Kroon Harness for 944 Turbo

[Tom]

When you get it back together, try this test. A 14mm or 9/16" hose slips over and seals on the dip stick tube. Then get creative to adapt it down to a smaller diameter to make it easier to see the vacuum. I tried a real vacuum gauge, but it was hard to get a meaningful reading at such a low vacuum level. If yours is blowing out air instead, that's very likely the root of your issues.

[chrischrischris]

I saw your latest video with the turbocharger reinstalled. How is it running now?

Also, I'm curious about the specs on your turbo. Are you using the stock fuel injectors?

[NCGermerican]

I saw your latest video with the turbocharger reinstalled. How is it running now?

Also, I'm curious about the specs on your turbo. Are you using the stock fuel injectors?

Unfortunately it runs exactly the same. I also did a smoke test (off camera) of the crank case only through the dipstick tube and it is sealed tight. I did both another smoke test and a boost leak test- nothing. Everything is sealed tight.

I did the test that Tom showed in his previous post and there is still positive crank case pressure. At this point, I’m truly at a loss.

I am still using stock injectors. They were cleaned an verified to be 4.5 ohms.

I have an email out to Joe at F9 to see if it could possibly be something with the F9 DME or the LR MAX HP CHIP. If it’s not any of those, I’m just going to drive the car and see what happens.

Oh and to make it even better, I’m leaking oil from the brand new oil thermostat cap, so now I get to do that job AGAIN but using high temp sealant on the threads. Yay. Let’s hope I don’t put another chip in the header panel…..

[Tom]

I saw your latest video with the turbocharger reinstalled. How is it running now?

Also, I'm curious about the specs on your turbo. Are you using the stock fuel injectors?

Unfortunately it runs exactly the same. I also did a smoke test (off camera) of the crank case only through the dipstick tube and it is sealed tight. I did both another smoke test and a boost leak test- nothing. Everything is sealed tight.

I did the test that Tom showed in his previous post and there is still positive crank case pressure. At this point, I’m truly at a loss.

I am still using stock injectors. They were cleaned an verified to be 4.5 ohms.

I have an email out to Joe at F9 to see if it could possibly be something with the F9 DME or the LR MAX HP CHIP. If it’s not any of those, I’m just going to drive the car and see what happens.

Oh and to make it even better, I’m leaking oil from the brand new oil thermostat cap, so now I get to do that job AGAIN but using high temp sealant on the threads. Yay. Let’s hope I don’t put another chip in the header panel…..

Ug, sorry. How much pressure was coming from the dip stick tube? Gentle like my vacuum (but in the other direction), or pumping like a little exhaust pipe? It's either blowby, or the AOS system isn't scavenging pressure for some reason. If you rev it to 3k and hold it there, does the pressure at the dip stick tube increase, decrease or stay the same?

[chrischrischris]

Sorry you are still unable to enjoy the benefit of all your hard work on the engine rebuild. I hope you can drive the car a little bit as you can likely get more clues while driving vs just idling in the garage.

[NCGermerican]

Sorry you are still unable to enjoy the benefit of all your hard work on the engine rebuild. I hope you can drive the car a little bit as you can likely get more clues while driving vs just idling in the garage.

I've had to put the car on the back burner for much of April. I've had a lot of work travel and my weekends were spent on my son's car and some home projects that the wife tasked me with.

I've already tried a few things on the car with some positive results. I'll talk to it all on my next video - hopefully will post it next week.

[Tom]

Sorry you are still unable to enjoy the benefit of all your hard work on the engine rebuild. I hope you can drive the car a little bit as you can likely get more clues while driving vs just idling in the garage.

I've had to put the car on the back burner for much of April. I've had a lot of work travel and my weekends were spent on my son's car and some home projects that the wife tasked me with.

I've already tried a few things on the car with some positive results. I'll talk to it all on my next video - hopefully will post it next week.

Any progress?

[NCGermerican]

Sorry you are still unable to enjoy the benefit of all your hard work on the engine rebuild. I hope you can drive the car a little bit as you can likely get more clues while driving vs just idling in the garage.

I've had to put the car on the back burner for much of April. I've had a lot of work travel and my weekends were spent on my son's car and some home projects that the wife tasked me with.

I've already tried a few things on the car with some positive results. I'll talk to it all on my next video - hopefully will post it next week.

Any progress?

That all depends on what you define as "progress".

Things have been happening and I'm working on my next video that should help explain a lot.

1) I had a leak at the oil thermostat plug cap. I had used superglue to hold the crush washer in place while I tried to engage the threads. Bad idea. Super glue does dry with some "mass", so not a perfect seal. I had to do that job all over again and this time used grease to hold the washer in place. I was able to confirm it's no longer leaking.

2) I did my best to touch up my header panel where I chipped it the first time doing job #1 above. Not perfect, but better.

