Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Aftermarket oil pan is a decent idea if you plan to track the car, the baffles and larger capacity both help. But you only get an oil temp port, there is no oil pressure in the pan, you'd still have to run that off the oil filter housing or external cooler or something.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

The goal for this car wasn't really for it to be my DD, it was to be a replacement for my bike, and be my Road Race car that I used with my brother when he travels down this way to race (VIR and CMP)

I plan to install an oil cooler for sure and will more then likely go with the Moroso pan.

I just haven't settled on which way I'm going to install the Oil cooler . I've thought about changing up the OFH to the one that has everything I need like mark suggested in my other thread I think it was. I just haven't done enough research yet.

The other option is to use the pan for the Oil temp, drill and tap a hole for the oil pressure (per several write ups)on my FFOFH, and then use a sandwich adapter for the oil cooler.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well today was a productive day on the car.

removed the turbo system from the car, and from there i was able to remove 3 of the 4 bolts with out issues (help of PB blaster) the 4th one I had to grind down the top till it was 1/2 gone (disc wouldn't reach any farther) so was hoping a pair of vice grips might be able to brake it off the rest of the way (turns out heat of the grinding must have loosened up the bolt as it unscrewed) at the very end I found the reason why it was so hard to remove, previous owner cross threaded the bolt.

So luckily I have a full die and tap set, and was able to re tap the hole to the correct thread size/pattern.

I also found that the lower middle three studs for the exhaust manifold were missing there nuts/washers. So replaced those as well.

And when trying to remove the airlines from the waste gate I found that both lines going to it had become brittle and had holes in them. One was so bad it had 3 holes in it and the only thing keeping it attached to the WG was the string inside the rubber.

So replaced/checked all the lines that needed replacing.

Did find one thing I'm concerned about. There was small amount of oil on the exhaust manifold to head gasket around most of the ports. I checked the lower I/C pipe for oil but it was clean/dry. So what does that mean? valves? rings?
I have only seen minor smoke when starting a WOT pull from time to time (thought it was just smoke from running rich, but now I'm not sure)
Tomorrow I'm going to do a compression test as well as see if there is oil on the plugs.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

On the bottom middle exhaust stud that comes out of the head is an oil galley. If you dont rtv that stud, it will do this.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well still no luck on figuring out why I can non longer boost over spring pressure with out it sputtering. (And even then sometimes its still splitters on occasion)

Over the weekend I pulled the valve cover just to see I could find anything.
Nothing looked out of place, took pictures of the hks cams, spring and retainers, as well as the kiggly piece. I also checked torque on the head studs and to my surprise at 70 they all turned. So torque Them to100.

Drove into work but still same old same old. At a loss om what to do.

Been contemplating getting
-injectors flow tested/cleaned
-new a/f sensor

Other then that id like to check the timing. But what's easier/possible.
To pull the motor or can I take the covers off while its in the car?

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

What headstuds? 100 ft/lbs is a lot of torque. You can check the timing marks with the engine in the car (no different than doing a timing belt job).

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Arp's - believe they are just standard though. All searches I read said 85 with lube and then 100 if you are retorquing w/just oil.

My guess is the owner said he just finished having the rings done on the car and only put 1500miles on the motor since or something like that. And from what I was reading you are supposed to check torque again after break in which I dont think was done.

Forgot to add I was thinking about possibly getting a mbc also as I've seen weird readings from that as well on link from my ebc. Logs were posted in my tuning thread where you can see all this stuff happening.

And ive never done a timing job. I used to pay john from lse to come down and do it. So this will be another first when the time comes.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Taking the covers off to check timing isn't that difficult. Several screws are different lengths, so make sure you mark exactly where each one goes when you take them out.
If you have a 1g style adjustable CAS you should also check base timing with a timing light to make sure it's 5* BTDC. Several threads on how to do this by grounding timing through link. You'll need the lower timing cover on for this part.

Edit: or use this method if you dont want to set timing with the lower cover: http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/how...-cover.312350/

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

This car is using a 1997cas.... (6bolt block / 2ghead combo) but will read up on it and hopefully get this checked this coming weekend.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

My talon would always break up due to the inverted CAS. Switched over to a 1g cas and set the base timing and never had another issue dont know if this is the problem in your case, but i would think it would be smart to look into like mentioned above. great build so far !!

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

I wish I could is isolate the issue so I could pin point what needs to be fixed.

