I just finished re building my 03s and have one issue left. Overall it is running very smooth and has most of its power back. Around town, and on the open road it behaves perfect, seemingly plenty of power, and running cooler than before. The one issue I have is going up grades (unfortunately I have ~5-6% grade about 5 miles long on the way to my house) what happens is the sc whine becomes quite loud, and the temp (water) rises quickly and the car looses power (I.e. Doesn't pull in most gears). This was happening before the rebuild, but figured the low compression was the culprit. However after the re-build it is still happening, not as bad, but still there. The only things I didn't replace are the supercharger and the water pump. I swapped super chargers, but it's still an old one. Do you think it's possible that one, or both could cause this?

Thanks,

Nik

 

Had another thought, could these low power issues be caused by a restricted/ clogged cat? If so, any ideas on how to test? I am planning on grabbing a thermo temp gun tomorrow from work and try to test that.

Now thinking possible restricted exhaust coupled with the cooling system not completely bled properly could give me these symptoms.

Thoughts.....

Nik

 

If you have a boost gauge, the boost gauge will indicate a higher than normal psi if the cat is partially clogged or melted....

 

I have the scan gauge, and it's been showing higher numbers than I think is normal (never really paid attention before) 14-15+ and I'm at 6,000 feet. I would expect to see around 12, maybe 13

 

Might be worth cleaning off the MAP/TMAPS....most say you can get one cleaning if careful...I did mine when troubleshooting....eventually I swapped both out...
Just be careful...the hotside t-map (it is a r53 spcefic part) looks EXACTLY like the cold side map (a r50 t-map, only map function used)....

 

So removed the pre-cat 02 sensor. Ran perfectly, so it's a clogged cat. Expected after 365,000 miles I guess it's okay