do some hard braking and bleed them again before the cruise. Also found out one of the oil pan bolts was rubbing the timing belt, not the cover. It was one of the shorter bolts, but the crank scraper was in there before which was probably 1/8" thick so it didn't rub, I cut a few threads off the end and problem solved.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

I got a tester at work if i wanna try it out.

-A. Swift

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

I've got a nice matco compression tester in my car right now as well if you need a good one. Its nearly brand new.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

I changed my wastegate spring to 3 lbs so I can run whatever boost I want, did some WOT pulls at low boost, and I have it set to 14psi now, still shifting around 5k rpms.

Still smokes quite a bit on startup until it warms up, then the smoking goes away. I have almost 50 miles on it now so I'm going to change the oil tonight, and check the turbo for shaft play and replace or clean out the filter on the oil feed line.

Do I need to give it more time for the rings to seat properly? I thought if they weren't done by now they would never seat all the way.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

I would think after 50 miles, a lot of the ring seating has taken place. But I would still not romp on it for the sake of the bearings.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

As you know, I differ in my engine break-in approach than most on this board. This is actually one of the few things I agree with Buschur on. I think a properly machined engine should be broken in hard and fast. If your engine is still smoking after 50 miles there is something wrong with it :(

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Yep, after 50 miles almost everything is broken in. I would do a leakdown test on it and get a good compression tester. If that is ok, then start looking at the turbo. What color is the smoke? If it is just some white smoke, then I wouldn't worry too much.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

It's pretty light, but has a slight blue hue to it, which I know isn't good. For the first 15 seconds after starting there is zero smoke, then it builds slowly and continues until it's almost warm.

I'll test compression when I'm back in Minneapolis on Friday. In the meantime, I guess I won't sell the extra 5 ring sets I have, just in case I have to redo this process over the summer.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Im guessing its your turbo, which would suck since it was just rebuilt...

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

:score010:

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

And how many times did you rebuild that motor in the Stealth? :D

j/k man, don't kill me :)

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Lol!

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Well this sucks, I think there is oil on top of the pistons. Pulled the plugs and looked down about 30 minutes after work once it cooled down and #1 (worst compression cylinder) looked like it had oil sitting in part of it, the rest weren't quite as bad but were still a little wet. There was also oil on the bottom of the vband clamp on the center section of the turbo, and also oil on the water and oil return lines, not sure where this is coming from, maybe from the bottom center stud on the exhaust manifold.

I drained the oil and didn't find a bunch of metal or anything, but I did find a very small piece of metal stuck in the turbo feed line filter. Probably just from break-in (I hope).

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Oil on the top of the pistons would pretty much have to come from the rings or bad valve seals/guides. What process did you use to gap the rings and grind them to size?

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Well the head was just redone by my machinist friend, who replaced the seals and said all the guides were in great shape.

For the rings, we filed perpendicular to the ring edge, stuck down in cylinder a few inches with piston, measured with feeler gauge, repeat. Top gapped to .020 and second gapped to .023. Also made sure gaps were almost 180* apart so they didn't line up, though they were installed about 90* off what the manual says overall, not sure if that matters.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

That sounds fine. I would do the compression and leak down tests, then go from there.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Still haven't done the compression or leakdown tests, partly because I forgot to bring tools with me to Minneapolis last weekend. I won't make the same mistake this weekend.

Anyway, in the 700 miles I drove on the cruise and coming home, I burned just 2/3 of a quart, which is less than before the rebuild. However, when doing the oil change last night I noticed a ton of oil all underneath the car, and on the front side of the block. There was a film covering the water pipe, dripping from the bottom of the turbo compressor, hot side, oil return, and water return. I could see where oil dripped and burned on the downpipe, all over the oil pan, bottom of xfer case and k member, etc.

One thing is that the bottom center exhaust manifold stud is completely stripped (which goes through a big oil return passage), could that be the cause of all the oil coming out and spraying the turbo and water pipe, then dripping down and running back along the oil pan/k member?

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Sounds like your manifold stud is pissing a little. I would definitely look at that.

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

Yeah, it sounds like it for sure. Why would mitsu do that? Or is that something you redrilled and tapped too far or something?

Re: Make slowboy not so slow
 

No, I've changed the exhaust studs a couple times because of different turbos that needed longer ones, and the bottom three center stripped. Two were recoverable, and I forgot to have the center one (most important because of oil leakage problem) helicoiled when I had the head off. Bad design I'd say though.

Another thing I just noticed, my dipstick reads 100% full with just 4 quarts in, why could this be? The oil pan is a little dented but not much. Is filling it < .5 quarts over the full line going to make the crank drag in the oil?