I did some measuring and now I need to determine how to build the piping for the intake.
Turbo outlet = 2" OD
IC Inlet = 2.5" OD
IC Outlet = 2.5" OD (oval)
Throttle body inlet = 2.5"
Turbo -> 90 bend -> 15.25" straight -> 90 bend -> 9.5" straight -> 45 bend -> 9" straight -> 90 bend -> 6.75 straight -> 90 bend -> Intercooler -> 90 bend -> 5.5" straight -> 90 bend -> 7" straight -> 90 bend -> throttle body
Posted by Bill at 22:50 2010-07-02 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Making repairs (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I stopped by the storage lot today to try to start getting things ready for the next event that I'll be able to make, in August. I managed to get all of the intercooler piping out of the engine bay, but in the process, I noticed that there was a fair amount of coolant pooled on and under the trailer. Since the trailer is, uh, air-cooled, I'm figuring that the Neon is leaking. It appears to me that whatever chewed up the cooling fan also opened up some of the coolant passages in the radiator. What I would like to do is replace the radiator with a new one that has a single large fan on it. I don't have anything with me today that I can use to take measurements, but I'll come back and see what kind of clearances I have to work with.
Something else that I want to do is find the wiring diagram for the car and figure out what I need to wire up so that the fan turns on when the car is host. The two fans are daisy-chained so there's only one set of wires going to both fans, but I don't know what that wiring is set up to do.
In the meantime, I'm going to take all of this piping back to the house so I can measure it and decide what the best route will be as far as replacing it. I can get a section of 2.5" exhaust pipe for very little money and then prime and paint it to prevent it from getting nasty and rusty. I can either have that pipe bent to just the right shape at a muffler shop, or I can cut straight sections and manage the bends with silicone elbows and T-clamps. While I'm at it, I'm going to get a cone air filter and an intake pipe for it. That should clean things up in the engine bay a little bit.
Posted by Bill at 16:50 2010-07-01 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
A decently successful day (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
A lot of things wound up breaking at yesterday's Rallycross, however, I would still consider it a success. The biggest problem that I was fighting was the surface of the field; it's just absolutely punishing on the car. The first thing to rattle loose was the exhaust. Again. This time, though, everything stayed attached to the car, but the flex section slipped off of the downpipe. Not a big deal, but I need to consider how best to fix that. Then there was the overheating. I think the ghetto coolant overflow needs some work, but it might just be that the system is way low on coolant. I seem to recall having to drain a bunch of it out for some reason, and I'm not sure if I filled it back up. Something got into the blades of one of the cooling fans and totally destroyed them. No idea what happened there, but this might be an opportunity to replace the two fans with a single one. The big problem I had, though, was that the intercooler piping kept coming apart on me. When the intake was holding together, though, the car had enough power to actually be somewhat frightening. It was pulling very strong and building a good 8 pounds of boost.
Exhaust
This shouldn't be too big of a deal. I think I'll get a more flexible flex section and clamp it on as tight as possible. Another option would be to relax the stiffness of the first exhaust hanger on the straight section. It could be that it's just too rigid there and needs some play. The biggest problem with doing that, though, is that adding anything to the hanger will lower the exhaust, and it's already cutting it pretty close to get on and off the trailer.
Overheating
The more I think about this, the more I really think that this is being caused by a lack of coolant. I'm going to check the level and make sure that I'm topped off.
Fan Damage
There are two fans on the Neon. One of them is for the A/C and the other is for normal heat dissipation. I'm not sure which is which nor am I sure under what circumstances the ECU turns them both on. What I might do is pull both of the fans out, install one large one, and wire it to be controlled by Megasquirt. Alternately, for the short term, I may just remove the chewed up fan and then make sure that the remaining fan is the one that gets turned on when the ECU sees the heat get to a certain level.
Intercooler Piping
This is probably the most immediate concern. I could try to use JB Weld or something to force the system to hold together, but I'm thinking that the right way to do this would be to either get aluminium piping with beaded edges and silicone couplers & elbows, or just straight silicone. While the pure silicone hose route would reduce the amount of heat, the materials are pretty expensive. The aluminium, though, would need to be cut to size and then have beads rolled onto the ends. This would be a little more difficult to adjust to get the right fit, although, I do have a perfect template on the car right now. I may go to the storage lot and pull all the piping so I can measure it up, check all the angles, and see what my pricing would be. Regardless of which way I go on that, I am also going to take that opportunity to replace the stock air filter with a cone.
