Topic: Twincharged Solstice = Turbocharger + Supercharger

[Steelmesh]

The car is running, but raining today so will be driving it tomorrow Friday is the plan.

A bit ago I posted about the timing chain tensioner falling apart in the [race] engine and I never found the other half of the c-clip, well I found it after tearing down that engine and fortunately it doesn't look like it hurt anything:



Bad news stuff that tripped me up:

1) The intake camshaft skipped half a chain link, again.  I fixed that and this time manually spun the engine around twice to hopefully get things settled. 

2) Last Sunday when I finished the engine and was installing the flywheel and clutch, my heart dropped because I stole the pilot bearing from that crankshaft to put it into the junk yard engine.  Then the bearing did not want to come out of the junk yard engine using a pilot bearing puller and it damaged it.  I couldn't find anything in stock, so I went rogue and took my own measurements, 15mm ID and 21 mm OD, about 15mm deep.  I plugged that into the internet and it spit out this Dorman HELP! product with applications for for 1980's+ Ford 2.3L engines.  Application guides for Autozone do not say it fits the Solstice, but it appears to fit no issues installing it.  If it siezes up I'll let you know.  The context here is that I needed to get this car running by Wednesday so that is why I am taking educated chances and take full responsibility (like always).



3) After running the engine for 3 minutes at 2,000 rpm, there was a major oil leak coming from the under where the rear main seal is, I did a thorough job of making sure it wasn't something else because I really didn't want to drop the trans but I still had to which sucks and is punishment for being a cheap ass.

[MattM]

Were you able to get everything buttoned up with the leaking etc.?

[jonymac]

Unbelievable thread!

[Steelmesh]

Were you able to get everything buttoned up with the leaking etc.?

  There is someting wrong, it leaks again.  I have a crank repair sleeve on the way from the South American Jungle and just got some rear main seals from rock among spare needle bearings.  I will try to start it up this time with the transmission removed as well to make sure it doesn't leak haha.  I'll also check the drainback behind the main seal is functioning, but right now I assume the sealing surface is damaged so that repair sleeve should save me.  I did put anaerobic flange sealant around the outside of the main seal, I'll have to check that out also.

In addition I found the LSJ SC bypass actuator was blown out so I found a replacement, I guess these valves can't really handle much boost pressure and normally it doesn't see any boost pressure.  For now I'll use a 0-30 psi pressure regulator so I will put that inline to limit the maximum boost pressure.  The signal comes from the SC before the rotors but after the TB, so the boost comes from the turbocharger.  At idle the vacuum will open the valve and bypass the rotors, when not in vacuum it will close the bypass.  To ensure the bypass closes when the driver increases demand, it should close fairly quickly.  A check valve would hold the bypass open so that is why I thought of using a pressure regulator, maybe set it to 5 psi.

[Steelmesh]

Unbelievable thread!

Thanks, also doubles as my car diary so that I can refer back to what I did, it's all a blur at this point so it's super helpful

[MattM]

There is someting wrong, it leaks again.  I have a crank repair sleeve on the way from the South American Jungle and just got some rear main seals from rock among spare needle bearings.  I will try to start it up this time with the transmission removed as well to make sure it doesn't leak haha.  I'll also check the drainback behind the main seal is functioning, but right now I assume the sealing surface is damaged so that repair sleeve should save me.  I did put anaerobic flange sealant around the outside of the main seal, I'll have to check that out also.

In addition I found the LSJ SC bypass actuator was blown out so I found a replacement, I guess these valves can't really handle much boost pressure and normally it doesn't see any boost pressure.  For now I'll use a 0-30 psi pressure regulator so I will put that inline to limit the maximum boost pressure.  The signal comes from the SC before the rotors but after the TB, so the boost comes from the turbocharger.  At idle the vacuum will open the valve and bypass the rotors, when not in vacuum it will close the bypass.  To ensure the bypass closes when the driver increases demand, it should close fairly quickly.  A check valve would hold the bypass open so that is why I thought of using a pressure regulator, maybe set it to 5 psi.

Damn.  It sucks there are still issues.  Hopefully you can get everything buttoned up soon!

[Sly Bob]

I agree that it's a great thread!
Yeah it doesn't take much of a mark to bugger up a seal at the flange end of the crank. I'm sure you'll get it and the next time you bolt up the tranny it'll be the last.

[Steelmesh]

I tore down that junkyard LE5 engine that I blew up in August.  Knock knock? Who's there? Steelmesh's tune.

