Afternoon All,
Happy Saturday!!!
Have a big ? for anyone that may be able to help..............
Does Speed Density tune remove the MAF parameters out of the tune completely? If I have the MAF plugged in, voltage readings do show and bounce around, is that normal or should it not read it at all? Or would unplugging it make it work in SD mode?

Just trying to figure out why the car runs so poorly and chugs, sputters, and falls on its face, at least its a lot better than it was before..... But running like crap a little or a lot, crap is crap........


The car threw a PO154 Oxygen Sensor Bank 2 position 1 (Should be passenger front O2 Sensor I think)
So I will replace it since its probably clogged with soot from the huge vacuum leaks and the dyno pulls when it was misfiring from Coil #3 not firing and purge valve not connected and the connector to the intake = huge vacuum leak let the car run horribly rich and plugs got all covered in black soot. That is why I think the O2 Sensors throwing a code=probably covered in black carbon soot like the 7 plugs had.....
At idle the TPS is showing 0.00% to 0.04% but mostly 0.00 so should I make sure the TPS has a steady reading?
MAP sensor is reading 19.7 inches of HG...... is that normal?
O2 sensor output voltage bank 1 = 0.165V
O2 sensor output voltage bank 2 = .0455V (yet this is the PO154 code that tripped??? I thought 0.5V was the expected voltage? so you would think the Bank 1 Sensor 1 would have tripped not Bank 2? Confused on that one but ill check the grounds for O2 sensors and jumper the 2 pins to see what the voltage is then.)
I contacted a 3rd tuner and am trying to get an appointment with him to see if he can figure out why its running like ***. I really need to buy and learn HP Tuners so I don't have to keep throwing money out the window, I just want my car to run so I can drive it. Not a race car, not anything nuts, just want to tool around town once in a while that's all. So damn frustrating to say the least.
Thank you for any info someone could provide about the SD tune.

Jay
__________________
Anyway back to the ?,

 

You need a mechanic before you go to another "tuner". Vastly different o2 sensor readings from one bank to the next are an obvious problem that can't be tuned out. Until your mechanical and/or electrical issues are sorted you are just pissing time and money away trying to tune it.

 

It threw the MAF and O2 Sensor codes again and I cleaned Bank 2 Sensor 1 and sensor 2 (Replacement with Heater will be here tomorrow so Ill replace the Bank 2 sensor 1)
Sprayed brake cleaner around the base of the intake and it did not make a difference, so the intake is good and sealed., I checked and sprayed the PCV line and checked, its snug and not leaking. The Fuel Vapor line is connected and snug, No vacuum leaks. It HAS to be the tune.
Smells like its still running rich, so I ordered yet another 8 NGK TR55 plugs which will be here tomorrow, but I am not changing them again until I can get this to Tuner #3, We will hope and pray he can make some sense of whats been done and get this thing to run right.
I wish I never touched this
Such a bad experience, and a truly STUPID EXPENSIVE one at that.
Error codes shown below:

Error Code P0154 again

Error Code P0102

 

OP isn't listening......

 

You still have more diagnostics to do before you assume it's the tune. Hook a fuel pressure gauge up, start the car and then shut it off. Record the setting just as you shut it off, leave it for 15 minutes and check it again. If it drops more than 5-8 lbs. or so, you likely have a leaking fuel injector. If the pressure checks out good, there's also the possibility of a non-functioning injector as well, which is going to cause a rich condition because the O2 is going to read an abundance of oxygen. Take a mechanic's stethoscope or a long screwdriver and hold the tip to the body of the injector and your ear to the handle. Every injector should have a very pronounced tick. If one doesn't, it's not functioning. There are many, MANY things you can do as a shade tree mechanic to diagnose problems and not throw money away to a tuner who may not have the inclination to determine whether there's a hardware problem vs. a tuning issue.

