jackal8788

This is good to know! Does anyone know what it would be from? I don't have the car here to b able to measure anything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Crap. I happen to be one of those with the metal charge pipe. Any idea where I would go about getting a new paper gasket?

Has anyone else used this specific gasket between the compressor outlet and the charge pipe? I currently have a diamond shaped paper gasket that seems much more appropriate but this is the actual part that Subaru calls out between those two components. Just want to see that at least someone else has used this successfully. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/12/a1b6e752dbfb66ce2ac4929a53922c27.jpg

Most of the work I do now is for high pressure hydro-mechanical systems, so the Parker O-ring guide has been one of my most frequented resources. In most of our stuff we use NBR or HNBR but Viton, silicone, and PTFE make their way in as well.

Yep, I opted for silicone. Viton may also work but silicon has a broader temp range on both the high and low end. I suspect that with my prolonged previous boost leak, I was certainly stressing the turbo more and generating more heat which probably didn't help the life of that last O-ring.

I wonder if the tolerances on that gland are getting a little out of whack on these upgraded turbos. Speaking to Bryan yesterday, he indicated that he may have let a few of the VF54 upgrade glands drift on size and it could have been slightly oversized.

Just did. I've got the proper size for it so I've ordered a few new ones. Should be here by Monday....ughhh, so tired of stupid little issues! Edit: for anyone who cares, the proper size is -046.

So another update - car felt down on power again and I had it boost-tested today. Boost leak! I haven't seen it yet but the guy is telling me it seems to be leaking from the compressor housing. I know this is vague but so I can start preparing, what seals the compressor housing to the rest of the turbo? Is there an O-ring or a gasket or maybe some Silly Putty?

My friend and I had one more rematch today at lunch because now she was 'ready'. Similar results as last time and much fun all around. We even snagged a guy in a Focus ST who joined in the shenanigans. All said and done, it was just ebony and ivory, well, you know....

Appreciate the feedback as always guys Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha! Yes, thank you for reminding me! We lined up and I let her get a jump of maybe 2 car lengths, then I nailed it. She had this awesome look of surprise when I went past and then a smile and a middle finger for me when she was in the rear view. It was quite fine [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Much appreciated! But not to worry, I will keep tinkering and inevitably the thread will continue to grow! In preparation for potential future plans, I wanted to get peoples input on what cams they have used for those who have upgraded. If I am understanding correctly, the '08+ STi cams will work as a direct drop-in because they also have the slot machined in for the oil scavenge pump, correct? Are there any other options people have used?

^This was puzzling to me as well. Essentially the only things we did were the new gasket, BOV O-ring, new plugs, and the TGV delete. Certainly the most impactful of those was the boost leak resolution, but I should clarify that I haven't quantified the power improvement via dyno or Virtual Dyno at this point, though I will be grabbing more datalogs hopefully today. I could be mistaken that 100% of the power has been restored but just based on how it pulls, it is much, much closer to what it should have been.

I'm glad this thread is surfacing again. I feel like it shouldn't be so few and far between for posts. Maybe we are all just really modest....

I will be going to lunch with her today and I have not yet informed her of the resolved issue. Kind of thinking to take the 'actions speak louder than words' approach

Lol! I appreciate the comments. It surely was frustrating but it has made me appreciate my car and this forum even more and without incurring massive expenses so overall I think this is a good thing. As for more drama, well, I wouldn't worry. The Panda knows what it's doing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can't say for sure that it was one single thing because we did note marked improvement from the TGV delete, though it seemed that the root cause was boost leak. The replacement of the compressor outlet gasket and the BOV O-ring really made the major difference. I wish I could tell you why these didn't show as leak points during the original boost leak test but I don't know why. I also don't know why my AFRs appeared to be normal with this happening. I can understand still hitting boost targets - the turbo may be able to compensate at the expense of a hotter charge, but I can't explain why I didn't see this on my wideband as frequent rich conditions when in open loop.

My friends, I hate to conclude the soap opera that has been my car's impotence (not really because it finally means I have my ride back) but I can report that after filling up with e85 today and reflashing that map, we are 100% back in business!! Thank you for your help, comments, and humor. I appreciated this community before but I am truly thankful to you all and I hope that this provides some help for other folks in case they find themselves in a similar situation. Cheers!

Sorry, been away for a little with with the holiday but I do have some news although somewhat puzzling. We found that the compressor outlet gasket and the BOV O-ring were actually leaking. This was not found in the first leak test. In any case, replacement of the gasket and O-ring seem to have provided a noticeable difference in power. However, when I took a datalog I saw something I've not seen before. Today for the first time, my throttle position did not match my accelerator position. In all previous logs (including earlier logs with the low power issue) 100% accelerator position corresponded to 100% throttle position. Now when I am at 100% accelerator position, the throttle position starts at ~40% and it slowly works its way up to about 87%. What does this mean? Is the throttle plate having some kind of extremely delayed response? I'm glad to see something like this happening but I don't have the knowledge to know what it means <hint hint>. Any ideas? Log is attached for reference. One additional thing to note is that this is a log from a very mild 91 octane tune so it should not be directly compared to any previous postings from e85. 91 octane power check.csv

Would a leakdown test necessarily uncover weak valve springs though? The springs may still be strong enough to close/seat the valves and once pressure is applied, it will only serve to close the valves more right?

I haven't been on the dyno, but I've put my datalogs into Virtual Dyno. I found it to be pretty accurate when I tested it shortly after my original dyno tune and when doing the same pull on the same road, it showed a reduction in peak HP of over 50%. I know it isn't as good as an actual dyno but I wanted to do something a little less subjective than just saying 'it feels more sluggish'. Another supporter for the lost power is the acceleration from the datalogs. After the tune in 3rd gear at WOT, the climb from 30 MPH - 70 MPH took ~4.5 seconds. Under the same conditions, that now takes just over 11 seconds. Definitely not a dumb question. At this point, I'm just saving my cash for the diagnostics and repair work.

What if the issue isn't a broken valve spring but just weak valve springs? Then the car might idle fine and run reasonably well at lower RPMs. It still doesn't miss or run rough at higher RPMs, just runs out of power...Hmmmm........something else to check?

LOL. Yeah, she may have snuck one past me. She's the craftiest mom I know But seriously, appreciate a little levity in the mix. It is needed at this point! Thanks for bringing this back up - I will add this to our test plan just to rule it out since it's a simple thing to check. Appreciate all the comments, both helpful and humorous (which are in turn, also helpful). We'll get there yet

Thanks Gents. I do have a standalone gauge (it resides next to my wideband) that is confirming what my Accessport is recording. So yeah.....

I kind of figured something more obvious would present, but at this point, I am even more lost than I was a week ago. For so much power to be gone, it just seems like the cause would be easier to diagnose. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk