Street Build 1g build - The Real Life Trials and Tribulations of building a DSM

[Anfurnyy]

Figured out what the issue was with the car and fuel pressure. I actually ran the car out of gas. I pulled the hanger to see if maybe a line popped off and they looked fine so then I just kinda kept looking and saw that the tank was empty. I'd known that gauge still doesn't work right now, it's stuck at completely full but the low level light still comes on. The low level light has been on for awhile but I figured that it was an error or something due to the hanger. I guess it was actually low. I DID fill up the car when I took it out for a cruise a little while ago and I didn't think there was any way for me to go through an ENTIRE tank of fuel that fast but apparently with the injectors having issues it must have been over fueling like crazy and used up all the fuel.

Well filled the car up and that fixed it. Car runs great again. So great that I was able to take the car out for some logging. Did some driving and another 3rd gear pull log. Revved it out to 8500 and it barely touched 23 psi at 8500, with zero Wastegate duty cycle. Car still pulled 5° up top between 8-8500. could be false knock but we're gonna pull a little timing up top and go for another run in the future to see if it was false or not. Just a little virtual dyno to show the power falling off up up right at that 8k mark. I feel like it would have made 450+ in VD.


Zach told me that it looks like I'll likely need to install a kiggly Trigger wheel as the ECU really looses engine position in the higher RPMs. I've got a 12-1 crank trigger wheel bought up and on the way, as well as a new starter because we think maybe mine is bad causing it to pull too much voltage when cranking. Voltage drops down to like 8v while cranking despite new battery and good connections.

We're still trying to get the starting and cranking fuel stuff figured out as the car still has a hard time starting.

We're on the right track!

 

[Vegas Smith]

Be aware there is a no-start bug with Link ecu and the Kiggly 12t wheel. Check out the forums and check out my settings so that it doesn't give you a big headache.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Be aware there is a no-start bug with Link ecu and the Kiggly 12t wheel. Check out the forums and check out my settings so that it doesn't give you a big headache.

Ohh thanks for the heads up! I think I read yours. Was it you set your trigger offset like 360°?

I'm also gonna use the 12 minus 1 wheel if that makes a difference

 

[Vegas Smith]

Every car will have a different offset based on where your CAS sits, but yeah it was something like 360. The 12-1 wheel does make a difference in your settings. You'll just have to pick the right trigger. I believe there is a dsm thread where a guy asks about the 12-1 wheel on those forums. Should be easy to find. It's something like trigger "missing tooth" or something.

 

[Anfurnyy]

a whole lot of nothing again has happened since the last update.
Some new parts that ive acquired since also:
Kiggly 12-1 trigger wheel
MCR 200 AMP Saturn alternator
Kiggly Friction disks
Frontline Fab Billet CAS Cover
New Starter


Some really neat parts!!
an Early 91+ Gearset
Quarter Master Twin Disk, w/ Street disks!


Most of what ive done over the last month is waiting. I ended up pulling the oil pan to replace the front case since i had a stripped bolt. I probably could have Helicoiled it but now i know its a whole new housing. i primed the pump with a drill until oil started coming out of the lifter ports. Rods and oil squirters are all still intact! yay

Installed the New 200 AMP alternator and honestly this took a long time. Just to grind away the alternator mount and the little bit on the alternator even with proper grinding bits took a few hours. Obviously with the new alternator the tensioner doesn't fit right so i ordered up a Morrison Fab tensioner adapter which is super quality as always. I love the look of how clean the adapter and new alternator are. I did run a 2ga wire from the alternator to the post i have in the engine bay, with a 150amp fuse (might upgrade to a 200 amp later, but i doubt ill ever see 200amps) Im always impressed with my ability to make these large gauge battery cables.


I also ordered up some of the Oilite bushings for the tensioner arm from Pat Farly from DSM Machining out of Canada. These have a tighter tolerance than OEM and not only that but you cant get OEM bushings to replace the old ones.


I had to run the harness for the new Trigger through the timing cover which i decided to do the Jason Drew (@jdxnc) way and used the same cut washer method to secure it behind the timing belt inside the of the timing area, but i also used another wire tiedown where one of the balance shaft idler or tensioner went, i cant remember. I drilled a hole in the back side of the timing cover right above the a/c bracket and de-pinned the connector and ran it through and used a grommet to help seal off the new hole and ran that right across the back of the block to the wiring harness loomed right where the CAS wiring is. Easy splicing from there. Running it that way helps keep any electronic interference from the rest of the harness and it was just easier than having to undo about 5 feet of loom that i already did earlier. I think this turned out great.


Ive got a wiring harness for the alternator that i need to wire in but i think ill do that another day. should be easy though, just 2 wires.

Got the timing belt back on and im working on getting the tensioner set right. This is always a pain for me. I cant ever get the grenade pin to be free again after turning the engine over. Even after letting it sit overnight.

Tapped and plugged the EGR port IN the head as well so that when we do some antilag and launch control stuff it doesn't melt my intake gasket.


For the trigger wheel, you also have to block off the crank sensor cutout in the CAS wheel so i did that and installed the new Frontline Fab cover which looks great.


Snagged a early 91+ gearset with the 3-4 hub and slider. My plan is to HOPEFULLY combine my current set and that 3-4 into one set to have a good stronger 3-4. I cant seem to find much info on that anywhere unfortunately. I do have the 93+ center diff with the groove in it and a full 93+ gearset so not sure what else might be needed after that.


As it sits right now i gotta finish up the tension and getting the timing cover back on

 

[92AWDHX40]

Looks good pat makes some cool stuff i remember his stuff on his thread years ago. Following the thread.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Another far and few between update

Got the car all back together, verified base timing and timing drift and car seems to be running really great so far! Getting a few kinks worked out with the tune but so far so good.
Installed some new Titanium exhaust manifold studs and fixed my turbo coolant return leak also.



I did end up solving a pretty huge gripe about the car since going with COP and that was that for some reason I could only get the car to fire and start if I held the starter for EXACTLY 4 seconds. This turned out to be a wiring issue with what wires I used on my busbar to supply 12v switched power to all the accessories. Basically that busbar was not getting 12v power when the engine was cranking, causing the coils to not fire while cranking and all my CAN stuff to not work also. Some magical way when I held it for 4 seconds it fired at the PERFECT time when it was going back into "Run" mode and started the car. Now that's fixed and the car starts like a normal ass car .

I drove the car to work yesterday and back home and I got into it in 2nd and holy balls it rips pretty good. I'm at about 25lbs on 91 right now which is where I'd like to keep the 91 tune. E85 I'll be shooting for 40s probably. Drove it around town the other day Grocery Store hopping looking for some damn heavy whipping cream.


Snagged Jason's 4 spider gear center diff stuff. That'll go in when I get a dogbox most likely, maybe sooner if something happens. We'll see. I don't wanna go with a spool because it's a street car.


Some things still on the agenda to fix:
- Fuel level sender
- Alignment
- Fix speed sensor calibration in ECU
- Adjust shifter cables
- possibly bleed/ adjust clutch pedal. Not sure if it's bled completely.
- Adjust Headlights

Does anyone know where to get a new hood prop clip? I thought I remembered someone 3d printing them but now I can't find anything.

 

[92AWDHX40]

I got on for you.

 

[Anfurnyy]

I got on for you.

I appreciate it man! Glad someone's still watching haha

 

[MindBlowin03]

Part number on the hood prop clip is mb401481. Quick Google search tells me they are probably still available and pretty cheap.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Part number on the hood prop clip is mb401481. Quick Google search tells me they are probably still available and pretty cheap.

What the hell. I promise I looked for the part number but only the Galant and what not popped up. I couldn't find any sort of cross referencing for what was cross compatible.

Thanks! I'll be ordering one

 

[Anfurnyy]

Part number on the hood prop clip is mb401481. Quick Google search tells me they are probably still available and pretty cheap.

Got the eclip of eBay, works perfect. Thanks again for this!

Well the car is up and running. Drove it to work Monday, and even went to a cruise over the weekend and had zero issues whatsoever.

