Any ideas on the culprit(s)?
I've noticed that since I've bought the car, I've been getting poor gas milage with it. I know these cars run rich from the factory, but I would still think you could pull some decent milage out of it.
I've also noticed an occasional erratic idle, nothing big, but when listening to the exhaust, you can hear a miss or 2. Also, when running WOT in third, and sometimes second gear, it will out of the blue hesitate for a second, and then come right back to running full power.. It's weird.  :?

Ideas? Fuel injectors? Plugged cat?
Oh, and another thing, I also noticed oil building up in my upper intake pipe when I had it off last. Could this be caused by a defective PCV valve? I don't know if it had ever been changed or not.

Thanks for any advice you all might be able to give me!

Is there oil in the pipe running from the Intercooler to the TB? What about the Turbo to the IC? If there is, then the seals on the turbo are leaking. They could be leaking for a few reasons. Either blown seals, or a plugged oil return line. This is a problem I'm having on mine right now, but I haven't had the time to pull off the ruturn line and see if it's plugged. It sounds like you're maybe having the same problem though.

Yes, there is oil in the pipe running from the IC to the throttle body.. I'm not sure about pipe from the turbo to the IC.

Ok.. so would it help any to know that I had a smoking issue a couple of days ago? I started the car up to leave from work, and was sitting in the car changing CD's and I noticed little wiffs of smoke drifting by the windows, so I revved the car some and the smoke got thicker and thicker, but after about 30 seconds of running the smoking subsided, and I haven't had the problem since then. It was a white smoke, and smelled like oil.. so I'm assuming that some oil got in to the exhaust.

Yeah...sounds like you either have a plugged oil return line or blown seals in the turbo. I'd check the oil return line first  :D

I'm having the same problems  I have no oil it the ic -tb pipe  or turbo-ic
but it misses alittle at idle  and does the power surge thing.


hope someone can figure this out.

Quote from: marcus18I'm having the same problems  I have no oil it the ic -tb pipe  or turbo-ic
but it misses alittle at idle  and does the power surge thing.

hope someone can figure this out.

Have you pulled the plugs and checked them? It almost sounds like an ignition problem. I had something similar when I first got my TGP. Turned out that one of the coils was very weak (and slightly cracked). That was causing it to idle poorly, and surge once and a while under WOT.

This afternoon I got an intermittant SES light while driving home for lunch.
I haven't seen it on since that time, but if it does come back, I am gonna see what codes I can pull, (you can pull codes on the turbo 3.1 ECM right?)
I've noticed that the car stumbles whenever I push WOT.. When the boost climbs the car starts to stumble on itself..

What's the easiest way to check the oil return line on the turbo?



I need to get myself a friggin Turbo 3.1 manual, lol  :roll:

If the SES light came on the code should be stored already. You pull the codes just like any other OBD 1.

The easiest way the check the oil return line is to take it off. Did you ask Kenny yet if he replaced it? I just finally changed mine the other day and now the turbo sounds different when it spools up. Sounds like it's spinning faster.

Now that you mention that.. you can barely hear mine spinning up. I know it is, but it's just not as loud. I would assume that if you had a K&N directly on the turbo that makes it quite a bit louder? Kenny had a custom rigged CAI on the car, and the Cone filter is behind the plastic panel on the passenger side of the car, directly under the electrical center.

Anyway.. Code 43, that's what I got.. I need that decoded, so can someone help a brotha out? lol  8)

Thanks

CODE 43

Trouble Code 43 indicates that there may be a malfunction in the Electronic Spark Control (ESC) circuit. ESC is used to sense spark knock (pinging) and retard the timing to eliminate it. The knock sensor is located at the rear of the engine block. The ECM will retard the timing by as much as 20 degrees in 1 degree increments. A loss of knock sensor signal or loss of ground at the ESC module will cause the signal at the ECM to remain high. The ECM will act as if no knock is present, and may possibly result in engine damage, due to detonation.

Code 43 is set when:

Voltage at Knock Sensor is above 4.8 volts or below .64 volts.
Either condition is met for about 10 seconds.
Possible causes:
1) Open or shorted knock sensor

2) Loose knock sensor

3) Excessive mechanical noise within engine

4) Improper or incorrectly installed MEM-CAL in the ECM or defective ECM

5) Intermittent open in the EST line to the ignition module


I'm not sure that code is gonna tell you much ;) I'd still check the oil return line.

If you're gonna change the crank sensor be gentle with it - mine snapped half way out.  It's not a bad idea to change it either, it's less than $20.  Worst part is getting it out.

Luke, I've heard that you have a knocking noise at idle or low rpm, that will give you the code 43 related to the knock retard. If I'm wrong about the knock issue, pull your plugs and check them, as any detonation will collapse your spark plug electrode(another issue I've heard about your car). :hockey:  :drinking:

I wish I could get you guys an audio recording of the car.. but I can't find enough extension cables around the house that would be long enough to go from my bedroom (where the computer is) out to the driveway, lol. I haven't noticed any knock or pinging at all since that one time, and when I did hear it, it was really quiet.

As of today I still haven't gotten another SES light, but I do know something is really wrong with the car, as I was almost beat by a newer Grand AM GT last night in a race.. I would hope that if this car was running right, a F-ing N Body wouldn't be ANY contest!
I'll let her cool down today, and if I get a chance, I'll start looking at a few things. The oil return hose comes out on the top of the turbo right? I can see the coolant hose, but there's a smaller one next to that which snakes it's way down to the motor. Common sense would tell me thats the oil return line correct? How hard is that to change? Does it need replaced, or can it simply be blown out with an air compressor? The knock sensor is at the lower passenger side of the block correct? I may just replace that just to be on the safe side since it's a relatively cheap part.

Any help you guys can give me is very much appreciated. I'm still a newbie to the turbo 3.1 if you can't already tell, lol  :oops:

No the oil return line is on the bottom of the turbo, its the only non-metal hose coming from it.  After long periods of time, it can become clogged or break down and compress when it gets too hot.  It's probably not a bad idea to change it.  It's relatively easy to change, go get a foot of hydraulic hose and remove the old one, get new clamps and cut it to fit, and then re-install.  Crank sensor is only accesible from the bottom unless you remove the alternator, and even then it's a bitch to get at.  All there is is one 7 or 8 mm bolt, pull it out carefully, then re-install it firmly into the opening, and clip the wire back on it.  I changed mine when I installed the TG 160 chip, along with plugs + wires, PCV.  They all made a big difference, but when I took my CS out, it snapped, which leads me to believe that it was causing most of my stalling problems.  I bet it was original.  Anyway - let us know how it turns out.  

Here's the thread for the oil return line -

http://www.netavalanche.com/tgp/viewtopic.php?t=3&highlight=oil+return+line

I just found the other line coming from the turbo, I removed the washer fluid resivoir and was able to find the other one. Good thing is I think I have some of that hose here at the house. I'll find out when I get it off.

I should be able to get at it from the bottom really easily. There's a BIG opening underneith the car where the auto tranny would be, so I would think it would be easier to get to from the bottom.