 

Okay I have my marching orders I'll keep digging... thanks all
jay

 

UPDATE

Kept digging and I replaced the O2 sensor yet again, and the readings are just as poor, so I just ordered all new headers and true dual exhaust for the car. There are so many exhaust leaks on the passenger side, that HAS to be the issue. So much fresh air coming in, and exhaust leaking out is screwing with the O2 senor readings and the car computer is trying to compensate for these crappy readings.
I have an exhaust leak at the top of Cylinder #8 rear most passenger side tube at the head/gasket. YES I used brand new MLS AC Delco gaskets, but I think the headers are so friggin old, rotted to hell, cracked, and now so paper thin and have horrible rust scale all over the entire thing, the flange must have gotten rusted and now it wont seal properly against the gasket and heads. So I opted for the true duals, and I had to buy the pan hard rod relocation setup, so ill do that while I am at it. The exhaust from Speed Engineering has mixed reviews. I figure for the $ Ill deal with any modifications needed because I am not working at the moment so I need to keep this as inexpensive as possible but don't want to half *** anything.
So I have dug through everything yet again, and everything looks perfect (besides the exhaust) I checked the grounds and pulled a few up, cleaned them, sanded them, put some electric grease on them and tightened them down again, the driver side o2 sensors are reading all just fine, its that front passenger side one that's giving some goofy readings and the rear passenger side one is off because the front one is off which I really think is due to all the tiny cracks, pin holes, and leaks everywhere in that header. There is a 1 3/4 inch slice on both sides of the passenger header at the collector where the Y pipe slips on. These rusted Hooker Headers hang down lower than you would think, perhaps it was a bad batch or something else, but the rest of the exhaust tucks up tighter to the underside but the headers hang down almost 2 inches too low so I hope and pray the new ones are tighter to the underside than these rusted rotted ones are. I was going to try to weld those slices but I cant grind it enough to find good clean metal, the pitting and scale is so horrible I cant get deep enough, ill go right through the collector looking for clean metal that's how bad these are. Probably purchased from what I can tell in the 1999-2001 time frame, so 21-22 years old with standard steel and not even stout metal to begin with. Rather thin probably 18 or 20 G I would guess.
So I am now waiting for the this exhaust to get here, Ill roll the Chevelle out, push the TA in and just bang this out hopefully in a day.
So after I get this exhaust replaced ill hopefully see much better readings from the O2 sensors and the car wont have to try to compensate and try to fix itself by adding or removing fuel trying to get a more normal reading. I hope and pray this is the last "Fix" I have to do and get this through inspection and be done with it, and then can just drive it on occasion and enjoy it vs. pulling my hair out.
All the stock fuel injectors = cleaned and re-O Ringed and all seal very well, all TICK just fine and no fuel leaks anywhere.
Intake is properly sealed and ensured with carb and brake cleaner it has no leaks anywhere
PCV system is properly sealed, no Vacuum leaks anywhere
Power Brake Booster vacuum line is properly sealed and not leaking
Throttle body is properly sealed with the new cable mount that is in-between the TB and the intake manifold.
Steam system is fully sealed and not leaking anywhere
Other vacuum lines are all sealed and not leaking. Including the flexible lines that run over to the passenger side by the computer = all sealed and not leaking at all....
All bungs in the bottom of the intake manifold are all properly sealed up with pipe plugs and Teflon tape, no leaks, all nice n tight
MAP sensor, fabbed a custom retaining plate for it and is fully sealed properly in the rear,
Throttle cables and Cruise Control cables all tight n snug, no slack and TB will open to 100% after messing with the adjustment on the 2 cables for a little while because if you don't get it correct off the bat, the electric motor will raise your idle and not let the cable / TB hit the stop so it will want to idle at 3700 or more so that's all good to go......
Battery charged up completely so the seat belt warning light that was on in the dash is now off, and works how its supposed to work, Blew the buckle out to ensure nothing was causing that light to stay on but I am 99% sure it was a low battery at 11.2V so that's all taken care of, The Crank Sensor was replaced along with the pig tail wiring harness was replaced and this new pigtail with other wires that run down the side of the header is now in a foil fiberglass 3 foot sleeve and is nice and solid and unable to heat up and melt, ground out and potentially cause a fire.... All good wiring now!!!
Replaced the fuel filter and air filter
Installed a new fuel pressure gauge at the fuel rail cross over tube and pressures read exactly 60 PSI on the dot!
and the only codes I get are the front Bank 2 sensor 1 O2 sensor reading quirky which can only be due to the exhaust leaks.
All new 8 coils bench tested and installed
All 8 new spark plug wires bench tested resistance at 10 Ohms from end to end and are about 10-12 inches long. All heat shields on the plug wires are in place to prevent any melting of boots etc. No wires are grounding out to the headers, all spun and clocked to ensure they don't touch anything
Pumped out 99% of the old fuel and added 15 gallons of fresh 94 octane Sunoco fuel and the car did run a touch better with fresh fuel and not that 10-11 month old garbage in the tank but not enough to make me happy. But now my lawn mower and weed whacker have some older fuel to run for the rest of the summer, so at least I wont have to waste it.
The push rods and rockers and springs all look perfect, snug properly, no deflating lifters, all springs in tact nothing broken.
Spark plugs will be replaced when I put the new headers on and ill do another oil change with Mobile 10W 30 x 1 gallon and 1 Quart of 10W 40 to thicken it up a touch for summer high heat driving.
Thermostat replaced back to 187 degrees, the 160 degree was just too cold and would not allow any heat to come through in winter months so driving around freezing is not fun,
I dont know what else to do at this point. I have checked everything 100 times, gone through and taken it apart multiple times, everything looks perfect. So the exhaust is the ONLY thing I can find that has issues and would directly cause these goofy readings in the O2 sensors. If the new exhaust does not fix this, I don't know what else to do besides take it to the tuner to see if he can make it more responsive and not so sluggish and have such bad hesitation.
NEW tuner, not the R Tard that just guessed at what was wrong throwing over 1000 dollars in to thin air for stupid size fuel injectors that don't fit this F Body setup (these are truck style injectors not LS1 F Body injectors) So if anyone wants these let me know, I cant use them..... Cant return them, so take em!!!
If you all think I overlooked something, please let me know but I think I covered it all 100 times over.
Thanks
Jay

