MaxBoost!
Advice for fellow TR owners from Tom Shea Racing
Home phone until 9 pm 952-892-5669
Cell phone anytime (612)-209-9090.
Email ttshea@frontiernet.net
"TSR" Switch Fuel System, save money, drive on pump gas!
TSR MaxBoost #1
There is a logical progression to the care and upgrading of your TR. If you follow a reasonable course, you will be able to achieve the most satisfaction from each step in the process. If you vary too much from a conservative approach you may find yourself in a situation that yields little or no immediate improvements. It is inevitable that some of the things required to be performed as upgrades will not immediately improve performance. Some of these things will not improve performance at all, but will be necessary to support increased performance and durability.
The youngest of these cars are now approaching pioneer plate status. There should be a general good condition of the mechanicals prior to any performance upgrades.
I suggest a change of hoses & belt. Flush coolant. The hoses are pre-formed to some short sharp bends. You will need specific parts, straight hose will not make these bends without kinking. You should keep the old parts as spares. Clean them up and stash in the trunk. There is an area on each side, a pocket between the fender & the side edge of the trunk floor. This area works well for small parts storage. In case of a failure, the replacement parts may not be immediately available at a local auto parts store. The used parts you have saved, may come in handy. Belts & hoses may seem generic, but if the specific ones are not at the parts store, you may find yourself in an undesirable situation. This also goes for any other small parts that you change out in a periodic maintenance effort.
The belt is a specific size that is usually not carried in stock at most parts stores. It is 63 inches long. Most parts stores inventory even numbered lengths of belts. If you have the original pulleys, a 62-inch belt will be too short and probably not stretch far enough to install. The 64-inch size, I sometimes find on customers cars will obviously work, but it is a little too long for the tensioner to work well. This may be a part that you will need to order in advance.
While checking hoses, more should be inspected. The turbo to intercooler connection is subject to demanding conditions. In stock configuration it is exposed to oil contamination from the right front valve cover breather. If this piece is oil contaminated, replace it. You may want to upgrade the hose & clamps. Caterpillar is one source for these, as well as many vendors.
You may want to consider a different breather for the valve covers. These little engines make lots of cylinder pressure, and therefore some inevitable crankcase pressure. Breathers on the valve covers will help to relieve some of this pressure, and reduce possible leaking of the crank & pan seals. There are kits available from aftermarket suppliers that come with the necessary hardware to eliminate the breather tube and block off the turbo inlet bell.
While checking hoses, also check the small diameter tubing that plumbs vacuum & boost. Commonly referred to as vacuum/boost or emissions lines, these lines are subject to boost pressure on our engines, in addition to vacuum.
The ability to contain pressure is a real concern. The most critical of these is the line that comes out of the turbo outlet nozzle. This line is the boost control signal. It has to be able to contain boost pressure in order to limit boost. If this line is not able to hold pressure, over-boost will occur. This condition will result in engine damage. These lines are available as kits from vendors, or you can replace them with similar tubing yourself.
Make sure the tubing has thick enough walls for pressure containment. It is available from auto parts stores in small quantities. If you do it yourself, make sure to plumb the "Y" connector in properly. This line has 3 pieces. The turbo to the "Y" connector is the one that has the small restrictor in the "Y". The other 2 lines go to the waste-gate controller arm canister, and the valve-cover solenoid. If you do it yourself, use a sharp blade, and slice the lines length-wise at the connections and peel back the old lines carefully. The "Y" is plastic, and can be easily damaged or broken.
An easy way to check these lines is to rub them between thumb & fingers. If black comes off on your fingers, the line is deteriorating and needs replacing. It is a good idea to use tie wraps or wire ties around the end connections of these lines. This will slightly improve the clamping force and greatly improve the resistance to expansion of the line under pressure. If the line expands it will probably blow off.
The boost signal line to the fuel pressure regulator is another critical piece of tubing. This must contain boost pressure in order to increase the fuel pressure in relation to the boost level. This is required to avoid a lean condition. Lean can cause engine damage.
While you are checking these lines, check the rest of them too. Some are different sizes, you may want to remove them all at once and replace. Resist this idea and replace only one at a time. The same goes for spark plug wires. It may look simple and straightforward, but you can easily end up with incorrectly installed lines or wires.
You may want to take one small piece of each diameter with to the parts store for comparison. Just estimate the total length you will need of each size. Plug wires are readily available from vendors and local parts stores. Try to get specific application wires, as the generic ones will generally be too long and not look right. Get some dielectric gel to coat the new plug and coil-pack terminals, prior to installing the new wires. Cleanup the coil-pack terminals carefully with something mildly abrasive like fine sandpaper or Scotch-Brite first.
With new plugs, you may want to go one heat range colder than the stock 44. I recommend the AC-CR plugs. The C in CR stands for commercial. They are heavy duty, and stand up to the harsh demands of turbo engines better than the standard AC-R plugs. They may not be readily available in all heat ranges. Call your GM dealership or other parts supplier and order some.
With new plugs, wires, vacuum/boost lines, hoses & belt there is a good chance that your T.R. will be running pretty well.
There is one other thing that I recommend to have on hand. That is a Mass Air Flow Sensor. This piece is subject to failure and may not be readily available locally. Having one on hand could mean the difference between enjoying your T.R. or waiting for the part. I recommend installing the new one to make sure it is working properly. Some don't. Then take the old one and seal it in a plastic bag & carefully wrap it up with padding. These things have gone bad on some people from improper storage or rough handling. Keep it in the trunk with the other parts, keeping in mind to place it well out of harms way.
There are now aftermarket pieces available to replace or eliminate the M.A.F. Mass Air Flow Sensor. I like these as an alternative for several reasons. I believe the original ones were not that good in the first place. There are several options. Call for details.
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