Like last night car at spring pressure was pulling really strong so I loaded a log from when I had boost set to 25psi. Did a pull and the car boosted so hard (less then 800rpms pull) saw the gauge hit 36psi at initial spool up. Reviewed logs and link showed 40psi.

So manually went in and loaded different settings after two pulls had it at 22psi.
so why would settings that I ran for 5months now all of a sudden cause such high boost?

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Colder ambient air temps.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Its possible, but when combines with the fluke last week where I captured a log showing that while cruising with out changing throttle position or anything the controller would just kick on as if I was trying to do a pull, its hard to say for sure of the ebc isn't having an issue also.

Ive also noticed my wideband go nuts for no reason also where it will just stick full rich or somtimes randomly go full lean.

Temps here have been back in the 70's lately. Last night during a pull my wipers went up at around 130mph.
as if there wasn't enough power but logs show 13.7v on the battery at the time it happened.

Just wierd how one moment/pull everything was going great, then the very next pull all this random stuff started happening and has kept on ever since.

Is it possible something is going wrong with the ecu? I remember leaky caps or something was an issue going around when I had my last car. Would that cause something like this?

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

I just came across a thread on tuners through a search about the ARC-2 with cop setup causing the same issues im having once either the arc goes bad or the cop goes bad.

Which im running arc 2 w/cop. One person experiencing the same issues finally found his harness had gone bad. Still researching ways to v eryify using an ohm meter.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

ARC2's were great at first, but at some point they became hit/miss. I had an ARC2 on my car to go along with the stock ignition. I never really noticed much of a difference with it honestly, so I always wondered if I had a questionable unit.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Go to stock

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well last night before leaving work decided to start the car and check all wires going from the cop to the arc2 and when I got to the plugs by the arc2 I wiggled them and when I did the car would drop rpms. I wiggled some more and the car would probably die if I kept wiggling. When id stop the rpms would go back to normal.

Haven't gotten a chance to pull all the plugs and check pins /wires. But hopefully my issue is someplace in the harness, cop, or arc2.

When I did my first two pulls car barely sputtered at 22psi...but rest of the attempted pulls sputtered anythinf over spring pressure again. (15psi)

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Do like brown said and ditch the cop and arc2, go back to stock stuff. You really dont need anything but stock for your power level. More headaches than its worth.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Sorry for the OT post, but how far away from Carolina Motorsports Park are you? There is a small chance I may be going in spring.

Edit: Just read your first post, haha! If I end up going I'll let you know. The annual Noble/Rossion track day is probably being held there. Not sure on date yet.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

16miles.

I literally turn right out of my neighborhood , drive 16miles, turn right into the race track.

I live off the same road as it.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Tracks for sale too.. if your interested.


The previous owners put a lot of money into it. It has had major improvements even in the 7yrs ive been here.

I personally loved racing my bike there. Track is a bit small for high hp cars but has some fun turns.

The actual grounds at the track re better then anything you'll find near by (minus food), if you want to hotel the hotels by exit 98 in camden (same road runs straight to the track) are where you would want to stay amd they have some decent food there also. Would be about 20miles to track from hotels.

The town of Kershaw is closer to track but not as nice as hotels in camden

If you have watched "rufaster then a redneck" thats just the infield short course they use for tv. And for all the lemons and chump car races. There is a whole back half through the woods they dont show on tv.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

http://tailofthedragon.com/
It would be a shame if you came all this way and didnt hit up vir. Also.

Its 3hrs from cmp racetrack to vir. So may think about maybe a weekend here then go the following week.

Also camden is 4hrs from "tail of the Dragon" (other direction though) heading back to minnesota. (So maybe hit that on the way down)

Almost a must if you enjoy 316 turns in 11miles or somethjng like that

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

www.youtube.com/user/sab0276



https://m.facebook.com/ProFormanceCo...com%2Furl&_rdr

And if you want a personal race instructor I happen to know one.

Vir is my brothers home away from home track as I call it.

And seeing as my mother , grandmother, and myself live in camden he has spent alot of time at cmp as well.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well just order a few more items.
New arc-2
new aem digital coolant gauge
mishimoto coolant temp adapter
valve stem seals (will be upcoming project)
heat barrier gasket for the intake
misc gaskets.
new oem clutch master cylinder
new flywheel inspection plate
and oem boot for the clutch fork

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well temps hit 81 today so went out and worked on the car while weather is nice before work.
bought a new optima red top battery and terminals for the wires.
got the new arc2 installed.
tomorrow of weather holds I hope to get the clutch master replaced install the inspection cover and clutch fork rubber boot , and maybe get the coolant gauge hooked up.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Nice progress, enjoy the weather!

