Drivability/piggy back

[slipknot51]

So i did my turbo swap about 2 months ago to a TD04, Intercooler and 3 inch catless down pipe and i have been dealing with some slight Drivability issues. When I first start the car up and the car is not at op temp the car is a dog, no power unless close to 1/2 throttle or full throttle and even there i still get some bucking like ignition timing or maybe cylinder temp is just not there to spool the turbo up. I did take and header rap the manifold and up pipe to try to eliminate that issue but didn't change anything besides keeps the engine bay cooler . I know that at partial throttle when at op temp according to my boost gauge between 3 inhg and 4 psi of boost there seems to be no to little power some times i even slow down when going up a hill. Also when I'm Accelerating on the highway i get a pulsing/ bucking coming from the car i do have my MBC set so i read 12 psi just below fuel cut which Im thinking might be it. Sorry for the long read now down to the Piggy Back part i have been debating on doing a piggy back as my next mod so i can do bigger injectors,jecs and run 15-18 psi with no problem plus hoping to fix some drivability issues Im having. Is there one out there that works best for the Turboed legacy's and what do you guys thing of the Perfect power piggy back Smt6 its runs from 250-400 i see and does alot of the programing features that i would like to have

[Legacy777]

How old is your coolant temp sensor? How is your fuel mileage?

Does the car run ok when it is at normal operating temperature?

How do you have your MBC hooked up? Does the MBC get its boost reference from the nipple on the comprssor housing, then exit the MBC, and go to the wastegate solenoid?

Can you describe the pulsing/bucking in a little more detail?

I would NOT recommend doing piggy back without fully working out all your issues and the car runs well. The piggy back just adds another and quite large variable into the mix.

If you get everything running well then you can look at some options. Personally....I did not have the best of luck with the PP6. I would recommend the Robtune ECU over a piggy back ECU. It's going to work a lot better IMO.

[slipknot51]

Well i changed out the coolant temp sensor when i did the head gaskets since i had the coolant already drained down. I am getting really poor milage like 12 mpg on a good day. The car runs amazing at normal temp i do have the lack of power or dead zone when at light throttle applications or low vacuum and boost applications. I do have the boost controller in line with the line running off the wastegate solenoid to the wastegate which i thought would work right. As for the pulsating when im at full boost about 12 pounds say trying to pass some one on the highway it seems like i just might not have enough fuel at that point or ignition might be blown out idk i have check the plugs a few times and they look normal not any rich or lean burning on the plug i do have the 4eat and i know when it down shifts to 3 it still does it. I have been doing some research on the pp6 sounds like a good idea but i have beem reading up on the Robtune Ecu that does seem like a great deal there to.

[Legacy777]

You should be getting better than 12 mpg. So there's either a problem somewhere or things are not hooked up properly.

What type of boost controller do you have? Can you describe how it's hooked up with a little more detail? Did you remove the boost lines from the stock boost controller?

[slipknot51]

I did not take the lines off the stock boost controller i saw that there are 3 lines there one from the compressor another to a sensor and then the last one i beleave is the out to the wastegate. Its a restriction style MBC that i bought off ebay for like 20 buck here is a link to the one i have in the car http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-Boost-Co ... _931wt_907

so it goes from the outlet of the factory solenoid to the inlet of the MBC then the outlet of the MBC to the wastegate itself

[slipknot51]

Well car is not drivable now my return fuel line broke and leaking near the rear left tire really bad leaving some nice spots on the ground so i will have to fix that i did notice that my supply line at the engine is pulsing i didn't hook up a fuel gauge but if i remember right then its a fuel pressure regulator issue which it could be my pulsing issue at full boost on the highway

[slipknot51]

After doing a little investigation i found were the leak was coming from and taking the interior half way apart i found that the fuel line that runs in the car right were it enters the car has rusted through and was causing the leak and i have a question i downloaded the parts catalogs thanks to the links you have Josh and i was wondering if this part number is the fuel line assembly I'm looking for 42065 AA020 in the description it says Pipe Assembly so im guessing thats it

[Legacy777]

You really should remove the vacuum/boost lines from the stock boost controller and just use the MBC. The vent line going to the resonator box from the bottom of the stock boost controller can just be plugged up.

I'm not sure if that will fix your issues, but it should help.

Regarding the fuel lines, yes that is the correct part #.

[slipknot51]

Thanks i will try that out tomorrow i fixed my fuel line issue replace a section of line with some 5/16 brake line,rubber fuel line and some hose clamps.

[Legacy777]

Just so you know, not all fuel line is the same. Fuel injection hose is rated to much higher pressure than regular fuel line. The spec on the hose should be SAE 30R9, if it's SAE 30R6 or 30R7 it's not fuel injection hose. The lower rating hose may be fine, but just wanted to pass along that info.

This thread has some more info.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47500

[slipknot51]

Thanks Josh I was able to get fuel Injection fuel line from work which is the SAE 30R9 . Its really nice to work at a Medium/Heavy duty Diesel Dealership because the hose that i used when i redid my PCV system were Fuel/Oil hose and i got it for cheap plus they have any were form 1/4 inch all the way up to 1 1/2 inch which is nuts

[Legacy777]

Good deal!

[slipknot51]

Yeah well I'm proud to say that after years of battle with my Check engine light tonight i finally won of corse me being to lazy to really do some investigating which explains the time frame but looked into my knock sensor code and found that some of the wiring after i traced how it ran was worn down to the wire and had a huge clump of corrosion so i replaced the section of wiring and also replace the knock sensor for good measure and finally got the check engine light to go off. Its like a night and day difference. I was amazed on how much more power and the better the response got from fixing the knock sensor wiring and sensor itself and once i get my fuel fill neck i will recheck my fuel mileage again and see the improvement

[Legacy777]

That's great news!

Yes the ECU severely reduces timing when there is a knock sensor code. It's pretty night and day difference.

[slipknot51]

Oh yeah night and day difference i didn't know that it would be that much of a difference but it easily feels like 20 hp upgrade easy lol. ill have to let you know what my fuel mileage is once i fill the tank again i know that the 12-13mpg before was estimated also i do a lot of city driving.

[Legacy777]

I'd suggest resetting the ECU so the learned memory with the knock sensor will go away. This will likely help with the fuel mileage and power. Disconnect the battery for about an hour or so. You can also pull the EGI/TCU fuse 14 under the dash if you don't want to disconnect the battery.