no boost

[slow92lsr]

I recently installed my new punishment FMIC, during the process I also removed my exhaust manifold, turbo(14b), and my exhaust system. I put everything back on and I am almost sure that everything is hooked up right but when I drive it I can not build any boost. The guage goes from like 20lbs of vacuum up to 0lbs and will not build anymore. The only difference in the car is the new front mount and the only exhaust I have on is a 2.5" downpipe. I have tested the wastegate by applying air from a compressor and it opens and closes fine. Any ideas on what could be wrong?

 

[silver bullit]

You got a boost gauge? Not the shity stock one.

Could be blown hg or turbo seals etc...

Does the turbo have in and out side to side shaft play?

 

[kanderson]

Can you hear the turbo spooling up at all? It should be spooling regardless of whether it is making boost, so if it isn't you could have something jammed in it from when it was out of the car. I hope I am wrong.

 

[MrBoxx]

Check your turbo for shaft play immediately.

 

[slow92lsr]

It has no shaft play that was the first thing that I checked. I can spin the blades with my finger. And yes I have a boost gauge.

I can't hear the turbo spooling up but that is because the exhaust is so loud right now.

Should air come out of the BOV dump tube when I am doing a boost leak test?

 

[kanderson]

What do you mean "air come out of the BOV dump tube"? Isn't that where you are hooked up to do the test (on the intake)? Do you mean coming out of the BOV?

 

[MrBoxx]

Turbo's don't need backpressure to work. They work off a pressure and temperature differential; the greater the differential, the better they work.

What kind of BOV do you have?

 

[slow92lsr]

The exhaust is so loud because I only have a downpipe hooked up right now. Yes I mean the hole in the BOV that goes to the intake pipe.

 

[MrBoxx]

It theoretically shouldn't come out of the BOV, since under pressure, the BOV's job is to remain closed. You may have a weak spring or torn diaphragm that's allowing the BOV to open under boost.

 

[slow92lsr]

It is the stock BOV. That is what I think my problem is right now. That would answer my problem because all my boost would just be going right back into my turbo.

 

[MrBoxx]

Try removing the BOV and pressing on the valve from the bottom. It should be fairly firm; you should be able to barely move it. If it's easy to open, look into a replacement.

 

[slow92lsr]

The valve is very firm. I believe the reason it was opening so easily is because I had the line going to the intake manifld unhooked.

 

[MrBoxx]

Yeah, that'll do it. Why wasn't it hooked up in the first place? Was it unhooked this whole time?

 

[slow92lsr]

No I just unhooked it during the boost leak test to stop air from leaking out of the MBC.

 

[kanderson]

Again, your wastegate actuator is hooked up correctly right?

 

[slow92lsr]

I can watch it open and close but is there any way to tell if it is closing completely without taking the O2housing off?

 

[Mr Peepers]

I can watch it open and close but is there any way to tell if it is closing completely without taking the O2housing off?

Take off the WGA arm, it should be pulling on the lever at all times. To put it back on you should have to pull it out a little to get it back on the lever.

If it's loose on the lever it's not closed completely.

 

[slow92lsr]

That is how my WGA arm is so I guess it is seating right.

 

[Mr Peepers]

Did it boost fine before the intercooler install?

 

[slow92lsr]

Yes it boosted fine, everything worked perfect except for a little rough idle.

How easy should the blades spin on the turbo? Mine will spin easily with my finger but it feels really dry and not very well lubed. Could lack of oil be my problem?

 

[kanderson]

Mine spins very easily, it will coast for a second or two after I give it a twist, and it feels very smooth. Mine is brand new though...

It seems like if it has no free play (in/out or sideways/up/down) and it is easy to spin that it should spool up fine.

 

[slow92lsr]

That is what I thought. That is why I am getting so frustrated.

 

[t25fury]

make sure you do not have any exhaust leaks from the manifold to the turbo,double check your waste gate arm,actuator and lines(check for torn hoses).Keep in mind that running and open down pipe is very loud and your knock sensor may pick this up as knock causing your ecu to pull lots of timing,wich results in very little boost,this what happened to me when i drove my car around the block with an open down pipe.

 

[slow92lsr]

Thanks guys for all the input and ideas. It will be about a week before I can play with it again but I will post back when I reolve the problem. If something inside was causing my turbo not to spool I wouldn't be able to turn it with my finger, right?

 

[Dsm2nr89]

You could turn it after playing with it a little if that were the case of something being stuck inside like what happened to mine, but if you do manage to free it it will just get stuck again.

 

[slow92lsr]

Ok so I just messed around with it some more. I took off the intake pipe and I could see the turbo spinning at idle. I also took off the o2 housing and the wastegate is sealing fine. I tested the mbc with an air compressor. The wga opens and closes with the mbc. The only thing I found was that the bottom outlet of the turbo had oil around it so I figured that was why it has started smoking.

One other thing, I found that my turbo has a little shaftplay but it is very minimal. How much play is acceptable?

New update: I put a hose barb on my j-pipe for the pressure source for my mbc. Still does not run any better. I used my datalogger and found that there is no knock. I even rode on the bumper while someone took the car up the road so I could watch the wastegate, it stayed closed the whole time. I took the intercooler pipe off right after my j-pipe and could feel a little air coming out. I also took the pipe off right before my throttle body and could feel some air but less than at the j-pipe. The car ran really rough when the pipes were off and I could not rev it up any, I am assuming because all the unmetered air coming in.