ive had the car since 2011...

yes its fine now, but the cam sensor housing is leaking..is there supposed to be a seal or gasket on it or just RTV sealant?

 

My mechanic used a special grey tube silicon, it wasn't an Rtv.
For how much time did you leave it to dry?

 

Also check the nut and It's threads.

 

I'm having the same sputtering/backfiring issue between 3-4,000 rpm's when free revving in neutral or driving in gear but clears up after that... I checked the spark plugs, COP, injectors, fuel rail, and I checked the Crank sensor, both cam sensors, and TPS with a oscillometer and they all showed nice square waves. While I was down removing my AC and replacing the belt, I checked the positioning of the trigger plate and all timing components matched up. I thought for sure the trigger plate would have been the issue, but I'll have to check that dowel pin next. Glad you found your issue, hopefully you get it running properly!

 

^^does it goes lean around that rpm?

 

No it super rich actually

 

Doesn't have to be super rich or super lean.

 

Ive done numerous cam installs and I never mark the reluctor wheel. I just throw it in were ever it lands and I haven't had any issues after.

The reluctor wheel will only go in 2 different ways. Remove it and spin it 180 degrees until it falls into the cam groove. I think it is just a coincidence and you might have another issue else were.

 

Turndown,

Have you ever found your issue? I'm having the exact same issue my car is sputtering/back firing aroun 3600-4000 while cruising through those RPMs. Car has no issue "powering" through it or at higher RPMs. A buddy and I just did the timing belt yesterday and checked the crank trigger plate and all was correct. We did remove the camshaft position sensor to get it out of the way for another item we were working on and noticed there was some oil on it, which I've read is normal. However, I noticed that the housing seemed to have a nice pool of oil inside it (not normal?). Anyways i wiped the camshaft sensor before putting it back in and taking the car for a test drive. At first on the test drive the sputter/backfire was barely noticeable. But after about 5 mins it seemed like it was getting stronger from then on. So I'm wondering if there may be too much oil in the camshaft sensor housing, possibly interrupting the signal? I'm curious to see if you found your issue yet as seems to be identical to mine and I'm still trying to figure it out. (03 Evo 8)

 

Not yet. I'm gonna try a new base map with Tom and see if it's just a rich tune causing my breakup then go from there... I've also read that the head can get stopped up with gunk if the car has sat for a while preventing oil from flowing freely which can effect mivec or the mivec sensor. If changing my base map and leaning the tune out doesn't change anything I'm gonna look into cleaning the head up a bit.