Just working with the tuner to get the car dialed in on 91 and then we'll be switching to e85. Having some Issues with getting the link ECU software to see vehicle speed correctly though. It's all over the place. I might have to reach out to link forums again to see if anyone has some recommendations. Id like to use that for idle control as well as launch control/rolling antilag purposes and later on cruise control.

I knocked 1 small thing off my list of things to do which was replace the passenger side window regulator. Lubed it up with some silicone grease too and it works great now. No more uneven roll ups.



I did also end up buying a muffler for the exhaust. I thought I would have liked how loud the car is but there's is an ungodly drone/resonance between 3-4k rpm even with a decent sized resonator that is just too loud. The ONLY 3.5" unless muffler I could find was an Apexi muffler. So I got that guy ordered up and it was delivered yesterday. It's huge, and does make a considerable difference to the sound just holding up to the end of the exhaust. I'll work on getting that welded on here in the next few weeks.


I think my next little projects for the car are going to be adjusting the shifter cables, it kind of clunks into 3rd especially ( I think the horizontal cable is too short, pulling the selector to the left) and then fixing the power mirrors. My driver one is floppy as hell inside the mirror so I'm sure one of the gears is broken or something. And then fixing the fuel gauge. I have a new level sending unit to install so we'll see how that goes.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Here's an attempted pull in 2nd. Road was wet from overnight condensation. She does want to scoot!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Is it spinning the tires when she gets into boost? I thought that is what I heard when I watched the video and my car does the same thing (when its running......soon again, very soon). I bet you are smiling from ear to ear getting to cruise again. I jumped in my 92 auto last night and it was giving me fueling issues......AGAIN. I'll replace the pump sock and try her again today (its a whopping 65* out today) and see if she will hold fuel pressure under boost (it didn't last night).
Love your build, of course!

 

[Anfurnyy]

Is it spinning the tires when she gets into boost? I thought that is what I heard when I watched the video and my car does the same thing (when its running......soon again, very soon). I bet you are smiling from ear to ear getting to cruise again. I jumped in my 92 auto last night and it was giving me fueling issues......AGAIN. I'll replace the pump sock and try her again today (its a whopping 65* out today) and see if she will hold fuel pressure under boost (it didn't last night).
Love your build, of course!

It sure was. It's definitely not a power thing though, the roads were kind of damp from condensation overnight. I'm absolutely ecstatic! There's a few things that I want to address to make the overall experience a lot better but it's getting there! Hopefully you get that figured out!

Thanks man I appreciate it! Hopefully soon I'll actually be able to do multi-gear pulls and see how it really rips.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I won't hog your thread, but I replaced the pump sock, like I said, and.............
SHE BOOSTS but is on 91 not E. I had a fun little drive to the gas station and it needs timing pulled but boy was that nice since it's been a long time.
I hope your car gives you the same amount of SMILES for MILES!!!

 

[CrackedDSM]

It sure was. It's definitely not a power thing though, the roads were kind of damp from condensation overnight. I'm absolutely ecstatic! There's a few things that I want to address to make the overall experience a lot better but it's getting there! Hopefully you get that figured out!

Thanks man I appreciate it! Hopefully soon I'll actually be able to do multi-gear pulls and see how it really rips.

Don't sell yourself short. It's definitely a power thing. Even with cold or condensed road it still takes decent power to rip through all four wheels. Especially in a full time AWD system and not some lame ass clutch-based FWD bias "awd" that most vehicles are these days.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Life's been good lately with the car and ive been able to get some good work done on the car.
I pulled the axleback off the car and was able to have the muffler welded on. Pretty big difference, i think its sounds a lot better. Bassier. I did have to clearance like 1/4 inch off the back side of the rear bumper crash bar as the outer diameter of the muffler was pressing right against it causing all the reverberation in the muffler to be transferred into the frame of the car which shook my brain. Got that ground down and now it fits great and is much quieter.




