Help: Melting Catalytic Converters and More!!

[houckeah]

I'm not looking for help in that way. I'm looking for probably solutions. I don't want to let anybody touch my car, I don't trust anybody...

[houckeah]

So the spark plug in cylinder #2 had a ton of oil gunk on it.. no metal in the oil anywhere... valves possible?

[NWM_Tech]

Number 2 is going out, sounds like you have a rod knock, try pulling the plug wire to number 2, or somehow disable that cylinder and see if the volume of the knock changes. If it's a rod and you unload it, it should get softer

lean won't burn cats, rich burns cats.

Generally the exhaust doesn't affect the tune that much, it's the intake that's more of an issue. 29 PSI is a little high, could have failed the rod brg over time.

[WickedWhtMR]

I think you need to take some datalogs with evoscan and and let a tuner look at them. Also send them a copy of the current flash. I recommend 4wstuning. Tamer is a great guy and will help you out. I had two shops tune my car and was very close to popping my motor until tamer tuned it. www.4wstuning.com send him an email or give him a call. He quick to reply

[zlthomason]

whats your exhaust gas look like when its warmed up blue black or white... your cats could of ,elted from to much gas getting clogged in the cat...cats cant take raw fuel very well also.. did the places you took it to put any injector cleaner gas cleaner or run right in it>?

[houckeah]

I've personally put injector cleaner in a few times. I don't know what my exhaust gas looks like... there was some white smoke, but the major issue occurred now and it won't run at all.

[zlthomason]

ouch...any strange sounds smells anything when the motor stopped working?

[mmmmbst]

Too lean a fuel mixture will generally not hurt the catalytic converter. It is when the mixture is too rich that the catalytic converter melts down. The extra fuel inside the catalytic converter raises the internal temperature to the point where the catalyst itself starts to melt.

I took that from here....
http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1i/bl709i.htm

[houckeah]

I guess that is what I meant, too rich... It even has some fuel in the oil and what not... My mistake.

[UT_Evo]

This has been on going for a month, you basically haven't driven the car for at least 2 weeks, and you still haven't loaded it on a flatbed and shipped it to a reputable shop. Now I can't say who I would recommend because that is advertising and is against EvoM policy, but I'm sure if you search around the forums you can find a few shops that are within decent distance.

I had rod knock on mine, and after a short bit of it being very noisy it also would not start. Hopefully it isn't that bad for you... but you never know. Mine didn't have metal shavings btw.

[mini_evo]

Originally Posted by houckeah

So I have been chasing some serious issues since I bought my evo 8 about 8 months ago. The guy I bought it from was a real liar. He told me it had no problems at all and that it was in perfect shape. Well, as it turns out, the only reason it had no problems is because he had a check engine light eliminator installed. Several months after I purchased it, and therein several months of running fine, the car's performance started to deteriorate. I've been fouling out spark plugs left and right, have brought it to several mechanics only to have them shooting in the dark, have melted 2 catalytic converters, and have had a handful of other issues that have arisen. I am finally going to seek help from my friends here at EvoM like I should have the day the first problem came up.

A brief history of the purchase: I did run a Carfax report which came up completely clean. It even showed the dates and mileage of every time the car was brought in for service. The guy I purchased it from disclosed most modifications to me before inspect of the car (modifications will be listed below). While I was inspecting the car, he kept bringing up more details, as if he thought I had noticed something slightly off (such as that he replaced the windshield, rear bumper, and wing). He told me he had raced it at the track a few times but was very careful and treated the car with respect. He did not tell me that he had installed a check engine light eliminator nor did he tell me that he was dealing with some serious issues therein. I do believe that he knew of the issues before he sold the car and couldn't or wouldn't fix them. I believe he found a temporary fix and ran away with his tail between his legs like a coward as soon as he thought he could get away with it.


Current Modifications:
* Walbro Fuel Pump
* TRE Built Transmission @ 30k miles
* ACT Clutch @ 30k miles
* Replaced Transfer Case @ 30k miles
* AEM Intake
* AEM Hardpipes w/ T-clamps
* RMR Down Pipe
* TurboXS Catback
* TurboTrix Dyno Reflash
* Perrin Rear Sway Bar
* Stainless Brake Lines
* Blitz Dual-SBC (Spec S?)

Current ODB-II Codes:
* P0171 - System too lean?
* P0202 - Injector Circuit Open, Cylinder 2?
I also usually have a misfire code for cylinder 2 however for the past few days this has not been reading.


Misc Info:
* The fuel pump relay had a lead that was disconnected. I replaced this and this fixed one serious issue that came up.
* The catalytic converter has now melted shut / gotten clogged two times. I am running essentially a straight pipe now, which is my old cat but completely hollowed out.
* I have replaced the spark plugs as well as the wires on a few occasions.
* I replaced the stock fuel pump with the Walbro fuel pump when the Mitsu dealership told me they believed that was my issue. This fixed nothing.
* A few months ago on a rainy day, the car sounded extremely odd and the the SRS light turned on. Since the day the light has not turned off.


Also, please note the following: I have ordered a stock exhaust as well as a stock intake. These parts will be put on within a week so I can start getting the car back to stock. I am hoping I can bring the car to the dealer and have the reflash the ecu for the "0300" code issue. I believe these issues will be easier to address when I have everything on my car back to stock. I do also have an Apexi NEO fuel computer in my possession that I have considered installing at some point. I'm not sure if the fuel computer will help, and that is another reason I have made this thread.


Please, I am posting this seeking advice on what I should try next or to see if anybody believes they know what is wrong with my car. Help? Thanks in advance.


Also, if I think of any other issues that I have forgotten I will add them below this line.

Addition:
* Currently there is a loud knock coming from the engine. It sounds similar to a lifter tick or injector tick only a lot louder. The car does not drive at all now. Please let me know if a recording could help diagnose the problem.

This will make the car run RICH, not lean. The computer will dump more fuel in to equal out the missing fuel until it is happy. This will also burn up your Cat's faster.

An "open" injector circuit means the injectors are not spraying fuel into that particular cylinder. causing the ECU to "think" it is to lean, causing the extra fuel stated above.

Originally Posted by houckeah

The guy I purchased it from had it boosting from 1.5bars to just shy of 2 bars, which is 29 psi. This is another thing I believe he was very stupid for doing. I currently have it boosting to 1.4 bars, which is 20 psi. Could his setting on the boost controller have damaged the car?

Currently there is a loud knock coming from the engine. It sounds similar to a lifter tick or injector tick only a lot louder. The car does not drive at all now. Please let me know if a recording could help diagnose the problem.

This is WAY to high for the stock head gasket and internals. what could/WILL happen, is your headstuds will stretch causing your head gasket to "blow out" or you will ruin your piston rings.

Originally Posted by houckeah

So the spark plug in cylinder #2 had a ton of oil gunk on it.. no metal in the oil anywhere... valves possible?

My guess on this is your valve oil seals are starting to leak in that cylinder.

Originally Posted by houckeah

I guess that is what I meant, too rich... It even has some fuel in the oil and what not... My mistake.

dude..... PWND!!!

Now you need a new engine. fuel is leaking down past your piston rings into your engine. Causing your oil to be thinner and not protecting the internals as well. And from what I have experienced on motorcycles is that when this happens in makes your engine run WAY hotter than it is suppossed too.

Sorry bout your luck man.

[bryanv]

Take into a reputable tuner asap. They were able to find out the problem of something that was so hard to narrow down for me and I ended up fixing it. Wish the best of luck to you.