Jump to content

Symptoms of a bad turbo


digitaloutsider

Recommended Posts

So, new block is in the car and the problems continue..

 

I am having almost exactly the same problems I had on the previous build and I'm starting to wonder if it's a bad turbocharger. What are some of the symptoms?

 

Basically here's what's happening and what has been happening: The car never really achieves full boost. It will never peg the gauge like it used to on the previous motor. The car is very hesitant to accelerate and rarely wants to really move. Occasionally at WOT it will start to go then begin to fall on it's face.

 

When I blew the first one I put a used unit from 3.1cutlass on the car. It is Garrett remanufactured and, to this day, has extremely minimal shaft play. There IS some oil in the charge pipes, but my old one did this as well and I never had any issues with it. Does oil pressure play into the turbo not functioning properly at all? I have my doubts about this oil pump since it came out of my last block. More on that later.

 

Nearly everything has been replaced this side of the turbo.. engine (due to rod bearing failure in last engine), ICM, coils, plugs, wires, charge boots, intercooler, wastegate actuator, boost control solenoid, CPS, MAP, ECM, MEMCAL, injectors, FPR, verified good fuel pressure with test gauge. I'm extremely tempted to set this car on fire and push it off a cliff at this point.

 

tl,dr: car falls on it's face, doesn't ever see full boost, hesitates, lower power output. bad turbo?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking through that big list of parts I just realized the one thing I didn't replace was the O2....

 

Got a spare you could toss in there real quick? :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When the o2 went on my zx2 it would miss and buck real bad then clear up. So this is a possibility. Maybe when the motor blew it got hit or sprayed with oil and got fouled out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When the o2 went on my zx2 it would miss and buck real bad then clear up. So this is a possibility. Maybe when the motor blew it got hit or sprayed with oil and got fouled out.

 

Is it possible that it got cooked when the engine leaned out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

is it the remanned garrett like mine was and came with a threaded wastegate rod?

 

if so check how much tension it has. the wastegate door should be kind of hard to open with your fingers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Swapped the O2, no dice.

 

I wonder if this wastegate actuator is bad and I just never noticed it last time since the engine was so fucked to begin with. There is tension on the rod. The (threaded) actuator looked nicer, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had to tighten mine. not exactly a t25 anymore, but boost was bleeding off so I needed an adjustment.

 

what kind of boost numbers are you getting in datalogs?

Edited by Garrett Powered
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turbo is bad. Likely the cause of all of my drivability issues, but the oil is full of glitter again. Either the low oil pressure has eaten something in the motor or it's the turbo's bearing is what I'm seeing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...