Turbo Wont Spool

[TT_NS]

I have a PTE 56trim Turbo On my 91 TSI. I cant get the Turbo to spool up. There are no boost leaks at all that i can see. I took off the intake pipe and i could see the turbo spinning just fine and i feel a preddy good suction on it. The oil line on the turbo is working fine and the waist gate is closed. So im not to sure what the problem could be. Around 5k RPM's the engine has 20lb of vacume and the vacume "start" droping at 6k RPM's. what do you guys think

 

[JDNSBR]

I have a PTE 56trim Turbo On my 91 TSI. I cant get the Turbo to spool up. There are no boost leaks at all that i can see. I took off the intake pipe and i could see the turbo spinning just fine and i feel a preddy good suction on it. The oil line on the turbo is working fine and the waist gate is closed. So im not to sure what the problem could be. Around 5k RPM's the engine has 20lb of vacume and the vacume "start" droping at 6k RPM's. what do you guys think

You have 20lbs of vacuum at 5,000 rpms? WTF

I hope you mean boost but by the thread topic, I doubt it. I would check all of the couplers and clamps for the intercooler. Boost leak test! The vacuum is dropping at 6,000 rpms which means the turbo is working, trying to build boost. What kind of wastegate are you running? A little more info and I will try to help you out more!

 

[TT_NS]

yea its 20lbs of vacume. its an internal waist gate. i checked all the clamps and hoses they all seem good. and i dont hear any leaks. I do have one small leak between the intake manifold and throttle body im trying to take care of but it is very small.

 

[JDNSBR]

yea its 20lbs of vacume. its an internal waist gate. i checked all the clamps and hoses they all seem good. and i dont hear any leaks. I do have one small leak between the intake manifold and throttle body im trying to take care of but it is very small.

I would take care of that leak, and retest. Sometimes a "minimal" leak can make all the difference in the world. Let me know the results!

 

[CanadianTSi]

Are you sure the actuator arm is attached to the flapper?

Sounds like the flapper is just blowing open under boost?

 

[TT_NS]

I fixed the leake. and i took the car for its first test drive. It hits about 5psi around 4K at WOT. I was thinking the turbo might be to big for the car. this is every thing i have on the car at this time.

Engine rebuild kit
Wiseco 9:1 comp pistons
Eagle Rods
High Pressure Cometic Head Gasket
ARP Head Bolts
Stage 5 Cylinder Head
*Highest possible flow from a stock size valve! Over 283.4 CFM on the intake side*
• Hot tanked
• Pressure checked
• Competition valve job *PLUS*
• Stage V port work
• New valve stem seals
• SS swirl polished, and undercut valves
• New guides
• Crower springs
• Titanium retainers
• Decked head surface
• New exhaust manifold studs
Bolt on PTE 56 trim T3/T4 Hybrid Turbo
Turbo Oil Line Kit
Stage 2 Manifold Porting
O2 Housing Porting
HKS 272,272 Cams
ACT 2600 Clutch Kit
Fidanza Light Weight FlyWheel
Greddy BOV
GM MAF Translator
GM MAF
Front Mount Intercooler
Intercooler Piping
Greddy Flange
2.5in intercooler piping

i do not have a performance exhaust system or down downpipe. And i do not have any of my fuel upgrades installed yet. I am sure there are no other boost leakes. And i have not taken the engine over 5k RPM's yet because the engine has not yet been broken in. Dose any one have any other ideas?

I think these are all the specs for the turbo

Wheel Dia.61mm Wheel Inducer2.416" Wheel Exducer3.227" Wheel Trim56 T04E Inlet/Outlet3" / 2" Bearing System360 Race A/R Ratio0.60 Turbine Specs: Wheel StyleT350 Wheel Inducer2.920" Wheel Exducer2.420"

 

[wicked93GS]

well, I had a somewhat similar problem, my 20g wouldnt boost at all in first...fine in the other gears...it ended up being the wastegate actuator mounting plate, I had moved it to rotate the compressor housing somewhat and had to use one of the holes not normally used that was plugged with a allen screw bolt, anyway I moved the actuator plate over, and didnt plug the hole I was no longer using, unknown to me at the time is that those holes go THROUGH into the compressor housing and if not plugged they will cause a boost leak, even if the actuator plate is covering them

 

[Slapnut]

a dumb question, but how many miles are the new motor?

