2G 13b turbo wont build full boost untill 4500 rpm

[michaelg]

The 13b Turbo in my 2g (dont ask why) is taking forever to build boost. According to my boost gauge im reaching around 5 psi at 2700 rpm but im not at full boost until 4500. My car has an egr delete and is "tuned" on safic. this issue with building boost is also making highway driving difficult because the car runs rich as hell untill it reaches full boost... unless i have the throttle wide open. im not burning oil, the turbine spins fine, there are no noticeable boost leaks... i have no idea what else to look for. i have a greddy intercooler and a thermal 3in exhaust. could that be causing these issues?

 

[99ECLIPSEGSXDSM]

Slower spool is usually because of a pre turbo exhaust leak. Would also be a reason its throwing off your AFR but what you should do is a proper boost leak test. 100% sure is better then "noticeable". If there's no boost least try some seafoam all you'll see if there's a exhaust leak.

 

[michaelg]

thanks! I dont know why this just occurred to me but ive never taken off the stock heat shields... ill do that in a couple of days and check the manifold for cracks and if i cant see any im going to try the sea foam method.
i already tried to spray break cleaner around the bay but didnt notice any thing.

 

[bryanwheat]

Check that the wastegate flapper isn't stuck open also. These things usually spool almost instantly.

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Check that the wastegate flapper isn't stuck open also. These things usually spool almost instantly.

Agreed, a 13G should be at full spool around the time you said yours is at 5PSI. Either pre turbo leak, a massive boost leak, or a wastegate issue. I don't know how similarly built the 13G is in comparison to the 14B but on my 14B the wastegate flapper actually started walking it's way out of the housing and I couldn't build any meaningful boost until 5k, which is much higher than I'd like to shift on a regular basis. Turns out about 5 seconds with a hammer fixed it.

 

[michaelg]

is there any way to tell if the flapper is stuck without removing the o2 houseing?

 

[michaelg]

and the 13 b is considerably smaller... its a tdo4h housing

 

[pacn91]

Ive been having a similar problem with my 13g. Boost is sometimes intermittent. Have done blts and a smoke test for grins. Some of the suggestions on this thread gave me another idea. I didnt have the sea foam but i did have some ATF. I pulled the pcv hose and sucked up the tranny fluid through there. smoke came and i finally figured out the problem. Two big leaks, one at manifold gasket and one lower at the turbo somewhere. My leak at the gasket came from some black magic detailer that i sprayed. I sprayed it and watched it settle and boil above the #4 runner. Never stopped to think that i would boil a hole into the gasket. I thought that it would just burn off. So, watch what you spray on the engine and make sure to wash/ rinse it off. If you havent found it, try like they stated above, and look for a "pre turbo exhaust leak." Thanks guys and op, for the thread and suggestions. You helped me figure my situation out.

Has the op found the source of his problem?