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6G Celicas Forums _ My Project _ Project Scarlett: 94 GT4 WRC

Posted by: punkxrckprincess Aug 7, 2019 - 10:41 AM

@Sixgentoyota and I finally got ourselves a real GT4
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67421646_10213874825281935_2147808210088624128_o.jpg
After he had severe envy over our friends getting one, Jacob spent night and day and night and day and work and free time looking for a GT4. When this one came up (shout out to @enderswift on the assist) the deal could not be passed. So we hopped on the car before our importer even paid the auction bill back in June. The car got on a boat in Japan on 7-4 and docked in Tacoma, Washington July 18th. The car cleared customs in an incredible only 24 hours, and we flew out to Seattle the night of the 24th to pick it up.
We put her on a lift thanks to, again, our amazing importer (Sodo Moto if you ever want a suggestion!) and did a quick oil change, replaced the rear differential bushing, and were off for leg one of our journey home.
Seattle - Denver. Over 1,700 miles between the pit stops and the fuel ups. 1PM local time Thursday the 25th, got to our destination just after 7PM local time the 26th. Lost about 4 hours to sleep and an extra hour and a half to brief friend visit along the way. Thanks to @richee3 we were able to do a few other small 'repairs' to the car - including replace the Japanese radio and toss the fouled spark plugs so we had boost. We did some mountain driving on the 26th with their GT4, as well as two Supras on Squaw Pass southwest of the Denver area.
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67930410_10156514069251801_8012945743402762240_o.jpg

We left a little after 3AM local time for the last leg of our journey home- 985 miles (plus stops!) back toward Chicagoland. Rolled into our driveway just before 7PM CST the 28th.
The car held up under all the stress of over 3K miles in the span of 80 hours flawlessly. We don't know how long it sat for before we got it, but it's in excellent shape. No rust at all, clean undercarriage, minor paint fade and front fender has a little ding/crease but nothing serious.

Since we got it home we've buffed it and already taken it out for it's first play date (with @enderswift)
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67768747_10213943156590175_747034240297730048_n.jpg

There will be a lot of love going into this car.

Posted by: bloodMoney Aug 7, 2019 - 10:51 AM

Midwest GT4s UNITE!!!!

Posted by: punkxrckprincess Aug 7, 2019 - 11:11 AM

QUOTE (bloodMoney @ Aug 7, 2019 - 10:51 AM) *
Midwest GT4s UNITE!!!!

Yes, the take over is imminent.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 7, 2019 - 12:30 PM

Maybe nobody will notice if I join the cheering too...

Midwest 6gc OG’s!

Posted by: Box Aug 7, 2019 - 12:45 PM

Everyone be getting GT-Four now. redface.gif

Posted by: TimeslideZ Aug 7, 2019 - 1:12 PM

QUOTE (Box @ Aug 7, 2019 - 1:45 PM) *
Everyone be getting GT-Four now. redface.gif


Guess it's time to sell the FR-S and take out a loan for a GT4. Jk, but maybe not lololol.

Posted by: navseal345 Aug 7, 2019 - 7:06 PM

lOok At mE, i ToO OWn A GT-Four.

Posted by: cheela Aug 7, 2019 - 9:45 PM

^that.

I ain't jelly.................................................. ok. fine. I jelly.

Posted by: Box Aug 7, 2019 - 10:12 PM


Posted by: punkxrckprincess Aug 8, 2019 - 10:13 AM

QUOTE (TimeslideZ @ Aug 7, 2019 - 2:12 PM) *
QUOTE (Box @ Aug 7, 2019 - 1:45 PM) *
Everyone be getting GT-Four now. redface.gif


Guess it's time to sell the FR-S and take out a loan for a GT4. Jk, but maybe not lololol.


Do both like me.

Posted by: enderswift Aug 8, 2019 - 2:36 PM

QUOTE
@Sixgentoyota and I finally got ourselves a real GT4
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67421646_10213874825281935_2147808210088624128_o.jpg
After he had severe envy over our friends getting one, Jacob spent night and day and night and day and work and free time looking for a GT4. When this one came up (shout out to @enderswift on the assist) the deal could not be passed. So we hopped on the car before our importer even paid the auction bill back in June. The car got on a boat in Japan on 7-4 and docked in Tacoma, Washington July 18th. The car cleared customs in an incredible only 24 hours, and we flew out to Seattle the night of the 24th to pick it up.
We put her on a lift thanks to, again, our amazing importer (Sodo Moto if you ever want a suggestion!) and did a quick oil change, replaced the rear differential bushing, and were off for leg one of our journey home.
Seattle - Denver. Over 1,700 miles between the pit stops and the fuel ups. 1PM local time Thursday the 25th, got to our destination just after 7PM local time the 26th. Lost about 4 hours to sleep and an extra hour and a half to brief friend visit along the way. Thanks to @richee3 we were able to do a few other small 'repairs' to the car - including replace the Japanese radio and toss the fouled spark plugs so we had boost. We did some mountain driving on the 26th with their GT4, as well as two Supras on Squaw Pass southwest of the Denver area.
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67930410_10156514069251801_8012945743402762240_o.jpg

