Noob questions

Okay so I have a ton of random things I think of and don't know the answer to but I also feel like they don't deserve an entire forum post so I'm gonna create a post for my random questions

Cool. Ask away.

Okay so I have a ton of random things I think of and don't know the answer to but I also feel like they don't deserve an entire forum post so I'm gonna create a post for my random questions

And this is gonna be the car we will be having questions on (recently painted it a military green). A 97 leggy gt which recently had a top end refresh including new gaskets in this big gasket kit, new vacuum lining, and the other sort of obvious things you would do at the time like a new clutch kit. Had to kind of piece the vacuum lining together because I used the intake manifold off of a 98 gt and it turns out those have a different evap canister placement.

 

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Knowing that info I believe we got the evap lining right but I do have that p0420 code. We also had to drill the heads as they must have been bought online or something but they didn't have the egr port so my car never had egr, I followed a thread on here i believe and it works good so I think that shouldn't be the cause of it. I've been searching in other threads and just have to try and find some time to get a grounding kit and a msd coil pack. This might solve the code as I believe I have low voltage in the coil pack

Random question

Why does my car run so much smoother while it's cold? It's not like completely at running temp but about halfway to running temp it's smooth and feels more powerful, and when it's cold outside it's very noticeably better. I know that cold dense air is better for engines but would it make that much of a difference? As the car heats up I assume the ambient engine heat does something but that's when the car starts to kinda get not so smooth with the power band

^What intake are you running? If it's a short ram it's gonna heat up as the engine gets warmer.

 

Nice JDM projectors! I loved mine with DDM HIDs converted to UDSM light pattern. I miss those headlights. They look better with the amber housings removed. I guess you haven't cracked them open yet?

 

For the 420 code look into the spark plug anti-fouler trick iirc.

The intake is the factory ej25d. It has that tiny ram thing right behind the passenger headlight, then leads to the snorkus, then a flex pipe lookin area, then this boxyish thing that goes to the throttle body

 

Thanks man! Had to pay a bit for them but sanded them with 800, 1500, then 2000 grit wet sand paper for an uncomfortable amount of time and buffed them to a brand new shine. I actually haven't split them and I'm still unsure if I want to split them open just because I think i like the amber tbh

 

And I've actually never heard of that at all lol you may have to elaborate on that last bit quite a bit

P0420 is cat efficiency below threshold.

The spacer (non fouler) put onto the 2nd O2 sensor fools the computer, but doesn't fix the problem.

Make sure you have no exhaust leaks between the manifold and the 1st cat.

Generally it's either a leak there or a bad 1st O2 sensor.

If no leaks, replace the upstream sensor (1st).

Welcome and the car looks good.

 

O.

Thanks man. The cat along with both sensors are brand new which is upsetting. The entire exhaust system is new at that actually

 

Side note upon driving it this morning the car feels quick, totally smooth, didn't leave it on the charger over night or anything. Some people I've talked about this with have said that maybe my evap canister is all plugged up?

here are my thoughts on the p0420. this is my same issue except new sensors and old everything else and it came back.

 

with this code the car runs rich, in the morning when your car is cold it is running a different tune a closed loop. it is not taking the info from the sensors and is just running on it own. once it heats up it goes into and open loop, it takes the info from the sensors and sees there is something wrong P0420 and it makes a "correction" and runs rich. (I always confuse open and closed loops but this helps i hope)

 

this could be why the car behaves differently cold and warm, i feel the difference between cold and warm when driving too and cold usually feels better.

Thanks man. The cat along with both sensors are brand new which is upsetting.......

 

What brand cat and sensors were installed?

 

O.

It is running ridiculously rich actually. Like 13 mpg rich.

 

The cat is a magnaflow high flow cat and the sensors are whatever brand O'Reilly supplies, I think denso or something like that

I'd change the first O2 as it sets your A/F ratio.

Denso is one of the oem suppliers.

Go Amazon/Ebay.

Get Denso, Bosch or NGK.

 

O.

Okay cool I'll look into that. My dad has said it's possible to just get bum sensors

 

Random question 2

What sort of gear ratio does the leggy gt's have. Rear diff and tranny, assuming they'll be the same from to read as that seems to be what makes sense. But anyways I've heard numbers like 4.11 and 4.44. It's a manual gt if that's any help

Random question 3

I have this cheap little Bluetooth OBDII scan tool that we use to reset cel as we fix things and I use the torque pro app I bought for like 5 bucks. In one section of has a list of emissions tests and reads complete or incomplete. My EGR, O2 sensors, and Catylic converter show up as incomplete on the test highlighted red. There are a few options that are just grey as the car must not have those parts but their all green reading completely except those 3. What does that mean most likely?

Use your torque app to see what the O2s are reading. If they are reading correct but other signs show you are super rich, you may have an exhaust leak upstream of the sensors. They see the extra air and decide you need Moar Fuel!!!