 

Well, Not sure why Speed Engineering sent me 3 different shipping labels and 3 individual shipments, but they did, so all picked up at the same time, all got to step 1 at the same time, but then one left on its own, then the second of 3 went the following day, and the day after the 3rd of 3 went......So they are all showing up on different days, July 2nd, 3rd and 5th........Of course the HEADERS are the ones showing up on the 5th..........
My horrid luck.


Any amateur or Pro Tuners out there know how bad just from all these exhaust leaks how poor the engine will run (excluding any cracks or holes in the headers and collectors in front of the O2 sensors?) Will this amount of leakage cause the car to run like pure a$$ or will it be able to sort of try to correct itself and run middle of the road??

Anyway, that mess aside, I got the Chevelle out of the garage and pulled the Trans Am in, put it on the lift and am removing the old header bolts and all that, and this is what I see, These headers are leaking like a nightmare on MY street!!!
See Gaskets showing all the leaks on both sides.

Look at ALL the spots these gaskets are leaking from!!! I know the car is usually able to handle small pin sized leaks without affecting the drivability too much, but with all of these leaks just at the gaskets, will that sort of sum up why after all the vacuum leaks were fixed, and fuel return issue was fixed, why its still running like a bag of a$$???
This is only the leaking gaskets (And before anyone asks, yes these were brand new AC Delco gaskets when I replaced the heads and everything these were brand new) I will take a photo of each header and the leaks I find in the primary tubes after I get it all apart. Stay Tuned!!!



So when the headers show up on July 5th I will start getting the whole exhaust installed and ensure no leaks.

If anyone wants my old exhaust if you are in major need, let me know. The Loud Mouth system is older but its okay -- in usable condition. Few scrapes but overall able to be used and pass a state and emissions inspection. Headers are still in question. ,
Once I get the headers off the car I will see if I can either MIG or TIG weld them if there are any repairable cracks or issues and perhaps put some paint on them? Just let me know if any one wants/needs them. I will give back to the LS1 Community just like Wade did for me with my Heads. (THANK YOU SIR WADE!!!)
I need to organize all my Chevelle, Corvette and Trans Am parts and supplies, interior, everything and have a major garage sale. Get rid of all this extra stuff. Free up some space around here. If you need any antique Corvette or Chevelle parts, Please let me know. I have enough here to build like 4 cars!!!
Thanks All,

Happy 4th of July/Independence Day to you and your families & Friends!!!!! Be careful and safe & KEEP ALL YOUR FINGERS to the Pyro's in our groups here!!! WEAR WELDING GLOVES or at least your Mechanics gloves to avoid burns and potentially loss of a finger or two!!!

Jay........

