SR20 hesitation problems at low rpm

[DJ Cool Breeze]

Its a black top and was just put in a week ago....the car always smells of gass, and seems to hesitate at lower rpms....Im thinking its the timing...I replaced the fuel filter and spark plugs already........anyone care to chime in on this problem I have??????

ThanksDJ

[redline19]

does it seem to hesitate, then spike up to the desired boost? if so the timing could be off, or the engine could be pulling timing from either a bad cts sensor, or knock sensor. check the correct voltages for the cts and tps just in case. don't think a bad o2 sensor would be causing the hesitation. also be sure to check the gap of your plugs to .28, but i've gone through so many with the same problem that i don't think thats the problem.

and does it hesitate all the time or just when its warm/ engine is warm?

[DJ Cool Breeze]

well if i mash on the gass peddle it seems to be ok....but if im just cruising around, sometimes it bucks a little if im in a low rpm range........Its seems to hesitate if its warm or cold....

i gapped the plugs to .034........everyone i have talked to seems to have a different oppinion on what to gap them so I dont know who to believe

[DJ Cool Breeze]

I noticed even if I do step on the gass all the way it still seems a little slow then the car just takes off....iv never owned a turbo car before, and im guessing thats just the turbo kicking in....it is not just a steady increase in speed and power though throughout the rpm's

[redline19]

i gapped the plugs to .034........everyone i have talked to seems to have a different oppinion on what to gap them so I dont know who to believe

try gapping it to .028. it helps a little with the hesitation but doesn't fully eliminate it.

if it smells of gas, check if your maf is functioning correctly ie. checking the wiring and the symptons when the maf is connected/ disconnect. search the forum for a bad maf diagnosis, that may help.

[DJ Cool Breeze]

how hard would setting the timing be? can It be done by myself, or should i just pay a garage to do it?..............i hate the nasty smell that is coming out of my car, and the hesitation is starting to bother me a little.

how can you tell if your timing is advanced or retarded?.......sorry i never messed with timing before in my life so im a little green in this derpartment

[S13FASTBACKSR]

the higher your boost, the lower your spark plug gap should be. assuming you are running 7psi i would say gap the plugs around 32-34. how your explaining the lower rpm misfiring sounds like your timing is off or you have a dirty maf. you say you smell gas..well do you see black smoke coming from your exhaust pipe? if you do not see black smoke then i think the problem is one of the two things i just mentioned..if you do see black smoke then there are many possiblities...checking/ changing your timing is really easy..you need a timing light to do it..on your crankshaft pulley there are 6 marks..the first is -5 degrees the second is TDC (top dead center) the 3rd is 5 degrees btdc (before top dead center) and so on..you change the timing by moving the cas (crank angle sensor) back and forth..the correct timing is 15 degress btdc ( 3rd mark to the right of TDC)

[DJ Cool Breeze]

no i dont see any black smoke...just smells bad..not just off gass, but something else nasty as well........can i adjust the timming with just the valve cover off???

[DJ Cool Breeze]

what do you use to clean the maf? and how should it be done....Maybe It will be a simple solution just like that damn timing guide that was making all that freaking noise.

[S13FASTBACKSR]

You dont take the valve cover off to adjust the timing..you just loosen the two bolts that hold down the cas which is located on the upper part of the block on the drivers side at the front of the engine right under the valve cover. to clean the maf you use electronic cleaner..you take off the maf and you will see a little electronic stem ..just spray that with the cleaner.

[Trigga]

Sorry to hijack but i have the same problem with my sr20 det. It doesnt happen all the time but happens a majority of the time when you let it idle for too long, even at a set of lights waiting for a green. Mine wont rev passed 2500 but still builds the boost up to the setting i have set it at.

My car is auto and when this happens in 3rd or 2nd and you plant your foot down it struggles but goes back to gear one which is a higher rpm but when it gears down it goes o.k but you can smell hell fuel after. But once you back off the accelerator and back to 2500 rpm it goes back to running like s***.

I have tried cleaning the maf but it didnt do anything, could it be f***ed? I also have replaced the knock sensor and that also did s*** all, even gave it a trans service and made no changes...

The thing is though once you turn the car off and wait like 2 minutes... it goes away for a while if not the whole time till the next time it happens, if ya know what i mean...

Please help! I have had this problem for 2 years

[jetblack24]

check your fuel pressure...sounds like it might be too high.

[Trigga]

well i dont think that is the case but knowing my luck. I have had the fuel pum replaced like a year ago to a warlbro 500hp one or some s*** and it was working for about 3 weeks but then started again.

[Emperor_Tha]

Disconnect your o2 sensor and see of it drives better. If it does it's probably a bad o2sensor or a bad knock sensor if it's happen sometimes.

[Trigga]

well, i disconnected the o2 sensor and it smells rich of fuel now on idle and doesnt peform and different to normal when driving around but later last night while it was disconnected, the lag problem happened again which surely comes to the conclusion that its not my o2 sensor....any more ideas anyone?

[Emperor_Tha]

U can try the knock sensor resistor trick.

Find pin 27(knock sensor input) white, Cut about 6inch away from the ecu. Solder a 1mega ohm reisistor (1,000,000 ohms) and ground the other side. I recommend putting a fuse after the resistor to be safe

If better either the knock sensor is bad or bad wiring to he knock sensor.