 

[napkinthief]

put in your fuel pump/regulator before you start boosting. you are going to throw all that money you spent down the drain if you start running lean. and with your turbo, it seems that you will be running lean.

 

[Ryan95tsiAWD]

maybe i miss read your post but...are you running stock exhaust or no exhaust???

 

[EauBenite]

It's impossible, recheck the complete boost gauge instalation. Your engine can't be in vaccum at WOT !!! it's comon sense. (well not -20... maybe -1)

*I'm pretty sure you tap the boost gauge on the wrong side of the fuel pressure solenoid*

 

[crunchymilk]

is the car fast??? Check with a better gauge, where did you tap the gauge to?

 

[GVR4592]

A clogged cat can prevent the turbo from spooling, but you definitely should recheck your gauge installation ,and the wastegate actuator arm.

 

[TT_NS]

THere is no aftermarket exhuast on the car yet. I just installed the E-01 on it and I hit 11.7 lb of boost on the engine. That was around 5500 RPMS. The engine hase about 1000 miles on it. the turbo has an external waist gate to. I have no idea what wrong with this. since the car is running so low of boost, im not realy worried about leaning it out. plus i got an A/F ration guage.

 

[ian7321]

Um if you say that your new engine has 1000 miles on it then it is broken in. The usual break in time is about 500 miles.

 

[94Jettameowpsst]

Check your cat cause the clog wil make your turbo very laggy or not spool at all. On top of that, pressure test your piping cause there is no way that you arent boosting on that turbo.

 

[TT_NS]

Check your cat cause the clog wil make your turbo very laggy or not spool at all. On top of that, pressure test your piping cause there is no way that you arent boosting on that turbo.

well i past emissions very well, so that made me think that the cat back was working fine. would a kincked oil return line make the turbo lag?

 

[missouri_dsm]

Your problem is probably the stock exhaust. Get bigger exhaust on there to let the turbo breathe and it will spool up faster. Another thing is the a/f ratio guage is almost useless, you need a wideband. One more thing, get a logger and log it. That will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[TT_NS]

im buying a DSMLINK to take care of all that. just vant afford it right now so. i was thinking it was probobly the exhuast system to. i know i half to get another, but im saving up for that to . Will that make a big difference?

 

[Ryan95tsiAWD]

im buying a DSMLINK to take care of all that. just vant afford it right now so. i was thinking it was probobly the exhuast system to. i know i half to get another, but im saving up for that to . Will that make a big difference?

You should still get a wideband to compliment dsmlink.

Yes, changing your exhaust is a night and day difference, at the least you need to get a test pipe to put in place of that cat.
Try unbolting your downpipe from the O2 housing and tie it up somewhere out of the way of moving parts/ground. You should feel a completely different car...

 

[Jhoe]

I had a similar problem when my AFC got screwed with. How much fuel are you giving the engine...if you have WAY WAY too much fuel it will seem imposible to spool that thing, at least I had that problem, could barely pull 10lbs boost and engine was falling on its face around 5k. Just something to double check that I know I over looked.

 

[oldman]

Question : What do you mean 20 psi at 5000 rpm? Are you saying your boost gauge reads 20psi at 5k during WOT? Or -20 inHG (-10 psi) of vacuum coasting down at 5k?

Suggestion : Boost leak test. Visual inspections are the most dangerous because it gives you a false sense security which can lead to very expensive repairs.

 

[TT_NS]

it dosent matter any more my car got stollen last night

 

[oldman]

Ouch, all those parts, sorry to hear that.

 

[rowlex]

Suggestion : Boost leak test. Visual inspections are the most dangerous because it gives you a false sense security which can lead to very expensive repairs.

I have to agree here. I thought the same way you did before oldman told me to do a leak test. Found 4 different large leaks. But everything "looked" sealed.