An interesting carbon deposit, nearly straight line on cylinder 1.  Doesn't really correlate with the shape of the combustion chamber (on the left side of piston top). This cylinder was dumping oil out the exhaust:


I'm guessing this would create an interesting dynamic to create that carbon deposit, cylinder 1 piston here again:


Some debris I found in the oil pan:


Cylinder 2 has cracked a land also:


Cylinder 2:



Upon initial analysis, the cylinder bores look okay, the rings blew down and out didn't get jammed.  I measured the bores about 0.002" under with the bore gauge zero'd at 3.465"

[MattM]

Damn!  Could that have been due to your water/methanol injection not evenly dispersing amongst the cylinders?  That was always my worry when I used water/methanol injection on my sc'd probe instead of an intercooler.

How's the leak fixing on your current engine going?

[Steelmesh]

Damn!  Could that have been due to your water/methanol injection not evenly dispersing amongst the cylinders?  That was always my worry when I used water/methanol injection on my sc'd probe instead of an intercooler.

How's the leak fixing on your current engine going?

Maybe, but 20+ psi is rather aggressive, I brought it past the internets limits of failure for a stock LE5 if we conflate boost pressure with horsepower.  Maybe a more experienced tuner with a dyno and E85 could make it work.

The trans is ready to get unbolted and dropped, just got the seal tool yesterday.  I am having trouble accessing the trans bolt behind the starter, the way the harness is routed something is in the way.  I will look at welding a bolt on that bolt or maybe get a HF socket/extension to weld on that bolt so I don't have to pull the SC and intake everytime I pull the trans. 

Racecar life isn't easy, I think there is a correlation with the frequency of taking the car apart and the amount of mods done to the car, especially when doing it on a budget.

[MattM]

Maybe, but 20+ psi is rather aggressive, I brought it past the internets limits of failure for a stock LE5 if we conflate boost pressure with horsepower.  Maybe a more experienced tuner with a dyno and E85 could make it work.

The trans is ready to get unbolted and dropped, just got the seal tool yesterday.  I am having trouble accessing the trans bolt behind the starter, the way the harness is routed something is in the way.  I will look at welding a bolt on that bolt or maybe get a HF socket/extension to weld on that bolt so I don't have to pull the SC and intake everytime I pull the trans. 

Racecar life isn't easy, I think there is a correlation with the frequency of taking the car apart and the amount of mods done to the car, especially when doing it on a budget.

Haha!  I bet!  You've had that car apart and together a hundred times already! Lol!

[MattM]

Alright man...been a while and I'm chomping at the bit for some updates!!  Have you gotten everything working well together again?

[Steelmesh]

Alright man...been a while and I'm chomping at the bit for some updates!!  Have you gotten everything working well together again?

It was never the rear main seal leaking.

The bedplate (crankshaft main girdle) has a small groove to allow silicone to squeeze out, also see the oil pump output is right there most certainly where it's coming from. The groove lets silicone squeeze out at the rear and also at the front of the block.

What I am talking about:


Oil was leaking from the squeeze out.  Looks like the threebond I used had expired, can't really explain it otherwise. 


This means I need to pull the engine and reseal the bedplate....or I can steelmesh it.  I ended up drilling/tapping that squeeze out hole to install a M5 screw along with some permatex motoseal (similar to threebond).  After letting it cure for 24 hours, I installed the flywheel and warmed up the car to temperature.  Good news is it is no longer leaking from that spot.  Bad news is it started leaking from the front squeeze out provision, just under the alternator.  And you guessed it, I pulled the alternator and drilled/tapped that spot with for another M5 screw.  That is curing right now.  The worst that can happen is I pull the engine and reseal the bed plate, best case is I button up the trans/driveshaft and send it.

I found my 0-30 psi parker air pressure regulator (for setting carb pop-off pressures) to put inline with the new SC bypass valve so I don't blow the diaphram.

[MattM]

It was never the rear main seal leaking.

The bedplate (crankshaft main girdle) has a small groove to allow silicone to squeeze out, also see the oil pump output is right there most certainly where it's coming from. The groove lets silicone squeeze out at the rear and also at the front of the block.

What I am talking about:


Oil was leaking from the squeeze out.  Looks like the threebond I used had expired, can't really explain it otherwise. 


This means I need to pull the engine and reseal the bedplate....or I can steelmesh it.  I ended up drilling/tapping that squeeze out hole to install a M5 screw along with some permatex motoseal (similar to threebond).  After letting it cure for 24 hours, I installed the flywheel and warmed up the car to temperature.  Good news is it is no longer leaking from that spot.  Bad news is it started leaking from the front squeeze out provision, just under the alternator.  And you guessed it, I pulled the alternator and drilled/tapped that spot with for another M5 screw.  That is curing right now.  The worst that can happen is I pull the engine and reseal the bed plate, best case is I button up the trans/driveshaft and send it.