We left a little after 3AM local time for the last leg of our journey home- 985 miles (plus stops!) back toward Chicagoland. Rolled into our driveway just before 7PM CST the 28th.
The car held up under all the stress of over 3K miles in the span of 80 hours flawlessly. We don't know how long it sat for before we got it, but it's in excellent shape. No rust at all, clean undercarriage, minor paint fade and front fender has a little ding/crease but nothing serious.


I knew who needed to see the listing as soon as I saw it haha thumbsup.gif

QUOTE
Since we got it home we've buffed it and already taken it out for it's first play date (with @enderswift)
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=20_67768747_10213943156590175_747034240297730048_n.jpg

There will be a lot of love going into this car.


Thanks for letting me drive it! Dream come true! woot.gif bowdown.gif





Posted by: narly_charley Aug 9, 2019 - 7:24 AM

I thought I saw a GT4! **** yeah!

Posted by: punkxrckprincess Sep 4, 2019 - 1:34 PM

So since our last update...

Friday 8/16 we were 92 miles into our drive from Crystal Lake to the Tail of the Dragon when we pulled over as we had some oil residue on the windshield. Immediately upon pulling in you could see a decent bit of steam/smoke coming through the hood vent. Popped the hood, the dipstick was pushed up (which we had happen a couple times before) but more importantly Jacob said he could see a tiny fireball inside our turbo. Killed the power to the car and called a tow truck. The wiring alongside left side of the turbo was very brittle and compromised. We obviously missed the Tail trip as a result.

We brought the car home and tore into it that weekend with a little help as usual from Mr. @enderswift.

We already had a spare wiring harness and picked up some of the parts from the local dealership, including a new PCV valve as we snapped ours in half accidentally. These old cars and all..

We got a compressor tester and a leak down tester- Compression was great on all cylinders.

Fast forward to Labor Day- if you know us, you know I keep our schedule crammed at all times, so we were on the run for 2 weeks with no time to focus on the car after that weekend. Neither one of us had any prior experience running a leak down test before. We called a bunch of people and were surprised how many of our friends- whether hobbyist mechanics or full time technicians- had done one of them. I watched Eric the Car Guy on YouTube (another huge feat if you know me because I f**king HATE watching videos) and then we dove into it. I think the most difficult part was finding TDC in the right firing order but once we got that we were good to go.

*we ran the test the first time with the engine cold- which is a terrible idea don't do it, it will likely give you a meltdown*
Once we got the engine to operating temp after our little meltdown and another assist from Luke, all cylinders were in excellent spec less than 5 off the pressurization. Anything 0-10 is considered good.

So after consulting with many of you kind souls, we believe we narrowed the problem down to the turbo itself. So we're taking it off and sending it in for rebuild/upgrade and should have Scarlett back on the road just in time to leave for Hawaii and not drive it until October. (not kidding)



I'd include more photos but the site I used is no longer allowing it!

Posted by: narly_charley Sep 4, 2019 - 2:19 PM

Gotta love old cars. lol Good ****.

Posted by: cheela Sep 4, 2019 - 3:58 PM

pics of GTFO! laugh.gif

oh the joys of owning old ass cars.... biggrin.gif

Posted by: navseal345 Sep 4, 2019 - 6:21 PM

Make sure when you put the new turbo in that it makes awesome turbo noises & s**t.

Posted by: richee3 Sep 5, 2019 - 12:06 AM

Hopefully the rebuilt turbo will help the boost issues you guys were having when you were here!

Posted by: bloodMoney Sep 5, 2019 - 8:34 AM

I still want to know what was causing the high crankcase pressure.

Posted by: enderswift Sep 5, 2019 - 10:42 AM

My best theory is that the turbo seals on the compressor side let go. Thus boost is pressurizing the crank case via the drain tube.

I think it makes sense because the factory catchcan pcv setup was in good working order. So it would take a lot of excess pressure to overwhelm it to the point of popping a dipstick. Since the leakdown checked okay that leaves the turbo as the only source of that much pressure

Unless theres a mis routed hose somewhere directing boost into the head i cant imagine another path except through the cartridge and drain tube

Posted by: bloodMoney Sep 5, 2019 - 10:59 AM

QUOTE (enderswift @ Sep 5, 2019 - 10:42 AM) *
My best theory is that the turbo seals on the compressor side let go. Thus boost is pressurizing the crank case via the drain tube.