Fuel/Spark Tuning
It's hard for me to tell where the tune is right now. It seems like it's running pretty well, overall, when I have boost. I suspect that it's running very poorly when the intercooler pipe is busted because I'm entering parts of the fuel map that just haven't been possible before, so the tune is just completely out of whack. So, it's really hard to tell how close I am at this stage, but overall, it feels like things are pretty close. The one area that I know isn't quite right is the launch: Revving the motor in neutral and the slamming it into gear results in quite a stumble.
Posted by Bill at 08:48 2010-06-27 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Running on all four! (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
So, I may have been frying those modules because my dwell settings were incorrect. I got the replacement module (Besslers again) and got it installed, and everything is humming along. I set the dwell to fixed, 7ms cranking and 4ms running. I also kept the heatsink attached. In order to fix it for the long term, I went back to Glen's Garage and ordered up a transistor kit that will take the place of the 4g63 module.
For now, though, I'm going to enjoy having fire on all four plugs. The only question/problem that I've got now is how the tune needs to be changed.
Posted by Bill at 23:36 2010-06-23 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Closing in on the problem with #4 (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I sourced a new coil from Besslers. Thirty freaking bucks. If I would have known it was that much before I trudged all the way back to the gate, I would have just bought a brand new MSD or something. Anyway, I still didn't get spark on #4, so I dug further. As it turns out, I think I was only running on 2 cylinders, because neither #1 or #4 have fire. I did a complete test, first swapping OC1 with OC2 and then IB1 with IB2 on the power transistor. While switching the coil outputs changed the spark so that #1 and #4 had fire and #2 and #3 did not, changing the inputs from the Megasquirt had no effect. I'm going to try the other you-pull lot here in town this week to get a new power transistor and that should get things working again.
Posted by Bill at 21:44 2010-06-20 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
I spent two hours working with the tailpipe and now I'm exhausted! (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
get it?
I removed the whole exhaust system (or, at least, what was left of it), and decided to make sure it was really fixed. The front section was a little misshapen from dragging along the ground, so I hammered it out and then, using a block of wood, hammered it into the rear section. Once it was pretty firmly seated, I took a u-bolt clamp and torqued it down until I thought something was about to shear. That seemed to do the trick. I threaded that back through and connected the flex pipe in the front to the manifold, again with the torque. Should be good now! (famous last words).
Posted by Bill at 22:08 2010-06-14 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Found the problem. But I didn't. (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I replaced all of the injector pigtails the other night with some connectors that I pulled off some Dodge in the junkyard. These are actually the correct types of plugs, so they snap in to place and don't need bailing wire to keep them attached. I was operating under the theory that the car was running on three cylinders because one of the injectors wasn't getting power, however, I managed to prove that point wrong. As it turns out, #4 isn't getting any spark. I can get spark using the #4 wire with the #4 plug when it's connected to the #1 position on the coil, but I cannot get spark on anything connected to the #4 coil position. Next step is to test the coil.
Posted by Bill at 23:25 2010-06-10 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Woot! And not so woot. (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I was unable to return from Dallas in time to get tires mounted for the 01MAY2010 rallycross. The 05JUN2010 event, however, went much smoother!
I picked up two 14" Neon rims from Besslers as well as four injector pigtails with actual clips. I had the Kuhmo R700s mounted to the front and two of the old Bridgestone Potenzas mounted to the rear. The front passenger side needs new lug nuts and studs in a bad way: there's a whole lot of stripped nuts. The day went sort of like this:
- Car came off trailer and made it up the very steep hill, no problem.
- First run was over 80 seconds. Ignition was waaaay retarded.
- After fixing the timing by advancing it about 10 degrees across the board, I was able to run around 52 seconds.
- Third run, the exhaust came loose in the middle and was dragging. I decided to ignore it.
- Fourth run, the front exhaust section came off of the downpipe. I retrieved it from the ground near the finish line.
- Fifth run was pretty good, but I got a re-run because timing was screwed up. I decided that one of the noises I was hearing wasn't something banging around -- it was detonation.
- Sixth run was pretty good. Still in the low 50s
- For the seventh run, I adjusted the fuel table a bit to get things a bit richer when in boost
- Right before the eighth run, while I was idling and stationary, the car started making a different sound. It sounds suspiciously like a car that's running on only three cylinders. Run time was right about the same as before.
-Ninth run was also on 75% motor, but still right in line with the other times.
The exhaust needs to be patched up better. The injector pigtails need to be replaced. The lugs need to be replaced. The fourth cylinder needs to come back online. All before the 26th.
