Car won't go past 5k Rpm

I just recently had the engine re-manufactured due to the infamous factory defect to cylinder 2, and when i got it back, I was told to drive it aggressively, but not like a race car. I did so, never getting it above 4 for awhile. Just recently after I've put a good 3k miles on it, i wanted to make sure everything was working correctly, so i slowly accelerated starting with 1st ( 05 Legacy Gt 5eat tran) and it did fine accelerating until i hit 4.5k and it started struggling, so i shifted and tried in second and so forth into third. Same thing, right around 4.5-5k it would really struggle and would not go past it. The turbo only has about 20k miles on it, and while in neutral i can rev it all the way to 6.5k no problem. Any thoughts on the problem?

factory defect to cyl 2? explain this to me

 

the problem could be a few things, like massive amounts of timing being pulled because of knock, and the engine cannot create anymore power to hit a shift point, or higher rpms in general, it will hang. do you have any mods? any check engine lights?

Any forgotten rags in the intake from the rebuild?

factory defect to cyl 2? explain this to me

 

I thought it was cyl 4:spin:

I have a check engine light for a sensor inside of the downpipe that the shop i had the engine rebuilt at said was not a big deal, that I wasn't in a big hurry to get it changed out. A few weeks ago I had them listen to it just to make sure everything was sound and it was. One more bit of info, I'm not burning any oil, at all. I switched to the castrol titanium 5w 30 oil after the rebuild oil and after doing this I stopped using oil.

so. the rear 02 is used to check fuel trims roughly into open loop. also, certain CEL codes trigger limp mode in the car which means limited boost and real sluggish accel. what you should do is eliminate the code as an issue and replace the sensor and reset the ecu. then see if it still does it. that's the logical thing to do.

AFAIK, the rear O2 is only there to observe and 'tattle' on the cat. Shouldn't affect drivability at all. It's the front O2 that affects fuel trims. IIRC some mfgrs do use the rear to help adjust for a weak or failing cat, but I don't believe that's the primary purpose. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

Anyway, I'd suspect you're either suffering from fuel blockage (in which case you'd be throwing other codes) or you have a boost problem. Regarding the latter, have you checked the infamous blue tee fitting under the intake to make sure it's not loose? Do you have the capablity to measure boost (like with an AP)?

the rear 02, in 32bit ecu's is to yes, detect proper cat function but also cl/ol transition fuel trims and will affect your higher trims (D range) to a point. the front o2 is the primary o2 sensor for closed loop adjustments. not running a rear o2 in 32bit cars is not a good idea. 16bit, its fine.

for reference when the rear o2 is bad, or disconnected and how it affects the car and it's fueling - http://www.romraider.com/forum/topic3588.html

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, but I have a cable to read codes and everything, and while my check engine light is on due to some temperature sensor in the downpipe, the shop told me that the sensor wasn't critical to change right away and would not effect performance. I'm going to take it back to the shop tomorrow to have them test drive it and see what's up with it. Hoping its as simple an issue as needing the ecu reflashed or a replacement sensor. Could it be the transmission or Turbo?

he means EGT sensor, and that's in the up-pipe not downpipe. the only sensor in the downpipe is the rear o2. you can clear the egt code yourself by going to radioshack and getting a 2.2k ohm resistor and inserting it into the egt plug next to the power steering fluid res.

 

anyway, just bring it there to have them diagnose it, it could be many things.

Yeah that's what it was, I knew the O2 sensor was in the downpipe, but didn't know for sure about the other one. I've tried clearing the code, but every time I use cruise control it comes back on. I'm starting to think it may be a turbo problem, my friend has a ford ranger with just the 3.0 and we were on our way back from work late one night and he decided to get a little cocky and somehow he beat me to the stoplight when my car should have dominated that like it was nothing. Hopefully it's a simple, easy fix, but that would be too easy knowing my luck. I'll post whatever they find out when I take it in tomorrow.

the only thing i can think of is you have a lot of timing being pulled. the shop should pull a learning view snapshot from the ecu to see if it has a lot of knock. rpms can sometimes hang in the higher rpms because there isn't enough timing to continue the acceleration. even with wastegate boost (like in limp mode...7-9psi) you'd still be able to romp on it and make the car WOT shift itself up at the 6300rpm mark...that i DO know.

What's the mileage on the exhaust system? Clogged cats perhaps?

Honestly not sure what the mileage on the exhaust is. I got the car with 72k on it in March and it has 95k on it. When I got it from the dealership, the car fax said that it had an exhaust extension on it, whatever that means, so I couldn't tell you. That would be great if it was just a timing issue. The engine had a 12k warranty on it and I'm only at 8k, so it would be free of charge. Also one more question, would it be wise to put a fairly conservative stage one map on the engine? I've heard that it can make the engine run smoother and get more horsepower out of it. Its something I've wanted to do every since I've got it, but $6,000 for a new engine can put a cramp in those plans haha.

Would the Union Screw on the turbo be an issue too? I know you're supposed to clean it out every once in awhile, but I haven't done that yet.

Do not get a tune for it until you diagnose your problem, and your problem is not because you aren't tuned. completely stock, the car should drive normal and shift at 6200rpm when WOT. you need to do these diagnostic tests we are recommending to you, this thread is just dragging it's feet until you do so.... clogged cats is a possibility, or some type of intake or other exhaust restriction. the banjo bolt youre talking about is in front of the uppipe mounted on the back of the head, that's where the filter is. not ontop of the turbo. a problem here would result in turbo failure, but you'd hear noises from the turbo if its already blown.