 

My totally rotted beyond words regular steel headers from hooker. Probably 20 years old. Not sure how this car ran before the cam and other upgrades because it should have been running as bad then before the cam and other parts got installed.
you look and decide for yourself

Rotted header fron inside

Heavy scale on every surface of the header pipes on both sides

Not a starry night... these are the holes all over in just the collector the entire header from intake flanges to collectors on both aides look this bad.

Rusted beyond words

Extreme scale on the entire collector. Not worth getting regular steel headers these days. They just wont last no matter what you do. Im glad i got the speed engineering headers and rear exiting exhaust system. Installing it all now. Hope the car computer will make the car run a lot better now. Remains to be seen

I had to cut the pipes off to get the headers out of the drivers side. These were alot wider than the speed engineering headers and probably were installed when someone replaced the engine.

Apparently someone else tried to use high temp orange silicone to dookie rig some exhaust flange leaks. I did not notice this goop when i swapped the heads

Crushed and rotted collector. Wonder how much flow was obstructed with this crushed metal inside the exhaust pipe on this side

Top of the collector ... this surface of the collector faced up against the floor of the car so you could not see how bad it was. Just horrible and i dont think it can get really much worse than this.

The completely rotted collectors with these slices in them. No welding will fix this. Grind it to find good metal and you will grind tight thru the pipes trying to get to shiny metal

Other tube inside collector showing all leaking spots

 

You needed Fe2O3 sensors to tune with those headers, lol.

 

This was an interesting turn of events..

 

You are not kidding!!!

Now I have developed another serious problem and honestly I am glad to be ALIVE!!!
I started the car up after buttoning up all the top end parts I had to remove, I replaced the spark plugs with the new TR55 NGK plugs, cleaned the wires off and installed them, Got everything back together, triple checked the torque on the headers, made sure all sensors were plugged back in, made sure the wires were not backwards on the 4 coils on each bank by colors, and started it up, and ran the car, it chugged and ran but not well, and I had it running for maybe 1 1/2 minutes, and shut it off, got out of the car and that's a slow process because the lift keeps the doors from opening wide, and I stepped out and there was about 3-4 gallons of fuel all over the garage floor, was running out of the door into the driveway and soaked the floor mats by the door into the house, was all under the entire car and running off to the sides where all my work bench, sand blaster, spare engines and parts washer sits on the other half bay of my garage, it was everywhere, I ran to get the garden hose and was flushing it out of the garage as fast as I could. I had to grab the mop, hot water and lifted the car up 2 feet and mopped all under the car and let the garage floor dry for a few hours.
Now that its all dry, I will put the car up on the lift again and see if I can find where this leak is coming from.
I was going to swap the fuel filter and I misplaced the new one and I thought, did I undo the filter, but no, I never touched it. So I need to see if a fuel injector is leaking or a fuel rail is leaking or a Army Navy or A/N fitting is leaking or something. I just don't know where its leaking from.
I also am hoping the tune the knuckle head that had it last that put the #58 pound injectors has left a tune in the car that will run with the stock injectors or if it needs to go back again to someone else or if that will not affect it. (Any Tuners know if you put higher pound injectors, does the tune get that information or is it just air fuel ratio tables and the car does not care what pounds the injectors are rated for? How does that work?)
While the car was waiting for the exhaust to show up, I did drive the car about 15 miles back n forth to the store and to the gas station after I pumped all the old fuel out of the tank with a hand crank pump, and while it did not run great, it did run semi okay. Got me where I needed to go and fuel was not leaking and when I replaced the exhaust I did not undo any fuel lines or mess with any of that, Just removed the coils and valve covers and all that jazz to reach the header bolts and replaced the spark plugs and wires so I dont know where this fuel could be coming from. But Ill go look now and see if I can find this leak and do what I have to in order to get it fixed and start it again to see if its running better than before.
But if anyone can answer this question, that would be really helpful. I do not know what parameters HP tuners need as far as car specs in order to program a computer.
Does it need the cam specs? = I would assume yes.
Does it need Engine size - Displacement in Liters or Cubic Inches? = I would assume yes
Does it need Compression Ratio?
Does it need Throttle Body Size?
Does it need any specific sensors OHM or Voltage or MiliVolt ranges pre programmed in?
Does it need a base and total timing limits pre set?
AGAIN, DOES IT NEED FUEL INJECTOR SIZE/POUNDS OR SOME OTHER INJECTOR SPECS?

