Plugs and compression issues

[thelostartof]

So I am wondering if all of my high boost runs have been doing this damage. Ya'll know a bit about my setup ,HY35CW .... ran for a day or so @ 20+psi having boost creep to 30psi by redline (only did that 10-20 times to redline) .... no audible knock but knock sense was going on and off from time to time. Engine is a stock b230ft with around 160k on it(I have had for the last 80k and it has been HARD miles) with a 531 on it so compression should be 8.5:1

Either way issue is on cold starts she runs a bit rough, hell even on hot starts the first few seconds she almost sounds like she is down a cyl until 10-20 seconds of running. the last two months I have been running at only 10psi due to the 110+ deg heat here and no real reason to have more power being I never drive the car.

Pulled the plugs today (BP8ES) and noticed that all looked semi normal sans for number 3 which was almost orange in color, when compared to the rest the ceramic was much more tan while the others were white. Tan enough that near the Electrode it almost was brown. .... Ign system is MSD 6a box, Blaster2 coil, Proper suppression wound wires for MSD setup.

The other issue I noticed was on the compression check, I know this is cold engine and really worn out but just bare with me. Remember this engine went through the ordeal of having all 8 valves kiss the pistons so for all I know that could of dished the pistons a wee bit along with flexed the rods a bit as all 4 pistons had nice and shiny marks in them from when the valves hit. anyways Compression test was 125-130-110-135 .... Much lower than it should be BUT not the end of the world. I am sure with a nice 9:1 CR engine that is fresh the car would be worlds faster(then again the low readings could be from the crappy $9 gauge I have)

I added some oil to #3 and it came up to 130psi so even with the others.

So well .. what do ya'll think? besides just getting a Fresh short block, what might be causing #3 to be so tan plug wise?

FWIW when I was running the 20-30psi on the engine it would fill up the catch can with about 1/2 qrt of oil after about 200-300 miles of driving hard, but the crankcase would LOSE ZERO oil, as in my engine was somehow producing excess oil so who knows.

[TerribleOne]

I'd pressurize the cooling system overnight to check for a headgasket leak.. You're probably getting water down in a hole while it's sitting (hot starts) and it's choking on water the first few seconds.

Originally Posted by TerribleOne

I'd pressurize the cooling system overnight to check for a headgasket leak.. You're probably getting water down in a hole while it's sitting (hot starts) and it's choking on water the first few seconds.

+1

That was how my car behaved when my headgasket started to go.

[thelostartof]

really .... that would explain the small amount of white smoke I get on Cold Cold starts and why there is that water like oil stuff in the downpipe ....

well **** I really do not want to do the HG but I guess it would be a good time, Now to order some head bolts and a HG kit and just find a weekend to swap it.

so this would be a great time to stop driving the car I guess ... hm well since I am letting it sit with some MMO in the cylinders I guess I can just leave it be and not worry about putting new plugs in it ...

and this would also explain the small loss of coolant I have been having, well I feared it .. and looks like this confirmed it

[boostin'xr4]

EDIT: their advice ownes mine.
+1 bhg.

[plantto]

Yeah I think I may have the same problem. I have been driving pretty hard lately and losing some coolant. I have also had kind of a hesitation on startup lately, but my brother was guessing plug wires so once they get in tuesday if that is not it then I think headgasket and IPD turbo cam swap is in the very near future. I am only running 18psi though.

[gsellstr]

Sounds about right Mike. We were fighting the same issue on my brother's 240T for a while. He was actually getting some really funky growth on the insulator on #4 as well, that we couldn't ID. The oil PRODUCTION is rather odd, but if it's possibly water-based I guess that'd make sense.

I think I know of a connection to get the parts for that job, and it should only take ya 3-4 hours.