3) I found a few exhaust leaks. First one was at the wastegate. I have a Tial 38mm with the adapters. One of the bolts was too long and didn't allow for one of the junctions to properly seal. I cut down the bolt and was able to get a much better connection. Second leak was at the crossover pipe, where LR had done the modification. When I reinstalled the turbo, I ended up snapping one of the studs where the crossover was modified. It was a blessing in disguise - it gave me the ambition to pull the now "bottom" portion of the crossover and replace the studs with bolts, which makes it much easier to get wrenches on the nuts AND will make it much easier to install the turbo, if I ever have to do it again. Trying to line up (2) sets of studs (downpipe and modified crossover pipe) was sort of a nighmare. I had to drill out the threads on the one side of the crossover, but that was the worst part of it. I'll have more detail in my next video.

4) Somehow, my warm idle vacuum has now increased to the 16 in HG range. Again - that's when fully warm. Do I want it to be higher? Yes, but I'll take any improvement at this point - even if I have no idea why it improved.

5) This probably has nothing to do with my issues, but I've recently been working with a gentlemen named John Behe. I was referred to John through a 951 friend and John is also recommended by Charlie Brown (owner - Evergreen Turbo). John has been creating custom chips for 951's for years. I had been running the LR "MAXX HP" chip for years, which is meant for the factory turbo, wastegate and cycling valve. He sent me [3] chips to try out as well recommended I purchase a set of 50lb injectors from Five0 Motorsports due to the larger turbo and manual boost controller. They are 2.5 ohm (instead of factory 4.5 ohm) but he assures me that it won't be an issue. I will run some logs on my F9 ODB+ application to report back to him.

I installed the new injectors as well as the first chip and fired the car up. It was idling slightly lean when warm, so I did a VERY slight adjustment on the Storch MAF (there is a richer/leaner adjustment screw on the MAF) and now the gauge bounces between 14.5 and 15, so hovering right around that magical 14.7 AFR WHEN IN CLOSED loop. I have yet to see what it does with the O2 unplugged, which begs the question - how many 951's will ACTUALLY hit 14.7 AFR at idle with the O2 unplugged? My warm start is still lean, but the car doesn't seem to mind it as much anymore.

Testing on the road should happen this weekend.

6) Once I had the car idling where I wanted, I put my focus on an issue where the LR J-Boot connects to the MAF. I could hear a whistling by the airbox and noticed the tension the J-Boot was placing on the MAF. It did the same thing on my factory AFM. When securing the J-Boot to the turbo first, I really need to force the j-boot onto the AFM or Storch MAF.

I'll try to word this as briefly as possible. I have the Raptor X turbo, which is a 27/8. The turbo inlet is 2.75". This requires the aftermarket LR J-Boot. The LR J-boot is 3". Therefore, you need to use a 2.75" sleeve at the turbo. One of the issues I had with the LR J-Boot, with BOTH the AFM AND my new Storch MAF is that I REALLY had to force the J-Boot onto the openings, hold it under pressure while I tightened down the clamp. I hope that makes sense. I thought it was more of an angle issue, where the j-boot connects to the turbo. It turns out it was more of a length issue. The LR J-boot needs to be about 1" longer to be able to attach to the Turbo AND to the AFM/MAF without putting serious tension somewhere. Also, due to the lack of room with a bigger j-boot and the large size of the factory alternator, there's no way to confirm if the bottom side of the j-boot is fully seated on the turbo. So yes, the LR J-boot has too much girth and not enough length....... some ladies may not care, but my 951 sure does.

So I'm currently in the process of modifying the LR J-boot to fit better and unfortunately it's requiring some modifications, a continued need for a 2.75" sleeve and.....Flex Seal Tape..... I shall see if it truly is air-tight adhesion.

Luckily, the J-boot only experiences sucking and not blowing.

I'll be here all night, folks......ba dum CHHHHHH!

I hope to have the next video out by the end of this week, but we shall see. I also have a deck to paint. Guess which one the wife wants me to prioritize.

[Tom]

I've had to put the car on the back burner for much of April. I've had a lot of work travel and my weekends were spent on my son's car and some home projects that the wife tasked me with.

I've already tried a few things on the car with some positive results. I'll talk to it all on my next video - hopefully will post it next week.

Any progress?

That all depends on what you define as "progress".

Things have been happening and I'm working on my next video that should help explain a lot.

1) I had a leak at the oil thermostat plug cap. I had used superglue to hold the crush washer in place while I tried to engage the threads. Bad idea. Super glue does dry with some "mass", so not a perfect seal. I had to do that job all over again and this time used grease to hold the washer in place. I was able to confirm it's no longer leaking.

2) I did my best to touch up my header panel where I chipped it the first time doing job #1 above. Not perfect, but better.