I did come across a four-door 97 R/T with a manual transmission and some clanking in the engine. I'm thinking about trying to pick it up as a parts car to do the manual conversion, use the whole exhaust, and pick off the lug studs and nuts. Then I can part out the rest and haul off the shell. Alternately, I could pull the turbo motor from the Sport coupe and put it in the R/T and have a driver with a clean title. We shall see.
Posted by Bill
at 18:14
2010-06-08
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And now we do the dance of joy
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I'm leaving very shortly to go to Dallas for work, however, I had a chance to get some parts and make some magic happen today.
I went out yesterday and got a new tube and gasket from the Dodge dealer. I still can figure out how I never noticed how warped that flange was. Upon returning home to install it, however, I managed to drop one of the bolts and I simply cannot find it. I went to Pep Boys today and got some replacement bolts so that I could continue.
I cut the hard tube short so that it would fit properly, and I removed the red 5/8" tube that I was using and replaced it with the blue -10 AN hose. I know that I have some AN push-lock connectors and other stuff around here somewhere, but I'll be danged if I can find them. Pep Boys thinks that they carry AN fittings, but what they really have is NPT stuff. Which I don't want.
For now, I put a tiny flare on the end of the tube and roughed it up a bit to try to keep some bite. I put it all back together and started it up and no more oil spewing. There's still a little drip from the oil pan where the return bung is located, but it's not a big deal in my opinion.
Long-term, the turbo needs to be rebuilt, and I'll probably do that this winter. At that time, I will also get the right AN fittings to do the return line "right", which will also involve dropping the oil pan out and putting an AN bung on it. For the 2010 RallyX season, though, all I need are tires and a little fine tuning of the fuel map.
Posted by Bill at 16:35 2010-04-27 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Oil leak found. For real this time. I hope... (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I did a somewhat careful teardown tonight to try to find the source of the oil spew. While there is a wee bit dripping from the return bung on the oil pan, there isn't enough there to worry about. I'll fix that later with the parts I already bought a couple years ago.
I found a large amount of oil pooling around the turbo-to-intercooler outlet, so I removed the firewall-side intercooler piping to search for oil. There was a tiny bit of slipperyness inside the tube, but not the pool that I expected. With all of the air piping off the scroll, I put a rag along the sides of the pressure-side output and ran the engine a bit. I got plenty of oil from the return pipe flange.
Once I removed that flange from the turbo and took a good look at it, I saw that the flange itself is quote warped. I have no idea how I didn't notice that before, but there's just no way that will ever seal.
It's too late tonight, but tomorrow, I'm going to see about getting a replacement. I might try a Dodge dealer, or I might try to see if someone can weld a little tubing to a flange. I really hope this is finally the real source of all that oil.
Posted by Bill at 21:31 2010-04-25 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Disheartened (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I copied someone else's tune and installed it on my MS box in the Neon. I played with REQ_FUEL a bit to try to get it to idle, but I discovered that there was a bit of a vacuum leak. One of the injectors just wasn't sealing up right, so I was getting some extra air. After I got that squared away, I went for a very short drive. That's when it all came apart.
The car ran pretty well, even pulling almost 5 pounds of boost. It needed more tuning work, which I expected, but no stalling! When I pulled back into the driveway, though, I saw the oil. Everywhere. It's just pouring out of somewhere whenever the car is running. So I closed up shop for now and I'll have to work up the motivation to get back out there.
Posted by Bill at 15:09 2010-04-24 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Engine started! (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
First of all, I spoke way too soon: The battery may have been on the charger for a while, but it wouldn't take a charge. Having the charger attached to the system gave me enough juice to upgrade the firmware on the MS, but nowhere near enough to start. So for the last two days, I used jumper cables to my van. I was able to take the battery back to Bessler's today to get it swapped out, and I'm planning on testing it out tomorrow.
I tried getting the car started with all the old settings and the older version of firmware. It would start to catch, and if I thumped on the throttle, it would eventually start, but it was barely running and it wouldn't idle. It sounded a lot like it was only firing on 3 cylinders.
The next day, I went ahead and upgraded the firmware, which erased all the old settings. Working through the Megatune manual, I set up the engine constants, configured the spark output for Neon/420, and fiddled with the cranking pule widths. After some doing, it finally coughed to life and sort of idled, although it would die on its own just about every time. It was getting a bit late, so I had to shut it down to avoid bothering the neighbors too much, but overall, I'm pleased with the progress.
