Spent an interestin' day fuckin' with the thang yesterday. I believe it's a story that needs to be told.
Last Thursday, Tuner #2 here in Jacksonville said he couldn't get 'er dialed in due to the corrupted files in the ECU and recommended I convert over to the Holley EFI ECU for 35 hun'erd bucks installed. Then he could tune it. I reminded 'im that my ECU ran my last hemi perfectly and asked 'im why we couldn't just send the ECU back to Hotwire Auto where I bought it and have them flash it with the baseline programmin' again and then start over with the tunin'. He said it might work and I should bring it back for his second attempt to tune it ... but he really thought I should go with the Holley system. My first day off work after that conversation was yesterday and I had told 'im I'd come fetch the jeep. Meanwhile, between the conversation on Thursday and yesterday, I found another tuner 'bout 30 miles down the road from Tuner #2 and had made an appointment for yesterday afternoon for another opinion.
So yesterday at noon I arrive at Tuner #2 shop. He says it runs a lot better but he can't control it at low rpm's due to the corrupted files. Charged me 250 bucks and said he looked forward to tryin' again after I tried getin' the ECU reprogrammed. And it did run better above 1800 rpm. Showed signs of acceleration that were pleasin'. But still miserable at low rpm's and hard to keep 'er runnin'.
So I eased 'er on down the road to Tuner #3. Updated 'im on progress/lack of progress from Tuner #1 and Tuner #2. He asked if we could plug in his computer and take a ride so he can see what's up. I thought that was an outstandin' suggestion and off we went on 'bout a 20-minute test drive. Soon as I fired up the engine, he confirmed it was idlin' like shit 'cause the low rpm files were corrupted. Then he said my fuel pressure readin's were all over the place so I gotta fuel pressure regulator issue ... and I told 'im that shit was all new. So he told me I must have a leak. Then he said the O2 sensor readin's were all over the place so I gotta sensor issue ... and I told 'im that shit was all new. So he told me I must have a leak. This was all in the first 5 minutes while we were still in town with a 30 mph speed limit. Once we got in a 60 mph zone, he told me to hammer it. So I did. And I thought it was scootin' along right nice. He said computer shows tune's all fucked up and the engine's only producin' a fraction of the horsepower it should. On a side note, he also said was very impressed how rock-solid the jeep handled at 80 mph. Least there's that.
So back at the shop, we open the hood and he quickly finds the fuel leaks from the driver's side injectors and the exhaust leak on the passenger side manifold. Says no way the engine can be tuned with them leaks. Previous tuners were tryin' to overcome the leaks with a computer and it ain't gonna happen. Gotta fix the fuckin' leaks ... and he don't do no wrenchin'. But he works real close with a local engine shop that specializes in hemi's but don't do no tunin'. So I call 'em up and the fella said he'd be more than happy to go through the engine and fix the shit and also provide Tuner #3 with all the info he needed to tune it right ... but they're booked solid 'til May 11th. So I made me an appointment for May 11th.
I tell Tuner #3 I'll drive 'er back to the trailer park and store it till' then. Be a good time to send the ECU back to get it reprogrammed. He loked at me like I was stupid and asked for the contact info at Hotwire. He proceed to email 'em the files of the test run we just took and and asked 'em to compare to the original shit. They quickly responded with a confirmation the files are fucked ... AND ... emailed the original files. No need to ship nothin' nowheres. Seems like maybe I finally done found me a man that's actu'ly interested in makin' the Turd fuckin' run.
He recommended I have 'er towed back to the trailer park 'cause the fuel leaks are an extreme fire hazard and the whole thang could go up in a fireball. I told 'im I could never get that fuckin' lucky and drove 'er on home. And put 'er in the storage area to wait 'til May 11.
But maybe there's hope this time on Round #3.
We'll see.