3sgte Problems

[Guest]

Hey everyone i am only 17 and have a 1990 gt4 celica I bought it off a friend who sold it to me for a bargin. It is my second celica and seconed car. Before that i owned a 1992 celica sx 2.2 5sfe. quite a nice car however the gt4 is by far beter.

-the gt4 is far from a factory example.

It has hks forged pistons, hks head gasket, high flowed turbo. The turbo has just been moved and has had a new high performance turbo mainifold set up, hks air filter, hks super sequntial BOV, boost controller set to 10psi and all in a new engine that has done 10,000 kms. IT FLIES!!!

My problem is though... My turbo maniold gasket keeps blowing is this common i have had the car for 4 months and the only thing i have done is the new manifold cause the gasket keeps going it hasnt gone yet but i fear that it will. my turbo also blew last night thanks to a stupid mechanic. (HE IS REPAIRING FOR ME FREE OF CHARGE) are blown turbos common i hope not cause they are so expensice. THANKS GUYS SORRY ABOUT THE BIG QUESTION!

[dawesy]

have the manifold faces checed for warping (incl the cylinder haed) this is the most common cause. also check the torque on the nuts as these can have a habit of comming loose if the incorect nuts have been used (should be the locking type)

when you say the turbo has blown what do you mean? the ct20 turbo fitted to the st205 gt4 had a weak tubine shaft that was prone to breaking under high boost.

what boost you runnning?

how do you afford the insurance

[novamuncher]

10 psi sounds quite a lot, im not a turbo expert but ive had some experience on a 200 sx. does the boost do it automatically or are you adjusting it with an actuator?

and if its of any help, you need to take atmospheric pressure inside the turbo as well as the 10 psi your running, although the AP is only 14.7 (15psi), it might be enough to be blowing the gasket? - its just a thought though, and im not totally sure.

good luck either way

[Guest]

Thanks guys for the reply. OK the reason i stated im only 17 is that i have no experience with cars and all there trouble and i really need help. My car isnt due back for a week yet but the manifold was brand new and the head has been checked for warping. I have a feeling it might be a lean mixture of fuel and air. Could that be possible??

Insurence is a real trouble!!!!! 6,950 Australian doller for full comprehensive! I obviously can't do that so i settle for third party. Apparently 1 in 2 kids my age crash this car so thats why it is so high more than half the value of the car!!!!

I have the ct 26 turbo but it has been high flowed! I must say though i havnt done any of the mods to the car except moving the turbo and the new turbo manifold. The reason my turbo blew is because the :censor: mechanics that did my manifold didnt put the vital oil line back into the turbo correctly! ALL THERE FAULT!!!! :ffs: they are replacing the turbo free of charge however!

If anyone wants pics of my car and me let me know. I really am a lucky boy to have a car like this so young its really a fluke i was in the right place at the right time!!! CHEERS!!!

[dawesy]

insurance ouch did the conversion into uk £ it equals about £2890.

your tubo should be ok when you get it back. they are normaly pretty reliable.

weak mixture could be a problem if you can get an exhaust gas temperature guage (EGT) normally any thing over 900c is bad exept for when you lift off the gas when it can go a little higher average is 700-800c. exessive egt can cause cracking and warping .

you are lucky to have a car like that at 17 i only had a mini

[Guest]

Thanks for the thought about the temprature guage. I work at a car accessories store so i will look into it! yeah I am lucky!! The car cost me 12,000 AUD. are the gas temp gauges expensive? so are you telling me that if my exaust in the turbo manifold is higher than 800 my gaskets could be warping and blowing!! :o this is really usefull and interesting.

I appreciate all of the advice!!! :D

Is it possible to change the air/fuel mixture to more rich???? do i need some kind of instrument like the Apexi unit or HKS one????

Thanks mate!! B)

[dawesy]

egt guage's are about £150 here not sure in australia. not saying over 800c will blow gaskets but if theyre over 900 regulary then it could be an explanation. if it is running lean then first check the whole fuel system filter etc make sure its all tip top. unless you,re running over 1.3 bar the standard fuel system should cope. other alternatives are MoTec ecu which will control everything and make yor tea (ok not the tea part ) expensive but well worth it if you want to mod it further

[Guest]

ok then ill look into all of this. I appreciate the help. With my stock/factory fuel regualator can i change the mixture to a more rich mixture. My autometer air fuel ratio guage sometimes says that i am running rich when my boost hits 10psi and sometimes it does a very pathetic semi stoich semi lean!!! I have a feeling this is a major contribution to the gasket popping i just need more opinions.. Should i maybe lay off the boost back a few psi??? Are the APEXI Super air fuel controller any good????

THANKS GUYS!!!!

[Guest]

some more pictures. its the white gt4 the grey celica is my old one.

[Guest]

more fotos of ny cars GT4 is the white one and the grey car is my old celica

[dawesy]

it is possible to increase fuel pressure by squeezing the regulator in a vice a bit but it isnt very accurate. better of putting an adjustable type on.

not sure on apexi stuff never delt with it but it is a well known brand so should be ok

let me know how you get on

car looks sweet mate

[Guest]

Thanks dawsey ill get some more pictures of my car when it comes back from the shop. Ill take ones in good weather.

Good news for me!!! :P The blown turbo is being repaired and apparently the only way to repair it is to make it a stage 2!?!? Im not sure what this means but apparently it is a good thing!!

They said that they needed to bore it out and replace the bearings with ball bearings... So apparently my turbo will be a bigger ct26 ball bearing turbo with an advanced stage is this correct i was a bit confussed??!!??!! It is being done at garrett turbo!! Free of charge! :D

[dawesy]

stg 2 is good find out if its getting a 360 degree thrust bearing as this really makes them as tough as nails. sound like they kinda did you a favour blowing up your old one. let me know how it feels with the new turbo on you should notice a bit of differance