My plan now is to get out there during the day when I can fiddle with the idle more to try to smooth it out. As part of working on the idle, I'm going to take the fuel and spark maps from some existing 2.0 turbocharged Neons and plug the VE and advance tables in. I can't find any that are exactly the same, so I don't want to try to just burn the .MSQ file to the ECU, but because the important stuff is basically the same (same turbo, same injectors, same engine), those maps should be very close. Close enough that as long as everything is working mechanically, it should be driveable. We'll see.
Other than that, there are really only three things outstanding: Tires; Wipers; And a bath. I've got the tires from the CRX plus some 700Rs and I can scare up enough Neon rims to make that work. I also have a line on some other used tires that might be a better bet. I've been procrastinating on those, however, to try to make sure everything else with the car shapes up, so I may not have time to get those tires before the first event. The wipers are all installed, but I need to get the electrical stuff worked out so that they actually work. And finally, there's some junk in the car that I've been storing there, plus about an inch of dust covering the whole thing. A little hose-down in the driveway should make it more presentable.
I'll report back after playing with the idle!
Posted by Bill at 23:48 2010-04-23 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
I've been working on the tailpipe and now I'm exhausted! (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
A trip to Besslers netted me a used battery & the gas-tank-bank section of the exhaust pipe, complete with hanger. The battery was $26.50 and the tailpipe section was $15.90. I also got an assortment of exhaust hangers and clamps from Pep Boys and a 5.3 quart jug of Mobil 1 from Autozone. Over the last week or so, I managed to get a few thing accomplished.
I drained out the old oil, however, I did re-use the filter after draining it. I topped off with 5-20 Mobil 1 and then put a breaker bar on the crank pulley. The motor turns as freely as you'd expect, with nothing sticking or hanging up, so I don't think we'll have a repeat of the CRX.
To get the exhaust put together, I bought a tailpipe expander at Harbor Freight. It didn't even finish the job before it stripped its threads out, so I returned it and borrowed AutoZone's. That one did the trick and allowed me to slip the junkyard section over the original straight pipe. I added two hangers to the first section of the exhaust, one near the flex pipe to the turbo and one right after the joint before the bend around the gas tank. The new section attached to the stock hanger, and is pretty solid, overall. I re-attached the Supertrapp muffler so that it takes a straight shot out the back of the car. I don't have it hanging in just the right place yet, but it is solidly attached for now. I did have to cut a bit out of the bumper cover for the muffler's exit, but it should be up high enough to prevent hanging on the trailer.
The battery is in place and charged up, and it's basically ready to start.
Still need to worry about the tires, though.
Posted by Bill at 07:38 2010-04-21 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
PCV Understanding (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I think I finally have an understanding of the PVC system and how it works on a turbocharged car. From what I've been able to read, there really isn't a whole lot of difference between forced-induction and N/A as it pertains to crankcase ventilation. The biggest problem that seems to crop up with adding boost to a vacuum motor is that the stock PCV valve isn't designed to be as strong and provide as tight of a seal. The general recommendation for the Neon seems to be to get the metal-bodied PCV from a late nineties Toyota Supra TT and use it in place of the stock Mopar one. A trip to Pep Boys netted me one of those.
While I was there I also picked up a new set of cheapie wiper blades, a couple 3/8" NPT to 1/4" hose barb adpaters, and a vacuum tee assortment. Using the tees, I now have the vacuum line connected from the intake barb to the MAP sensor in MegaSquirt and the blow-off valve. There's another vacuum line that runs from the nipple on the compressor to the wastegate with a short stop at the boost controller. Both the EGR and the cruise control vacuum ports on the brake booster are plugged. A quick leakdown test indicates that everything is pretty well sealed up, so I'm feeling hopeful about that.
For the PCV system, I have installed the Supra valve and attached some hose to that. I need to use the brass nipples that I bought to construct a catch can and then I'll connect the PCV to the catch can and the catch can to the intake manifold. The breather tube will get a small filter, but I don't think I'll bother with a catch can on that side.
As part of a smaller task, I adjusted the wiper arms to the right positions and added the new wiper blades. I don't have any power to try to test the wiper controls yet, but hopefully I should be able to get that take care of without too much fuss. I do recall that I was having problems with all of the things off of the multi-switch in the past, but if I focus on it for a while, I should be able to figure it out without too much fuss.
