Wtf is wrong with my stupid car.

[robertpaige]

Okay. The o2 did pop up in d-check, you think the o2 is bad and I should replace it? When I checked it, it did look very dark and had some black soot on it. Maybe theres my issue right there?

[alexandermf]

Its gonna be dirty and prolly black with all the miles and whatnot, doesnt mean its bad cuz its dirty but if the code popped up for it then ya... You can use the NA ones from our year and that'll work if u wanna test one from a pullnpay or somethin

[robertpaige]

Worth it to spend $50 on a new o2 sensor?

[kimokalihi]

Can't hurt. They're good for what 60k miles?

[robertpaige]

Bought one, it's a Bosch 3-wire that I have to wire in. I'll do it tomorrow and hopefully see results! Car felt awesome today for a little while and pulled smooth but went back to being raspy and pulling choppy after a bit. I drove with the D Check all night, only code it dropped was 32 (o2) and then went away to a steady flashing light after while.

[kimokalihi]

Was it flashing the code when it ran poorly?

[robertpaige]

No, not when it ran poorly. It only runs poorly under boost. The code popped under normal driving. I think.

[Legacy777]

Also, check the wiring from the O2 sensor to the ECU. If that's good, get the new O2 sensor in there, reset the ECU, and then see how it drives and if anything comes up under d-check.

[robertpaige]

My o2 code comes on, then goes to a solid flashing light and o2 code 32 doesn't come back. Does that mean the o2 code could be a misread because of my bad uppipe gaskets? I'd rather return the sensor and buy gaskets for now, if that's the case. Thoughts?

[robertpaige]

Okay I decided to put the o2 sensor in. I wired it up with the black wire to black wire, red wire to white, white to white. I put it in and the car doesn't want to idle. It's bogging and wanting to die, I unplug the o2 and it idles just fine. What's happening?

[kimokalihi]

If its universal you may have wired it wrong. You have the make sure the wires are wired properly, not just match the colors. It could just be a coincidence that they match the colors on your car.

[robertpaige]

Yep, I wired it wrong. White on the car plug side goes to black on the o2. It ran nice, felt maybe a little smoother than before. Didn't notice a huge difference but hey there's one more thing off my list to check. Thanks for the reply Kimo.

Next thing i'm doing is Walbro 255 and TD04. I'm hearing the rattle coming from the turbo and I think that's where the bad sound is coming from, hesitation also because the turbo may be blown. Fuel pump will be good to have anyways when I get into more boost later on, but also could be a culprit of the performace issues I have.

[robertpaige]

I finally figured out this 'gasket' rattle. It's the wastegate door flapping. If I push the rod in to get it tight the rattling goes away. So question, is there a way to tighten it back up? Or it it easier to throw in another VF11 that's on the shelf.

[kimokalihi]

You need to adjust the actuator rod most likely. You remove the circlip from the end and then rotate the sleeved female end until you get a snug fit. Just make sure you don't go too tight or I think it will be partially open all the time. Maybe that's part of your problem.

[robertpaige]

Okay, cool. I'll take a look.

I'm running open downpipe right now, I took my exhaust off because I wanted to examine everything and also see how open DP was. The car pulls better with open downpipe, on boost it's strong and doesn't stutter. So i'm wondering if my exhaust is not right for the car? It's a 3" catless to a big greddy tip on it.

Open downpipe with an aftermarket 3" is scary loud. Holy crap.

[kimokalihi]

I doubt your exhaust is going to hurt your performance much. It should spool up quicker without it but overall power is probably the same. A 3" exhaust is good for something like 1,500 hp but I don't think that's with a muffler. Maybe get a different muffler? I would run something that is quiet to medium and looks factory like a twin tip with a resonator to avoid attention from the cops. It is illegal to modify your exhaust in any way that's louder than stock I'm pretty sure. My ex got a ticket for it and had to have a cop sign off on it aftr she had a different muffler put on. I've never been pulled over for mine. It looks semi stock and its deep but smooth and relatively quiet when compared to most wrxs and stis.

[robertpaige]

Yeah the Greddy is super fucking loud like it's almost stupid. I don't like it, it's way too flashy and raspy and annoying. I'm probably trading for a catted 3" Perrin stealth back. At this point I don't care how it sounds as long as it's somewhat quiet. Kimo I liked your exhaust sound, from what I remember at the meet in Seattle.

[kimokalihi]

Thanks. Its not intimidating but its deep. I like it a lot. I'm going to smash out the cat in my downpipe so it might get louder.

[GTwagon]

how you describe your problem i would really solder the wires for the knock sensor and o2 sensor as those are pretty sensitive and nic picky with voltage and resistance.
also do you have a cat in your exhaust?
sounds like its getting clogged or getting restricted.
also why are the knock sensor not bolting up?
threads cross threaded?
did you replace it with another one?
also when was the last time you replace your fuel filter?
if you could do a fuel pressure test i would do that also just to cross that off the list to finding out your problem, if not harbor freight sells one for pretty cheap compared to snap-on or matco.
fuel pump might be going out so at cruise the pump isnt working as hard compared to full throttle and boost.
also instead of knocking out the cat, why dont you try to find a aftermarket one?
even a 02-07 wrx/sti one will work, just need to relocated the oxygen sensor.
but if the cat is loose in there, then it wouldnt matter if you knocked it out.
maybe cuz im in california so i like to keep the stock parts in tact.
hope this helps and let us know if you find the problem.

[robertpaige]

GTwagon, thanks. My exhaust is all catless! I got the knock sensor all the way in, I think the top couple threads are stripped so we used a slightly longer bolt it and threaded in tight. I will inspect the wiring again! Fuel pressure is my next thing to tackle, gonna do a 255 walbro pump.

So I replaced my turbo, and it's a lot better the rattle from the loose wastegate door isn't there anymore. But it's still got a weird sound on exhaust. It's really muffled and fluttery sounding. Idk how to explain it, i'll be replacing all exhaust gaskets to rule it out because I think it's a bad gasket on either the headers of header to uppipe, I replaced the up/downpipe gaskets on the turbo side. Anyways boost hits smoother now. I replaced my coilpack today and picked up almost brand new NGK plug wires off a legacy at the junkyard today. The legacy I got the wires from was so so so clean in the engine bay. Not sure why it was junked, it was a good looking car. I need to get a stock airbox because mine is all cut up, but I didn't have the money on me today to get it.

[robertpaige]

So when I rev my motor, and as the idle falls theres suction on the end/tip of my muffler, sucking in back towards the motor, what does this mean? Can a bad exhaust gasket cause this? or are my heads damaged? Bad valves?

Ugh

[Legacy777]

How bad is the suction? Does it just feel like it's mildy sucking back or is it more like it will suck in a tissue?

[robertpaige]

Josh, I just felt it with my hand. But if I put a piece of paper against it as it fell from a high rev, i'm betting it would suck the paper right up against the muffler. I can try it and report back.

[robertpaige]

Bumpy bump

[robertpaige]

Josh where you at!