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View Full Version : My first "mechanical"



vtluu
06-14-2004, 10:59 AM
I had my first mechanical DNF at autocross (American Auto-x Series in Atwater) this weekend!

It was my first run of the day on Saturday (and the car's second, as Jason was co-driving) and about a third of the way through the course, there was a loud popping noise and suddenly the car just started shuddering as I continued to try to apply throttle. I eased off and then had the car just crawling along with very little power; every time I tried to apply more power the car would start bucking slightly (and not go any faster). At first I thought I'd blown something in the driveline—the rather-worn clutch being the obvious candidate—but Jason said that wasn't the feel of a clutch slipping.

I limped the car off-course and back to paddock and then a look at the boost gauge (am I glad I installed one!) showed what the problem was: the turbo was not making any boost; every time pressure would go positive the engine would sputter. The obvious thing to check was all the hoses in the turbo system, so I spent about a half-hour crawling around under the car taking off the underbody panels so I could inspect the intercooler hoses. Then, checking under the air scoop Jason spotted the problem: the flex section of the upper intercooler hose had blown off at one end. "Coincidentally" this had happened at one of the clamps I'd loosened last week while working on the car. Oops! :oops: Apparently I hadn't re-tightened it, or not enough.

After that it took only a few minutes to get the hose back on, everything put back together and the car back on grid. We managed to get most of our runs done in the remaining time, but things were very rushed—every time we'd pull in we'd have only enough time to quickly spray down the tires to cool them, change the numbers on the car and swap places. As a result the new Falken Azenis Sport tires overheated and were not very grippy at all.

Sunday went more smoothly with nothing unexpected, though keeping the tires cool proved to be problematic with Jason and I each doing five runs on the hot concrete of Atwater. By our last couple runs, even though we both drove better our times did not improve. Nevertheless I think I definitely worked some of the kinks out of my driving technique so it was a weekend well-spent.

I definitely learned a lot this weekend; first and foremost: "When something on your car breaks, the first thing to check is the last thing you touched!" :lol:

xchoirboy
06-14-2004, 11:09 AM
good catch - glad you're car is alright.

ob4
06-14-2004, 01:14 PM
Same thing happen to me after I put on the samco i/c hoses.... heard a pop at the stoplight, car dies, couldn't restart, open the hood, and saw the hose that connects to the tb is off.
-ob4

vtluu
06-16-2004, 10:58 AM
Video: http://www.norcalevo.net/gallery/albums/album132/autox_tam_20040612a.wmv

V8KiLL3R
06-29-2004, 11:33 PM
i know what to check if it happens to me :)