The ECU has several pre-conditions that must be passed before those individual systems are considered ready to test. If you have disconnected the battery, for instance, it may take some time or driving cycles before a system will be declared ready to test.

I actually haven't split them and I'm still unsure if I want to split them open just because I think i like the amber tbh

 

Nothing wrong with the amber! I removed the amber plastic thing but I still had an amber bulb installed so it looked about the same, maybe a bit cleaner. You are required by law to have an amber bulb for a turn signal. Chrome bulbs that light up amber are available.

 

I didn't crack mine open just to remove the amber. I opened them up to convert them to the USDM light pattern so I could aim them properly and get the most out of them. The DDM HID kit was only $75 and was a vast improvement over the halogens. Definitely worth every penny although the install was a little tricky because of the wiring but there are some good writeups I found. I was even able to wire mine up so they could work with HIDs or the stock halogens.

 

For some good info check out my buddy eekay's write up (I have some info posted there as well): http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/clearing-jdm-projector-headlight-lenses-165731.html

 

While I had mine apart I put some halos in there which I thought looked badass. I posted some pics of them in this thread years ago, right after I painted my wagon. Go to page 4 to see how I did the USDM light conversion and added the halos: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/diy-angel-eyes-other-lighting-193584.html

Use your torque app to see what the O2s are reading. If they are reading correct but other signs show you are super rich, you may have an exhaust leak upstream of the sensors. They see the extra air and decide you need Moar Fuel!!!

 

Do you have the torque app yourself? I haven't had much luck finding where it would show me data that the O2 sensors are reading, maybe you can shed some light on it

 

And miles thank you that perfectly reminded me I just forgot, recently disconnected the battery

Nothing wrong with the amber! I removed the amber plastic thing but I still had an amber bulb installed so it looked about the same, maybe a bit cleaner. You are required by law to have an amber bulb for a turn signal. Chrome bulbs that light up amber are available.

 

I didn't crack mine open just to remove the amber. I opened them up to convert them to the USDM light pattern so I could aim them properly and get the most out of them. The DDM HID kit was only $75 and was a vast improvement over the halogens. Definitely worth every penny although the install was a little tricky because of the wiring but there are some good writeups I found. I was even able to wire mine up so they could work with HIDs or the stock halogens.

 

For some good info check out my buddy eekay's write up (I have some info posted there as well): http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/clearing-jdm-projector-headlight-lenses-165731.html

 

While I had mine apart I put some halos in there which I thought looked badass. I posted some pics of them in this thread years ago, right after I painted my wagon. Go to page 4 to see how I did the USDM light conversion and added the halos: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/diy-angel-eyes-other-lighting-193584.html

 

 

Those look damn good, I would totally go for that if I wasn't so chicken shit lol I just spent a lot of money for these headlights. So damn rare and hard to find here so I'm terrified of breaking them

Okay cool I'll look into that. My dad has said it's possible to just get bum sensors

 

Random question 2

What sort of gear ratio does the leggy gt's have. Rear diff and tranny, assuming they'll be the same from to read as that seems to be what makes sense. But anyways I've heard numbers like 4.11 and 4.44. It's a manual gt if that's any help

 

These are the gearings for 97; they should be identical to a 99.

5-speed manual: 4-speed auto:

1- 3.545 3.027

2- 2.111 1.619

3- 1.448 1.000

4- 1.088 .694

5- .871(OB)/.780 rest N/A

FD- 4.111 4.44

Okay just checking that the tranny and rear diff out of a 98 gt would match up, I assumed they would but thank you

Once you reset the ecu.

You must go through enough drive cycles and time for the sensors to all read as ready.

It generally takes at least a 30 mile drive to get them ready.

Or the alternative is to prop the throttle open to about 2K and let it run.

Keep an eye on coolant temp.

 

O.

Those look damn good, I would totally go for that if I wasn't so chicken shit lol I just spent a lot of money for these headlights. So damn rare and hard to find here so I'm terrified of breaking them

 

Yeah, it's a little intimidating but it's actually pretty easy. I'm in the process of a projector retrofit into some JDM Bugeye headlights.

With Torque you'll probably have to add the gauges to a screen. For O2 I use the digital number style instead of the steam gauge style, but you might prefer one of the side scrolling graphs if you don't have a co-driver to help you watch the numbers. Once you select the style and size you'll get a huge list of sensors. The ones your car has should be highlighted green. Go down through that list untill you find the O2 voltage for front and rear. When you have the front and rear added you can drive around and see what the numbers are acting like. There's lots of articles around that describe what normal is like. I'll just add that mine go to 0.00 when engine braking, so don't freak out if you see the same.

There is also the data logging feature in Torque that you might find useful for watching what happens.