[thelostartof]

Either way the crap trapped 103mph with a blown HG so not all that bad, I wonder if I will pick up any power and if she will spool quicker once I get it fixed ... as I had the issue of the white smoke on startup along with missing coolant since before I put the Holset on so .... hm, would explain the slow spooling issues of the Super60 also

[boostin'xr4]

Originally Posted by thelostartof

Either way the crap trapped 103mph with a blown HG so not all that bad, I wonder if I will pick up any power and if she will spool quicker once I get it fixed ... as I had the issue of the white smoke on startup along with missing coolant since before I put the Holset on so .... hm, would explain the slow spooling issues of the Super60 also

more compression should = more power
Regardless of engine condition, your car pulls hard.

Edit: My 2.3t xr4ti did a 13.1 on 19psi with a cracked head :]
Those lima 2.3's are notorious for it.

[thelostartof]

Right now I would be happy with a 13.9 as I seem to have issues getting back there, as of late being able to get the turbo spooled off the line has sucked along with the lack of traction so we shall see if this fixes one of those issues, and if so then I get to go back to saving up to beef up the rear subframe so I can run slicks

[Ruben]

Maybe some nitrous to help the holset spool a bit faster...

[dl242gt]

When I overrevved my B21FT. It dropped a valve. The number two intake. I did a compression test on a cold engine, too. Number one was 140psi, number two was zero, number three was 130psi and number four was 140psi. This was with the stock 7.5:1 compression. So, you must have some compression loss happening in your engine since it is a whole point higher in compression. Don't just automatically blame the short block. A leak down test will help you figure out where it's leaking from.

[boostin'xr4]

Originally Posted by thelostartof

Right now I would be happy with a 13.9 as I seem to have issues getting back there, as of late being able to get the turbo spooled off the line has sucked along with the lack of traction so we shall see if this fixes one of those issues, and if so then I get to go back to saving up to beef up the rear subframe so I can run slicks

Can't wait to see it

Originally Posted by dl242gt

When I overrevved my B21FT. It dropped a valve. The number two intake. I did a compression test on a cold engine, too. Number one was 140psi, number two was zero, number three was 130psi and number four was 140psi. This was with the stock 7.5:1 compression. So, you must have some compression loss happening in your engine since it is a whole point higher in compression. Don't just automatically blame the short block. A leak down test will help you figure out where it's leaking from.

You have to factor in dynamic compression as well.

He's running an ENEM V16T cam, and it has high lift and a duration that is much longer than the T cam.

On my engine with a KG2T cam, the compression is really low at starter speed. You can also tell the difference pretty easy when spinning the engine by hand.

[Slobodan]

I recently was trying to diagnose my rough running B21F+T. 130 180 130 180.
I have a new old school sears compression tester. I trust its numbers. 2 years ago I did a comp test 1 year after I did the +T and I retrieved a 180 180 180 180 very nice numbers for a motor with 240k and 10k of that being a very hard +T.

but I think my problem comes from me leaving the intake off it during the winter months when It was down due to not having a suitable turbo at the moment. side note I had took my special intake off to put on my other motor that was in my wag.

right now I have little power at idle and its very lumpy but once you rev it out she comes alive a little. Not like she used to though. but with comp numbers like yours I understand the cam differences but it really seems low but close enough to each other. I think you may need to issue a leak down test and check valve clearances, make sure they are in spec.

[thelostartof]

15k ago when I put the 531 on along with the V16 in they were in spec so I guess I can check later

[dl242gt]

Originally Posted by frpe82

You have to factor in dynamic compression as well.

He's running an ENEM V16T cam, and it has high lift and a duration that is much longer than the T cam.

On my engine with a KG2T cam, the compression is really low at starter speed. You can also tell the difference pretty easy when spinning the engine by hand.

I understand, my test was done with an enem V15 turbo cam. More lift and duration than a T cam but still a bit less than a V16 turbo cam. I can't wait to try out my V16 turbo cam.