Ill post up later once I find this fuel leak and hopefully its something simple, I am getting tired of running into colossal problems I just need to catch a break finally with this car.

Thanks to anyone in advance that might be able to provide the answer to my questions about tuning.
Jay

 

Cam specs are not needed and there is no table you would input them in. The process is the same regardless of what cam it has.
Engine displacement=YES
Compression ratio= No, there's no place put it in, again the process is the same
Throttle body size=Only if it's drive by wire
Specific sensors= The only one is the MAP sensor. If it's NA, the stock values are what you need, if it's boosted w/ a 2bar or 3bar MAP, that will need to be changed
Timing= That is determined by your high/low spark tables
Fuel injectors= This is the MOST important data in a tune. If you injector data is garbage, your entire tune will be garbage.

 

That is what I keep trying to get the tuner to answer me but he has not sent any replies back when I asked him multiple times "If I go back to stock fuel injectors, do I need to have the tune updated?" and just will not reply to my questions at all. Great, so Ill have to see if I can make an appointment somewhere else to get this tune updated to return it to the stock I think the 1998's had #28 pound injectors stock? I THINK?

Will the car be able to at least run around short trips to the food store etc. before I can get it looked at and re-tuned by someone else or is it best to just trailer it to a shop and not even start it up with these stock injectors in the rails with the tune having #58 pounds in it?
Is it possible to cause any damage with the stock injectors with the tune indicating #58 pounds and only #28 pound injectors in the rails & Intake? I need to find the leak but do not want to do any damage to anything so I need to know so I don't make anything worse than it already is now.

Thank you LilJayV10 for the answers, Greatly appreciated sir.

 

Well, It turns out the braided nylon fuel hose which is brand new has a hole or slice in it, just weird the outer casing of nylon braids is not showing any damage, or pinch evidence or anything. The fuel hose sits on top of the engine so no way would the headers get caught in the fuel line to puncture it, so I really have no words on why its leaking and or what happened to it. But I did find it. I kept looking at the Army Navy / AN hose ends and pressure tested them and they do leak at 144 PSI the swivel ends start to leak air but the max the fuel system will have is 60 so I am not worried about them, I will re-install them in another section of nylon braided fuel line (and it is rated fuel line to 120 PSI, so I made sure of that before hand)
So I will finish getting the new fuel line made and installed tomorrow morning, I have to stop for the night, and I have been smelling gasoline for over 7 hours and its getting to me.


To LILJAYV10

You said and I quote " Fuel injectors= This is the MOST important data in a tune. If you injector data is garbage, your entire tune will be garbage. ":
What exactly are the parameters that you enter into HP Tuners for the fuel injectors? Is it the pounds or a type of injector or fuel system pressure the system / tune needs to work off of, or what info do you need to provide? This way I can give the new tuner shop the information they should look for and what is in the car now, and what little tid-bit of info needs to be changed and written to / update current tune. HOPEFULLY that's the only change that is required and I wont have to pay 800 to 1200 bucks to get just that changed and updated. All of 3 minutes of work.


Thanks Gents, Have a great Sunday Night!
Jay

 

Damn, dude, I want to learn from your obviously interesting experience. But I need some paragraphs and spaces. I hope my headers don’t go that route.

 

