Help!

[b18hb]

I just bought a 91 Mr2 Turbo and I'm trying to work out a few kinks with the motor. Car idles fine and does great until the turbo spools to the point that the boost gauge reads about 3/8 to 1/2 of its full potential and the engine rpm is at about 3000-3700 rpm. At that point, the motor continues to rev, but the power band gets very sloppy and inconsistent.

My primary suspicion is a boost leak somewhere. The couplings are pretty old, but i'm not ruling out other possibilities yet. I would greatly appreciate it if someone with a boost leak tester and a little mr2/turbo knowledge could help me work through this annoyance.

Thanks in advance and feel free to ask for more specific info and i'll provide it if i can.

[b18hb]

no one?

[Spektrewing386]

you can make a boost like tester from home depot stuff.
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=8961&highlight=boost+leak


i also recommend getting new ignition components. rotor, cap, spark plugs, spark plug wires. dont skimp out on that stuff. get OEM, its the best. dont even step foot inside an auto store for the plug wires, cap, rotor. i once tried the Bosch Napa wires and they didnt even fit properly. I got a pair of new OEM red wires and they fit like a glove.

[MongolPup]

I'm surprised there weren't more responses to this.

[nmonty]

Did you ever get this figured out? It sounds like your ecu might be running in safe mode. You should check to see if you are throwing any codes. Some codes dont always turn the check engine light on and will put the ecu into safe mode. A blown knock sensor is one common problem that will cause the car to stay in safe mode.
I would also do a search on www.mr2oc.com . Pretty much anything you could ever need or want to know about mr2's can be found somewhere on those forums.

[b18hb]

yeah, i figured it out. it was an ignition problem. ^^ cheap fix.

[brandenj]

good to hear