Hi guys,

I just got my car back on the road after problems with my EGI fuse popping. After doing some road testing yesterday I noticed a few things. I had noticed that before my car sounded like a cow mooing once I get to about 3K-4K RPMs. From what I've read this is normal, people said that it was the airpump.

However now, I notice that the car no longer "Moos". This would lead me to believe that my air pump is starting to die (it has not siezed yet). I have also noticed that my car seems to run a little hotter then it did before. At cruising speed my temps stayed at 180 (night) and 190 (day) and it would take a while before temps got to 210. Now it takes only a minute of sitting still for the temps to get from 180/190 up to 205-210 (night or day). This makes me think that my cat may be clogged too.

And yet another thing I've noticed about my car lately is that the car seems to be "running out of air" at upper RPMs. At night I cant notice it too much, but during the day when it is warm it can be noticeable. For this I suspect #1 a vacuum leak at my crossover tube #2 fuel filter going bad #3 fuel injectors going bad. I was gonna replace my fuel pump next month anyways, but I think I will go ahead and get a spare set of stock injectors cleaned by RC eng. and install them at the same time.

Here is all the stuff I plan on swapping out, and I just wanted to know if you all think I should be checking other stuff too. Also,I will be smoggingthe car in 2 months, so I need to keep it smog legal too.

-replace air pump
-replace cat with hi-flow cat
-check ACV

-replace water pump
-flush coolant system with coolant system cleaner
-replace radiator with fluidyne (maybe)
-replace thermohousing/thermostat (maybe)

-replace fuel filter
-get injectors cleaned, balanced and flow tested
-replace fuel pulsation dampener

Anyways, Thanks for any input you guys can share.

 

First off, you're jumping to conclusions in replacing parts. Verify the parts ARE bad before just replacing them - there may be some problem with the air pump control system or the like.

As far as your temps - if your car has been down for a while, was it cooler outside when the car was running? I know California (and many other parts of the US) have had record high temperatures recently. The airpump has absolutely nothing to do with water temperatures. I would moreso suspect a thermostat or the like, or something simple, like a grocery bag that got sucked into the nose of the car (had that happen once to me on a long car trip).

You're saying the car is "running out of breath" at high RPMs. That's typically not a fuel-related problem - I would suspect either a boost leak or old, worn spark plugs. If you haven't replaced the rubber Y-pipe coupler yet with silicone, do so. Most cities have a rubber hose supply company where you can get some plain silicone tubing VERY cheap, or you can buy more expensive colored thick-wall stuff online.

Why are you swapping out the fuel pump in the near future - upgrading it?

Dale

 

I was thinking about replacing the air and water pump because I dont know exactly how many miles are on the current ones right now. I just bought the car 6 months ago, and I think even if the dealer knew how many mils were on the parts, I would swap them out anyways. Come to think of it though, I hope to swap out the motor for a streetported rebuild in the next 12 months and all the misc accesories will probably remanufactured parts anyways.

I did my road testing during both hot and cold (day/night). I was thinking that even though the airpump may not have anythig to do directly with water temps, air pump failure could still affect water temps.

I dont know if it's possible, but I was thinking that maybe if the airpump was not working, then the main cat would clog. Then maybe if it was clogged enough then maybe the main cat would cause the heat to build up in the engine.

My "out of breath" problem is probably a combination of worn worn plugs (replaced 5K miles ago) and a boost leak somewhere from the crossover pipe. I closely inspected the crossover pipe and I could hear a faint wooshing sound. From the pics I've seen on the web it looks like I have the Efini y-pipe and a plastic crossover tube.

If I pass smog without replacing my y-pipes or couplers, I will probably just wait until I upgrade to a M2 medium or Greddy 2 row which will have the hardpipes. Also I didn't want to replace my fuel pump, but the fuel injectors and fuel filter.