At this point, I'm left with just a few tasks that need to happen before May 1:
- Finish up PCV system
- Exhaust
- Wheels & Tires
- Battery
- Base tune
The exhaust seemed kind of daunting before, but the more I think about it, the easier it seems. If I can get about four of the generic hangers, a couple more of the u-clamps, some flex-pipe, and just a bit more hard pipe, I should be in good shape. Right now, I have flex-pipe connecting the turbofold to the main straight. Nothing is needed on that bit of flex, but I want to put one hanger on each end of the straight pipe. The straight pipe currently has the start of a bend in it, and it's in the wrong place, so I need to cut that bend out and then add a flex joint to make a turn to the driver's side right before the gas tank. That will be rapidly followed by a turn back to the rear of the car and we'll have to go up, over the suspension links, just like the stock system used to. Kind of makes me wonder if I kept any of that piping. I anticipate that I'll probably make use of a lot fo flex pipe for that part, and at least two hangers in there. Once we're under the trunk, I'll put the Supertrapp muffler onto the pipe and use a hanger (or two, depending on how solid it is) to keep that in place. I'm considering putting a hole in the rear fascia and running the output of the muffler through there, but we'll see.
Posted by Bill at 07:46 2010-04-09 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
Re-assembled (for now) (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Last night, I got all the various bits re-attached to the car:
- With 2 feet of 1/4" fuel hose, I covered the new barb on the intake manny
- Throttle body is re-attached
- Fuel rail is re-attached, however, it may not be totally sealed up
- Injector plugs are wired down
- I used some zipties to tidy up the sensor wiring that ran along the fuel rail
- All of the intake piping is re-attached
- The stock SRT-4 BOV is installed on the turbo
The vacuum system and the PCV/catch-can system both need to be worked on, though. Basically, I need to re-check the wastegate vacuum system (should go from the turbo scroll to the boot controller back to the wastegate), fix the brake booster (there is an open vacuum port on the booster that I need to figure out), and get the MAP sensor & BOV lines connected to the new intake vacuum bung. That last step should involve getting a 1/4" to (whatever the MAP hose size is) barb adapter and then adding a tee for the BOV connection off the of the MAP hose.
The crankcase ventilation system is also crap right now. I've spent some time educating myself and I'm getting closer to knowing what to do. There are two ports on the valve cover: One has the PCV and the other used to go to the stock airbox. The PCV port needs to go from the VC to a catch can that I need to build and then from the catch can to the PCV and from the PCV to the low-pressure intake after the filter. I'm still researching the other port, though, to see if I should cap it or run it back to the intake.
I also cleared all the junk off the top of the car, and just for fun, put the hood back on. It's really dusty, but at least when you open the garage door, it looks like there's a car in there instead of a pile of garbage. It may not technically help, but it sure does give me a lot of motivation.
Posted by Bill
at 11:17
2010-04-05
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Back to it
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
So, it's been about two years since I've done anything with the car...
Last night, I found all the bits of the intake manifold and started to re-assemble it. There was a lot of cleaning up that needed to be done, but basically, I used a dremel brush attachment to get most of the crud off of the lower intake and then hosed down both the lower and upper intake. I was going to complete the task of putting the intake back on and having the car "operable" (in theory, of course), however, when I put the nipple on the manifold, I managed to pick the worst spot in the world. Once the throttle body is back on, I won't be able to get to it. So, I need to go out and get a right angle adapter for the vacuum line back to the MS MAP sensor. Once that's complete, I should be able to bolt the rest of the bits on.
Unlike the CRX, however, I will be putting some lube down the plug holes and trying to turn everything manually a bit before I just go and hit the starter.
Posted by Bill
at 09:12
2010-04-04
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One step forward, two steps back...
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
The car was very close to being tested again. But now it won't run at all. I took the intake manifold off!
The first BOV that I was looking for didn't pan out, however, I did manage to find one on eBay for the same price. It should be shipped out any day now and that will solve that part of the problem. I also have a set of stock SRT-4 springs that I'm watching. We'll see how those turn out, but it should give me a 1" lift, if the .org can be trusted.
In order to ensure that I am getting a good MAP signal, I decided to put a dedicated vacuum line in. That's why the manifold is off the car right now. I bought a 1/4" NPT hose barb, an NPT tap, and a bunch of O-rings at O'Riley today. I pulled the intake off the car, removed all the injectors and sensors, and separated the upper & lower intakes as well as the throttle body. I drilled and tapped a hole for the hose barb and I'm trying to decide how much I'm going to do to the intake before putting it back on the car. At a bare minimum, I'm going to run it through the parts washer to clean it up and make sure there are no rouge aluminum shards running around.