All I can tell you is if the headers on your car, regardless what car it is, what brand they are, if they are just regular steel, this is what you will end up with, its only a matter of when. They just will NOT last, Humidity....... salt in the air if you are in a coastal community, Salt from snow on the roads, Just water in general, rain, excess humidity on those misty days, they will just rot out. If you have the car in the garage and don't drive it in anything but beautiful days will extend their life but its still going to happen. Stainless Steel is your best option, Coating your headers if they are regular steel will help but that does end up rusting off as well over time. My coated MAC headers on my first 1998 Trans Am ended up rusting the jet hot coating off. So Stainless is your best bet. Since Speed Engineering came out with their stainless steel headers in 2 sizes, It is forcing some other companies to adjust their pricing a little bit but brands like Kooks, Pace Setter etc. Are still a lot more $ but with most things, you do get what you pay for, but I am very happy with the fit and finish of these SE headers and true dual 3 inch exhaust. My total bill was $911 with the pan hard rod relocation kit and the rod is bent to allow a little extra room for the dual pipes to sneak over the rear axle,.... There are 1000000 threads on SE headers and exhaust so read up on them or go to their site. I just wish they included a simple sheet of instructions, and not rely on everyone just spending a ton of extra time figuring out which pipes go where, what side is up or down, what end is which, How to install the seat belt hanger under the car, (I did not use the spacer just bolted the bracket to the longer bolt...Not sure what the spacer was for.) Charge me an extra 50 cents and put a photo copy of instructions in the friggin box. Don't think I am asking that much, OR just put the instructions on their website, for users to print out or just refer to/read while they are doing the install. I know SE has these made in china, which I am fine with, but I also see their welds are not free of oxygen, so the welds are oxidized and tarnished a bit. They should evacuate the air out of the tubes inside and fill it with argon/Co2 or a mix of both to keep the welds from having air oxidize them during welding but maybe that's why Kooks are $1100-$1300 dollars and SE are $259.00 to $309 depending on which size you select. I did the 1 3/4 because I have the iron 5.3Liter truck engine in the car with no turbo's or superchargers or Nitrous oxide so the smaller headers were the correct choice for my application even with the increased 102 MM throttle body and sheet metal intake and dual 3 inch exhaust the 1 3/4 is plenty of flow without any restrictions.

BenFlynn, what else would you like to know or learn from me and my experience? The 1 big thing is when you ask questions on here, LISTEN to the folks answers. They told me that i would keep wasting $ if I tried to get a tuner to fix my car when from the symptoms, indicated that I still had some sort of problem of a mechanical nature not a computer issue. So I tore the car apart again and again and first I found the vacuum leaks, fixed them, then I found my intake manifold, while still sealed, was only finger tight, the few heat cycles had I guess got the resistance of the gaskets or intake itself to settle in and I retorqued all the bolts, found the #3 coil pack had a bent pin and was not firing #3 at all, replaced the coils because on the bench testing I found the spark, while there but seemed very weak, so got a new set of those, I blindly listened to the tuner and purchased 800 dollar fuel injectors that now are sitting in a Tupperware container because they don't fit or work, so if anyone wants them take em! No use for #58 pound injectors........ I also listened to when others suggested I listen to my fuel injectors for an even sounding steady tick to indicate they are pulsing correctly which they were (The stock #28 pound 1998 injectors with all new O Rings that are a little fatter than stock ones and did the fuel injector cleaning of each one to ensure they sprayed evenly and correctly) I value the folks advice on here and while I am an ex dealer Pontiac / GMC tech from the late 80s and early 90's these cars are way more advanced than what I worked on back then. Computers have come way further since then, and how many times per second they monitor things and can adjust how the engine runs is mind blowing and the 1998's are the last of the slower computers the 99 up to present are way faster. So I had made the biggest mistake that I guess we all have at one time or another with our cars, and that is I ASSUMED since the car ran fine before I put the new intake, cam, all the external engine parts on to make the engine live another 20-25 years I assumed that since it ran fine when I pulled it into the garage that the exhaust headers while heavily rusty with scale, they were not causing the car to run like crap, car seemingly ran just fine. But then after seeing how rotted and destroyed they are, I thought about it and with the addition of the new cam with 600 lift intake & exhaust, the 102MM Throttle Body and sheet metal intake, the engine is getting probably 35 to 44% more air so its moving that many cubic feet per minute into the exhaust and that just amplified the exhaust problem making it a lot worse than the engine with stock cam, parts etc. Logic and physics dictate how these engines run, and they were correct, if you still have drivability issues after upgrading a mountain of parts don't always just jump to the conclusion its the tune. These folks were spot on and I still had mechanical issues that were making the car run like hell. So NOW, Since really there is nothing left that is stock, everything seems to be working properly, the roller rockers have been checked at least a dozen times, checked for broken springs bent push rods, everything and then the exhaust was the last thing and there it was. That ASSUMPTION I made was the last of the issues. (well Fuel line is something that happened after exhaust was changed and I am replacing that today, Still have no clue how that brand new fuel line got a cut, slice, holes punctured in it, I will cut the nylon braids off and want to see the rubber hose itself to see if it has any marks on it or what not.) Also keep in mind, even though you buy brand new parts, they can show up bad, broken, inoperative etc. So it saves these companies money by mass producing them and are unable to test each and every one, so its cheaper for them to replace one or a few % of the total parts they make vs. testing each sensor or part they manufacture before boxing and shipping them out.

