weird result from small exhaust change

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:47 pm

im wondering if anyone can help me here. ive searched the forum and nothing came up. as some of you may have notice in my intro thread with the pics, the previous owner of my xr decided to put a lovely fake CF fart can on it. so today i decided to cut it off, and put just a 3" tip in place of it. my car ran just fine before i did this. but now, in between 10-15psi almost all my power goes away. all i did was replace the muffler. i ruled out backpressure because those fart cans dont produce any anyways. any input on this?

oh and just an easy question to answer on top of this. what size and what type of socket have you guys used to remove the 2 bolts holding in the TFI?

thanx
kyle

merkurmaniac · Post by **merkurmaniac** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:58 pm

The TFI requires a thin walled socket, maybe 5.5mm IIRC, but I haven't had a TFI on my car in a long time. I do know that they sell a TFI wrench at autozone in their help section that includes the socket.

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:42 pm

oh. didnt know that. alright well then back to autozone on saturday

SARON81 · Post by **SARON81** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 2:15 pm

It's a 5.5mm deep for sure.
They do make a few special styles for the specific job. I have a thumb wheel one that's my favorite.

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:02 pm

ok got the tool. any thoughts on the power loss when removing the muffler?

Mike McCreight · Post by **Mike McCreight** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:29 pm

Maybe it IS the fart can. It adds up to 100 hp.

(on a Honduh

)

I'm betting something else happened.
Check the basics.

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:38 pm

i think i found the problem. i punched out my cat recently due to a clog. i was sure i had all the crap out of it. but when i was putting the tip on today, i had to put a block of wood on it and bang it to get it started cause it was a really tight fit. well i think there must have been a little left stuck on the cat walls and came loose when i was banging on the tip. i figured this out because when i got home from the police academy at 10pm, i quickly shut the car off and popped the hood, and my turbo and manifold were both glowing red. so ill be waking up early tomorrow before work to take the cat back off and double check it.

which now brings me to a new question. am i going to have to buy a turbo rebuild kit now? of can these turbos handle that kind of heat?

Rotisserie · Post by **Rotisserie** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:07 pm

ive done a glow show on my car many times.

you dont really want to get them glowing , per se, but they can take a bit of abuse before they start giving problems....

Mike McCreight · Post by **Mike McCreight** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:15 am

I think your timing belt has skipped a tooth. Maybe the SPout has come apart.
Glowing turbo usually indicates a fuel or timing issue following normal driving.

merkurmaniac · Post by **merkurmaniac** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:07 am

A glowing turbo is also a sign of a dead or dying TFI module. Have you replaced yours yet ?

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:16 pm

i have the tfi but i havent put it in yet. i need to get a pulley remover so i can take off the pwr steering pump to gain access to fit my socket in there. unless theres a better way.

SARON81 · Post by **SARON81** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:23 pm

xr super n00b wrote:i have the tfi but i havent put it in yet. i need to get a pulley remover so i can take off the pwr steering pump to gain access to fit my socket in there. unless theres a better way.

Losen up the distributor, and rotate it for easy access.

Or... take out the distributor, and re-clock it so it's easier to access the TFI next time.

Then reset your timing.

xr super n00b · Post by **xr super n00b** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:57 pm

both of those seems like more work that just the 3 bolts to remove the pwr steering pump. i might consider that though. how often does the tfi have to be replaced on these cars? that might make my decision easier on what route i take.

btw, thanx for the info

SARON81 · Post by **SARON81** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:14 pm

xr super n00b wrote:both of those seems like more work that just the 3 bolts to remove the pwr steering pump. i might consider that though. how often does the tfi have to be replaced on these cars? that might make my decision easier on what route i take.

btw, thanx for the info

For me, that's easier than messing with the pump. You'll have to take the whole pump, and bracket off to get the pulley off. (so it'll be a lot more than 3 bolts.) I don't think you'll get a puller in there with it on the car.

I've never had a Motorcraft on fail on me in ten years... and more than 100,000 miles inbetween two XR's. Others have not had such good luck. I will tell you the Motorcraft one will be much more reliable than any aftermarket one.

Personally, I've always reclocked the dizzy so you can get at it on the side of the road if needed.

merkurmaniac · Post by **merkurmaniac** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:19 pm

And what he means by reclocking the distributor is that there are many right answers to its orientation. You need to have a timing light if you are going to tackle this, btw. You can pull the distributor out (its bolt can be a pain, so a lot of people replace the hold down bolt with an allen head, then you don't need a special wrench or crow's foot socket to get at it.)

You can take out the holddown bolt, and then pull the distributor out. You can put it back in at another orientation, then turn the housing to get it to the right timing setting again. If this doesn't make sense, do the pwer steering thing...