Hello.. Its a little bit of a read...

In december of last year, I put my car away for storage- and decided I was going to turbo it.. Its a 97 2.4 Cav.

I finished up my little project around June/July- Brought the car out, got about 10-15 miles out of it & blew it up... The car died @ a traffic light after a little boost leaving a huge white cloud of smoke behind me.. Would not turn over.. I didn't think it was from the boost, but I wasn't real sure.. I had a decent tune.

Had it towed back down my shop & proceeded to disassemble the engine. The charge pipes, manifold, intercooler, cylinders- everything was full of gasoline!!

Thankful I didn't blow myself up in my huge gasoline bomb on wheels, I disassembled the engine & rebuilt it completely- never really knowing what exactly happened to my engine. Headgasket was not blown, rods, pistons, everything looked okay etc etc.. I assumed one of the browntop injectors I got was bad & stuck open; flooding the engine & basically hydrolocking it- but I thought it was a too much fuel for an injector- so I wasn't sure.

Last saturday night, I finally got around to checking to see if I could get oil pressure to start the engine for the 1st time... I turn the key on-- the fuel pressure gauge I installed on my rail shows 30 lbs pressure- then drops down to zero..

It sounds like theres a leakdown or something into my cylinders for whatever reason. I listen a few more times & pop off my TB elbow to have a look inside the manifold & it's got like 5" of gasoline in the bottom !!!!

Turns out- my accel adjustable FPR was bad- and was squirting 40 psi of gas into my throttle body THROUGH THE DAMN VACUUM LINE !!!!

This little farking @!#$ty part costs me thousands of dollars & alot of hours working on my car trying to get it driveable again.. I cannot @!#$ beleive it !!! ...I would not recommend that Adj. FPR to anyone.

Has anyone ever heard of a FPR going "bad" & squirting gas through the signal line???

I called & left a message w/ accel to bitch them out- I doubt they will do anything for me- but I just wanted to vent a little bit..

On a side note- the car is almost ready. Built engine running about 10-12 lbs.

Thank you.

That sucks, man. But yea, when the diaphram ruptures on a FPR, that's exactly what happens. The diaphram can rupture really easy on most adjustable FPR's if the adjustment screw is bottomed out, even if it's not torqued at all. You gotta be REALLY careful with that. Most likely, ACCEL will tell you that it was your fault and say you bottomed out the adjustment screw.

I had this happen with the Accell AFPR I had, but it did not mess up my motor. The Accell FPR does not seem to be good for boost. AFPR's can be a good thing to have. If the car was blowing white smoke when it first blew that was not gas, but sounds like a head gasket.



FU Tuning

i just figured that out last week on mine.......pressure would go to 30 and fall......i would get screaming high egt's and high afr......tracked it all down to my accel AFPR...i threw my stock one in and im good to go.....it just runs a little rich......

hmmm , it sounds odd that you didnt catch it sooner , like hard starting , rich fuel codes , poor milage

it is something that will happen with any fpr , ive replaced alot of stock fpr's for leaking through the vacuum line

yep, I've had many stock FPRs fail the same way (replaced them while working for a dealership), VERY common.

I was one of the first ones to pick up one of these (mine is a hypertec, but same damn thing) years ago, and it still works fine. We have some of the Accel ones in use here in the group, no problems with any of them yet (most are a few years old)

I've also been using mine with boost almost the whole time I've had it.

***Edit***

Just Re-Read your post....... you didnt figure out what caused it to die till after you rebuilt it and started again? I would think all that gas would have clued you in....... lol





Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, October 24, 2006 2:27 AM

SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

I have that Accel regulator and havent had any problems with it besides the fact its weird to adjust.. I hope this wont give me problems with my boost here soon











~2014 New Z under the knife, same heart different body~
______________________
WHITECAVY no more
2012 numbers - 4SPD AUTOMATIC!!
328 HP
306 TQ

[quote=97trd(???™)]hmmm , it sounds odd that you didnt catch it sooner , like hard starting , rich fuel codes , poor milage

it is something that will happen with any fpr , ive replaced alot of stock fpr's for leaking through the vacuum line

Hehe... The FPR didnt break until the car was actually on the road-- Trust me, you notice stuff like your intake manifold filling up with gasoline.. .. It was running pretty good on my tune, but just died @ a redlight & would not start back up... It broke while driving...