[lummert]

Originally Posted by thelostartof

So I am wondering if all of my high boost runs have been doing this damage. Ya'll know a bit about my setup ,HY35CW .... ran for a day or so @ 20+psi having boost creep to 30psi by redline (only did that 10-20 times to redline) .... no audible knock but knock sense was going on and off from time to time. Engine is a stock b230ft with around 160k on it(I have had for the last 80k and it has been HARD miles) with a 531 on it so compression should be 8.5:1

Either way issue is on cold starts she runs a bit rough, hell even on hot starts the first few seconds she almost sounds like she is down a cyl until 10-20 seconds of running. the last two months I have been running at only 10psi due to the 110+ deg heat here and no real reason to have more power being I never drive the car.

Pulled the plugs today (BP8ES) and noticed that all looked semi normal sans for number 3 which was almost orange in color, when compared to the rest the ceramic was much more tan while the others were white. Tan enough that near the Electrode it almost was brown. .... Ign system is MSD 6a box, Blaster2 coil, Proper suppression wound wires for MSD setup.

The other issue I noticed was on the compression check, I know this is cold engine and really worn out but just bare with me. Remember this engine went through the ordeal of having all 8 valves kiss the pistons so for all I know that could of dished the pistons a wee bit along with flexed the rods a bit as all 4 pistons had nice and shiny marks in them from when the valves hit. anyways Compression test was 125-130-110-135 .... Much lower than it should be BUT not the end of the world. I am sure with a nice 9:1 CR engine that is fresh the car would be worlds faster(then again the low readings could be from the crappy $9 gauge I have)

I added some oil to #3 and it came up to 130psi so even with the others.

So well .. what do ya'll think? besides just getting a Fresh short block, what might be causing #3 to be so tan plug wise?

FWIW when I was running the 20-30psi on the engine it would fill up the catch can with about 1/2 qrt of oil after about 200-300 miles of driving hard, but the crankcase would LOSE ZERO oil, as in my engine was somehow producing excess oil so who knows.

I was just wondering about the NGK BP8ES plugs. My 88 Volvo 765 TIC is completely stock and when I went to buy spark plugs the book listed BPR5ES. I went home contacted NGK and they said that was correct heat range for 88. I looked up the plugs on the NGK website and read that the BPR5ES was the hot plug and BPR7ES was the cold plug. So I ordered some BPR6EY V-Power plugs for an 88 Volvo 760 B230FT.

[TerribleOne]

I use BPR6ES in most everything aroud my house from stock NA cars to my 244 when it's not running alot of boost. They're a pretty flexible all around plug. If you've passed stage 1 or 2 I'd reccomend strongly going to a 7.

[boostin'xr4]

Originally Posted by lummert

I was just wondering about the NGK BP8ES plugs. My 88 Volvo 765 TIC is completely stock and when I went to buy spark plugs the book listed BPR5ES. I went home contacted NGK and they said that was correct heat range for 88. I looked up the plugs on the NGK website and read that the BPR5ES was the hot plug and BPR7ES was the cold plug. So I ordered some BPR6EY V-Power plugs for an 88 Volvo 760 B230FT.

8's are intensely cold plugs, but i'm sure 20-30psi on a holset warrants that

Originally Posted by boostin'xr4

8's are intensely cold plugs, but i'm sure 20-30psi on a holset warrants that

I am running BP8ES plugs.

The BP7ES wears out too often.

[boostin'xr4]

Originally Posted by frpe82

I am running BP8ES plugs.

The BP7ES wears out too often.

What's your setup?
I like 8's on cars that see lots of abuse+boost in hot climates (read: all the time here)

[MrBill]

brushing through the thread. If coolant was lightly mixing or being dumped, it would also explain why your catch can fills up but you dont have any loss of oil. Maybe water is mixing in the pan?

Also my 242 with b21ft 7.5:1 and k-cam measured out 125 across the board.

Originally Posted by boostin'xr4

What's your setup?
I like 8's on cars that see lots of abuse+boost in hot climates (read: all the time here)

Look at my project thread: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=70288

I am sorry that i am too lazy to write it here

[500dollar744ti]

ah, the ring land fairy has paid you a visit, i see where this is going, cracked on one side but not all the way through. pretty soon you will have the permanent misfire and popping dipstick syndrome.