Long Term Fuel Trim problems just bank 1

[Angrymongoose]

I can't seem to get this car to 100% this year, it's always fix one thing and another pops up.

So I'm running Gearheads E30 tune with an XDI Evo, also important are some cat free dps and defoulers for the downstream O2s. The dps and defoulers have been on for about 30k miles with no issues until recently.

I had a code for bank 1 sensor 1 O2 a few weeks ago, replaced that and all seemed well. A week or two later I start getting a P2096 and P219A so a downstream O2 and a/f imbalance bank 1. Weird that I would get that downstream O2 code with the defoulers, but I replaced it today just in case. I never had any of these codes on any of Gearheads other tunes and while the timing is suspect for that I highly doubt it's the tunes fault.

I've been watching ltft, stft, measured afr, and lambse for both banks on the livewire along with knock for the past weekish. Bank 1 as of the last week has been sitting at 1.17 ltft at idle and at wot goes to 1.22, it never goes lower than 1.1. Bank 2 is the usual 1.03 or so at idle and up to 1.13 at the highest I've seen at wot. The other numbers all match pretty well between both banks and never seem to get too far off from each other or at least never for more than a split second or 2. Knock is also incredibly rare and only once hit 4.0 when I goosed it while in 6th at low rpms to pass someone on the highway.

I have no misfire codes, I can't say it smells like fuel, no smoke out the exhaust, I checked the pcv valve on bank 1 and it seems fine. I haven't found any leaks anywhere, but I probably should get a smoke test done.

I am not opposed to throwing new injectors in the car, but I'd rather rule things out before just firing the parts canon at the thing. Anyone got any ideas here?

 

[Jordan_R]

Pull plugs and see if one on that bank has excess fuel in the cylinder/on the plug. Would be able to maybe see if you have an injector failure. That's how I was able to tell on mine but mine was completely stuck open, but maybe enough to see if yours is partially open

 

[stripSHO]

Pull plugs and see if one on that bank has excess fuel in the cylinder/on the plug. Would be able to maybe see if you have an injector failure. That's how I was able to tell on mine but mine was completely stuck open, but maybe enough to see if yours is partially open

With high trims I’d be looking for a clogged injector/ lean cylinder. But yeah plug read is a good place to start. If one is lean then the other two will read extra rich. Probably should put in a fresh set rather than trying to read ones with 1000s of miles on them

 

[Angrymongoose]

Fun fact the left coil pack bolt is spinning in the valve cover so I cant get that out to check that plug. Looks like I get to add valve cover and gaskets to the list of things to do.

I did check the center plug and that looked normal. I didnt bother with the one under the hot pipe after finding the spinning bolt.

 

[RoketRdr]

Fun fact the left coil pack bolt is spinning in the valve cover so I cant get that out to check that plug. Looks like I get to add valve cover and gaskets to the list of things to do.

I did check the center plug and that looked normal. I didnt bother with the one under the hot pipe after finding the spinning bolt.

Two options...get a thin blade screw driver to pry under the bolt while you turn it. Or...use a pair of pliers to pull up on the bolt while turning it.

 

[Angrymongoose]

Well in the case of the bolt its less the getting it out that's the problem but more the putting it back in.

I could be wrong, but I dont think there's a way to remount the insert for that bolt in the plastic valve covers. So I need a new valvd cover on hand before I go down that road.

 

[RoketRdr]

Well in the case of the bolt its less the getting it out that's the problem but more the putting it back in.

I could be wrong, but I dont think there's a way to remount the insert for that bolt in the plastic valve covers. So I need a new valvd cover on hand before I go down that road.

JB Weld

 

[Angrymongoose]

Im all for trying that. Is it open under that thing do you know or does it have a floor so to speak that I can pour the jb weld into?

 

[RoketRdr]

Im all for trying that. Is it open under that thing do you know or does it have a floor so to speak that I can pour the jb weld into?

I was actually just kidding but it will certainly work if you want to go that route. Yes it has a "floor" so wouldn't take much JB Weld to make sure the coil is secure.

 

[ridered74]

When I had my injectors my mechanic was nice enough to strip out 4 of my coil back bolts. Only one was so bad that it became removable, I was able to fix it with a new tap and die kit from harbor freight and a bunch of gorilla glue. Only was able to fix half the threads, so the bolt has about 10 washers for spacing to keep it relatively tight, but it's been almost 2 full years and 20k miles like that. I curse that lazy pos mechanic every single time I pop the hood.

 

[Angrymongoose]

I was worried it was open under there somehow and therefore unable to be "fixed". Given that its not a high stress bolt or one holding on with a ton of torque Ill definitely give the jb weld/gorilla glue route a shot on that.

 

[ridered74]

I was worried it was open under there somehow and therefore unable to be "fixed". Given that its not a high stress bolt or one holding on with a ton of torque Ill definitely give the jb weld/gorilla glue route a shot on that.

Only issue with mine is that it is the front middle coil. It does not stay tight enough to keep rain out, so when I pull the coil it looks amazingly bad, same with the plug. I have to vacuum it out before i remove the plug and then clean it and the coil before putting it back in. I don't daily it anymore so it rarely sees rain, so no huge deal to me, but you might want to double check yours a week or so after the first time you drive it thru rain. If it looks horrible I'd go with the new valve cover route.

 

[Angrymongoose]

Update, got a vehicle to drive for the next few weeks.
Gonna take the boat to a local mechanic for a smoke test and other diagnosis. If it is the injectors Ill work on it after work each day till its done without having to rush.
Ill also have plenty of time to play with the one coil bolt and see if I cant save the valve cover.
Ill update this thread with the problem and solution when I get to that point.

 

[Angrymongoose]

Update finally.

Smoke test came back without any leaks. That left injectors as the only real possible culprit.

I went ahead and did those, and I used the bosch ones from rockauto. So far so good. I replaced the mounting bolts for the fuel rails per the one time use recommendation, but I really doubt that was necessary. I didn't replace the hpfp fuel line to the rails, largely because I couldn't get the new one to bend the right way and line up. That hasn't leaked though, so I doubt it really has to be replaced either.

My codes haven't come back in the past few weeks, and the ltfts are much closer to each other these days. Bank 1 is still about .02 or .03 higher than bank 2 at idle, but under load and wot they are even. So maybe I do have a slight leak somewhere up top at idle, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

I will say that getting all the coolant lines off and on was easily the worst part of doing the injectors. I got the old ones out without too much trouble, and since I wasn't saving them I could be kinda ******* them. The wire brush tool for cleaning out the injector holes destroyed itself on the 4th one, so that was fun. I did the best I could with the remainder and haven't any problems there. I will say if you ever want to replace the manifold gaskets I strongly recommend just getting them from Ford/Dealership. The felpro one was complete junk and didn't even have all the gaskets.