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Talked with my brother the other day. And hes going to be racing and instructing at vir for three weekend in Aug. And I am hoping to get the car mechanically/reliably sound enough to race one of those weekends with him.
However my big project is going to be replacing the valve stems with ferrea ones that I bought (timing belt done same time). I should have the moroso oil pan and oil temp gauge between now and then as well. And have my fingers crossed that will take care of the slight smoke issue I have started to see.

But I have yet to ever do anything more then take the valve cover off a 4g63. Not sure why but the thought of doing any internal work myself has me nervous, but I guess that goes with anything you do for the first time.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Why not have a machine shop install the new valve stem seals (especially if you've never done motor work)? Or are you doing this with the head on? Does it only smoke on decel after a pull? Lots of things can cause smoking, would hate to see you go through the work and find out it's rings, or turbo, etc.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Thats is honestly my fear. Of it being rings.

So far here is what I've experienced:
on wot pulls it smokes (thought this to be because im running rich 10.0-10.5)
One time when parked facing down hill (slight down hill) started the car after paying electric bill and white smoke pretty much filled my parking spot. About 30 sec for wind to clear smoke)
And randomly ill see minor smoke when im warming the car up (not white)

The turbo is only oil cooled. So im not sure what to make of it. The smoke isn't always there (maybe 1 in ten starts I might see some out the exhaust)

I thought maybe I blew a small hole in the head gasket after one tuning pull where we were trying to figure out what was causing the car to act like it was getting spark blow out at anything over wastegate pressure (posted it in another thread I think)

But after researching possible causes the valve stem posts seem closest to whay im experiencing and they were cheap enough to replace anyways. I was planning on doing it with the head on the motor. (I may pull the motor just to make it easier for my first time.
But if I do that then I've been contemplating just pulling every thing and getting the car painted at that time. There just is so many factors I just havent made a decision yet on which way to go.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Also I've looked into having my turbo rebuilt by the guy on tuners that everyone recommends and he said its $170 flat charge for hx35 work. So that's not that bad and I might send it off anyways regardless since I dont know the history of the turbo.

As well as started asking around for someone to go through my motor instead of me doing the work. There is a guy john wigger out of north carolina thats 3hrs from me that has the ecmlink hp record of 1000+ if I go with someone else doing it im pretty sure im going to use his place.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Yeah, John really knows his stuff, his racecar is a work of art, I thought Marco built his motor though, can't remember.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Not sure he mentioned a shop in Wilmington a few times where he gets dynod.
and my thoughts where he must have an affiliation with them. But if I decide to bail on the internal work myself. I was going to shoot him a pm to discuss the situation.
Ive been putting off the decision for a while now. Just because the car running isn't a priority(been probably 2 months since I've driven it), my 4 child is due end of april so thats been gettinf my attention and priority.
I got a pay raise and a large year end bonus. So I've just been toying with ideas of what i want to do since the car is just sitting. So i started with maintenance on it for now.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Sell it and buy something ready to rock.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Valve stem seals are easy, all you need is a socket, extention, and a hammer to tap them on. You could use compressed air to keep the valves up. Would be easier to remove the head and do it on a bench, but it would be doable in the car.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well an ACT flywheel and clutch just came up for sale on a part out that I just couldnt pass up.
so since I have to pull the tranny anyways im just going to pull the motor and tranny and give the valve stem seals a shot when i do.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

I did mine in car, I just turned the motor over so the cylinder I was on was at TDC.

Worked perfect.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

http://www.euroexportinc.com/mitsubi...ing-compressor

Tutorial says this is a good compressor. Anyone have any experience with it?

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

A lot of us have experience with that little piece of magic. It works wonders. I installed springs, retainers, and valve stem seals without removing the head as well.

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Works great, just use caution if you use an impact

Re: 1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.
 

Well nice weather and a day off. Got a lot done on the car.

I got a little side tracked with my ocd. And ended redoing all the wiring and gauge location.

So today got the new clutch master installed - also painted the bracket for the resiviours after sanding it down, cleaned the bottle as well.

Like posted above installed the aem coolant temp gauge, mishimoto sensor adapter.as well as flushed the coolant. Using all new water wetter etc.

Installed the flywheel inspection cover, and clutch fork boot.

Noticed rtv on the outside of the tranny where the seems are. So clearly someone had been in there (not a professional). But since a built tranny is on my list of to do's. Not to worried for now.