Swapped out my fuel level sending unit finally and that fixed my fuel level issues! so Now i have an accurate fuel gauge, yay.
I really want to keep the interior of this thing pretty clean so im still trying to find all the little missing pieces that have gone missing over the years before my ownership, like the lower seat belt retainer things on the side of the seats. I actually scored one off ebay for the passenger side for $17. That'll go on soon. Im still torn on whether or not to swap to the manual seat belts. I really like the auto belts but sometimes they are a pain.



Car has been driving pretty good, still kind of fighting with some potential false knock stuff. Ive tried to lower some of the knock settings which lowered the knock output values but it still seems there is a possibility there is real knock. There arent really any spikes, they all go up gradually passed the threshold but we're just not sure. Tuner and I are switching to E85 and will tune that to see i those values have a similar behavior on E85 and if they are we are fairly confident its false knock and we'll address it afterwards. When it doesn't pull 5* on all cylinders it really lights up going into boost.



Some pretty exciting news, my car is going to get featured in State/ Tri-state wide magazine based out of the Eastern Side of our state.
The magazine is called "The Motor Market" here's a peek at the article. Magazine will be out the end of March.


Slowly checking off the list of things i need to do to get the far somewhat finalized, now i need a new secondary radiator fan as mine is now rubbing on the radiator. Ive unplugged it so it doesnt turn on but id like to get that addressed before summer comes!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

E85 will quench that knock and your car will AMAZE you.

 

[DreamChaser7]

F¥ck yah on the magazine! I completely agree with the cockpit statement. These are definitely tailored for a “driver” not an “operator”. My favorite part of the whole thing as well, you know aside from bad ass spooling to four wheels of course.
Nicely done bro keep it up.

 

[92AWDHX40]

I cant wait to drive mine on e 85.

 

[1cleangsx]

Man was that a 9000rpm rip? Spool looks pretty decent too! Congrats on the magazine article that’s awesome!

 

[Anfurnyy]

Man was that a 9000rpm rip? Spool looks pretty decent too! Congrats on the magazine article that’s awesome!

It was! 9k comes pretty quick.
It's a little slow till about 5400 and then it's party time for sure!

Thanks man! It's pretty cool. Never thought something like that would happen but you never know I guess

 

[Anfurnyy]

E85 will quench that knock and your car will AMAZE you.

Hopefully this weekend I'll get my first taste again.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Alright So here it is. The 3 years of me working on this car have finally come to fruition. Is hard to believe the hundreds of hours, countless $$ spent, literal blood and sweat (fortunately no tears) have finally paid off. And while this build isn't over it's finally at a place that I have been fully rewarded for my hard work and I could not be more ecstatic!

So on Friday I was able to get the 91 drained and filled up with e85 and go out for some logs. WOW. What an absolute difference!
I'm interesting things happened on this fill up too. I put 4.5 gallons in with a can, and then drove to the gas station to finish filling up, and put in another 14 gallons... it overflowed out the top of the tank not a ton but maybe 1/4 gallon.


Ethanol right now here is only 67% so we aren't at full timing.

First revision was 30psi, and it was exactly what I was expecting. Unfortunately I blew the dipstick out (Zach and I think it was due to being overly rich causing "rich knock" and increasing cylinder pressure causing more PCV.) made a little mess but nothing serious.

Yesterday, is when the party started!
Worked with Zach to get some logs and were up to 35psi with what I would say is just light maybe moderate timing since only 67% Ethanol and holy shit the car absolutely rips. One of the maps he sent he added 10% duty cycle (open loop boost) and it peaked 39psi and spun all 4 on dry pavement on my way to Napa before hitting boost cut.. (thankfully) was a bit much for what he was shooting for 35ish.


This next map/revision he added back in that 10% duty cycle so we should hit 40psi, but logging got cut short as my voltage started to drop down into the 10s as I was on my way home. I think it was due to blowing the dipstick out and oil got in the alternator and killed it . I pulled it out today and tried to clean it with some "Lectra -Motive" cleaner and no dice.

Here's some videos of 2nd and 3rd gear pulls and a Virtual Dyno run (uncorrected) of the 35 PSI 3rd gear pull.



3rd gear pull


2nd gear pull