That's really all I can tell you. I hope this little narrative has helped. I also did not realize how much a tiny pin hole exhaust leak in a header can affect the engines ability to run well and smooth. Because exhaust pulses, it will push exhaust out the small holes and suck fresh air in those same holes and the computer is just doing what it was programmed to do, and try to adjust the air fuel mixtures and add/subtract fuel to get the engine to run as best as possible but it physically cant because of those leaks. Your front half of your exhaust system is so imperative you have no leaks of any kind anywhere. If you have a broken exhaust tip, that wont matter, its the front half you need to ensure has 0 leaks. Gaskets, flanges, everything MUST be 100% sealed or you will have poor performance like I did. Learn from my Mistakes, NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING! Make sure you look at EVERYTHING, LISTEN TO THE FOLKS on here! Soak it all in, learn as much as you can.... Do not be afraid to try new things, and for me, my #1 rule, When troubleshooting, Check the OBVIOUS things first!!! Do not try to reinvent the wheel when most of the time, the reason there is a problem is something usually small and stupid, like a blown fuse, bad grounds, broken wire, and those things usually are easy to check, blown fuse, bad switch, bad bulb, so on. So don't spend $ going to a tuner because you are unsure of something, dig into the easy things first and work your way to the harder things later. Get a handheld code reading/clearing scan tool if you don't have one and use it, They are invaluable. A high % of the time they are telling you what is wrong with your ride. What cylinders are not firing, what O2 sensor and bank has a poor reading, what your parameters are at that second in time like coolant temp, oil pressure, TPS position, idle RPM etc. and if you don't know, ASK! There are a bazillion folks on here that are willing to help you and many times, they answer you because they have had the same issue you are having.
Again I hope this info helps you and everyone that reads it. My next move is to buy HP Tuners and learn it myself, so I can first make copies of my tunes, so If I make any changes, I can always upload an old version to get back to where I was before I made a change. Also I can help others if they are in a pinch. I always try to help others if I can.

Have a great day all, and thank you all for your help and advice. I hope this fuel line is the last of my issues and can get back to driving and enjoying this car and enjoy the AC once I recharge it. Hate 100 Degree days with no AC in the car, that sucks A$$.
Jay

 

And here is the fuel leak culprit..... I peeled back and cut off all the nylon braids and then cut and peeled back the steel braids and there is the split. I feel lucky to be alive. Never seen or had a fuel leak that big before and sloshing around in 3 .4 gallons of gas on the garage floor would scare all of you as well no doubt.
anyway made and tested the new fuel line and installed it and no more leaks!!! So now i will call the 3rd tuner tomorrow and see if i can make an appt to drop it off and have the parameters updated so the engine will be good to go
Thanks to all for your help thru this nightmare.

Jay

 

Awesome that you took the time to diagnose all these mechanical issues. That stuff can't be tuned away. You'll be much happier in the end.

 

Agreed, Well SHE RUNS and runs really well now. The tuner replaced the 2nd fuel line that exploded in front of his shop as he was pulling the car in the fuel line let go split wide open just like the first one did and he had like 3-=4 gallons of fuel all over the driveway into the building and he did what I did, got the garden hose and washed it all into the grass and out the door. This "foreign" fuel line stuff could KILL people. Ill go with Earl's from now on.
The new headers and true dual exhaust sound a little muffled for my taste but its fine. I might mess with it later, I also want to put my B&B tips back on and get rid of these Corsa style tips that the exhaust came with but its cool. Just glad my car is running well now. Thank you to all that gave me the guidance and help I needed to get through all this.
Now all the parts I took off the car are up for sale or trade in the classifieds here. Might as well try to help others if they need any parts that I wont be using.
Now to fix the turn signals again, Not sure why but the turn signals just out of the blue just stop working. This is the 3rd time now this has happened. Not sure why, I will check the flasher since the 4 way hazard lights work fine, all the bulbs (well in my case I converted the entire car inside and out to LEDs) so its a ground issue, wiring issue, or flasher issue or fuse. We will see.
Then on to State inspection and then I can finally DRIVE the damn thing, Been about 9 months with this project and I only had about 2-3 weeks set aside to do it all. Talk about a snowball effect!!!
Jay