hi everyone after my check engine light came on i went to my tech's shop and he hooked it up to the scanner and we got 2 sai faults. Any advice? he told me it was carbon build up but when we gave it the lighter test it blew it out on both sides. (the lighter test is when you turn on the air pump from the computer and hold a lighter behind the exhaust pipes and if there was blockage then it wouldn't be able to blow out the lighter) He recommended that if i didn't want to take out the heads etc etc etc to add a bottle of grease lightning on to each fill up the next 3 times, then we would hook it up again next oil change and see if the same faults appeared, in the meantime we took out the check engine light. Any advice or has my time come? mileage 66183 never missed a service since day one and i got the stamped service manual and receipts to prove it.

 

no one wants to help me out?

 

SAI? My understanding is the lighter test isn't 100%, in otherwords you could be 95% blocked, blow out the lighter, yet still trip CEL's. Find a good indy, that repair is pricey, GL.

 

Exactly right, on startup when the SAI pump runs, the ECU is expecting the O2 sensors to see a certain amount of extra air when the pump is running. If the amount is not high enough, even if there is a small measurable amount of extra air, the light will be set. However, check the rest of the SAI system just to cover all your bases (check valve, hoses, vacuum line, etc), though unfortunately clogged passages is the most likely cause . . . .

BTW grease lightning or whatever will not work, but there are shops who can successfully flush the SAI ports. However this is a band aid since the valve guides are the root cause of the problem, and will need to eventually be replaced anyway. But if your oil consumption is OK might be worth it to check out a flush to get you by for now.

---Chris A.

 

Agree, just flushing the system is a bandaid and not cheap either.

 

thanks for the response

 

What is your oil consumption?

 

i am not sure the oil consumption as i have only had the car for 1year and 8 months and driven 8k miles and we have done 3 oil changes but i check it regularly and it seems to stay at the same level on the dipstick, andi havnt noticed adrop in performance, my mechaninc told me that i would worry about these things if i had to pass inspection, which we don't have to do in florida. Anymore comments appreciated

 

Sebastian,

I would put the CEL bulb back in. See how long it goes after a reset before the CEL comes back on. You may have just had a single anomoly, and its nothing to worry about. I would buy a cheap OBD2 scanner/reset tool, and check and reset if the light re-appears. If your oil consumption is good (and it seems to be), I wouldn't worry about valve guides, and the SAI port issue is not as common on the TT as it is on the NA cars.

 

thanks steve i actually recieved an email from the previous owner of my car who frequents rennlist with a link to the reset tool which i ordered, upon receipt of it i will put the bulb back in but in the meantime i dont want to have the light in my face as i drive.

 

Just did this on a 993 C2......flushed the ports with Techron and cleaned out most of the carbon buildup by hand. Replaced the SAI check valve and all is well. $800.........when it's time to do the engine the wallet will come out.....not before.