I think it makes sense because the factory catchcan pcv setup was in good working order. So it would take a lot of excess pressure to overwhelm it to the point of popping a dipstick. Since the leakdown checked okay that leaves the turbo as the only source of that much pressure

Unless theres a mis routed hose somewhere directing boost into the head i cant imagine another path except through the cartridge and drain tube


That's fair. I hadn't considered the oil seal as a leak path.

Posted by: Bitter Sep 5, 2019 - 10:34 PM

I hadn't imagined boost pushing into the drain either, since oil pressure is always way higher than boost (usually). I suggested capping the turbo inlet and outlet and pressure testing the turbo, listening at the oil pan and oil filler for the tell tale bong hit sound of pressure bleeding into the crank case through the drain. A couple pipe caps, couple big worm clamps, and a tire stem should build an easy boost leak/turbo pressure tester. I usually use a smoke tester at work but that only pushes about 1 psi and wouldn't do any good for this situation. I was still suspicious of some kind of wrong hose routing letting boost into the crank case.

Posted by: enderswift Sep 6, 2019 - 12:30 AM

Damn thats a good check. It would be interesting to take it even further and actually start the car. That wsy you can try to overcome the cartridge oil pressure with ~12 psi pumped into the capped compressor housing. If the dipstick pops you have your culprit






Posted by: punkxrckprincess Sep 6, 2019 - 6:18 AM

QUOTE (Bitter @ Sep 5, 2019 - 10:34 PM) *
I hadn't imagined boost pushing into the drain either, since oil pressure is always way higher than boost (usually). I suggested capping the turbo inlet and outlet and pressure testing the turbo, listening at the oil pan and oil filler for the tell tale bong hit sound of pressure bleeding into the crank case through the drain. A couple pipe caps, couple big worm clamps, and a tire stem should build an easy boost leak/turbo pressure tester. I usually use a smoke tester at work but that only pushes about 1 psi and wouldn't do any good for this situation. I was still suspicious of some kind of wrong hose routing letting boost into the crank case.

From Jacob:
"I don't know how TF to do that so I would need help"

Posted by: Bitter Sep 6, 2019 - 7:45 AM

I thought I explained it fairly well. Just google how to build a boost leak tester and apply that to JUST the compressor side of the turbo.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-how-tos-installations/339529-how-boost-leak-tester-5-02-a.html
https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5149361-DIY-Boost-Leak-Tester
If those Evo and VW guys can do it, anyone can do it. Just put that on one side of the turbo cold side and cap the other side of the turbo, apply 15 psi to the turbo, listen for your engine taking a big bong rip in the oil pan or listen for hissing from the oil fill cap.

Posted by: punkxrckprincess Sep 6, 2019 - 10:46 AM

QUOTE (Bitter @ Sep 6, 2019 - 8:45 AM) *
I thought I explained it fairly well. Just google how to build a boost leak tester and apply that to JUST the compressor side of the turbo.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-how-tos-installations/339529-how-boost-leak-tester-5-02-a.html
https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5149361-DIY-Boost-Leak-Tester
If those Evo and VW guys can do it, anyone can do it. Just put that on one side of the turbo cold side and cap the other side of the turbo, apply 15 psi to the turbo, listen for your engine taking a big bong rip in the oil pan or listen for hissing from the oil fill cap.


I think he's just super worried (like me) about doing something wrong and potentially making things worse. The 'normal' stuff we do all the time on 'regular' cars is nothing, this seems daunting at least in my opinion because if I break something I will be insanely mad at myself.

Posted by: Bitter Sep 6, 2019 - 1:22 PM

I understand, but it's not that weird of a car. Just treat the different parts as separate systems. The blowy parts, the spinny parts, and the farty bits. Take it one section at a time and consult the internet frequently. Maybe stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

Posted by: jim7564 Sep 11, 2019 - 3:22 AM

why dont you simply disconnect the vacumn hose to the AC which will stop the turbo from boosting and see how it runs

Posted by: Bitter Feb 22, 2020 - 8:30 AM

This threads needs an update, with pictures.

Posted by: narly_charley Feb 24, 2020 - 9:20 AM

QUOTE (Bitter @ Feb 22, 2020 - 8:30 AM) *
This threads needs an update, with pictures.


Ditto.

Posted by: punkxrckprincess Jun 1, 2022 - 4:04 PM

Long time no update

We (mostly Jake, though I did help drop the old engine and with some minor assists here and there) completely overhauled the engine, and FINALLY got it to a competent tuner in April. We got it all dialed in after only one additional tweak and took Scarlett on a run to the Tail of the Dragon last weekend and she did not disappoint one bit.


The mount on the rear diff is at the end of it's life now, but we already knew it was going to need replacement soon.


Can't wait to go back again!

Posted by: Bitter Jun 1, 2022 - 10:39 PM

Pictures are 2 years over due. I can't even remember what the car looks like anymore!

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