3) I found a few exhaust leaks. First one was at the wastegate. I have a Tial 38mm with the adapters. One of the bolts was too long and didn't allow for one of the junctions to properly seal. I cut down the bolt and was able to get a much better connection. Second leak was at the crossover pipe, where LR had done the modification. When I reinstalled the turbo, I ended up snapping one of the studs where the crossover was modified. It was a blessing in disguise - it gave me the ambition to pull the now "bottom" portion of the crossover and replace the studs with bolts, which makes it much easier to get wrenches on the nuts AND will make it much easier to install the turbo, if I ever have to do it again. Trying to line up (2) sets of studs (downpipe and modified crossover pipe) was sort of a nighmare. I had to drill out the threads on the one side of the crossover, but that was the worst part of it. I'll have more detail in my next video.

4) Somehow, my warm idle vacuum has now increased to the 16 in HG range. Again - that's when fully warm. Do I want it to be higher? Yes, but I'll take any improvement at this point - even if I have no idea why it improved.

5) This probably has nothing to do with my issues, but I've recently been working with a gentlemen named John Behe. I was referred to John through a 951 friend and John is also recommended by Charlie Brown (owner - Evergreen Turbo). John has been creating custom chips for 951's for years. I had been running the LR "MAXX HP" chip for years, which is meant for the factory turbo, wastegate and cycling valve. He sent me [3] chips to try out as well recommended I purchase a set of 50lb injectors from Five0 Motorsports due to the larger turbo and manual boost controller. They are 2.5 ohm (instead of factory 4.5 ohm) but he assures me that it won't be an issue. I will run some logs on my F9 ODB+ application to report back to him.

I installed the new injectors as well as the first chip and fired the car up. It was idling slightly lean when warm, so I did a VERY slight adjustment on the Storch MAF (there is a richer/leaner adjustment screw on the MAF) and now the gauge bounces between 14.5 and 15, so hovering right around that magical 14.7 AFR WHEN IN CLOSED loop. I have yet to see what it does with the O2 unplugged, which begs the question - how many 951's will ACTUALLY hit 14.7 AFR at idle with the O2 unplugged? My warm start is still lean, but the car doesn't seem to mind it as much anymore.

Testing on the road should happen this weekend.

6) Once I had the car idling where I wanted, I put my focus on an issue where the LR J-Boot connects to the MAF. I could hear a whistling by the airbox and noticed the tension the J-Boot was placing on the MAF. It did the same thing on my factory AFM. When securing the J-Boot to the turbo first, I really need to force the j-boot onto the AFM or Storch MAF.

I'll try to word this as briefly as possible. I have the Raptor X turbo, which is a 27/8. The turbo inlet is 2.75". This requires the aftermarket LR J-Boot. The LR J-boot is 3". Therefore, you need to use a 2.75" sleeve at the turbo. One of the issues I had with the LR J-Boot, with BOTH the AFM AND my new Storch MAF is that I REALLY had to force the J-Boot onto the openings, hold it under pressure while I tightened down the clamp. I hope that makes sense. I thought it was more of an angle issue, where the j-boot connects to the turbo. It turns out it was more of a length issue. The LR J-boot needs to be about 1" longer to be able to attach to the Turbo AND to the AFM/MAF without putting serious tension somewhere. Also, due to the lack of room with a bigger j-boot and the large size of the factory alternator, there's no way to confirm if the bottom side of the j-boot is fully seated on the turbo. So yes, the LR J-boot has too much girth and not enough length....... some ladies may not care, but my 951 sure does.

So I'm currently in the process of modifying the LR J-boot to fit better and unfortunately it's requiring some modifications, a continued need for a 2.75" sleeve and.....Flex Seal Tape..... I shall see if it truly is air-tight adhesion.

Luckily, the J-boot only experiences sucking and not blowing.

I'll be here all night, folks......ba dum CHHHHHH!

I hope to have the next video out by the end of this week, but we shall see. I also have a deck to paint. Guess which one the wife wants me to prioritize.

A leak at the j-boot would explain low vacuum and lean mixtures. An adapter 3D-printed in "TPU" (rubbery plastic) would be perfect for the j-boot. PM me if you want help with that...

p.s., a leak at the j-boot might also prevent the AOS from seeing any suction, causing it to be ineffective at reducing pressure in the crankcase...

[NCGermerican]

My latest video is on the channel, which should hopefully give more detail in the j-boot saga.

Not to give spoilers about my next video, but I finally got the car on the road and.....it sucked. Warm start issue is back and the car just felt very sluggish. It also felt "jerky" under slow deceleration.

Then, I came inside the house and the wife said "uh, you STINK like gas....or exhaust". I have my hatch sealed up tight - all new seals, including the tail-lights. The only way any exhaust is getting into the car is through the firewall somewhere.

The header is still original to the car, but I did put on new exhaust manifold gaskets when the engine was rebuilt. Did my best to torque the ones I could but for some you just can't get a torque wrench in there. The engine bay has always had a gas-like smell to it. Not like raw fuel, but more like a car that's actually running rich or has some unburnt/partially burnt fuel. I'm going to take it for another drive soon and will then pull the plugs. If they're wet with fuel, then I have NO idea how my gauges could show lean readings.

Is it possible that a car has TOO MUCH fuel, but shows lean readings at the O2 sensors?