Infosecdad Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 (edited) I think I figured out why I had failed the previous 4 times. On the fifth attempt I just barely noticed that when sliding the cover back down, the cam bracket likes to just bump the gasket out of the track on the bottom side. It's hidden from me unless I feel up there and I simply missed it the previous times. I tried several times and just didn't have the clearance to get it past without dislodging the gasket. I pulled the exhaust manifold to gain better access to that side. Finally figured out I could get it past the exhaust cam, then from the underside, reseat the gasket. After a bit of fighting, double checking, checking again, I tightened everything down just til the ultra black started to show. In the middle of waiting an hour before torquing to spec. While waiting, I decided to redo all the exhaust connections on the manifold. Took it all apart, cleaned it up, added some ultra copper to it. Now waiting for that hour to elapse as well. I should be working on the class I have to teach Wed, but I can't think clearly while this was hanging over my head. Gonna go torque down the valve cover, put the rest back together, torque the exhaust, grab some dinner and work late on my class. Hoping and praying I finally got it this time... Will find out tomorrow evening after the 24hrs is up.. Edited March 17, 2019 by Infosecdad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 I think you got it this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Ok, so I finally have a sealed valve cover gasket! Got her up to operating temps and coolant burped, no leaks (other than other things that are old). Burned off all the spilled oil of the exhaust after about 10 min. I think I would have sat down and cried if it had leaked on the 5th try. So I got that done. Check Btssm and find #3 quiet as a lamb and #1 continuously misfiring... I'm pretty sure it's the o-rings at this point. So I'm going to be waiting at the dealer at 7:30 in the morn when the parts department opens. I know I'll pay more for them, but I really, really want to drive my car tomorrow afternoon when I have to take a 4.5hr drive to the in-laws. And I want to be doubly sure I get the right sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 dealer sells these orings? let us know how much. IIRC, I got a complete set (small and large orings for the four injectors for 15$ from DW). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 I've been told they do, but I'm pretty sure it won't be a full set for $15 :-D As I was sitting down for the night, I had a thought. The misfire on #1 now shouldn't be the injector o-ring at this point, I had addressed that. Checking yet again, I realized that I had swapped the coils between #3 and #1 when I did the valve cover. On a hail mary (so I wouldn't have to go to the dealer so early) I replaced the new coil with one of my spare coils. Fired it up, no misfires. WTH? that was a new coil... Decided that was pretty much par for the course at this point. I went for a drive, she drove so smoothly. 20 mins of driving back roads 20-60mph, not a single misfire. Brought her back to the garage, let her idle for 10 min, no misfire. So to bring this all to summation... I had multiple issues. 1. I had tired and leaking o-rings between my intake manifold and TGVs (intermittent misfires on multiple cylinders) 2. I had tired and leaking o-rings on two of my injectors (continuous misfires on two cylinders) 3. I had a "new" coil that was misbehaving (continuous misfires on one cylinder) I also learned that at 196k miles that the exhaust valve clearance on #3 was still perfect. Happy to learn that. Also learned that the tiniest of details can muck with your mind multiple times (valve cover gasket)... Going to drive her for 4.5hrs tomorrow. Hoping and praying she runs just as smoothly as she did tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Yeah. I hope your trip will be trouble free so you can enjoy the boooooost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StkmltS Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 I've been told they do, but I'm pretty sure it won't be a full set for $15 :-D As I was sitting down for the night, I had a thought. The misfire on #1 now shouldn't be the injector o-ring at this point, I had addressed that. Checking yet again, I realized that I had swapped the coils between #3 and #1 when I did the valve cover. On a hail mary (so I wouldn't have to go to the dealer so early) I replaced the new coil with one of my spare coils. Fired it up, no misfires. WTH? that was a new coil... Decided that was pretty much par for the course at this point. I went for a drive, she drove so smoothly. 20 mins of driving back roads 20-60mph, not a single misfire. Brought her back to the garage, let her idle for 10 min, no misfire. So to bring this all to summation... I had multiple issues. 1. I had tired and leaking o-rings between my intake manifold and TGVs (intermittent misfires on multiple cylinders) 2. I had tired and leaking o-rings on two of my injectors (continuous misfires on two cylinders) 3. I had a "new" coil that was misbehaving (continuous misfires on one cylinder) I also learned that at 196k miles that the exhaust valve clearance on #3 was still perfect. Happy to learn that. Also learned that the tiniest of details can muck with your mind multiple times (valve cover gasket)... Going to drive her for 4.5hrs tomorrow. Hoping and praying she runs just as smoothly as she did tonight. I really hope your issue is gone and never comes back. I'll be able to drive my misfire-mobile happily knowing that you're running smoothly. Yep, I'm learning how to become satisfied by driving vicariously through Internet people. My DiySB rebuild Got Misfires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 300 miles and she is purring like a happy kitten. 0 misfires, not even a stray one. LV is high in A, I suspect I have a slight vacuum leak after tearing it down and putting it back together so many times. Not really worried about it at the moment, will check it out when I get home. Got 26mpg at 78mph, probably some of the best gas mileage I've gotten at that speed. Idle is buttery smooth. I'm not even noticing the previous stubble/hesitation that I had fought for a couple years. We'll see how long it lasts, but dang, I'm going to enjoy it right now :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Really good to hear. Happy for you. What's the value in A? Freakin coil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilredwagon Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Excellent! Great to hear you're on the road smoothly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Really good to hear. Happy for you. What's the value in A? It’s mostly -10 to -14 now. If the AC kicks on, it moves to -3 or so for a few seconds. Engine braking downhill is almost zero. I checked all the connections, haven’t found anything yet. Might reset the ECU and relearn, just to see I had put the intake snorkel (piece between the box and radiator) on in the middle of the learning cycle last time and I wonder if that confused it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I personally think it is useless to reset the ECU. It'll just go back to the same learning values real quick. Play the game I've done in the past: let the engine idle, grab your phone with btssm running, open the hood, and slowly wiggle the MAF wiring harness particularly closer to the MAF connection. And observe the AF correct value. I essentially use this method to make sure there is no issue with the wiring harness and MAF plug. I had issue like that before with the 06 (was chasing leaks which was driving me nuts; one day did the above and BAM!