So here's the other things I've done to improve emissions, I made this video (I was slightly annoyed at the time, I felt better when I was done because I got to learn about the car) to show what needs to be done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P2XZCGeTDY
The next day I did remove the strut tower bar, there were some things attached to it (boost controller part, coolant reservoir for chargecooler) so I figured it was easier to prop it up.
It was seriously in the way so I determined it was easier to take it out, this is how one of the previous owners attached those to the bar, interesting...
Ah much better
Here is the broken throttle body coupler, I was told this allowing air in will cause the engine to run lean
VS the new one, here's where I bought it https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/throttle-bo ... er-coupler
The hose seems pretty standard but the metal part seems pretty well made and machined, not perfect and pretty utilitarian but in theory the hose could be replaced if needed
Old turbo to intercooler hose, I feel this was clamped too far in causing the hose to curl up on the edges over time creating a boost leak.
It was kinda dirty inside so I wiped off a good amount, it's my understanding this isn't a cause for alarm but I'm still quite new to working on turbo cars so I'm not 100% sure
A bit cleaner
The bump on this wasn't as dramatic by the time I buttoned everything up, I was concerned it wasn't forming a good seal at the time but I ended up breaking one of my clamps (good thing they came in a 2-pack) so I tried again shortly after taking this picture.
If anyone has a brand/product recommendation on non crap clamps let me know, I got these at O'Riley's and I don't remember if they had more expensive ones or not.
So I had to take the strut tower bar off to get at the throttle body connector, because this isn't expected on the stock version this part of the clamp is touching the bar. What's weird is this part appears to have a right way up and wrong way up. The clamp adjustment seemed to me to be upside down so I moved it and tried again, there isn't much I can do about it other than find a similar "low profile" clamp if such a thing exists.
At least the turbo hose seems to be on there nice and tight and forming a good seal
Day 3, adding the strut tower bar back in (the service manual calls it a "Suspension Upper Brace"), I had to borrow a smaller torque wrench for the middle firewall bolts (there's what's a "Tool Library" where I live so I bought a year subscription of that) which required 21 NM (which seems surprisingly low to me, my other wrench doesn't go lower than 40 NM.
I drove the car around (this was before putting the new oxygen sensor in) and I was able to notice a lot of improvement. The idle was much more consistent and the power delivery was much smoother so I must have installed the throttle body coupler on correctly which is nice (I was constantly humming The Fray's "Over My Head" when working on this because I felt I didn't know what I was doing, I guess I wasn't in over my head). No noticeable boost leaks as well (the loss of power was obvious when I had boost leaks). If you compare the turbo hose from when I freshly installed it vs when I put in the oxygen sensor its pretty bulged in the middle which indicates to me air was sealed tightly and heated the hose up to deform it without breaking the seal. Most other stock-ish RC models I've seen pictures of online have the hose bulging in the middle like that.
So yeah, I think that's it! Once the weather gets nicer for a bit I'll get my emissions test repairs scheduled and hope I pass!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P2XZCGeTDY
The next day I did remove the strut tower bar, there were some things attached to it (boost controller part, coolant reservoir for chargecooler) so I figured it was easier to prop it up.
It was seriously in the way so I determined it was easier to take it out, this is how one of the previous owners attached those to the bar, interesting...
Ah much better
Here is the broken throttle body coupler, I was told this allowing air in will cause the engine to run lean
VS the new one, here's where I bought it https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/throttle-bo ... er-coupler
The hose seems pretty standard but the metal part seems pretty well made and machined, not perfect and pretty utilitarian but in theory the hose could be replaced if needed
Old turbo to intercooler hose, I feel this was clamped too far in causing the hose to curl up on the edges over time creating a boost leak.
It was kinda dirty inside so I wiped off a good amount, it's my understanding this isn't a cause for alarm but I'm still quite new to working on turbo cars so I'm not 100% sure
A bit cleaner
The bump on this wasn't as dramatic by the time I buttoned everything up, I was concerned it wasn't forming a good seal at the time but I ended up breaking one of my clamps (good thing they came in a 2-pack) so I tried again shortly after taking this picture.
If anyone has a brand/product recommendation on non crap clamps let me know, I got these at O'Riley's and I don't remember if they had more expensive ones or not.
So I had to take the strut tower bar off to get at the throttle body connector, because this isn't expected on the stock version this part of the clamp is touching the bar. What's weird is this part appears to have a right way up and wrong way up. The clamp adjustment seemed to me to be upside down so I moved it and tried again, there isn't much I can do about it other than find a similar "low profile" clamp if such a thing exists.
At least the turbo hose seems to be on there nice and tight and forming a good seal
Day 3, adding the strut tower bar back in (the service manual calls it a "Suspension Upper Brace"), I had to borrow a smaller torque wrench for the middle firewall bolts (there's what's a "Tool Library" where I live so I bought a year subscription of that) which required 21 NM (which seems surprisingly low to me, my other wrench doesn't go lower than 40 NM.
I drove the car around (this was before putting the new oxygen sensor in) and I was able to notice a lot of improvement. The idle was much more consistent and the power delivery was much smoother so I must have installed the throttle body coupler on correctly which is nice (I was constantly humming The Fray's "Over My Head" when working on this because I felt I didn't know what I was doing, I guess I wasn't in over my head). No noticeable boost leaks as well (the loss of power was obvious when I had boost leaks). If you compare the turbo hose from when I freshly installed it vs when I put in the oxygen sensor its pretty bulged in the middle which indicates to me air was sealed tightly and heated the hose up to deform it without breaking the seal. Most other stock-ish RC models I've seen pictures of online have the hose bulging in the middle like that.
So yeah, I think that's it! Once the weather gets nicer for a bit I'll get my emissions test repairs scheduled and hope I pass!