SpeedRacerZ wrote:
***Edit***
Just Re-Read your post....... you didnt figure out what caused it to die till after you rebuilt it and started again? I would think all that gas would have clued you in....... lol

Yeah- I definately noticed the gallons of gas I poured out the intake system... I was using ford brown tops that I had rebuilt & I thought one or more of them was bad & was sticking open. I have never heard of a FPR leaking so bad like that- so the thought never really entered my mind... The white smoke lead me to beleive it was possibly my headgasket- but when I took that apart, it didn't look blown... So whatever- it was a mystery that I chalked up to faulty injectors, but now I know...

WHITECAVY wrote:I have that Accel regulator and havent had any problems with it besides the fact its weird to adjust.. I hope this wont give me problems with my boost here soon

I would not run the accell FPR with boost. It has been posted on here before people have had it break with boost. The one I have/had I got from Jake and it had messed up with him on boost, and Accell fixed it and I got it from him.



FU Tuning

John Higgins wrote:

WHITECAVY wrote:I have that Accel regulator and havent had any problems with it besides the fact its weird to adjust.. I hope this wont give me problems with my boost here soon

I would not run the accell FPR with boost. It has been posted on here before people have had it break with boost. The one I have/had I got from Jake and it had messed up with him on boost, and Accell fixed it and I got it from him.

Well darn, I really didn't want to use an FMU either.. I heard thats pretty much old technology now adays.











~2014 New Z under the knife, same heart different body~
______________________
WHITECAVY no more
2012 numbers - 4SPD AUTOMATIC!!
328 HP
306 TQ

Ahh......you need a one-way vaccum valve in the line...would has solved the whole thing, and the @!#$ty part about that is it cost like $0.50.

I have a check valve in my tool box..

Ive installed the stock FPR back in the rail-- should I put the check valve on the signal line to the stock FPR to possibly avoid this again.. ?

ive got a accell fpr , been about a year with boost

and still going

knock on wood , lol

John Higgins wrote:

WHITECAVY wrote:I have that Accel regulator and havent had any problems with it besides the fact its weird to adjust.. I hope this wont give me problems with my boost here soon

I would not run the accell FPR with boost. It has been posted on here before people have had it break with boost. The one I have/had I got from Jake and it had messed up with him on boost, and Accell fixed it and I got it from him.

I'm pretty sure that was the Casper one....... last I knew he still had the Accel one, and if he did sell that one, I never heard of it giving him problems (believe me, if it was, I would have heard about it)

The Accel ones never given me a bit of a problem when using it with boost, even with 15psi of boost. It's pretty much the same as the OEM one, accept for the adjustability factor.

FPRs fail, its just a fact of life. If the intake and everything was full of fuel, my first step would be to find were it was comming from. To test the injectors, pull the rail and injectors off the head, turn on the key..... if fuel drips out, or even sprays, then the injector is bad. To test a FPR, turn the key on, or start the car, and pull the Vac line off the FPR..... Fuel will spray or drip out of the port on the FPR if its bad. To clear a flooded or even hydro-locked engine..... first, hold your foot to the floor, and crank the engine. If it wont crank over (but you can hear the starter engauge), pull the spark plugs and fuel pump relay. Crank the engine till you dont see fuel vapor spraying from the plug holes. Change the oil. Put the spark plugs back in, along with the pump relay. Crank the engine till it starts. If at any point you hear abnormal noises (rattles/clunks) stop cranking, there is some engine damage.




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

i had a stock one go out just here recently and i went from about 25 mpg to 8 mpg overnight. started surging, smelling gas everywhere, and eventually decided to pull the vacum line to see old faithful there squirting it to the hood. sorry to hear it caused so much trouble and hope you get some resolution.

RedDevil wrote:I have a check valve in my tool box..

Ive installed the stock FPR back in the rail-- should I put the check valve on the signal line to the stock FPR to possibly avoid this again.. ?

Yes, you put it in the line so it can translate the vacuum from the TB but nothing can get to it from the other direction. It has to be a vacuum check valve, a regular check vavalveill allow anything in one direction, which you dont want. Meaning you already have a suction from the FRFPRo the throttle so the fluid movement in the ling is already going FRFPRo TB, by putting a CV in there you havn't changed anything as the gas goes from FPR to TB. You need a vacuum check vvalvewhich only allow a vacuum to open the valve and then initiates flow, not just allows the movement of anything in one direction.

Does that make since? I've got them all over on my 350 TBI system in my Tahoe.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, October 24, 2006 10:26 AM

Well... Way back in 94 when I first decided I was going to turbo the car- I completely knew I would have to rebuild the engine for one reason or another... I told everyone I was going to turbo the @!#$ outta the car & when I blew it up, I was going to rebuild it stronger and give it some more...

