ECI tb leaks

[Chris 83JA]

I'm getting a bit of fuel leaking from arond the ECI. How hard are these to rebuild? Can i just buy some new seals and do it in a day?

I cleaned a small section about a month ago:


And this is what it's like today:


Could this be contributing to my car running rich? Or is it so minor that it wouldn't make a difference. It's probably hard to say as I don't know how much is getting evapourated.

Thanks for any help,

Chris

[Starion VR4]

the best $20 you will spend is to put yr Staz on a DYNO, run it in boost with very soapie water in that area, if you see bubbling from the throttle shaft area, a rebuild is in order, and probally need new shaft and housing bushed ( AKSES in brisbane do this about $120.they are at Woolongabba) Doing it your self can be done but you won't be able to fix the shaft leakage unless you rebush it. :beer

[androoz]

hey chris, i had that problem too when i first got my car.. when i put it in to fix my oil leak, i told my mechanic to fix that too.. got it back and it was fixed, and doesnt leak no more.. mechanic did mention he had to make the seal himself or something as he couldnt find that right gaskets or something.

if your problem is the same (which it really looks like it), then i dont think it should be that hard or expensive to fix..

[Chris 83JA]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm planning on hopefully going mpi in about 3-4 months, so i'll see if i can pull it apart and have a look..

Is pulling it apart straightfoward? do i need to replace gaskets or can i use the same ones (if they're ok).

Though i might just do it properly anyway, in case the mpi doesn't happen as soon as i want. I could probably allways sell it if it's rebuilt

[Powerslave]

I have done mine 3 or 4 times. It's not hard at all , just take out the 2 10mm bolts from the rocker side of the ECI cap , then find 2 short bolts and put them back in under the throttle body and do them up firm , but not too tight. This stops the whole throttle body lifting off the inlet manifold and causing a water leak. Then LOOSEN the 4 phillips screws on top of the ECI cap. This makes it easier to dismantle the cap once it is off the car. Remove the remaining 2 phillips screws after you have disconnected the injector connector and fuel lines etc. Then lift the ECI cap from the throttle body and voila ! The o-ring kit is still available from mitsubishi and is not THAT expensive. I've heard on this BB that mitsubishi are charging >$300 for this kit. This is a load of crap , I paid $100 for mine. Invest in a can of carby cleaner and make sure you clean EVERYTHING with a decent stiff-bristle tooth brush. Also , once you have re-assembled everything , spray a decent amount of carby cleaner into the fuel inlet hole on top of the ECI cap. This will pass through the injectors when you first crank it over and should help with any crap that may be lodged in the injector seat. This has worked wonders with mine , so Good Luck !!! :beer

PS: The whole job should take no longer than 90 minutes.

[Chris 83JA]

Thanks a lot for that mate, I'll give it a go soon. Maybe take some photo's for the tech section too

[Alspos]

Can you see where it's leaking while the car is running? If it's injector seals you can just replace them on their own. Symptoms are fuel coming out of the hole where the wires go in.
If you manage to get the phillips screws out of the top!!!! replace them with allen key screws. Save yourself oodles of heartache later on.

[sillbeer]

Like Powerslave, I've also done this. Was leaking down the side of the ECI body and must also have been spraying under high load due to the suspension tower also being stained.

It's a fairly simple job, and if you can't find two short bolts to bolt the body back down after removing the long 10mm bolts, get some larger nuts that will fit over the bolt shaft for when you've removed the top of the body.

Main thing to remember is to disconnect everything ready to go before unbolting the top. Get someone to apply pressure to the crossover pipe to minimise water leaking into the bottom of the manifold. Once the four top bolts are removed, rock out the top and rebolt down the two long bolts (or whatever you decide on that one). The o-rings are cheap and easy to replace, just find your local seals place and take it all down there. While you've got the injectors out, have them cleaned and tested. Replace the injector o-rings, the outer seals on the top of the body, the inner seal that goes between the top cap and the part the feeds fuel inside of the top cap (make sure this one is a little tighter than needed). Also change the o-ring on the fuel line that goes into the body. I replaced the fuel line that went from the fuel filter to the body - cost $8 to have another made up with the original fittings (may as well do fuel filter at the same time - let me know if you want part number).

Don't forget to give the seals a little oil coating (3-in-1 is good) to stop pinching, and put back together the way it came. Make sure the fuel regulator is all hooked up (grease the nipples of the bottom vacuum tube before putting top of ECI back on). You'll have to start the engine and get through the water (if there is any) that has got in.

Any more questions, just email us (brendan@ipixel.com.au) - think I have some photos around too of the inside of the ECI body.

Cheers
Brendan

PS> My plugs were fouled after doing this so they needed to be cleaned with some contact cleaner - after that, all good.

[Chris 83JA]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, sounds like all good advice.

One of my long screws has worn too much and i can't turn it. Any ideas on how to remove it?

Thanks again
-Chris

[Chris 83JA]

Ok, i got the screws out and replaced them with new ones.

In the yellow circle in the picture below, i noticed this hose had become disconnected, probably causing all that fuel to leak everywhere. What does that little unit there do?
And what does the screw under the black cover in the red circle adjust?


Thanks,
-Chris

[sillbeer]

That is a vacuum hose attached to the bottom of the Fuel Pressure Regulator. Not 100% sure what it does, but wouldn't say it would be causing fuel leaks. Unless of course everything is under way too much pressure. Looks like the area needs a bit of a clean too (sorry to be picky).

Have you managed to get the top off and see if the seals are shagged? You can test to see that both the injectors are working by taking the top off the injection body with all fuel lines still attached, disconnect the coil and get someone to crank over the engine. With the injectors still sitting close to the top of the body so fuel doesn't spray everywhere, you should see both of them firing.

[Alspos]

Yes the yellow hose should be connected, it is for the fuel pressure regulator. It sees what boost/vacuum you have and adjusts fuel pressure accordingly. Without it you could run lean at boost and rich down low (I think, well, 90% sure)

[Chris 83JA]

Al: I'm running rich everywhere, so there's much more than just that at fault.

sillbeer: yes, it does need a bit of a clean, that's what prompted me to start pulling it apart in the first place. i was going to do it today, but I've run out of time and need to use the car, so I'll do it next week.

I'll let you all know how I go, and i'll take photo's and see if i can find parts numbers for all the little o-rings in there for the tech section.