Posted by Bill
at 22:54
2008-04-01
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BOV located
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I've found a guy who has a stock SRT-4 BOV for sale. He's working on tracking down some paypal information and will hopefully be ready to sell me the BOV and get it shipped to me pretty quickly.
Once I have that, I can connect the vacuum for the BOV, the vacuum for the wastegate, and the MAP sensor and brake booster.
Posted by Bill
at 11:02
2008-03-27
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Upon further review of the videotape...
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Perhaps I'm showing my total ignorance here, but as it turns out, the original SRT-4 turbo deal did not, in fact, include the BOV. It included a BOP. So, the car has no BOV whatsoever, and the thing that I thought was the BOV's output is actually, right now, a vacuum leak. It's tough to be a tard.
So, anyway, here's what really needs to happen with the whole vacuum situation. I've connected the rear-most nipple on the compressor scroll to the manual boost controller which is then connected to the wastegate. The forward-most nipple on the compressor scroll needs to be connected to the BOV, once I find one. Then, somewhere on the intake manifold, after the throttle body, I need to find a vacuum source to feed to the MAP sensor in the MS. Then everything else needs to be plugged.
As far as putting a BOV on, I can either get a stock one that will mount directly to the compressor scroll, or I can get one that sits on the high-pressure tube from the intercooler to the throttle body.
One remaining question, though, is the little nipple that is on the left (driver) side of the cam cover. On a stock 2.0 DOHC motor, that nipple is connected to the post-filter intake tube. I assume it's a breather. The PCV valve is still in place on the other side of the motor, looping around to the throttle body. So, do I block off that breather tube, leave it open, or route it back to the low-pressure intake tube?
Posted by Bill
at 09:30
2008-03-24
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Tasks complete
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Got the hood pins on (not the prettiest job ever, and I need to add a couple spacers), and took the latch mechanism off the car.
Also got the new turbo oil feed line installed. Now I need to wait for a dry day to test it out.
Posted by Bill
at 23:03
2008-03-18
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To-Do list
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
- Oil leak. Re-doing the oil lines in AN fittings should cure this problem
- Fuel / Ignition map. Now that we're dealing with a proper vacuum source, this should be a lot better. I think most of the map is actually pretty good, but when it gets to higher RPMs it sort of chokes out.
- Secure under hood electrical components. A lot of the relays and whatnot have had their mounting brackets removed. Duct tape isn't going to cut it on the RallyX course.
- Tires. Duh? The ARE rims are 14", and a 15" might be able to fit with some persuasion.
- Exhaust. The SuperTrapp muffler is on the CRX now. And the exhaust pipe is barely attached to the underside of the car. This needs to be secured with hangers.
- Intercooler piping. The PVC is going to get brittle with heat, and it also has no bead to hold the connectors on. It might not be a bad idea to wrap the piping in something if we use something a little thin-walled.
- Air Filter. While the stock airbox hanging all funny is cute, a regular cone filter with some sort of airflow directed towards it would be a better bet.
- Remove Dash. There's no rule stating that we need the dash any more, and all it's going to do is rattle around. It would be nice, however, to retain the stock dash cluster for the speedo, tach, and odo.
- Secure fascia. The front bumper cover is attached with, basically, a couple drywall screws. That also will not last long on the course.
- Grille for intercooler. It would be nice to not lose the intercooler to a chunk of rock, but this is pretty low priority since we won't really be following anyone that close.
- Pin hood. Once the pins are installed, the hood latch mechanism and all the associated release cables and levers can be removed.
- Pin trunk. Once the pins are installed, the trunk latch mechanism and all the associated release cables and levers can be removed. The trunk lid's inner bracings can also be removed to eliminate weight.
- Injector clips. The bailing wire isn't going to last that long.
- Fill firewall holes. There are several holes in the firewall where the heater core and other things used to be. These should be sealed in some quasi-permanent way and made to look halfway decent.
- Magnetic numbers. On the theme of having a cheap RallyX car that goes like stink instead of looking like it, some good magnetic panels would be a good idea. Best would be getting magnetic squares, covering the parts to make up the number, then spraying the rest of the sheet black to give the impression of white numbers on the black car. Don't forget the class letters, too.
- Camera mount. Not very important, but I'd like to be able to mount a camera in the car to get some video.
Longer range:
- Manual transmission. Because automatics are for drag racers other wimps.
- Cage. Add some stiffness.