Unfortunately, I thought I caused some serious damage with the engine when it unloaded a huge white smoke and the whole front end would clunk pretty good when I tried to turn it over.. I probably could have just drained all the gas, dryed everything up and possibly drove it some more..

I assumed I threw a rod or something because it's a common problem w/ the 2.4's. I was just surprised that it was so easy to "blow" the engine- I had a decent tune, and I wasn't even really beating on it...

I made a post after it happened & judging by the responses I got- I assumed the headgasket blew.

Whoops

Anyway- I am kinda appreciative of this event for 2 reasons..
1- The car did not explode or catch on fire with all the gasoline in the pipes- it could have been worse.
2- I completely learned how my engine works and where every little component is & what they all do...I was not familiar w/ engines & how they actually worked inside- but now I am a self proclaimed "expert".

So-- In conclusion- Im pissed it happened, but such is life-- It was bound to happen sooner or later..

Thanks for the info about FPR's & look for the car in several weeks if I can break the engine in & get a good tune before the snow hits...

I had the same thing happen to my stock FPR. It turned my S/C into a secondary gas tank. It didn't wreck anything, but what a mess. It took a while to get all of the gas out and finally get it to turn over.



2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R

SpeedRacerZ wrote:

John Higgins wrote:

WHITECAVY wrote:I have that Accel regulator and havent had any problems with it besides the fact its weird to adjust.. I hope this wont give me problems with my boost here soon

I would not run the accell FPR with boost. It has been posted on here before people have had it break with boost. The one I have/had I got from Jake and it had messed up with him on boost, and Accell fixed it and I got it from him.

I'm pretty sure that was the Casper one....... last I knew he still had the Accel one, and if he did sell that one, I never heard of it giving him problems (believe me, if it was, I would have heard about it)

The Accel ones never given me a bit of a problem when using it with boost, even with 15psi of boost. It's pretty much the same as the OEM one, accept for the adjustability factor.

FPRs fail, its just a fact of life. If the intake and everything was full of fuel, my first step would be to find were it was comming from. To test the injectors, pull the rail and injectors off the head, turn on the key..... if fuel drips out, or even sprays, then the injector is bad. To test a FPR, turn the key on, or start the car, and pull the Vac line off the FPR..... Fuel will spray or drip out of the port on the FPR if its bad. To clear a flooded or even hydro-locked engine..... first, hold your foot to the floor, and crank the engine. If it wont crank over (but you can hear the starter engauge), pull the spark plugs and fuel pump relay. Crank the engine till you dont see fuel vapor spraying from the plug holes. Change the oil. Put the spark plugs back in, along with the pump relay. Crank the engine till it starts. If at any point you hear abnormal noises (rattles/clunks) stop cranking, there is some engine damage.

Not trying to start anything, but I got a accell from jake. I still have it. You should remember I got him a timing chain tensioner for it (and you did not like the one I got, so he took it back and got a different one). As for him having issues with it, I'm only going by what he told me.



FU Tuning

Hmm..... must have been along while ago, cant remember Jake needing a tensioner, since we put his engine in way before putting the S/C on..... oh well..... I do remember something about the 1 piece tensioner vs. the 2 piece design...... but thats about it.....





SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

John Higgins wrote:I had this happen with the Accell AFPR I had, but it did not mess up my motor. The Accell FPR does not seem to be good for boost. AFPR's can be a good thing to have. If the car was blowing white smoke when it first blew that was not gas, but sounds like a head gasket.

The Accell AFPR is NOT good for boost, especially for those with the gm supercharger. The stock fpr increases fuel pressure 1:1 with boost pressure (and the ecm expects and compensates for this) and the accell one doesn't increase fuel pressure with boost. So if you are running the GM reflash with an Accell AFPR you will run lean in boost.

SPDDMON wrote:

John Higgins wrote:I had this happen with the Accell AFPR I had, but it did not mess up my motor. The Accell FPR does not seem to be good for boost. AFPR's can be a good thing to have. If the car was blowing white smoke when it first blew that was not gas, but sounds like a head gasket.

The Accell AFPR is NOT good for boost, especially for those with the gm supercharger. The stock fpr increases fuel pressure 1:1 with boost pressure (and the ecm expects and compensates for this) and the accell one doesn't increase fuel pressure with boost. So if you are running the GM reflash with an Accell AFPR you will run lean in boost.

mine does, and so has others I have worked with....... Even the paper work I had with mine said it did




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap