Car doesnt boost at ALL

[AQuinonez90]

So after I bought my car thinking it had bad rings but turn out to be the toasted ebay turbo (still rebuilt the engine anyway), I sport a 14b as of now.

The first day I ran the car with the turbo it ran good and did some solid little pulls to break in the engine. The next day however, I was heading to the gas station and decided to do a small pull and all of a sudden the car just completely lost power and no more boost. Feels like a NT. The car has not seen boost for about a month! I checked for leaks and it holds. Even converted the intercooler to a short route (SBR race intercooler) Still nothing. I've read up that it could be a stuck wastegate or a crack on the housing which lets air escape? I see vacuum but when I drive off the car either hits 0 or close to 0.

BTW. Ive changed the wastegate actuator with an ebay one and also hear a lil whine when i start the car when its cold coming for the turbo. Then after 5 seconds it goes away. Idk if this automatically means bad turbo? turbo has been rebuilt too by a buddy of mine.

Is there anyway to check if the actuator is bad??

 

[LiquidX]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443164

Portions of that still apply. If you feel there was an exhaust leak, why didn't you test for one?

Actuators work by air pressure so hook up a pressure source to it to test.

 

[AQuinonez90]

isnt log advice for tuning? My car is completely stock minus fmic and bov. Im confused? I thought I posted on the turbo section. Im lost....

 

[phantom_19]

Where do you have the actuator hooked up? Also the BOV vacuum line.

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

When this happened to me it was a seized turbo. Pull the intake and see if it spins freely.

 

[Mischif]

Make sure the wastegate flapper is being held shut by the wastegate actuator.

 

[AQuinonez90]

i pulled the intake and it spins freely. and the wastegate is hooked up properly. It ran good at a point but Im guessing the flapper is not doing its job. I was going to pull it out today but got out late due to school.

 

[architechnik]

That sounds like it would be a major exhaust leak if you're seeing absolutely no boost.

I would first pull off the O2 housing to see if you can see any cracks or serious damage to the waste gate. Also check the exhaust manifold to see any leaks at either the head or the manifold to turbo.

If you're not seeing any boost, there would be some pretty obvious damage to the exhaust manifold if that was the problem. I had a stock manifold that had completely cracked and warped and still saw 10psi.

The post on logging is an important one, because even though your gauge isn't showing boost, you may still be getting some. It would be a good way to figure out where you're cutting off and if you're getting any at higher RPM.

Similarly, check your MAF. If the MAF has a loose wire or some bad buildup, it will not only think that you're not getting the air you are, but it might be restricting your fuel and could cause additional problems.

 

[stevecbr929]

Dude, I'm pretty sure it's your actuator. Remember that thing wasn't quite right when it went back together? Why don't you take some pics of the other turbo & see if Justin can tell you what it is & if it's worth rebuilding/running. If not, a new actuator should get u boosting again.

 

[WES_393]

The whining along with 0 boost makes me think the turbo is binding up somehow. I would try spinning the compressor blade by hand again. Not just a twirl in one direction, give it a good fling both ways and see if you encounter resistance. Check for shaft play in all directions. A tiny amount of up and down is normal, but it should be solid otherwise.

If all is good, pull the actuator arm and physically move the waste gate flapper full swing. Make sure it doesn't get caught or bind at any point. The actuator should also put a small amount of tension against the flapper (towards the compressor side) to hold it shut until full boost.

 

[honda_burner]

That sounds like it would be a major exhaust leak if you're seeing absolutely no boost.

I would first pull off the O2 housing to see if you can see any cracks or serious damage to the waste gate. Also check the exhaust manifold to see any leaks at either the head or the manifold to turbo.
.

I cut the arm of my actuator when i went external and the pivot point fell out of the o2 housing after about a day. Made a huge exhaust leak before the turbine and car still built a little boost, only about 5 lbs but it still managed to build some boost. Dont think an exhaust leak would be that severe unless it outright fell off, and you should be able to hear that.

The whining along with 0 boost makes me think the turbo is binding up somehow. I would try spinning the compressor blade by hand again. Not just a twirl in one direction, give it a good fling both ways and see if you encounter resistance. Check for shaft play in all directions. A tiny amount of up and down is normal, but it should be solid otherwise.

If all is good, pull the actuator arm and physically move the waste gate flapper full swing. Make sure it doesn't get caught or bind at any point. The actuator should also put a small amount of tension against the flapper (towards the compressor side) to hold it shut until full boost.

this ^

 

[AQuinonez90]

Ok so i did a boost leak test and notice air escaping for the jpipe flange. The thing was warped so i ended up making a thick gasket along with rtv and did another boost leak test and it only manage to get 4 psi. I fired her up to see if it atleast boosts to something but no. So what i did was to check the wastegate and put air in it to see if it opens. Fair enough it does. Idk if that was bad or not. But i need to double check again.

Just fyi it has a 14b with an ebay actuator. I pulled it and check the flapper and it seems fine. So wtf???? I even adjusted the actuator and nothing. Having a small exhaust leak shouldnt cause 0 lbs of boost since my old gsx had leaks like no other and was still able to boost.