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StkmltS Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 Almost no misfires on the way to work this morning. Car season is approaching and the itch to solve the mystery is growing again. On a positive note: BtSsm via heiche's BT dongle is 1000x more convenient than using a tactrix and usb cable every day. I should have bought one a long time ago. My DiySB rebuild Got Misfires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Infosecdad, we don't hear from you anymore . So, misfires are gone for good then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Infosecdad, we don't hear from you anymore . So, misfires are gone for good then? Basically, yes. I had a 5 sec event where it bogged and considered reverting back to it's old ways, but that cleared quickly. I've sent an email to Deatschwerks asking about o-rings, but haven't heard back yet. Now I'm fighting a vacuum or exhaust leak (I think). I've never had values this far off. I'm leaning toward exhaust leak since I've had issues in the past from the manifold to the up-pipe and I had to disconnect all that for the valve cover replacement. Work has just been crazy busy and I haven't driven a lot, so I haven't tried to seriously troubleshoot yet. Hoping to be able to this weekend after all the yard work and house ToDos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Almost no misfires on the way to work this morning. Car season is approaching and the itch to solve the mystery is growing again. On a positive note: BtSsm via heiche's BT dongle is 1000x more convenient than using a tactrix and usb cable every day. I should have bought one a long time ago. You can do it! Maybe I'll try to visit my in-laws up in Louisville sometime and swing by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Basically, yes. I had a 5 sec event where it bogged and considered reverting back to it's old ways, but that cleared quickly. I've sent an email to Deatschwerks asking about o-rings, but haven't heard back yet. Now I'm fighting a vacuum or exhaust leak (I think). I've never had values this far off. [ATTACH]274416[/ATTACH] I'm leaning toward exhaust leak since I've had issues in the past from the manifold to the up-pipe and I had to disconnect all that for the valve cover replacement. Work has just been crazy busy and I haven't driven a lot, so I haven't tried to seriously troubleshoot yet. Hoping to be able to this weekend after all the yard work and house ToDos. Those are pretty extreme values, which would lead to some obvious leak. Last time I had such bad negative values across the board, was when I had a leak at the throttle body hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StkmltS Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 You can do it! Maybe I'll try to visit my in-laws up in Louisville sometime and swing by Do it. There's a big cars and coffee event here in N.Ky on Saturday mornings that's fun to check out, and there's a large Subaru meet late in the summer. My DiySB rebuild Got Misfires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 After messing around for a bit looking at exhaust connections (manifold to up-pipe has been a pain in the past) and vacuum, I decided to pull the TMIC to double check the throttle body hose. Once I pulled the TMIC, I checked it out; almost no oil residue inside I had a thought about the gasket for the BOV, I've fought it before. So I pulled out the flashlight to check and see if I could see any light... Light Off Light On Honestly, didn't expect to see it that clearly (click on them if you need too)... Trying to figure out why that only showed up recently, it's been like that for a while. I think all the misfires where covering it up. Redid it with ultra black, now waiting the 24hrs to see if that was it or if I have any others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StkmltS Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 Wow, good job finding that leak. Hopefully it's your only one. My DiySB rebuild Got Misfires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilredwagon Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 That's crazy, didn't you say you did a smoke test before? I wonder why it didn't show up when you did. I guess in the long sequence of changing things, it could have come up later. Glad to see some progress being made! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Interesting improvements to report. Outside of finding that leak at the BOV, I found that the o-ring for my MAF sensor was sliced. That may or may not have been leaking, but I have a new o-ring ordered, and in the mean time I replaced with one from a spare MAF. Testing after fixing the BOV leak, AF learn B-D are in excellent shape at -3.2 - 0.0 However, AF learn A is still at -13.2... But.... Only at idle. When moving or in gear, it's great. Not really sure what that means at this point, need to do some research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Yeah, AF A is essentially reporting idle condition. So my guess would be the leak is small, yet more prominent at idle, relative to the amount of air sucked in through the intake. You now make me want to check my BOV gasket now (there's a gasket right?). I've had messed up trims for a while now (positive) but can't find any obvious leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Yeah, AF A is essentially reporting idle condition. So my guess would be the leak is small, yet more prominent at idle, relative to the amount of air sucked in through the intake. You now make me want to check my BOV gasket now (there's a gasket right?). I've had messed up trims for a while now (positive) but can't find any obvious leak. Yes, there is a gasket (or at least supposed to be). I was testing different ones, so I swapped mine out a number of times. And after one of them I guess it stopped sealing. I guess I could see a leak that could happen at idle when the air is moving slower, but is a smaller percentage of the air when it moves more quickly (above idle). I hate tracking these things down. My wife is starting to ask if my car is going to ever be running right... I need to get this resolved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 I hate tracking these things down. My wife is starting to ask if my car is going to ever be running right... I need to get this resolved I know the feeling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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