- Seats. A couple racing seats would be awesome, as would the 5-point harnesses that should be installed with them.
- Steering wheel. The whole missing airbag look is cool and all, but a nice wheel would be a good touch.
- Suspension. Rebuild the Konis? Get something new? Something that adds stiffness to the ride without lowering it.
Posted by Bill
at 13:44
2008-03-17
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Back to the car
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
The project has been on semi-permanent hold for the last year or so due to a multitude of factors, not the least of which is a lack of time and garage space. I have, however, managed to tear down the paint booth for the Mazda while i wait for the temperature to come back up, so I have room to work on the Neon. I dug in to the AN plumbing that I have on hand was able to remove the oil pressure sender and its associated tee. With that thrown into the trash heap, I wrapped the NPT threads in teflon tape and torqued down the 3/8" NPT to -6 AN adapter plug. I put the -6 AN female hose end on the -6 hose and attached it to the oil pressure port, and then ran the line up to the turbo's oil input.
In a fit of pure stupidity, I managed to purchase a tube nut and sleeve for the oil input. As well as female hose ends (which, as best I can tell, are the only hose ends available). Since I lack a tubing bead roller, I went searching for the appropriate adaptater, which I found from Jegs. Once it arrives, I can put a male -6 on the 3/8 tube that goes to the oil input, push the -6 female hose end onto the hose, and then (hopefully) seal up the oil system. Once that's done, we'll back out of the driveway for another pressure test and see what happens.
If that doesn't fix the oil leak, then we'll go ahead and drop the oil pan and set up the oil return line with AN fittings as well, but it really looks like the oil is leaking on the input side.
Also en route from Jegs are 4 pair of hood pins. We'll go ahead and remove the hinges on the hood and trunk, as well as all the associated catch and release mechanisms, and pin them down.
Posted by Bill
at 11:20
2008-03-17
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Started taking stuff apart again...
(Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
The parts are flying off the car already! Despite yet another wrenched back, I went out and started taking the oil input apart. I was able to remove the hard line to the turbo, the rubber hose, and the hose barb, but I don't seem to be able to get to the oil pressure sender connector latch -- it's in a place that human hands attached to a wrenched back just can't reach.
In other news, I've also started taking some of the wiring apart to try to clean up the engine bay a bit. I think I need to find a little bit of scrap steel to make a new bracket to hold the under-hood relay box off to the side so it doesn't interfere with the shift linkage.
Posted by Bill at 18:59 2007-03-03 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
It wasn't the return hose (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Just got back in from the garage. I've been just piddling around a little here and there on the car, and have done two things to try to abate the oil leaks. First, I shortened the turbo oil drain hose by about 4 inches to take the low spot out of the hose. Second, I replaced the spring-type clamps with screw-type to make sure I had a good seal on the drain hose. After taking the car for a quick spin, I found that neither of those have actually worked.
I'm thinking that the oil is coming from either the pressure sender tee assembly, or from the drain line flange off the turbo. To test the pressure sender tee assembly, I'll remove the whole thing from the car, disconnecting only the electrical connection from the sender, the thread into the block and the thread into the turbo. I'll get a cap for the thread into the block (3/8 NPT, for future reference), and then apply pressure on the turbo side. If I get leaks, then there's my problem. If I get no leaks, I'll see about building a new flange for the drain line, only this time I'll weld on an AN -10 fitting, put an AN -10 fitting on the oil pan, and use some braided hose between the two.
Posted by Bill at 20:30 2007-02-23 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)
It's been a while... (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Having a new baby around is a truly wonderful thing, but there's been way too much happening on that front to be able to get out and fight the battle of the leak.
In an attempt to get the car street-able, I've bought some switches and started installing them. Of course, along the way, I started to wonder why I wasn't just using the stock control. Deciding that was actually the smart way to go, I found it in a box in the basement and dragged it out. I've re-built the connector that I had hacked apart to connect up various switches, but stunningly, it doesn't work at all. In fact, not only do the turn signals not work, now the brake lights are broken again, too. Bonus.
In other news, I've been giving the oil spray a little more thought. Basically, there's one of three things going on:
- There is an actual hole or loose connection in the turbo oil plumbing
- There is too much crankcase pressure that isn't getting vented
- The oil drain is getting backed up.