I found my 0-30 psi parker air pressure regulator (for setting carb pop-off pressures) to put inline with the new SC bypass valve so I don't blow the diaphram.

Damn! That's crazy!  Hopefully your fix works!!

[Steelmesh]

Looks like the leaking has stopped, ran it for 7 minutes got it up to temp (oil tstat was bypassing).  I scrambled to get the trans/driveline installed and then clean out a spot in the garage to get the car inside before snow on Sunday, apparently I jacked my neck again (pinched nerve?); Chiropractor to the rescue.  I have yet to re-torque the head (copper headgasket) and add the SC bypass valve protection circuit and a couple other small details before a road test shake down. 

[MattM]

Hopefully that leak fix you did on the engine  works long term!

[Steelmesh]

Hopefully that leak fix you did on the engine  works long term!

Nothing is long-term with this car anymore with me as the owner 

[MattM]

Nothing is long-term with this car anymore with me as the owner 

Lol!!

[assquatch20]

I'm still keeping up with this build. I hope I can do my own someday.

[Steelmesh]

After putting some miles on it, I am going to pull the engine and fix the leakage because it is now leaking across the whole seam between those plugs I added. HaHa better me than you right.  I was at least able to drive it around and start focusing in on part load tuning.  I have the SSBC big brake kit and I got those real toasty, for example using the brakes to hold the car at 1,800 rpm while you increase the engine load.  It's pretty rowdy under WOT but it's really cold out and there is no traction, however part load is the real challenge with this twincharger setup as you can imagine. 

While the engine is out, I'm looking at switching over to E85 to not rely so heavily on the water/meth injection system with so much boost and very fast transients where the water/meth controller can't keep up. I plan on keeping the water injection to help keep the SC rotors cool.  It's running rubber fuel hose at the moment, so looking at aluminum hardline which is quite affordable, 1/2" OD summit tube is $23 for 25 ft, compared to $200 for -8AN PTFE.  The aluminum fittings are cheap as well.  Will still need a little bit of PTFE hose to flex for the engine connection.

[Sol Asylum]

Keep in mind that if you are using an AN or MS flare fitting those use a different angle than your typical flare tool that you would use with hard line.  Most people miss that detail and end up with fittings that don't seal up.

[Steelmesh]

Keep in mind that if you are using an AN or MS flare fitting those use a different angle than your typical flare tool that you would use with hard line.  Most people miss that detail and end up with fittings that don't seal up.

Thanks Sol!  The 37 degree AN flare tools look affordable as well, for aluminum tubing at least.  Steel / stainless tube requires a high quality high dollar flaring tool, learned that the hard way 

[Gentleman Jack]

Thanks Sol!  The 37 degree AN flare tools look affordable as well, for aluminum tubing at least.  Steel / stainless tube requires a high quality high dollar flaring tool, learned that the hard way 

Actual help!  This assylam guy is pretty heplful

[Sol Asylum]

Sorry, I will try and do better.

[Steelmesh]

Youtube ad revenue bought me one of these:
https://ecumasterusa.com/products/ecumaster-emu-black-standalone-ecu

It's full of features like on-board: WBO2 controller, K-type EGT inputs, 4-bar map, along with dual VVT capability (they said it will work with our cam teeth)...the stuff $1700+ gets you. Note it is Speed Density or Alpha-N, does not yet support MAF.

It's going to be hard and painful to make this happen, but my heart is set on it so I am going with the flow here and being challenged often results in learning a lot.  As far as the stock ECU, I almost gave the steck scaling a chance and have a tune file developed to start with, but it is goofy and prone to errors (me!), essentially it is tricking the ECU into thinking the engine is flowing half the air flow it really is in order to exceed the hard coded calibration-tables.  I have no ability to adjust timing after maybe 15 psi of boost, so by doing the steck scale mod by 50% that allows control up to 30 psi for example.

http://injectordynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SteckScale.pdf

In the mean-time I took on another small project in the garage and before I pull the Solstice engine I will need to hook up the o-scope and characterize some of the signals like VVT actuator behavior (park position, lock-to-lock, PWM Hz) and what the hall sensors look like (crank, cam, speed) which should help accelerate the calibration file.

As for wiring in I am planning on tapping into the harness at the ECU connectors, possibly use this connector so that I could in theory switch back to the OEM ecu without much effort.

https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/product_info.php/cPath/109_631/products_id/5126?osCsid=t768l2ep8uuqt009uan7pqflv6