some vids of how well the tgp doesn't run

[stockgp]

thought i'd post some vids of the trouble i'm still having with the tgp.  i'm ready to send it off to paint.  then all i have to do is fix the problems in these vids and i'll have a really nice car.

first vid, valve noise.  i have new lifters, pushrods, guide plates and 1.6 rockers.  i just need to put them on and hopefully this noise will be gone:



next, a vid of the vacuum problem.  after i rev the car, the brake pedal will go all the way to the floor.  after a couple pumps, i have a firm pedal again.  the rpms will go up while i'm pumping the brakes, and settle again when i stop:



next, the check gauges light.  it's on constantly right after i start the car.  after idling for a while, it'll start to flicker.  sometimes it will go out completely for a second or two:



last, the smoke out the tail pipe.  i'm not sure whether this is the turbo or not.  i don't know a ton about turbos, just basically how they work.  this is the amount of smoke that comes out the tail pipes pretty consistently.  note that i have driven the car probably less than 5 miles since i brought it home and did the tranny swap:



also, though i don't have a video of it, i'm having trouble with hitting boost cut.  i got advice in another thread that suggested my wastegate lines.  as far as i can tell, the wastegate line is crack and leak free.

any thoughts and suggestions are welcome

[grinders_18]

Ok, with the last vid, where you have smoke, here's two things to check out to determine if it's the turbo going bad:

1) is there a buildup of gunk/crap in the tailpipes? Easy to see...when my turbo was bad, it was like a greyish mud.
2) Remove the air filter on the turbo and grab the impeller wheel...does it wobble? If it wobbles, does it scrape the side of the turbo housing? Small movement is fine, since all turbos have very small movement when cooled.

With the first video, do you have your crossover pipe connected 100%? It sounds as though you may have a small exhaust leak, and if you've replaced the crossover, it's possible it isn't connected 100%. Trust me, it's very easy to not have it lined up 100%.

[stockgp]

there is a bit of stuff in the tips.  i can get better pics of that.

i don't want to say it's grayish mud.  i want to say it's more like black mud.  after i let it idle for a while, moisture forms in the bottom of the tips and i can run my finger through it.  it comes out on my finger as black.

the turbo DOES move.  not a ton.  i can not get it to scrape the sides of the turbo at all.  the crossover was replaced before i got the car.  it may not be lined up correctly.  that may be a problem in itself.  with my new turbo support bracket for the 5 speed, it may not be able to line up correctly.

[pontiac6ksteawd]

Vid #1) That doesnt sound good to me. More like a cam/crank/flywheel that is clanking to me,. Could be a exhaust issue thou.

Vid #2) You RPM's going up while pumping the brakes is completely normal. Not sure what is going on with the pedal going to the floor.

Vid #3) Typical Cluster Problem. There is a Rebuild FAQ I think somewhere on this board.

[TGP Nick]

For the Check Gauges light, you just need to remove your gauge cluster and resolder the pins on the backside of the cluster.  There is a write-up for this on the regular w-body.com website.

[mfewtrail]

Aghhhhh, my lengthy post didn't go through last night(the board timed out on me and quit working alltogether after I submitted the post). :icon_redface:

1. Hopefully that's just a sticky lifter. I can't tell much from the video, I only hear the noise pretty good before your rev it...but it's kinda hard to diagnose noise from videos anyway.

2. The brake pedal shouldn't be dropping to the floor when you rev the engine. Your booster check valve(that the hose attaches to on the booster) OR booster is probably not functioning properly and allowing vacuum to escape. Check the check valve by blowing through it, you should be able to blow through it one way, but not the other way. How do the brakes feel when you actually drive the car?

3. Has the cluster been resoldered yet Dan? If not the light is probably just on for no reason. Shawn, the owner of w-body.com, made a writeup a long time ago about this problem and fixing it. You can find that info here: http://www.w-body.com/service/checkgauges.html

4. Has the oil return line on the car been replaced or at least inspected? The inner liner bubbles up with age and can restrict oil flow back to the pan causing oil to back up into the turbocharger and be burned off. If the line is fine, check the intercooler charge pipes for oil buildup. If you have oil there, then you have a leaky cold side/compressor seal. Besides that, your turbine oil seal could be leaking and oil will only be burning off in the exhaust rather than being ingested into the engine & burned off that way(as would happen with a leaking compressor seal). By the way, does the smoke smell like oil? It looks very bluish in the video, so I'm assuming it is oil. If it were gasoline smoke, you would probably have a very rough time starting the car. ;)

[cobracmdr]

Errrr unless he swapped out the PMIII for vacuum brakes.....then vacuum is not the brake problem.  Although his drive ability could be related to that. 

My engine has made all sorts of terrible noises over the last few months due to vacuum leaks, bad map sensors, bad injectors, wires mixed up, dis module fucking up.  Any one of those could cause the condition you have.....not necessarily a bad lifter (expecially if you put new ones in)  Also when you did the 1.6 rockers are you sure you put the pushrods in right?  They are different lengths for the intake/exhaust and if you mixed them up that could be your problem.  They should all have been tight when you torqued the rocker arms down.  If any were loose then you got them in the wrong order....

Ken

[mfewtrail]

Errrr unless he swapped out the PMIII for vacuum brakes.....then vacuum is not the brake problem.  Although his drive ability could be related to that. 

Dan did swap out his brakes for vacuum ones...unless he's swapped back to the PMIII now. :laugh: Oh yeah, is your pedal really hard Dan? If the booster isn't holding vacuum, it should be hard and you'll need a lot more pedal effort to stop it. I drove a w-body with a bad booster before and it would slowly creep to a stop when I was damn near standing on the pedal. :icon_eek:

[stockgp]

just the opposite. the pedal is incredibly soft for the first few pumps.  only then does it feel like a normal pedal should.  then after i drive/rev it a bit, i have to pump the brakes to get pressure to build again so i can stop.

matt, i have yet to swap the lifters/pushrods/rockers.  so, the problem still could be valvetrain.  i'm hoping that's all it is.  it doesn't sound like bad main bearing to me.  i hope the #10 lobe on the cam isn't trached.  i understand that's a common problem.

[stockgp]

oh, and matt is right.  vacuum brake swap is one of the first things i did, as my pmIII unit wasn't working right when i got the car.