If the problem is a hole, then there should always be leakage, and it appears that we only get spray under boost. If there's a loose connection, though, it could be "good enough" for regular pressure, but once the crankcase pressure builds, oil could leak past the seal. That leak, then, could be:
- Oil pressure sender nipple to block
- Oil pressure sender nipple to OPS
- Oil pressure sender nipple to turbo inlet
- Oil inlet connection
- Connection from oil inlet to turbo
- Connection from turbo to oil output
- Oil output metal-to-rubber connection
- Oil output rubber-to-pan-barb connection
- Oil pan barb
- Oil pan gasket
I'm doubting that it's anything at the pan, since the oil-spray is hitting a bit higher and there's a whole lot of steering parts in the way. I suspect that there's a little too much car in the way for the oil pressure sender plumbing to be the cause, but it's not impossible.
If the problem is that the oil drain is getting backed up, then there are two things that could solve the problem. Either a flow restrictor needs to be put in the oil inlet line to slow down the flow going in, or the oil drain hose needs to be replaced with something a little more direct.
Posted by Bill at 08:51 2007-02-12 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (16)
Took a test drive (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I went out tonight for a little drive up the hill in the car. Boy does it pull hard! Bad news, though, is that the catch-can had zero oil in it, and the street now has lots of oil on it. So, still not fixed...
Posted by Bill at 19:11 2006-11-29 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (18)
The future of the car (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
I stopped by the Courthouse today and chatted with the Sheriff. As it turns out, I would need to make the following modifications in order to get a rebuilt title for the car and get it tagged:
Interestingly enough, airbags are not required.
Anyway... After looking at the wiring diagrams, I need to go to RadioSnack and get (2) 275-711 and (1) 275-730 switches at $2.99 (plus tax) each.
Turn Signals: The pink wire should be the output from the flasher unit. Switching that to the Tan should activate the right turn signals, and switching it to the brown/red should activate the left turn signals.
High-Beam: Switching light green/white to red/orange should provide power to the high-beams.
Wipers: On a SPDT switch, using dark blue as the input and switching it to dark green/yellow should park the motor, and switching it to red/yellow should run the wipers on "high".
I'll need to source some ovalish amber lights to use in place of the factory front turns/parking lights, since I only have one original, but then all of the electrical project should be okay, and I can move to putting the mirrors on for the inspection.
Posted by Bill at 15:55 2006-11-06 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (17)
The Re-build begins (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
Tonight, I pulled out the intercooler piping made of PVC and sprayed it black. Looks much better now.
At the same time, I also built a catch can out of a bit of PVC, the cap from the black spray paint can, a paper towel, some left over vaccum line from the evap system, four zip ties, and (of course) some duct tape. I strongly suspect that the oil was spraying from the turbo return lines because blow-by was pressurizing the crankcase and the easiest way out for that pressure was the return hose and fittings.
Posted by Bill at 01:44 2006-11-04 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (18)
Recap of $2006 (Turdbo Neon (re)Build)
The $2006 Challenge was a major disappointment for the Turbo Neon. It pretty much went like this:
- Blew exhaust off car before the autocross
- Wrenched my back
- Blew off an intercooler hose, prevent the car from hitting boost
- Lost an injector's electrical connection, preventing the car from running on four cylinders.
- Blew a coolant line, fouling the drag strip.
- Fuel map too lean.
- Spark map too retarded.
- Blew an oil line, fouling the drag strip yet again.
When the dust cleared, we managed a mighty 15.8-something ET, being beat handily by a stock Neon that someone else brought down. After discussions on the way back from Gainesville, we decided that the primary cause of our miserable failure was that we brough an untested and unproven car. The reason for that was simply that we didn't spend the time that needed to be spent on the car. Based on what other folks are seeing with a similar setup, we should have been in the top 15 at the autocross and running at least a 14 second quarter mile. Our goal is to return with the car in $2007 with all those problems sorted.
The car is a 1997 Dodge Neon Sport Coupe, which was purchased from a friend of a friend of my wife in mid 2005 for $100, plus $260 in transportation. Through the magic of sell-downs, the car is now worth $0 in the budget. I bought a used SRT-4 turbofold, injectors, intercooler, and plumbing, moved the battery to the rear, stripped out the power steering, A/C, interior, hood bracing, bumper supports, cruise control, and anything else that I could get my hands on. The car came with collision damage, so we bent the core support back out, replaced the radiator and the fender, and put window nets in to replace the busted glass. To meet the fuel demands of a turbocharged engine, a MegaSquirt v2,2 kit was bought, converted to MSnS-E, and installed. When it was all done, the total cost in the budget came to $843.98.
Posted by Bill at 01:39 2006-11-04 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (18)
